http://www.sammyboy.com/ Significant Events and Trivia from the rest of the World. en Sat, 25 May 2013 13:43:38 GMT vBulletin 5 http://sammyboy.com/images/misc/rss.png http://www.sammyboy.com/ http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152960-Malaysian-Bar-slams-arrest-of-activists-and-politicians&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 05:17:12 GMT *Malaysian Bar slams arrest of activists and politicians* Image:...
Malaysian Bar slams arrest of activists and politicians



The Nation/Asia News Network
Saturday, May 25, 2013

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - The Malaysian Bar has slammed the arrests and prosecution of activists and opposition politicians as "regressive" actions that do not reflect the Government's aspirations of establishing a world-class democracy.

Malaysian Bar president Christopher Leong said they were "appalled" by the arrests and subsequent charging of activists Adam Adli, Haris Ibrahim and Pakatan Rakyat politicians Tian Chua and Tamrin Ghafar, aside from the arrest of 18 people at a recent candlelight vigil in support of Adam.

Leong said the seizure of copies of opposition party organs Harakah, Suara Keadilan and The Rocket were uncalled for and that prohibiting the sale and distribution of the publications was unconstitutional.

"The recent arrests, prosecutions and confiscations by the authorities are manifestations of regressive and undemocratic conduct. The current environment is not reflective of a Government aspiring to achieve world-class democracy.

"Rather than bringing about a society that is at ease with itself, it is instead creating an environment of grave concern.

"The Malaysian Bar calls upon the newly-elected Government to demonstrate its commitment to a continuing course of transformation and democratic reforms, not by rhetoric alone but by sincere and genuine action.

"To promote greater democracy, the Government should welcome diversity of opinion, not close democratic space," Leong said in a statement.

Adam, Haris, Tian Chua and Tamrin have all been charged for allegedly making seditious remarks at a forum held in Kuala Lumpur on May 13.

The 18 others who were arrested, meanwhile, were rounded up during a candlelight vigil in support of Adam Adli outside of the Jinjang police detention centre on May 22.


]]> International News MortalKombat http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152960-Malaysian-Bar-slams-arrest-of-activists-and-politicians http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152959-Maserati-recalls-692-cars-in-China&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 05:10:27 GMT * Maserati recalls 692 cars in China* By AFP | 24 May, 2013, 05.35PM IST0 comments |Post a Comment Image:...
Maserati recalls 692 cars in China

By AFP | 24 May, 2013, 05.35PM IST0 comments |Post a Comment



Maserati will recall 692 cars in China due to a defect that could increase the risk of a crash, the Chinese quality watchdog said Friday.

BEIJING: Maserati, which is part of Italian car maker Fiat, will recall 692 cars in China due to a defect that could increase the risk of a crash, the Chinese quality watchdog said Friday.

The recall applies to the Quattroporte and Maserati Granturismo models manufactured between July 31, 2003 and September 25, 2008, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

The vehicles had "substandard" rear tyre-rods, which "could result in loss of control" depending on road conditions, the AQSIQ said in a statement.

Maserati's sales and services arm in China will contact affected customers and replace the defective parts for free, the statement said.


]]> International News Ranmaru http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152959-Maserati-recalls-692-cars-in-China http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152958-Robber-shot-dead-after-picking-on-wrong-‘victim’&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 05:05:41 GMT Saturday May 25, 2013 *Robber shot dead after picking on wrong ‘victim’* By RASHITHA A. HAMID rashitha@thestar.com.my KUALA LUMPUR: A man...
Saturday May 25, 2013

Robber shot dead after picking on wrong ‘victim’

By RASHITHA A. HAMID
rashitha@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: A man paid with his life when he picked the wrong person to rob at an automatic teller machine in Damansara Utama.

The would-have-been victim was a policeman in plain clothes. He was depositing cash at the ATM at around 4am yesterday when the robber confronted him.

The policeman was alone at the machine.

Petaling Jaya OCPD Asst Comm Arjunaidi Mohamed said the robber, who was armed with a meat cleaver, forced the policeman to hand over the cash, his mobile phone and car key.

The policeman at first complied with the man's demand.

However, when the robber tried to escape in his car, the policeman tried to stop him and was attacked.

“In the struggle, the policeman was forced to open fire and the suspect was shot on his body and in the head, and died on the spot,” he said at the scene.

Initial investigations revealed that the 43-year-old had a record for house break-ins, drug offences and car thefts.

