Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2004 June
My Links
Linda Onn Fan Club Website
Nina Personal Website
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
|
| EURO 2004: England's penalty pain |
| 06.24.04 (6:53 pm) [edit] |
England's dreams ended in heartbreak after more than 2 hours of gut-wrenching drama finished with a penalty shootout defeat. It was great to see Owen score and gave England an early lead. After Rooney had to be taken off with an ankle injury after 26 minutes, then things all went soft. Beckham was invisible, Scholes was invisible, Gerrard was just shy of dreadful and Vassell was hopeless. England had no other player in the midfield or striker role with the same ability to bring the ball into the final third like Rooney.
[b]Owen score and gave England 1-0 up after just 3 minutes[/b]
[b]Rooney injures his ankle[/b]
England had no possession, went for the long ball to two forwards... and as a result of these defensive, long balls tactics, England allowed Portugal to barrage the goal until they eventually scored in the 83 minutes or something and another strike by Rui Costa put Portugal a 2-1 advantage in extra time before Lampard struck a late equaliser and sent the match to penalties.
[b]Frank Lampard[/b]
A penalty shoot-out was England's misery once more, it was Beckham who stepped up for the first of England's initial 5 and put the pressure on with another shocker to add to his personal collection of spot-kick nightmares.
[b]Beckham must never go near a penalty kick again![/b]
The same old story - England were knocked out of the EURO 1996 on penalties in the semi-finals and lost to Germany again on penalties in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals. They were also knocked out of the 1998 World Cup by Argentina on penalties in the second round.
Concerning the disallowed England goal in the 89 minutes, for me... Campbell's goal was perfect, nothing wrong with it at all. It was fair and square! All 3 were challenging for the ball, and Vassel got on top of Terry, who stayed between him and Ricardo. If a foul was given, it would be for obstruction.
Portugal 2 - 2 England
Portugal win 6-5 on penalties
|
|
|
| |
| EURO 2004: England To Wear Black Armbands Tonight |
| 06.23.04 (8:42 pm) [edit] |
I'd just like to say how shocked I was to hear about Stephen Smith, an England fan who was stabbed to death in the early hours of Tuesday, 22 June in Lisbon, Portugal as he celebrated England's 4-2 victory over Croatia.
[b]English flags cover Lisbon's Rossio square, Lisbon as fans celebrate[/b]
Stephen, who was on a round the world trip taking in all the England EURO 2004 games died on the way to hospital. Cruelly, it was the date of his father's birthday. It is believed that he was stabbed by a thief at around 4.00 am as hundreds of fans were toasting England's Euro 2004 triumph. Seconds after the attack, Vadym Abramov, an illegal Ukrainian immigrant was arrested.
Yesterday, another stabbing, this time of a 19-year-old England fan was seriously injured after being stabbed in the neck in Portugal's southern Algarve region.
Neither incident was directly football-related. Tonight, The England team plan to wear black armbands as a mark of respect to a murdered fan. But, UEFA has refused to allow a minute's silence before the team's EURO 2004 match against Portugal to honour Stephen Smith.
Words cannot even start to express the sadness of this tragedy. My thoughts and condolences go to his family, friends and England fans.
My prediction: England 2 - Portugal 1
|
|
|
| |
| EURO 2004: England fans rampage after England defeat |
| 06.14.04 (8:06 pm) [edit] |
[b]France 2, England 1[/b]
Zidane 90, 93, Lampard 38
I am very disappointed that England conceded 2 goals in injury time, and both of them could have so easily been avoided. For me... yes... England performed very well, but this match was all about luck. Lampard put England ahead in the first half and Beckham should have doubled the lead. I don't think Beckham should have taken the penalty. I would have had Lampard or Rooney taken it. England deserved to win that match, regardless of Beckham's missed penalty, they still played better throughout.
Well, I don't want to talk about it anymore.
Now. let’s talk about the England fans rampage after England defeat.
