Shed a Tear

Here's one of my old favorites that never ceases to make me think back in time and recall wonderful moments and people ...


... Memorable occasions with our many past highly respected and dedicated competent Christian principals(Some of them were Reverend Father Brian Taylor of Oxford, London whom my immediate family members would never forget for many reasons, Mr. Nigel Heyward of Tasmania, Australia whom many Columbans loved and Miss Leonie Kathreen Armour of Melbourne, Australia who was my principal for six years and was much loved as well). Our assemblies in our Mission school, Saint Columba's School --one of the top schools in academic (Senior Cambridge School Exams) and extra-curricular activities!) always began with the respectful rendition of the national anthem, 'Negara Ku", followed by the lusty singing of our school song-Between the hillside and the sea/We work and play here in harmony/May steadfast service and loyalty/Bring wider vision of unity ...

Throughout the years in our assemblies, we had announcements and Christian sermons, ending with the unforgettable "Lord Dismiss Us". The first two stanzas were sung when school reopened and the last two stanzas were solemnly sung by us before we went back to our classrooms. Here is the song. Yes, I can shed a tear listening to the meaningful hymn ... and remembering many old Columban classmates and buddies I have lost along the way ...

Jamail Ali, Musa Talip, Lai Hii Man, Lai Teck Soon, Liew Joon Chiang, Austin Lim, Anne Yapp, Nancy Yapp, Jackson Brooke, Pui Chin Chiat, Jamilah Piee, Zaiton Davidson, Stanley Liew, Charles Fam, Alan Ku, Albert Yapp, Chong Yuk Min and others including a warm Malay girl whose name I can't recall right now-will add in later ... (Update: Hasnah Hisham) ... I know all of you are up there smiling down on us ...

Here's Deborah Capes!

If any of you were in St. Columba's Primary School back in the late 60s, you'll remember my closest English buddy, Simon Capes.

Here's a pic of his memorable sister who was about two years younger than him. Some of you would have been classmates with her, I'm sure.

She was in Miri visiting old familiar places and her family--she's now happily married to an ex-Sri Lankan ruby star--spent some wonderful time with us.

What a marvelous warm caring woman she is! My kid really loved her and she's holding him in the pic.

Several years later, her brother Simon, actually, Captain Simon Capes, formerly with the Royal Navy, stayed with us for about two weeks. Next time I'll share pics of those thrilling two weeks in Miri and you will be amazed with how much the once young handsome English boy has changed!

If any of you wish to contact any of them, do let me know and I'll provide the addresses in London and Sri Lanka, with their permission first, of course.

The Death Pest-carrying Horseman

So after watching/experiencing thrilling/horrifying/shocking events like the fall of the Berlin Wall, communism, break-up of the Soviet Union, the tsunami, urban warfare-World Trade Towers and Pentagon bombings, London, Madrid and Bali bombings, sarin and anthrax attacks, suicidal bombing of various ages and sex, Hurricane Katrina flooding in Alabama, global warming, dramatic political changes in ruling governments ... We have a pandemic that's scaring a hell lot of the world!!!

Is this another accurate fulfilment of the Holy Bible prophecy in the Book of Revelations that warns of wars, famines, pestilence, etc... as we live in the end of days?

Here's the latest in London's Daily Mail today.

Teen is swine flu's first victim in London as ministers warn 40 a day could die by end of summer

By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 1:28 AM on 04th July 2009

• Comments (139)
• Add to My Stories

A teenager became the fourth Briton to die from swine flu, doctors said yesterday.

The 19-year-old from London tested positive for the virus after he died on Wednesday.

Like the UK's other three swine flu victims, he was suffering from 'underlying health problems'.

The death came as the Chief Medical Officer warned against buying potentially dangerous counterfeit flu drugs over the internet.

Health experts say some of the medications on sale are useless - while others are danergous - laced with rat poison and other toxic chemicals.

Warning: Health Secretary Andy Burnham issues the swine flu predictions in the Commons earlier this week where he warned that as many as 40 people a day could die from the disease

Yesterday there were more than 7,400 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK. If the number of cases continues to grow at the current pace, the UK could have 100,000 new cases every day by the end of August.

So far, most swine flu patients have suffered only mild symptoms. However, they are still be urged to stay away from GP surgeries or hospitals if they suspect they have the flu.

The latest victim lived in South London. His details were yesterday being withheld on the request of his family.

It was reported that the teenager had learning difficulties and was very ill with a rare longterm condition which left him with serious chest infections.

Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for NHS London, said the capital has seen a spike in flu cases in the past week. It is now the second-worst affected area after the West Midlands with more than 1,900 cases.

Tragic: Sameerah Ahmad, who died on Friday, is one of three killed in the UK by swine flu

'It's with sadness that we have to announce the death of a patient in London who has subsequently tested positive for H1N1 swine flu,' he said.

Everyone had a responsibility to protect those who were vulnerable from the virus, he said.

'There are people out there in the community - precious individuals that have got really difficult medical conditions - who are particularly vulnerable when the population has a virus like this in it,' he said. 'We've all got a responsibility for their sake.'

