Ad Hominem

How strange people are.

A long time ago, in another lifetime, a decision was made to come and live here in Malaysia. Many of my friends, family and colleagues said that I should remain where I was. This would be the best choice, they suggested.
At length the comment, "If I were you," occurred.
But that is the whole point. You are not me.
You are giving me advice based on what you want, on what you need, on what you expect from life - not me.

People are wrapped up in themselves but, in some point of boredom, they will wish to run your life for you.
No doubt much of this proffered advice is well meant, it is entirely possible that some of this advice is worth listening to especially if you are in trouble and incapable of coherent thought.
A lot of it will be useless perhaps, even, contemptible.

There have been a couple of occasions in which this effect has been promoted in the media and on social networking sites just recently.
Let us look at a couple.

There is a young lady in her early thirties who is extremely attractive. She is young and vivacious, anxious to continue with a life that contains love, affection, good times.
In addressing this she has taken up with, and married, a young man who is a 'Worship Pastor' (whatever that might be) who is undoubtedly a fine fellow that has given the young lady the happiness that she needs.
Sadly, her husband died two years previously in a car accident. They had two children together after a marriage of some four years. A terrible blow to her and her hopes for a happy, contented life. Marrying this Worship Pastor was her attempt to regain that satisfaction and lifestyle that she wanted in her life.
Plaudits to her.
Not everyone would have chosen that route but choose it she did. It is her and this new young man's lives that are important here. Nobody else's life comes into this frame. Does it?
Oh! So many people have jumped up and hurled abuse at her for marrying another man after only two years have passed since her first husband's death. Clearly, they say, she did not love her first husband. Clearly, they appeal to us, she is a loose woman with no moral values.
How can they say that? What evidence do they have to suggest that this is true? Of what value is their opinion to anyone else?
Primarily, what right do they have to sit in judgement on this girl and her life?
How has this young lady affected their life?
Should we not be happy for her? She has overcome a dreadful trauma in order to accept another man whom she trusts to take care of her and her children with love.
We should, right now, be getting a warm feeling in our hearts and a little dampness around the eyes.

Just in case that wasn't enough for you what about a model who has been castigated by public opinion for having hairy legs?
No? Disbelief, is it?
Well, let me inform you that a Swedish model and artist is starring in a new campaign for 'Adidas Originals' wearing a short skirt and exposing her shapely legs. Hairy legs.
Words were flung at her. Words like:
'Disgusting'
'F***ing gross'
'Bloody ugly'
'Feminazi'
Afte all the hateful comments which, as we all know, are only too common on social media - especially from those with limited cerebral ability, came the rape threats. Rape? Really? Unbelievable.
All because of a little body hair with which she was comfortable, Adidas was obviously comfortable, the photographer was comfortable and the marketing people were comfortable.
What was the point in those dreadful comments?
Probably to make themselves, the haters, feel better.
The young lady did say that she also has received a lot of support from people. People with more intelligent views of the World who praised her for her confidence and not 'conforming to the standards set by society'.

Nice Shoes, Adidas

On the other hand, a young lady in Australia, from Sydney, took a quick dip in a rock pool at a place called Cronulla. Pleasant enough, you may think.
Then she noticed a shark, a reasonably large specimen, sharing the rock pool with her.
Answer?
Pick it up "like a baby" and fling it over the rocks into the ocean beyond.
You can't make this stuff up!

Where are all the haters? What about the damage she could have inflicted on that poor defenceless shark? Why did she have to disturb it? Why could she have not left it in the rock pool and got out herself? There is no evidence that the shark was in any danger or, even, suffering in any way. There is no evidence that it posed a danger to her.

It seems that being happy and getting married is a bad thing as is a woman having hairy legs but flinging large shark around is acceptable.

Why the title 'ad hominem'? Because these haters are attacking the person. They are not presenting reasonable arguments to support their views, ideas or opinions.
Why?
Because they have no reasonable ideas, views or opinions of their own so they attack the person - that is what is called an 'ad hominem' argument.
It is spiteful, it is demeaning for both parties and it is unnecessary.

You will see it all the time on social media. It is depressing.

World Bank View of Malaysia - The Angles

Fascinating, isn't it, how the media present their verbal images to the people? This, for example, is how the 'Malaysian Insider' told us about the 'World Bank Report'"


"THE latest World Bank report shows that Malaysia’s economy is growing weaker.