[b]Violence follows England defeat [/b]
The Guardian, 15 June 2004
Contrary to expectation and experience, the England fans who travelled to Lisbon to watch the team play France on Sunday behaved almost impeccably. The same could not be said of those who stayed at home: 111 people were arrested across the country after disappointment over England's 2-1 defeat boiled over into violence.
About 400 supporters spilled on to the streets of Croydon, south London, after the match and pelted police with missiles and bottles. Twelve people were arrested and several police vehicles were damaged during the hour-long rampage.
"I deplore the level of violence seen in Croydon. It is totally unacceptable for police officers to be injured as a result of a small minority of people reacting to a football result in this manner," said Superintendent Nick Jupp of Croydon police.
Riot police moved into the centre of Birmingham after angry fans began throwing missiles at the screen installed in Centenary Square for the tournament. More than 40 riot officers and dog handlers fought running battles with 200 fans who were throwing glasses and bottles and climbing over cars on Broad Street. Twelve fans were arrested and one man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
In Cambridge, police used a helicopter and a dog unit to break up a disturbance near the city centre involving 200 people. Two men were arrested.
Violence also erupted in the Westgate area of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, where police arrested 17 people for public order offences and in Boston, Lincolnshire, where 11 people were arrested after two police cars were overturned and set alight. Twenty-two people were arrested across Staffordshire, two in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, and two in Colchester, Essex.
In Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, 60 riot officers and and three riot-trained dogs confronted 150 fans in the centre of the town. Eight people were arrested. A further 23 arrests were made in the county as violence flared in Stevenage, Baldock and Watford.
Meanwhile, Portuguese police praised the conduct of England's 35,000 supporters . One fan was arrested in Lisbon on Saturday night and in the aftermath of England's defeat at the hands of France the streets were deserted by the supporters based in the city over the weekend.
Sven Goran has personally begged the England fans to remember they have to behave in Euro 2004 or risk his team being booted out of the competition.
"We have huge security in place. We all know what happened with the English fans in Charleroi (Belgium) in 2000 and I sincerely hope that I will not have to get involved in such a situation again. England is on a yellow card because of its fans, and I sincerely hope that will not become a red card but I think all concerned are better prepared than before. As far as other issues, we have the co-operation of all 16 governments of the competing teams. Everything is in place for a wonderful tournament and I sincerely hope this is what we get." [b]UEFA President Lennart Johansson.[/b]
[b]History of shame[/b]
[b]2003:[/b] 3 England fans shot, 2 stabbed in Zurich rampage before World Cup qualifier.
[b]2002:[/b] 2 England fans shot at Euro 2004 qualifier in Bratislava, Slovakia.
[b]2001:[/b] 20 English fans arrested in Frankfurt and Munich before World Cup qualifier.
[b]2000:[/b] 584 England fans arrested after riots in Brussels and Chaleroi during Euro 2000.
[b]2000:[/b] 19 fans hurt, five badly, 19 arrested in Copenhagen.
[b]1998:[/b] Almost 100 England fans arrested and deported before European Championship match in Luxembourg.
[b]1998:[/b] England fans rampage in Marseille, France.
[b]1996:[/b] Riot in Trafalgar Square after Germany beat England in Euro 96 semi-final.
[b]1995:[/b] Friendly against Ireland in Dublin abandoned after 27 minutes as England fans riot.
[b]1993:[/b] England fans clash with police in Amsterdam on eve of World Cup qualifying game.
[b]1992:[/b] Violence by English thugs in Malmo and Stockholm, Sweden, at European Championship finals.
|
|
|
| |
| Today is my birthday |
| 06.13.04 (4:15 pm) [edit] |
I turned 31 today. Or, more precisely, I turned 31 this morning at 3.02 am.
While I know I'm getting older, I still feel the same inside.
Happy Birthday, Mac!
|
|
|
| |
| EURO 2004: Predictions |
| 06.11.04 (1:10 am) [edit] |
[b]Group A:[/b] Portugal, Spain, Russia, Greece
[b]Group B:[/b] England, France, Croatia, Switzerland
[b]Group C: [/b]Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Bulgaria
[b]Group D:[/b] Germany, Holland, Latvia, Czech Republic
My predictions:
[b]Group A:[/b] Portugal and Spain.
