CLOVERFIELD

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Movie trailer...

It is amazing in this day and age that Cloverfield has surprisingly managed to remain a -- well -- surprise! No one knows what the monster is. It is just touted as a monster film. And the trailers are determined not to give anything away. Damn!

I just hope Cloverfield does not turn out to be like that superdud of a movie, Godzilla (1998). That Roland Emmerich directed Godzilla had, arguably, the best trailer of all time. The Godzilla trailer built up anticipation like no other -- but when I saw the final product of a film on the big screen, I almost vomited blood at how lame the film's script was.

Anyway, Cloverfield is being produced by J.J.Abrams, who has a reliable reputation for creating on-screen magic (nevermind that 2006's Mission: Impossible 3, which he directed has no shelf life with audiences outside of the cinema) and we can all only hope that the film will grab audiences' imagination when it opens!

TOP WORLD LEADERS

POLITICIANS WHO ARE IMPRESSIVE... AND OTHERS WHO ARE NOT

BEST POLITICIANS...
1. IMPRESSIVE: Germany's Angela Merkel is turning out to be a remarkable politician indeed. She is the first female chancellor of Germany and, by jove, she has got the idea of statesmanship down pat. She demonstrates elegantly that a country's leader does not have to make a lot of noise and preen in front of the media to get the job done. Sometimes, a leader just has to be there -- that is all that is needed done!

2. FANTASTIC: China's leaders Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao are also exemplary leaders - able to manoeuvre such a complicated country as China with suuch dexterity and speed. If they can refine the health aspect of the country -- in terms of food safety and putting a lid on environmental pollution, this will truly be the Chinese century.

3. WORTH WATCHING: Australia's Kevin Rudd is a breath of fresh air and a valid replacement of the decrepid John Howard.

4. HERO-WORSHIP POTENTIAL: Whatever you say about Bill Clinton, he is making himself out to be quite the humanitarian and beautifully positioning himself to be a respected elder statessman of global politics. Clinton deserves praise for all the good that he is doing.
(The only complaint I have against Clinton would be having had a duffer of a dullwit like Al Gore as his vice-president. I still find it hard to forgive Gore and that despicable bulldog-looking Madeleine Korbel Albright for coming to Malaysia and throwing this country's politics into slight disarray with uncalled for criticism many years ago during the previous Prime Minister's regime -- these two fools Gore and Albright unwittingly empowered the Islamic fundamentalist party PAS at that time through their stupidity and utter ignorance! The American ambassador at that time also deserves a thorough beating for doing a lousy job of being an amabassador at that time, feeding Washington biased reports after listening to the disgruntled arty crowd that didn't know the reality of life in Malaysia.)

MOST MISSED POLITICIAN...
1. ELEGANT AND CREDIBLE: Junichiro Koizumi is the former Japanese prime minister who made people sit up and watch when he took the stage, either in Japan or the world stage. An impressive man, he brought Japanese political bullies swiftly to their knees and it was the height of the good that politicians can do too the political machinery in their country. Now, if only he had done something about the distressing Japanese whale-hunts...



LAUGHABLE LOT...

1. PUPPET THEATRE: Afghanistan and Iraq now are ruled by U.S. puppets and the outcome of such political manipulation is not going to be good. Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai and Iraq's Jalal Talabani appear ineffectual and obviously actinng as U.S. puppets. As former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said, the oil interest in Iraq is the main reason the Republicans' leadership is maintaining a military presence in Iraq and the whole world can see this. May the democrats win the U.S. election and George W Bush be booted into oblivion in history books for the evil that he has unwittingly done in destabilising the middle east (and thus endangering the liberal and progressive non-Muslim populations that live in Asian countries, especially in south east Asia).


MOST HATED...

1. VILE VILLAIN: Tony Blair should be collectively cursed by the population of this planet for being the despicable politician that he is.

DISGRACEFUL TREATMENT OF ANIMALS

MALAYSIANS OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED!

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -- Mahatma Gandhi

The Malay Mail carried a heartbreaking report on Dec 3, 2007 of monkeys trapped in a container-contraption and left to starve in the Kiara area.

I think it is shameful that Malaysians have come to be this callous about life to this extent! What kind of people can bear to see even baby animals harmed in such a manner? It is especially shocking that there is so much hate for animals that are being depleted off their natural environment in supposedly posh areas like Kiara and that other area in Gasing where the residents are always whining about monkeys being a nuisance.

One would be right in suspecting that these very types of people, when they travel to first world countries on holidays would marvel at the way animals roam freely into residential neighbourhoods (like in the U.S. and Canada) and sing praises of how man and animals should live like that.

But back home, they see animals differently. It is a fact that animals would roam into human habitat to search and forage for food as their natural surroundings are increasingly decimated. In this respect, the local authorities should be smacked on their heads hard for not coming up with solutions that would strike a balance for the various species to live together -- i.e. create buffer zones that are planted with fruit trees suitable for the animals to feed on or have qualified officers advice the residents on the kind of activities that would provide sustenance for the animals (i.e. food suitable for animals left in designated areas at regular times by members from the residents association, where these people can take turns to do so). There is a whole world of creative solutions that can be worked out to handle and care for the animals in a more humane way. The Federal Government too has been a disgrace in this respect of forcing or making people live with animals. For a society that once took pride in living at one with nature, Malaysians have now become so detached from nature and have let hubris take over in their God-like behavior over lesser life forms.

Decision makers and residents of places mentioned above, in general, are pathetic. And they sometimes wonder why they are looked down upon when they travel or try to migrate to developed countries! With heartless mindsets like the ones showcased towards the Kiara monkeys, these Malaysians should be trapped in containers themselves!