Few of us spend weeknights like I do, as I get the chance to sit down, grab a cuppa, point the finger and laugh as I discuss the puzzling, the mind-blogging and the downright outrageous. This time around, EPL (football), Bersih, same-sex marriage and Melbourne employment blues gets the limelight.
Possibly the wackiest season of the English Premier League came to a nail-biting, hair-pulling,
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| 'Yep, now our return on investment is 0.00000000001!' |
(To balance things out, I am gonna bluntly say that Man Utd only got themselves to blame for failing to clinch the tittle. Definitely one of the worst squads in awhile, need some fresh blood, and give the Glazers the boot.If nothing is done, slowly but surely Man Utd will fall behind.)
On the other hand, Tony Fernandes must have breathed a huge sigh of relief after seeing QPR narrowly avoiding relegation. Talk about a boom in your investment. Speaking of booms, you might want to reconsider changing the captain of your club, Tony, because lately he has been more interested in blowing his top and attacking opposition players. But surely that cannot be compared with dabbling in the messy affairs of MAS right?
And what discussion on football is complete without poking fun at Liverpool? By the way, this has nothing to do with me feeling sore that Man Utd didn't win the EPL. This season, Liverpool are suffering the indignity of finishing lower than their neighbours Everton, despite spending $10000000000000 on players like Henderson, Downing, Adam and Carroll (admittedly Carroll has improved of late). What have Liverpool won? The least of the domestic cups, aka the Mickey Mouse/ Milk/Beer Cup. Champions League football? Nope. Close to even finishing in the top six? Nope. Played an exciting brand of football? Nope. Mediocrity? Check. Delusional manager and fans? Check.Even Everton fans are openly calling for King Kenny to stay at Liverpool.
This was written before Kenny Dalglish was sacked
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| Gold |
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| The Amazing Downing: 36 games, 0 goals, 0 assists |
Blackburn Rovers, already the butt of many chicken jokes over the season, suffered the ultimate embarrassment in the form of relegation from the top
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| Yakubu: 'Don't worry mate, I got this!' |
In other news,
Bersih, for better or for worse?
Ah yes, it is inevitable that I will talk about that Bersih rally. I will admit it straight away: I want a clean and fair elections, and I support Bersih's official aims. I maybe biased and unfair towards the government, but has the government been fair to the rakyat?
As expected, both sides (Bersih and the government) has resorted to blaming each other for the scenes of violence in the Kuala Lumpur rally on 28 April 2012. In contrast, Bersih rallies held elsewhere (such as Penang, Melbourne etc) were peaceful. This makes me wonder, if the Bersih rally was allowed into Dataran Merdeka for their 'Duduk Bantah' (Sitting-and-Protesting) in the first place, surely it would have been peaceful?
At the very least, one lesson that can be learned from the whole episode is that you can never trust the Malaysian mainstream media. It is an open secret that the government has an iron grip over the media, and will not hesitate to paint any opposition to the government in a bad light. News coverage for Bersih were no different, and some of them were blatantly biased.
Another thing that caught my attention is that the huge number of policemen on the streets on the day of the rally. I never knew Malaysia had that many policemen so eager to maintain peace and public order. Perhaps the PDRM (police force) should concentrate on dealing with crime instead of firing tear gas and water cannon at Bersih supporters.
I am not saying that the Bersih organizers and supporters are blameless for the chaos in the KL rally. But I question why the government is so hell-bent on discrediting and stopping Bersih. If the election is as fair and clean as the government says, then they have nothing to fear. Instead, the government claims that Bersih is politically motivated and wants to violently bring down the government.The basic demands of Bersih are not unreasonable. By going all-out in halting Bersih, surely it will bring a lot more unwanted attention (domestic and international) to the government? But then again, I never expected the government to have foresight and think things through.
Small groups of people have staged burger and butt exercise protests (yes you heard me right) in front of Bersih co-chairperson Datuk Ambiga's home in the aftermath of the rally. According to our dear deputy Inspector General of Police, it is not against the law to do so. Does that mean I can stage my own noodle protest or something of that sort in front of PM Najib's home?
For more on the Bersih related issues, refer to 'Can you believe it?'