Portugal and Spain – should qualify without much difficulty.
[b]Group B:[/b] England and France
Experience will give these 2 teams an edge over the others. England VS France will be a damn good match. France are understandably favourite but England have a habit of performing well against the big teams.
[b]Group C:[/b] Italy, Denmark
Italy have a pretty easy group and I’m rooting for Denmark.
[b]Group D:[/b] Germany, Czech Republic
This is the inevitably 'group of death'. Czech Republic look genuine candidate and make the 'possible list' with Germany.
Lemme know your predictions?
|
|
|
| |
| Kes Pembunuhan Norrita - Satu Kronologi |
| 06.10.04 (7:39 pm) [edit] |
Ada request yang meminta saya untuk menceritakan mengenai case Norrita Samsuddin. Maaf kerana bahasa saya mungkin tidak berapa baik. Saya hanya seorang mathematician. Untuk comment dari aspect undang-undang mungkin tidak berapa relevant kerana saya bukan dari legal background. Saya hanya ingin berkongsi pendapat mengenai case ini. Pada saya, case ini banyak speculations dan menarik minat saya selepas case Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pada tahun 1999. Juga menjadi topic paling [i]active[/i] di web forum dan message board i.e. forum cari.com, portal rojak.org, telatah.com, etc. Saya dapat lihat case Norrita Samsuddin juga menjadi issue di mass media dan menjadi headline di surat khabar hingga kan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Dr Abdullah Mohd Zain menegur supaya cerita cerita ini tidak menjadi bahan [i]gossip[/i] masyarakat. Sekretariat Pelajar Kewartawanan Muslim (SEPKOM), USM juga ada membuat saranan – perkara 5.
Perkara 5 - Pihak mahkamah isytiharkan bahawa setiap kes rogol dan yang seangkatan makna dengannya dibawa kepada mahkamah tertutup. Hal ini bermakna, kes-kes rogol melibatkan orang yang telah meninggal dunia dan yang masih hidup tidak diberikan liputan meluas. Kes-kes selain dari itu seperti kes bunuh, jenayah rasuah, rompakan dan lain-lain adalah di bawah mahkamah terbuka.
Persoalan nya, selepas 5 December 2003 kita baca surat khabar dengan headline [b]“Women murdered in luxury condo” [/b](NST, 5 Dec 2003), [b]"Model dirogol, dibunuh - Ditemui dalam keadaan bogel dengan leher dijerut, tangan, kaki diikat"[/b] (Utusan Malaysia, 5 Dec 2003) menimbulkan banyak speculations pada masyarakat. Ya, saya setuju... kita perlu hormat pada yang telah mati, tetapi adakah masyarakat tidak boleh membincangkan case ini? Banyak speculations, banyak soalan - mati di dalam keadaan naked? Age 22 tinggal di elite residential area, Puncak Prima Condominium, Taman Seri Hartamas?
Pada saya, tidak salah untuk kita membincangkan case ini tetapi mungkin mass media yang [i]over[/i] untuk mendapatkan public attention. Sebagai contoh, headline The Star pada 11 December 2003 [b]"Norrita was not only raped she was sodomised"[/b] (The Star, 11 December 2003). Menjadi issue apabila Malay Mail juga 'mempersoalkan' term yang digunakan.
[b]Malay Mail, 12 December 2003: The Norrita Samsudin Murder - What Sodomy?[/b]
Police have yet to receive the post-mortem report on murdered company executive Noritta Samsudin... Brickfields police deputy chief superintendent Mohd Kuzi Minai said he was unable to confirm or deny a report that Noritta was raped and sodomised by her killer in the incident between midnight and 4am.
"Even the police have yet to receive the post-mortem report. I do not know where they got the information from," said Mohd Kuzi, commenting on a report by The Star yesterday.
