A Song For Gaza by Michael Heart

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)
(Composed by Michael Heart)
Copyright 2009

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive

They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Lecturers All Stars vs The Rest of the World

Pada satu hari Ahad yang panas terik, satu pasukan bola futsal bergelar "Lecturers All Stars" turun padang menyertai pertandingan Futsal Remaja Kebangsaan Quest 2009. Lecturers All Stars dibintangi oleh beberapa pemain berbisa Hanzler, Jessie, Khulio, Ajey, Shakey, McDee (bukan nama-nama sebenar) and one import Irish counterpart Ayah SiHakim telah berhempas pulas perut, peha dan sebagainya mengejutkan pihak lawan dengan aksi-aksi yg menarik memukau penonton seramai 13 juta orang. Dengan berbekalkan pengalaman yang ada team the Stars memang sukar ditandingi dari segi gaya dan gebang mereka. Namun apakan daya team all stars berjaya mengekalkan rekod tanpa menang sepanjang permainan. Walaupun team allstars merasakan mereka disabotaj dari segi masa perlawanan dan juga sogokan meehun berminyak bertujuan melemahkan kuasa fizikal yg sepatutnya mantap tetap merasakan pengalaman ini sungguh berbaloi. Dengan berakhirnya perlawanan Team AllStars berasa bangga yang amat kerana dapat meletakkan tahap kecerdasan mereka sama taraf dengan tahap kecerdasan remaja kebangsaan Quest terutamanya apabila dalam game 2nd last team allstars seri 1-1 dengan alumni quest yang dibintangi oleh pemain kononnya berbisa seperti Amirulbalingkedah. Kesudahan perlawanan team allstars kalah 4 kali dan seri 1 kali. Rekod ini sememangnya membanggakan.

Dalam 5 perlawanan sengit Lecturers AllStars bertembung dengan pasukan pasukan yang mantap dari seluruh pelusuk dunia. Namun tentangan sengit tetap diberikan walaupun bergelar pasukan 'underdog'. Pasukan musuh kadang-kadang terpaku dengan aksi hebat pemain allstars.

Penyerang allstars Jessie berjaya memikat hati penonton dengan aksi kungfu kick angin yg sememangnya berniat untuk merembat bola dengan deras tetapi malangnya tidak kena pula. Jessie terpusing kepeningan bingung dengan apa yang terjadi.

Gaya si Shakey apa kurangnya apabila beliau menunjukkan skill skill yg bermutu tinggi 'out of this world' dengan menyepak atau tersepak kaki kaki penyerang musuh. Nasib baik beliau tidak memakai senjata rahsia beliau iaitu boot askar yang dipakainya tahun lalu.

Hanzler seorang lagi penyerang berbisa all stars memaparkan larian larian yang dalam hati beliau terasa laju sungguh namun jika diperhatikan diluar gelanggang seperti kura kura berlari dengan slow motionnya. Rembatan beliau yang kencang ternyata tidak dapat diselamatkan oleh keeper keeper pihak musuh oleh kerana kelajuan rembatannya yang amat dashat sekali tetapi apakan daya, selalunya tersasar dari target.

Khulio, pula menggunakan kuasa aura jeritan ala remaja wanita mengelirukan pihak musuh yg sememangnya keliru. Aksi climax khulio ternyata berkesan apabila beliau menggunakan kuasa terbang tergolek bak gajah jatuh terguling dan tidak bangun bangun lagi.

Ajey the old timer ternyata sukar ditandingi. Aksi gaya 'fast feet' beliau memukau musuh dan agak mengelirukan. Kaki beliau bergerak pantas bak pantasnya kilat tapi bola tak juga bergerak kerana sepakan beliau jarang mengena sebenarnya. Namun kehadiran beliau sebagai 'old timer' dlm skuad 5 bintang ini memberi makna yang cukup besar dan memotivasikan pemain-pemain allstars yang lain.