Out of the 15 Asian economies analysed in the report, Malaysia and a few others are the only ones expected to worsen.

The World Bank forecasts that under current conditions, in 2018, Malaysia’s growth rate will lower to 5% and in 2019, decrease further to 4.8%.

There are less than three months to go until 2018.

As the new World Bank report describes Malaysia’s economy: “The main risks to growth arise from the policy uncertainty in the major economies, geopolitical developments and commodity price volatility.”

While most Asian economies are rising, Malaysia’s is in decline, because it has not adapted to both global and domestic economic conditions.

The report also singled out Malaysia as one of only two Asian economies where household debt “exceeds 70% of GDP”. Many economists have concluded that Malaysia’s debt bubble is about to explode.

As others have correctly noted, the gross domestic product numbers and global economic rankings with which Najib is obsessed haven’t benefited Malaysians.

As the World Bank country manager for Malaysia Farid Hadad-Zervos recently warned: “This is the fundamental question: what does GDP really mean in the daily life of Malaysians?”

During his failed US visit, Najib said Malaysia’s 5.2% growth is “the envy of advanced economies”. To which everyone should immediately respond: “Iraq had 11% growth, Bangladesh had 7.1% growth and Ethiopia had 7.6% growth last year – should they be the envy of the advanced economies, too?”

Instead, Malaysia is falling behind its Asian neighbours.

As Bloomberg reported last month, Indonesians and Thais are the world’s top 10 populations where the highest numbers of millionaires are being created, increasing by 13.7% and 12.7% respectively.

Unlike its Asian neighbours, Malaysia still has not entered either the G20 or the trillion-dollar GDP club (Barisan Nasional’s latest target is a trillion ringgit).

According to the United Nations, today the Malaysian youth unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 12.1% and rising – approximately quadruple the national unemployment rate. A recent Bank Negara survey showed that three out of four Malaysians find it difficult to raise even RM1,000 in an emergency.

Najib is notorious for falsifying economic data in his speeches, selectively quoting reports, omitting bad economic news, and twisting the complete economic portrait of Malaysia, because he is politically unstable.

In the recent best-seller The Rise and Fall of Nations, the author describes a particularly hilarious but disturbing story about Najib’s inability to understand the Malaysian economy:

“On a visit to New York in October 2015, one of my colleagues asked (Najib) whether the collapse of the value of the ringgit is offering any boost to the nation’s embattled manufacturing sector. He answered by missing the point, saying the cheap ringgit is great for tourism, which can be an important contributor to growth in a country as large as Malaysia. Pressed on the manufacturing question, Najib seemed at a loss. An aide in the back of the room pitched in to help, but spoke about investing in oil and other raw materials. The crowd left with the impression that Malaysia is missing an opportunity, because the cheap currency coupled with the right reforms could supercharge Malaysian manufacturing.”

All Malaysians should read the new World Bank report to draw their own conclusions about whether Barisan Nasional is missing additional opportunities for growth – or whether it’s more focused on protecting the elite few. – October 9, 2017."


The actual World Bank Report (overview) said this:

"From an economy dominated by the production of raw natural resource materials, such as tin and rubber, even as recently as the 1970s, Malaysia today has a diversified economy and has become a leading exporter of electrical appliances, electronic parts and components and natural gas. After the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, Malaysia continued to post solid growth rates, averaging 5.5 percent per year from 2000-2008. Malaysia was hit by the Global Financial Crisis in 2009 but recovered rapidly, posting growth rates averaging 5.7 percent since 2010.

Less than 1 percent of Malaysian households live in extreme poverty, and the government’s focus has shifted toward addressing the well-being of the poorest 40 percent of the population (“the bottom 40”). This low-income group remains particularly vulnerable to economic shocks as well as increases in the cost of living and mounting financial obligations. Income inequality in Malaysia remains high relative to other East Asian countries, but is gradually declining. For example, from 2009 to 2014 the real average household incomes of the bottom 40 grew at 11.9 percent per year, compared to 7.9 percent for the total population of Malaysia, thus narrowing income disparities. Following the removal of broad-based subsidies, the government has gradually moved toward more targeted measures to support the poor and vulnerable, mainly in the form of cash transfers to low-income households.