ACP Arjunaidi said the 34-year-old policeman was a corporal based at the Kampung Baru Subang police station.

]]> International News TommyThayer http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152958-Robber-shot-dead-after-picking-on-wrong-‘victim’ http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152957-Polite-quot-Ah-Long-quot-apologises-to-retiree-over-harassment&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 05:01:48 GMT Friday May 24, 2013 *Moneylending firm apologises to retiree over harassment* By BEH YUEN HUI behyh@thestar.com.my KUALA LUMPUR: The...
Friday May 24, 2013

Moneylending firm apologises to retiree over harassment

By BEH YUEN HUI

behyh@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: The management of a moneylending company ac-cused of harassing a defaulter's family has apologised to the victims.

“We are very sorry about what happened,” the company's manager Steven Cheong told 64-year-old retiree Liew Teck Yeong at the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department here on Wednesday.

Cheong had contacted department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong “to explain the truth” after reading the news about his company employees harassing the Liew family.

He said the workers went to Liew's house upon the request of his elder son Meng Kat, who owed the company RM110,000.

“The son had asked them to meet him there and said he would return the money. But when the debt collectors arrived there, Meng Kat was not at home, so they waited outside for him,” said Cheong, while denying that the employees had thrown paint on the house.

He, however, admitted that the debt collectors had gone overboard by taking a photograph of Liew's five-year-old grandson and threatening to kidnap the boy if the family failed to settle the debt.

]]> International News Discovery http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152957-Polite-quot-Ah-Long-quot-apologises-to-retiree-over-harassment http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152946-Mystery-of-why-we-itch-revealed-by-scientists&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 00:11:45 GMT *Mystery of why we itch revealed by scientists* The Sideshow May 25, 2013, 8:48 am Image:...
Mystery of why we itch revealed by scientists

The Sideshow May 25, 2013, 8:48 am



A squirrel scratches itself (Wikicommons)

Scientists had an itch they just needed to scratch: solving the ages-old mystery as to why, exactly, we scratch ourselves.

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research says the answer is a mixture of commonly held beliefs along with some interesting new research.

While it’s true that irritants on the skin, such as a rash or a insect landing on us, can trigger an itch through nerve cells, the process of how we are made aware of the sensation, clinically known as “pruritus,” takes part in different parts of the body.

Testing on mice, the scientists found that a molecule released in the dorsal horn of the spine begins the biological process. The molecule, neuropeptide natriuretic polypeptide b (Nppb), then travels to the brain, creating the feeling of the itch.

In their study, the scientists were able to isolate mice without Nppb. “When we exposed the Nppb-deficient mice to several itch-inducing substances, it was amazing to watch,” said Santosh Mishra, lead author on the study. “Nothing happened. The mice wouldn’t scratch.”

“The receptors were exactly in the right place in the dorsal horn,” added study co-author Mark Hoon. “We went further and removed the Npra neurons from the spinal cord. We wanted to see if their removal would short-circuit the itch, and it did.”
Through their research, the scientists learned some other fascinating facts about Nppb as well.

“It’s released by the heart,” Hoon told Time, “to control blood sodium and blood pressure. It’s a cornerstone of biology that a lot of these neurotransmitters are used in different parts of the body for different purposes.”

So, does that mean it’s time to take a celebratory dive into poison ivy? Do humans no longer have to worry about annoying itches?

Not exactly. Hoon says doctors would currently be faced with two undesirable options: Affecting blood pressure control or injecting Nppb directly into the spinal cord, which, he dryly notes, “is not a trivial thing to do.”

In the meantime, the study’s authors are hoping to solve the other end of the equation, finding out why itching stops.

“Now the challenge is to find similar biocircuitry in people, evaluate what’s there, and identify unique molecules that can be targeted to turn off chronic itch without causing unwanted side effects,” Hoon said in a release accompanying the study. “So, this is a start, not a finish.”

]]> International News Motaro http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152946-Mystery-of-why-we-itch-revealed-by-scientists http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152945-UK-arrests-2-over-Pakistan-plane-incident&goto=newpost Sat, 25 May 2013 00:06:37 GMT *UK arrests 2 over Pakistan plane incident* By Cassandra Vinograd And Danica Kirka, AAP Updated May 25, 2013, 7:57 am Image:...
UK arrests 2 over Pakistan plane incident

By Cassandra Vinograd And Danica Kirka, AAP Updated May 25, 2013, 7:57 am



Two men have been arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft after an incident on a plane flying from Pakistan to Britain, rattling the UK just days after a British soldier was killed on a London street in a suspected terror attack.