Same-sex marriage
It is definitely one of the most politically and socially sensitive issue at the moment. Same sex marriage is legal in countries such as Argentina, Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands. Recently, Barack Obama declared that he supported same sex marriage. Obama's (likely) presidential election opponent Mitt Romney's position on same-sex marriage is unknown. Don't be surprised if this plays a huge role in the upcoming American elections. In Australia, both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott don't support same-sex marriage.
I am a firm believer of equality for everyone regardless of race, religion and gender. We should not discriminate against someone just because he or she speaks differently or have different beliefs. I lament when I see someone get preferential treatment because of his skin colour or social status. If I don't support same sex marriage, does that make me a hypocrite? I don't support same-sex marriage, mainly because of my definition of marriage and the after-effects, but that does not mean I am against it either. Personally, I am pretty divided on the issue.
Same-sex marriage advocates argue that everyone should have the right to marry the person he/she love. I partially agree: you should only marry the person you love, but I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Why? Ultimately, marriage (usually) lead to kids. Same-sex couples can artificially conceive, thanks to technology. But think about the 'kids'. A child between a same-sex couple could could be discriminated against by his/her peers because of her 'parents'. The child could be bullied, teased, ignored. In other words, the child suffers. Unless of course everyone by then is unbiased, and fair to everyone, or the couple don't have kids; or same-sex couples is considered 'normal'. Remember, shifting human perceptions is no mean feat. Even now, we still hear incidents involving racism.
That's one of my many reasons against same-sex marriage. Another reason is the social stigma involved. I could go on, but I can tell, I am going to get 'flamed' by liberals and equality advocates. Sorry, I for one am not ready for the acceptance of same sex marriage.
Wanna get hired?
Have you ever tried landing a full-time job in Melbourne? You better get familiar with the three scenarios below.
Scenario One:
Prospective employer: So, you want to work with us?
Me: Yes. I believe I can contribute positively to the firm.
Prospective employer: Your CV looks rather impressive. Unfortunately, we can't hire you at the moment.
Me: But..why?
Prospective employer: We feel that you are not suited to the firm. I also feel that that your experience are not relevant.I am looking for local experience in this field.
Scenario Two:
Me: I am interested in applying for the position. Can I send in my CV?
Prospective employer: Hmm, let me see. Are you a current Nobel prize laureate?
Me: Er, no, but I was the finance officer for this...
Prospective employer: Oh I see. Are you the Australian Young Person of Year?
Me: What? No..
Prospective employer: President of the university's student union? Youth representative for UN Australia? CEO for hot start-up Airtasker? Perfect academic grades from uni?
Me: No, but if I send you my CV, you can see that I have relevant experience in..
Prospective: Okay. Thanks for your time. Unfortunately, your application will not be pursued further at this stage.
Scenario Three:
Prospective Employer: I have looked through your application. Unfortunately, we are only hiring those with local experience.
Me *throws chair at prospective employer*: HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO GET LOCAL EXPERIENCE IF EVERYBODY WON'T GIVE ME A CHANCE!
Sure, I exaggerated just a bit, but that's how I feel. Either they don't really give a reason (Scenario One), or they want you to be the best person in the world (Scenario Two), or they are just being a complete b****.and say that you don't have the koalafications or local experience (Scenario Three).
Can you believe it?
1. Astro censoring BBC's news coverage on the Bersih rally
2. Burger protest outside Ambiga's house
3. NST falsifying what an Australian senator said
4. Stewart Downing is included in England's squad for the upcoming Euros!
At this rate, I might be in of a chance of getting called for the England squad 2014 World Cup as well. Oh wait..
5. Butt exercise protest?!
6. Google getting sued by.........Iran?
1 comment:
Jeric, this is funny. Your observations on football are spot on and yet funny, esp those that you cut out but left the original comments there for people to see your real thoughts. You are good in this. Should consider a reporter or journalist or a contributor to sports columns. Have you tried to send in articles to magazines and newspapers? Go and check them out first. On Bersih and the same-sex marriage issues, i like your comments and think that they are valid. Is that what young people your age thinks? Take your thoughts one step further and share your analysis with us. For eg, should there be special schools for same sex children ? This is what i can think of before i go to office. Have a great day!! Keep it up.
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