Tujuan saya menulis article ini bukan untuk menceritakan keburukan mangsa. Ada kawan kawan yang request kerana ada antara mereka yang tidak tahu cerita dari mula Norrita Samsuddin di temui mati pada 5 December 2003. Saya juga tidak akan memberi comment mengenai court proceeding yang sedang berjalan.
Norrita Samsuddin di temui mati di unit No. D71, Kondominum Puncak Prima Galleria, Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur oleh rakan serumahnya, Nor Azora Hamid pada pukul 4am Jumaat, 5 December 2003. Dia dipercayai dibunuh di antara pukul 12.30pm hingga 4am. Mayat nya di bawa ke rumah keluarga nya di Kampung Surau, Utan Aji, Perlis. Pada 7 December 2003, police menahan Nor Azora Hamid, 25 dan teman lelakinya Kenneth Michael Yap Teik Huat, 38 untuk membantu siasatan. Setakat 7 December, police hanya mengambil keterangan beberapa orang saksi termasuk pengawal keselamatan di Kondominium itu dan masih menunggu seorang anak Datuk dipercayai boleh membantu siasatan police.
[b]Berita Harian, 6 December 2003: Misteri anak Datuk[/b]
KUALA LUMPUR: Seorang anak Datuk dipercayai boleh membantu polis menyiasat kes rogol dan bunuh eksekutif pemasaran, Noritta Samsuddin, 22, yang mayatnya ditemui di Kondominium Puncak Prima Galleria, Sri Hartamas, di sini, awal pagi semalam. Lelaki berketurunan India Muslim itu dilihat keluar dari rumah sewa wanita itu oleh rakan mangsa yang kebetulan pulang ketika itu.
8 December 2004, broker pasaran mata wang (Forex), Shahfrul Azrin Azman, 32 ditangkap di Pejabat Amanah Butler Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Bangunan Amanah Capital, Jalan Raja Chula dan Lim Sin Kean, 36 ditangkap di Tivoli Villa, Kuala Lumpur. Hanif Basree Abdul Rahman, 36 di tahan semasa menyerah diri kepada police di Pejabat Jenayah Ibu Pejabat Polis Brickfields. Surat rahsia?
[b]Berita Harian, 8 December 2003: Rahsia Surat[/b]
KUALA LUMPUR: Surat ugutan bunuh yang dikatakan dihantar kepada Noritta Samsuddin, boleh menjadi petunjuk siapa bertanggungjawab membunuh gadis berusia 22 tahun itu. Surat itu antara bukti penting mengenai pembunuhan Noritta tetapi setakat ini tiada siapa yang tahu di mana surat berkenaan berada.
9 December, keterangan keluarga Norrita diambil. 2 lagi suspects Khairul Anuar Kamarudin, 22, dan Suhaimi Sanusi, 37 dan Mikko Kouko Johannes Jarva (warganegara Finland) ditangkap dan menjalani ujian DNA. 15 December 2003, [b]"Polis sifatkan kes Noritta selesai" [/b](Utusan Malaysia, 16 December 2003).
KUALA LUMPUR 15 Dis. - Polis menyifatkan kes pembunuhan peragawati sambilan, Noritta Samsudin, 22, telah selesai berikutan penangkapan lapan suspek termasuk dua yang dipercayai bertanggungjawab melakukan perbuatan kejam itu. Hasil ujian Asid Deoksiribonukliek (DNA) mendapati dua daripada suspek tersebut dipercayai mempunyai kaitan dengan pembunuhan itu.
Menurut sumber itu lagi, berdasarkan keputusan DNA tersebut, polis bagaimanapun masih keliru termasuk persoalan bagaimana mangsa dibunuh oleh dua lelaki pada masa yang sama.
"Keputusan DNA itu menyebabkan polis membuat beberapa andaian seperti sama ada kedua-dua suspek yang positif terlibat dalam pembunuhan tersebut atau hanya salah seorang yang mempunyai kaitan."