Ayah sihakim 'The Irish Guy' dengan status import paling murah dibeli oleh kelab ini berjaya menunjukkan prestasi cemerlang dengan beraksi dlm pelbagai position. Ternyata cubaan beliau sebagai goalie tidaklah menjadi seperti yang diharapkan. Byk butir gol juga terlepas begitu sahaja. Apabila di temuramah oleh pihak media alasan yang diberikan ialah beliau tidak dapat menyesuaikan diri dgn cuaca malaysia yang agak panas berbanding dengan Irish weather yg sememangnya nyaman dan sejuk.

McDee, kali ini pula agak mengecewakan kerana beliau sedang bergelut dengan masalah disiplin. McDee tiba lewat ke tempat perlawanan. Khabarnya beliau tertinggal flight dari London dan terpaksa berkejar ke tempat kejadian dengan menaiki submarine. McDee menyerlah dalam perlawanan pertama beliau dengan beberapa 'save' yang mengancam serta terbangan terbangan yang tak sepatutnya dilakukan kerana bola sudah out pun sebenarnya. Mungkin kerana dia pentingkan kualiti gaya dari segalanya.

Setelah berakhirnya 5 perlawanan Team Allstars terpaksa akur. Mereka gagal ke peringkat seterusnya. Walaubagaimana pun team ini akan muncul lagi diperlawanan peringkat antarabangsa. Menurut sumber-sumber yang boleh dipercayai. Lecturers All Stars akan mengorak langkah membeli jersi baru sebagai persiapan menghadapi perlawanan diperingkat Asia nanti. Kepulangan team Lecturers All Stars amatlah dinantikan oleh peminat-peminat sukan bola sepak tanahair. Tunggu sahaja perkembangan terbaru mereka.

Interesting Article No. 1

I saw the article in malay version by Zaini Hassan (Utusan Malaysia, Wednesday, 14th January 2009). I decided to keep this piece of brilliant writing forever as reminder. With that I managed to track the original source from www.masada2000.org/Powerful-Jews.html written by Dr. Farrukh Saleem an Islamabad-based freelance columnist. Interesting and therefore I quote :