Malaysia’s near-term economic outlook remains favorable, reflecting a well-diversified and open economy that has successfully weathered the impact of external shocks. Domestic demand is expected to continue to anchor economic growth, supported by continued income growth and a stable labor market, while an improving external environment would contribute positively to demand for Malaysia’s tradable goods and services. Accelerating structural reforms to enhance public sector performance and boost the productivity of public spending will be vital to sustain robust growth in a challenging external environment.

While significant, Malaysia’s productivity growth over the past 25 years has been below those in several global and regional comparators. As factor accumulation is expected to slow, accelerating productivity growth is the main path for Malaysia to achieve convergence with high-income economies. Accelerated implementation of productivity-enhancing reforms to increase the quality of human capital and create more competition in the economy will be key for Malaysia to secure a lasting place among the ranks of high-income economies."

Spot the difference, did you? It is almost a new story. One wonder how they justify this other than for purely political motives.

I am not a great lover, much less supporter, of corrupt regimes like Zimbabwe and South Africa but there is still a duty of care, a moral repsonsibility, for reporters and the media to tell the truth.

I have said this before in a previous 'Blog' but it rears its ugly head up once again. We all denounce Trump for his infamous attack on 'Fake News' and we applaud the media for defending themselves but, in reality, who is right?

No doubt that Trump is in need of psychiatric help but can he be wrong all the time?

I fear that calling on the media to present the truth is a long shot but we can always hope and, in the meantime, ignore much of what they say.

Fat or Fit?

Many years ago I worked with a Warrant Officer in Germany who was a shade... er... portly. Nice guy, very gentlemanly, almost old-fashioned you might say now.

At some point he decided that he would visit the Medical Officer for advice.
On returning to the Squadron he told me that he had asked the MO how to lose weight and get fit. The MO's response was, "Which do you want, Mike? You want to lose weight or get fit?"
Mike was puzzled, "Are they not one and the same thing?"
The MO laughed and said, "They are completely different. There are Rugby players out there who are fat but fit as fleas. There are also thin guys who are extremely unfit. Choose."

There is, on 'Facebook', a dear soul who has a myriad children and yet is superbly fit. Up until a short time ago, when an operation stopped her, she was also doing these 'Spartan' competitions and running through mud and stuff.
Now she is working hard to get herself back to supreme fitness in a pre-operation condition.
Stirling lady.

Another person on 'Facebook' is of similar ilk but, instead of doing physical competitions involving ropes, nets, sundry obstacles and mud, works strenuously hard to appear in competitions of a rather more glamorous nature. She is slim, shapely and stunning. She also has children.

Where do these people get the time?
There is, obviously, the same number of hours in each day for them as there is for everyone else and yet...

I am in awe of these souls.

I am in awe especially now when I have decided, at long last, to lose weight.
You might say, and quite rightly so, too, that at my age it is all a bit pointless. The probability is that I have little time remaining to me so why not continue in my current lifestyle and enjoy myself?

In 1970 I stopped drinking alcohol. Did I feel better for it? Was my wallet fatter as a result? Neither of these things was obvious.
I received a lot of abuse for not drinking. Comments like, "Do you make your own dresses?" were commonplace especially in the Sergeant's Mess where you were expected to drink yourself into a stupor frequently.
Apparently only real men drink.

In 1997 my youngest son, he was four, asked me to stop smoking. He said that he did not want me to die. A commendable suggestion that enticed me into screwing up my cigarette packet and hurling it into the bin with the oath, "No more!"
I have not smoked since.
Do I feel better for it? Is my wallet fatter? No. Neither of these things were apparent.
Am I fatter? Oh, yes!

The other morning I entered the bathroom and then, as one does, removed my clothing. Not a pretty sight, you might agree. My wife is made of strong stuff!
Looking in the mirror it dawned on me that, many years ago, I had a six-pack. Now I have a layer of fat that obscures it.
I worked out that I am carrying about twenty-five two pound bags of sugar around with me and tried to imagine holding that much sugar in my ams and then going up the stairs.

As a result of that I have started a diet. There are many diets out there and some are, undoubtedly, better than others.
The one I have selected is to go without potatoes (including chips!), bread, rice and to have all my meat and fish grilled, baked, roasted or steamed.
Some people have given me various advice - including moderation, but my mind is made up. This is how it will be initially. Perhaps, later, it may be modified, perhaps not. We shall see.

Getting fitter?
I already have the biggest keyboard I can find.