"Polis juga akan menyiasat kemungkinan mangsa telah mengadakan hubungan seks dengan suspek pertama terlebih dahulu sebelum suspek kedua datang ke rumah mangsa selepas itu," jelasnya.
16 December 2004, "[b]Kes Noritta: Suspek didakwa minggu ini" [/b](Utusan Malaysia, 17 December 2003)
KUALA LUMPUR 16 Dis. - Polis akan menghadapkan seorang suspek yang disyaki membunuh peragawati sambilan, Noritta Samsudin, 22, ke mahkamah minggu ini.
"Kita yakin suspek yang terbabit membunuh Noritta akan dituduh di mahkamah dalam minggu ini juga berdasarkan bukti-bukti yang ada termasuk keputusan Asid Deoksiribonukliek (DNA) yang telah diperoleh," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia hari ini.
Sementara itu, menurut satu sumber, laporan DNA yang diperoleh petang semalam menjadi bukti kukuh untuk polis menuduh salah seorang daripada lapan suspek yang disyaki bertanggungjawab dalam kes tersebut.
"Keputusan DNA menunjukkan ada dua lelaki melakukan hubungan seks dengan Noritta dan salah seorang daripada mereka adalah suspek yang ditahan."
"Seorang lagi lelaki yang melakukan hubungan seks dengan Noritta tidak jelas, kita kena tunggu bukti sokongan lain," jelasnya.
Sehingga 18 December 2003, Khairul Anuar Kamarudin, Suhaimi Sanusi, Mikko Kouko Johannes Jarva, Nor Azora Hamid dan Kenneth Michael Yap Yeik Huat dibebaskan. Pada 22 Decenber 2003, Hanif Basree Abdul Rahman di hadapkan ke Mahkamah Majistret atas tuduhan membunuh dan case dipindahkan ke Mahkamah Tinggi.
Case perbicaraan Hanif Basree bermula pada 5 May 2004 mengikut Seksyen 302 Kanun Keseksaan yang boleh membawa hukuman mati. Sehingga 8 June 2004, perbicaraan masuk hari ke 22 dan 31 orang saksi pendakwa telah memberi keterangan di hadapan Hakim Datuk Abdul Hamid Embong. Perbicaraan disambung Selasa minggu depan. Saya akan cuba update dan memberi comment di dalam weblog ini.
Personally, saya turut simpati kepada keluarga Norrita Samsuddin.
[b]Berita Harian, 25th May 2004: Bapa Mengangis di kebun[/b]
"Saya lebih suka membaca laporan akhbar mengenai kes Norrita di kebun saya kerana suasana di sana sunyi dan menyegarkan. "Yang penting, di situ saya boleh menangis sepuas-puasnya"
[b]Berita Harian, 30th May 2004: Luahan hati ibu bapa Norrita[/b]
"Noritta sudah tiada! Dia tidak akan bangun semula untuk mempertahankan dirinya. Yang tahu siapa pembunuhnya hanya Allah, Noritta dan pembunuhnya. Biarlah kebenaran ditentukan mahkamah. Janganlah mengada- adakan cerita." Begitulah rayuan ibu Noritta Samsuddin, Nurlaila Bahari, 46, yang berasa kecewa dan sedih terhadap laporan sebuah akhbar tabloid yang mendakwa arwah anaknya menjadi hantu kerana mayatnya tidak diterima bumi.
Ada yang mengambil kesempatan case ini i.e. gambar gambar di Internet, VCD Norrita, cerita hantu Norrita, etc.
[b]Berita Harian, 10th April 2004: VCD, SMS Norrita[/b]
ALOR STAR: Nama Norrita Samsuddin terus digunakan pihak tidak bertanggungjawab, termasuk sindiket video cakera padat (VCD) lucah untuk melariskan VCD lucah jualan mereka. Sindiket berkenaan mendakwa kononnya VCD itu dirakam di kondominium yang disewa Noritta di Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur beberapa hari sebelum pembunuhannya sekali gus menaikkan harga jualan VCD berkenaan.
|
|
|
| |
| Again Petrol Prices? |
| 06.09.04 (10:27 pm) [edit] |
Another one? Today, I got 3 nearly identical e-mails `bout [b]‘Philip Hollsworth - how to bring down petrol price’[/b] in my inbox.
