A certain someone passed away recently. You may have read about his passing in the newspaper. You may have read about his towering achievement in conquering a tall mountain with about 10 other courageous people.
You may also have read about the sorry state of affairs that has since followed his recent passing.
I don’t know what this whole saga means to other communities in this country, but I can tell you that among the Indian community here, this is a major issue.
I’m not siding with anyone. If there is anyone to blame here, it’s possibly the deceased - how on Earth he failed to notify his next of kin of his conversion is beyond me.
Can you blame his family for being distraught and angry? The man they thought they knew all these years is now being claimed to have been someone else. They were preparing to bury a member of their family, and now they’re being told they can’t. Naturally, they now believe that some sort of conspiracy is taking place.
On the other hand, the religious authorities have a job to do too. A man who they believe is of their faith has passed on, and therefore should be accorded the last rites as per their faith. It would appear as if they have abandoned their responsibility to their religion and to the millions of fellow believers if they choose to wash their hands of the matter.
The government, on the other hand, is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. They cannot interfere here. They shouldn’t.
So it’s up to the courts now. The Syariah court have made their ruling. The deceased’s family, on the other hand, are trying desperately to stop the body being taken away by going to the High Court. It looks to be a futile effort, given that the Constitution basically leaves all matters pertaining to Islam in the hands of the Syariah court.
Whatever happens, it will and should set a precedent for such future cases. And more importantly, people should be made aware that matters of religion are not to be taken lightly. If you ever decide to convert to another religion, let your family know.
I just hope that matters will be solved amicably and without any trouble.
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E-card from Yahoo! AmericanGreetings.com
]]>Their latest update is allowing users to register a new “dot” address (e.g. ) as an alias to existing e-mail addresses.
We’ve just opened up new “dot” addresses to all Mail users. Now get an extra email address like or or It’s absolutely free. Use it just as you would your primary address (which of course you can still use). To make things handy, even use one Inbox to send and receive messages to and from both addresses.
So if your name was John Smith, and you were disappointed that you couldn’t sign up as ‘cos, dammit, apparently there were more than one John Smith out there, and so you were stuck with , well, fret not! Now’s your chance to register and use it as an alias for your exisiting e-mail addy! Cool eh?
]]>But hurry! The good names are going fast!
It’s called the “Google Safe Browsing” (BETA) extension for Firefox.
According to the information on their website:
Google Safe Browsing is an extension to Firefox that alerts you if a web page that you visit appears to be asking for your personal or financial information under false pretences. This type of attack, known as phishing or spoofing, is becoming more sophisticated, widespread and dangerous. That’s why it’s important to browse safely with Google Safe Browsing. By combining advanced algorithms with reports about misleading pages from a number of sources, Safe Browsing is often able to automatically warn you when you encounter a page that’s trying to trick you into disclosing personal information.
This kinda reminds me of the upcoming Microsoft IE 7 browser that was unveiled in a sneak preview at the HITB SecConf recently. It, too, is to have an anti-phishing tool that will alert the user of dodgy websites.
Anyway, it sounds like a noble endeavour - keeping us safe from the web’s wilder side and all. Technically, it isn’t available for users outside the US due to license resctrictions (see the FAQ), but you can still download it, of course.
The question is, should you download and install it?
I was going to do just that until I came across this article (“Two Things That Bother Me About Google’s New Firefox Extension“) by information security specialist, Nitesh Dhanjani (by way of Lockergnome) :
1) Every request is transmitted to Google over HTTP, i.e. in clear-text. This is not good. Here is why: Consider a web application that uses SSL to encrypt the session. If this web application were to submit private information about you via a GET request (i.e in the URL, such as a credit card number), this will now be transmitted to http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/lookup in clear-text, allowing someone on your network segment, or any router in between yourself and google.com to sniff the information off the wire.
In plain English, what he’s saying there’s potential for some nasty dude out there to intercept private information that you submit online like credit card numbers.
2) The extension sends the entire GET request to Google. If a web application were to send private information via GET parameters, this will now be transmitted to Google.
Or in other words, all your private info are belong to Google.
Well, to me, there’s no confusion - I’m not in the US and my usage of the extension is not covered in the license, and therefore if anything should screw up, I’m up shit-creek without a paddle. But even if I was in the US, I still won’t download the extension until I get more info about how Google intends to address this security concern.
Of course, I’m sure they will address it - Google’s like that. We’ll wait till then.
In the meantime, I’m now curious about IE7’s own Phishing Filter. Does it have similar security issues too?
]]>CHELSEA v Barcelona
Real Madrid v ARSENAL
Benfica v LIVERPOOL
You can just imagine the Barca players chomping at the bits to get to Chelski, who have the disadvantage of playing the second leg at the Nou Camp. Hell, Rijkaard doesn’t even need to motivate his players - they’d be fired up for revenge. On the other hand, this could be exactly what Chelsea need to fire up for the final stretch of the season - the domestic race hasn’t been much of a challenge for them, and a blistering set of matches against the top Spanish team of the moment could be just what the doctor ordered. Stop Ronaldinho and you’ll have a chance, although that’s easier said than done.
My prediction: Barcelona’s attack is brilliant, but I suspect Chelsea’s defensive strength and Mourinho’s tactical mind might sneak a win.
The Gunners against Real? Arsenal did so admirably well against Inter Milan a couple of seasons ago, but can they pull of an upset - and Arsenal are the underdogs here - against a Real side that could well find themselves under new management by the time this game comes around? No Vieira this time, of course, but that seems to have only been a problem for Arsenal in matches against very physical, rugged teams - certainly not a description applicable to Real Madrid. To me, though, much will depend on how many of Real’s galacticos will be available and on-form for the match. Real’s defence will have no chance against Henry, so it’s up to the midfield and attack to stamp their class. Arsenal’s defence is not as strong as during their ‘invincible’ season, and their midfield might have problems with Real’s ball wizards. An on-song Henry could swing events their way, but this over-dependence on one man could be their downfall.
My prediction: I think Real could sneak this by a whisker - but even if I’m wrong, the second leg at Highbury looks to be a potential blockbuster nevertheless.
Benfica could be tricky. While they did beat Man Utd, let’s not kid oursleves by pretending that they actually knocked the Red Devils out - MU were undone with their results in other matches. What I see happening here would be a typical European knockout performance from Rafa’s men - a defensive approach away and attack like hell at home. Worked against Chelsea last season - disputed goal and all.
My prediction: No surprise here - Liverpool to thrash Benfica 15-0 in aggregate, with Crouch, Cisse, Stevie G, Garcia and Alonso scoring hat-tricks. Sounds about right, doncha think? 
(This post is also published in Hantu Bola: Petaling Street Hooligans).
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The KTM website. Looks normal enough (viewed here on IE) although the alignment’s a little off in Firefox.
The copyright notice at the bottom, along with a link to… Weight Watchers?
KTM welcomes all visitors to Malaysia! Feel free to indulge your taste palettes by sampling the various delicacies we have to offer - but do remember to watch your weight!
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