A fighter jet was launched to divert the Pakistan International Airlines plane carrying nearly 300 passengers to Britain's Stansted Airport, officials said on Friday.

The plane, which took off from Lahore, Pakistan, was originally supposed to have landed in Manchester.

Essex Police said two men have been arrested and removed from the plane, which landed safely and was on an isolated runway at Stansted Airport.

Britain's Ministry of Defence confirmed that a Typhoon jet was scrambled to investigate an incident involving a civilian aircraft but declined to provide further details.

Chris Wiggan, a spokesman at Stansted Airport, said passengers were disembarking from the plane.

"It is not an emergency evacuation," he said.

Pakistan International Airlines spokesman Mashood Tajwar said the airline had been unable to contact the pilot of the Flight P709 despite repeated attempts.

He said 297 passengers and 11 crew members were on the diverted plane.

The incident comes as many police forces across Britain have stepped up patrols in recent days following a suspected terror attack in south London.

Two men with meat cleavers attacked and killed a British soldier in broad daylight, and gruesome footage that emerged after the attack showed one of the alleged assailants angrily complaining about the British government and troops in foreign lands.

Those two suspects were shot when police arrived on the scene and have been hospitalised.

]]> International News Captain America http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152945-UK-arrests-2-over-Pakistan-plane-incident http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152935-Japanese-Fast-Food-Chain-Introduces-“Ramen-Burger”&goto=newpost Fri, 24 May 2013 13:45:04 GMT *Japanese Fast Food Chain Introduces “Ramen Burger” * by Mika on Friday, May 24, 2013 Image: http://i.imgur.com/eLfIOiM.jpg With green-tea...

Japanese Fast Food Chain Introduces “Ramen Burger”

by Mika on Friday, May 24, 2013

With green-tea Kit Kats, azuki-bean croissants and teriyaki burgers, interesting re-makes of western classics are not something new to Japanese cooking, but now there is a burger-version of noodle soup.

Lotteria, a popular Japanese fast-food chain, has recently announced that it will do just that though and plans on soon releasing a “Ramen Burger” to drive up sales.

Japanese consumers are absolute suckers for product differentiation (food companies regularly releases limited edition “seasonal flavored” fares and even sometimes offer “region-specific” products like “Oyster Sapporo Beer” in Hokkaido or “Sakura KitKat” in Kyoto), but even in Japan, can this latest venture into creative cooking actually work?

From Livedoor News:
Lotteria x Menya Muszashi “Ramen Burger” Goes On Sale From May 20, Foreigners Baffled, “Is It A Yakisoba Sandwich?”

Lotteria has recently gotten a lot of people talking by announcing that it will start selling an item called “Ramen Burger” which is somehow a cross between a burger and “ramen” in stores across the country for a limited time starting from May 20.

We have no idea what it will taste like, but it is basically a sandwich made out of a bun with seasoned hardened ramen and chasu pork [usually eaten on top of ramen]. The ramen itself is the real deal, developed and produced under the direction of “Menya Musashi’s flagship store in Shinjuku” owned by the Menya Musashi group, which operates 12 restaurants across the country. They also developed a soup to go with it. Since it’s a “substitute” for ramen, you could say it tastes like ramen without the chopsticks.

Why are carbs + more carbs type meals, like Sukiya’s Yakisoba Gyudon suddenly so popular in Japan at the moment?

Both ramen and hamburgers are popular as the food of the masses, but many people are wondering if they will still be popular when combined. In Japan, opinion on the internet is divided between two groups, those who “want to try” this miracle combination, and those who would rather pass: but what about abroad?

It goes without saying that in America, “hamburger” means a hamburger in a bun. [N.B. In Japan, "hamburgers" are often sold without a bun as a kind of steak]. Ramen draws its roots from Chinese-style noodles, but it has developed into something completely Japanese.

And then, in 2013, the magic of combining ramen and hamburgers created by Lotteria and Menya Musashi, which has many people rolling their eyes saying:

“A ramen patty…?”
“I like ramen and I like hamburgers, but why do you need to combine them?”
“How is this actually different from Yakisoba sandwiches?”

There are surely many people interested in tasting crispy ramen on soft bread, but they will all come to light after the 20th. We’re sure the net will be filled with “food criticism”

]]> International News Motaro http://sammyboy.com/showthread.php?152935-Japanese-Fast-Food-Chain-Introduces-“Ramen-Burger”