[b]Sent:[/b] Wednesday, June 09, 2004 4:33 PM
[b]Subject:[/b] how to bring down petrol price?
Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action starting NOW. Philip Hollsworth offers an idea that makes more sense than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign started last April or May (2001). The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, take a close look at this plan. It can work. Please read it and join us.
By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. It is currently $1.97 for regular unleaded in my town in California.
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50-$1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS have a say in the marketplace.
The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing THEIR gas! And there's a way that we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How?
Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war. Here's the idea: For the rest of THIS YEAR . . . DO NOT purchase ANY gasoline from the biggest companies (which now are one), BP and/or EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow.
But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of BP/Exxon/Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do. Now, don't wimp out on me at this point. Keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people.
I'll bet you didn't think we had that much power, did you? Acting together, we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.
PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK. YOU KNOW THE OIL COMPANIES LOVE HOLIDAYS AND SUMMER TRAVELERS. Remember: Avoid BP or Exxon or Mobil. Go across the street -- anywhere else!
To send this, forward it or copy and paste the message into a fresh e-mail screen. I am sending this note to 30 people (16 today and at least 14 tomorrow). If each of you, my 30, will send it to just TEN more (30 x 10 = 300) and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300x10 = 3,000) -- and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million see the possibilities and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted.
If it goes only one level further, you guessed it -- THREE HUNDRED MILLION.
Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million in this manner, please, just send this to 10 people anyway. It will work whether you understand it or not. Just do it!
How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!
I haven't had time to think about this too carefully or check if BP is better targeted than any other oil company... but this arrived in my inbox jus` now and at first glance it seems like the protest cannot hope to achieve its goal and at worst it could damage a reputable British company.
I still remember that the former Finance Minister Tun Daim Zainuddin said that increase in petrol prices would not cause a chain reaction of price increases for other goods. He was also quoted as saying something like...
" ...jus’ because petrol prices go up by 10 sen does not mean that everything will go up by 10 sen... the people cannot just assume this."
Tun Daim was right to say that not everything will go up by 10 sen as not every item of goods will go up and also the rate of increase may not be 10 sen per unit of consumption. He should know that many things will go up and the actual increases to be borne by consumers will not be just 10 sen. The hike in petrol prices will certainly cause a chain reaction as not only motorists will be affected, the transport industry will be burdened and it is to be expected that such burden will be passed to the consumers.
Today Petrol Price in Sydney:
Shell 98.3
BP: 97.2
|
|
|
| |
| Reality TV Big Brother |
| 06.09.04 (10:34 am) [edit] |
What am I doing! It is 2 am in the morning and I am sitting in front of the television watching the Australian version of [b]Big Brother [/b]uplate update. So what is the attraction of Big Brother? Here's the deal... 14 strangers living together for 3 months in a purpose built house outfitted with 25 cameras and 32 microphones that record their every move, 24 hours a day. One by one, the housemates evict each other, in the hopes of being the last remaining housemate and the winner of AU$1 million!
To be fair, though, as much as I hate the current musical reality TV shows i.e. American Idol, Austalian Idol and the like, or Malaysian version of Akademi Fantasia... I wonder who comes up with that crap. Back to Big Brother... read the article below about the suspension of the Arab version of Big Brother. Even with modifications including prayer rooms, a separate women's room and barring men and women from each other's sleeping quarters (first time ever for Big Brother) it was still too controversial.
[b]The Arabic satellite TV channel MBC has suspended its version of the reality TV show, Big Brother.[/b]
BBC News, 1 March, 2004
The series, which began on 22 February, caused a public outcry in Bahrain where it was being filmed. On Friday 1,000 people protested against the show and a group of Bahraini MPs threatened to question the information minister on the issue. A spokeswoman for the station told BBC News Online that the show was unlikely to be put back on air.