WHY ARE JEWS SO POWERFUL?
There are only 14 million Jews in the world; seven million in the Americas , five million in Asia, two million in Europe and 100,000 in Africa . For every single Jew in the world there are 100 Muslims. Yet, Jews are more than a hundred times more powerful than all the Muslims put together. Ever wondered why?
Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish. Albert Einstein, the most influential scientist of all time and TIME magazine's 'Person of the Century', was a Jew. Sigmund Freud -- id, ego, superego -- the father of psychoanalysis was a Jew. So were Paul Samuelson and Milton Friedman.
Here are a few other Jews whose intellectual output has enriched the whole humanity: Benjamin Rubin gave humanity the vaccinating needle. Jonas Salk developed the first polio vaccine. Alert Sabin developed the improved live polio vaccine. Gertrude Elion gave us a leukaemia fighting drug. Baruch Blumberg developed the vaccination for Hepatitis B. Paul Ehrlich discovered a treatment for syphilis (a sexually transmitted disease). Elie Metchnikoff won a Nobel Prize in infectious diseases.
Bernard Katz won a Nobel Prize in neuromuscular transmission. Andrew Schally won a Nobel in endocrinology (disorders of the endocrine system; diabetes, hyperthyroidism). Aaron Beck founded Cognitive Therapy (psychotherapy to treat mental disorders, depression and phobias). Gregory Pincus developed the first oral contraceptive pill. George Wald won a Nobel for furthering our understanding of the human eye. Stanley Cohen won a Nobel in embryology (study of embryos and their development). Willem Kolff came up with the kidney dialysis machine.
Over the past 105 years, 14 million Jews have won 15-dozen Nobel Prizes while only three Nobel Prizes have been won by 1.4 billion Muslims (other than Peace Prizes).
Why are Jews so powerful? Stanley Mezor invented the first micro-processing chip. Leo Szilard developed the first nuclear chain reactor. Peter Schultz, optical fibre cable; Charles Adler, traffic lights; Benno Strauss, Stainless steel; Isador Kisee, sound movies; Emile Berliner, telephone microphone and Charles Ginsburg, videotape recorder.
Famous financiers in the business world who belong to Jewish faith include Ralph Lauren (Polo), Levis Strauss (Levi's Jeans), Howard Schultz (Starbuck's), Sergey Brin (Google), Michael Dell (Dell Computers), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Donna Karan (DKNY), Irv Robbins (Baskins & Robbins) and Bill Rosenberg (Dunkin Donuts).
Richard Levin, President of Yale University, is a Jew. So are Henry Kissinger (American secretary of state), Alan Greenspan (fed chairman under Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush), Joseph Lieberman, Maxim Litvinov (USSR foreign Minister), David Marshal (Singapore's first chief minister), Issac Isaacs (governor-general of Australia), Benjamin Disraeli (British statesman and author), Yevgeny Primakov (Russian PM), Barry Gold water, Jorge Sampaio (president of Portugal), John Deutsch (CIA director), Herb Gray (Canadian deputy PM), Pierre Mendes (French PM), Michael Howard (British home secretary) and Robert Rubin (American secretary of treasury).
In the media, famous Jews include Wolf Blitzer ( CNN ), Barbara Walters (ABC News), Eugene Meyer ( Washington Post ), Henry Grunwald (editor-in-chief Time), Katherine Graham (publisher of The Washington Post ), Joseph Lelyyeld (Executive editor, The New York Times), and Max Frankel (New York Times).
At the Olympics, Mark Spitz set a record of sorts by wining seven gold medals. Lenny Krayzelburg is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Spitz, Krayzelburg and Boris Becker are all Jewish.
Did you know that Harrison Ford, George Burns, Tony Curtis, Charles Bronson, Sandra Bullock, Billy Crystal, Paul Newman, Peter Sellers, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Ben Kingsley, Kirk Douglas, Cary Grant, William Shatner, Jerry Lewis and Peter Falk are all Jewish? As a matter of fact, Hollywood itself was founded by a Jew. Among directors and producers, Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Oliver Stone, Aaron Spelling (Beverly Hills 90210), Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), Andrew Vaina (Rambo 1/2/3), Michael Man (Starsky and Hutch), Milos Forman (One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest), Douglas Fairbanks (The thief of Baghdad) and Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) are all Jewish.
To be certain, Washington is the capital that matters and in Washington the lobby that matters is The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Washington knows that if PM Ehud Olmert were to discover that the earth is flat, AIPAC will make the 109th Congress pass a resolution congratulating Olmert on his discovery.
William James Sidis, with an IQ of 250-300, is the brightest human who ever existed. Guess what faith did he belong to?
So, why are Jews so powerful? Answer: Education.

For the malay version by Zaini Hassan, here is the link http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0114&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_06.htm

Goodbye 2008, Welcome 2009!

It has been 2 days. What's new? It seems so similar. Life runs as usual. Nothing new i suppose. Only promises, hopes and expectations of whats coming ahead i guess. You never know what lies infront. The only thing we can do now is look back and move forward. For that nothing is real in this world. Everything is not certain. The year 2008 has given us great lessons and indications of how life could be and will be for the coming years. Same old story. People come and go, life has its beginnings and ending. The purpose of life has never changed and will never change. Only that we human tend to forget.

'Man's life is brief. If one compares man to the vast universe in which he lives, he only figures as drifiting lonely speck whose span of life is a mere infinitesimal fraction in eternity'.

What we need is a perfect and universal exemplar who could place in our hands a guide to the practical life, so that we human may reach our destination safely. This exemplar did come to the world in person. Our prophet Muhammad, on whom be peace and blessings of Allah.

Lets us remind ourself as the past is gone forever and today is all that we have. Happy new year! Cheers.