"We don't want to be the cause of differences of opinion, so MBC decided to suspend production of the programme Big Brother from the kingdom of Bahrain," said an MBC statement. It added that the decision had been made "so as not to expose the network to any accusations that it is offending the virtues and traditions of the Arab world".
Following Friday's demonstration, several Bahraini women's groups protested against the show outside the information ministry on Saturday.
"I have watched the show and it must be stopped," said 34-year-old teacher Shahnaz Rabi'i, who helped organise the demonstration.
"Our religion has strong values which say boys and girls should not mix together," said Ms Rabi'i.
"This programme is a threat to Islam. This is entertainment for animals."
The Arab version of Big Brother, which has been renamed Al-Ra'is (The Boss) in Arabic, put 12 housemates - six men and six women - from around the Arab world in a purpose-built house on Amwaj Island in Bahrain.
GLOBAL REACH Europe: Netherlands, UK, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Hungary Americas: US, Brazil and Argentina Asia-Pacific: Australia Africa: South Africa Middle East: Bahrain
For the first time since the show's inception, men and women were barred from each other's sleeping quarters. There was also a prayer room, a separate women's lounge and a mixed-sex communal area. But these modifications to reflect Arabic customs did not go far enough for some protesters.
"It is normal for males and females to mix, but not to put them together in the same house for a long time," said 21-year-old student Maryam al-Sayrafi.
The crapness of Big Brother and other reality TV shows... and don't even come near me about Joe Millionaire, Last Resort, The Bachelor or any of those relationship shows. I think it was fake and people got paid to act. Well I agree, I mean the only reasons that they made reality TV is so the television companies could get money... they don't have to pay any big name actors... and no writers!
Well guys, I'm an avid Fear Factor fan - to me it's the first and only. The rest all suck. I actually don't see Fear Factor as reality TV. For me, Fear Factor is really a game show.
|
|
|
| |
| Norrita Murder Trial - Not even one fingerprint found |
| 06.09.04 (4:37 am) [edit] |
Lans Corporal Samsudin, a police detective (who was recalled to stand yesterday), said that he dusted for fingerprints on the front door of the condo unit, the door to the bedroom, the bedroom, a stand fan and an iron, but could not lift a single fingerprint! And he did not do fingerprint dusting on other stuffs - wastepaper basket, plug and wire. etc... Does it make sense that not even one fingerprint found in the bedroom?
C’mom... we all watch CSI and I think Malaysian police ought to be doing similar things. They should try to find evidence! Well, I thought of something... remember the [b]Black Diary [/b]- the main evidence. Where is it now?
|
|
|
| |
| Kick-off |
| 06.09.04 (1:23 am) [edit] |
I’ve never been able to keep a journal. Over the years I’ve tried, really I have… and I always fail miserable even when I give myself a specific task – keep an online journal. Today, I decided to make a blog so that everyone that wants to... can hear me bitch. I'm so courteous.
So, what’s weblog? A webblog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is ‘blogging’ and someone who keeps a blog is a ‘blogger’ (I am a blogger). Lemme tell you a bit of weblog history.
In the early days of the Internet, each new page was a cause for celebration. The early pioneers watched in excitement as the network grew, and they wanted to keep people informed about this growth. In 1992, Internet pioneer Tim Berners-Lee created the first What’s New page... later Marc Andreesen, put up a similar page. Then, more and more people began publishing their own What’s New page on the internet.
This rapid growth continued steadily until July 1999 when Pitas, the first free build-your-own-weblog tool launched, and suddenly there were hundreds – diaryland.com, bloggers.com, tblog.com to name a few. These hosted services allowed any person to easily sign up, create a blog, and write numerous postings. Since then, millions of weblogs have been created. The term is now pronounced web-log or we-blog, or shorted to blog. And these blogs evolved into personal diaries or journals.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