More...

• David Beckham's niece has swine flu
• Swine flu pandemic 'caused by accidental leak from laboratory'
• WIMBLEDON 2009: Swine flu fears heighten as 28 staff are sent home from the All England Club
• Don't send children to swine flu parties, parents warned
• NHS may slash services due to swine flu cost after Treasury say they've no spare cash

He said most of the confirmed cases showed mild symptoms, but added: 'Some people may be more susceptible to the virus and if you have flu-like symptoms, it is important that you talk to your doctor.'

Jacqui Fleming, 38, of Glasgow, was the first person in the UK to die of swine flu. She died last month, two weeks after her son, Jack, was born 11 weeks prematurely.

Jack died later but had not contracted the virus.

The second victim was a 73-year-old man from the Inverclyde area of Scotland. Then a week ago, Sameerah Ahmad, six, became the youngest UK victim.

Swine flu vaccine, pictured being prepared this week in a laboratory in Brisbane, Australia, will be in the UK next month, Mr Burnham said

She was born with a rare life-threatening disease and died at Birmingham's Children's Hospital after contracting swine flu.

Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson yesterday stressed that Britain had massive stockpiles of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu and would be one of the first countries to have access to a vaccine. Tamiflu doesn't cure swine flu, but eases symptoms and speeds up recovery time.

Sir Liam warned against trying to buy the drug online. 'There's a lot of concern amongst health authorities that people might buy counterfeit drugs,' he said.

'We have got a massive stockpile of Tamiflu in this country and everybody can have access to it through the health service.'

According to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 'spam' emails promoting Tamiflu are now more common than those promoting Viagra.

The Government is also buying in 130million doses of vaccine - enough for the entire population. The first delivery is expected next month.

'Now we're entering the most dangerous phase'

Under the Government's pandemic action plan, there are three levels of alert for a serious flu outbreak. Earlier this week the Health Secretary announced the UK would now enter the third, most serious, phase.

The first stage is Containment, which Britain entered when the first cases, a honeymoon couple, were confirmed in Scotland on April 27.

The priority is to stop the disease spreading as much as possible. Everyone with suspected swine flu has their diagnosis confirmed by a lab report, and is given the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. All recent contacts of infected people are traced and also given Tamiflu. Schools are closed if teachers or pupils contract the disease.

The second stage is Outbreak Management, which the country entered on June 25.

Action against swine flu was stepped up in three 'hot spot' areas - London, Glasgow and the West Midlands - where it was no longer possible to contain its spread.

In the hot spots, suspected cases were no longer sent for lab testing, with GPs doing the diagnosis, and people with swine flu got Tamiflu, but contacts did not as a matter of course. Schools in the hotspots were no longer automatically closed.

The third stage, which the whole country has now entered, is called Treatment.

GPs will be given the discretion to hold back Tamiflu to those with minor symptoms - and in a few weeks it may be rationed to at-risk groups. Vaccines will begin to be delivered once the first batches arrive in August.

Mile-wide UFO seen by British

Here's news that I like to share as well as three of us good buddies saw a cigar-shaped UFO once in 1978 while we were preparing for an exam. The UFO we saw was greyish and had port-holes along one of its sides that was clearly visible in our direction.

The following news report is taken from London's latest Evening Standard dated 22/6/06.

'Mile-wide UFO' spotted by British airline pilot

22.06.07

One of the largest UFOs ever seen has been observed by the crew and passengers of an airliner over the Channel Islands.

An official air-miss report on the incident several weeks ago appears in Pilot magazine.

Aurigny Airlines captain Ray Bowyer, 50, flying close to Alderney first spotted the object, described as "a cigar-shaped brilliant white light".

Scroll down for more

Aurigny Airlines captain Ray Bowyer, 50, described what he thought to be a UFO as 'a cigar-shaped brilliant white light', similar to the image supplied by Dennis Plunket of the British Flying Saucer bureau

As the plane got closer the captain viewed it through binoculars and said:

"It was a very sharp, thin yellow object with a green area. It was 2,000ft up and stationary. I thought it was about 10 miles away, although I later realised it was approximately 40 miles from us. At first, I thought it was the size of a [Boeing] 737.

"But it must have been much bigger because of how far away it was. It could have been as much as a mile wide."

Continuing his approach to Guernsey, Bowyer then spied a "second identical object further to the west".

He said: "It was exactly the same but looked smaller because it was further away. It was closer to Guernsey. I can't explain it. This was clearly visual for about nine minutes.

"I'm certainly not saying that it was something of another world. All I'm saying is that I have never seen anything like it before in all my years of flying."

The sightings were confirmed by passengers Kate and John Russell. John, 74, said "I saw an orange light. It was like an elongated oval".

The sightings were also confirmed by an unnamed pilot with the Blue Islands airline.

The Civil Aviation Authority safety notice states that a Tri-Lander aircraft flying close to Alderney spotted the object.

"Certain parts of the report have not been published. I cannot say why," said a senior CAA source.

Earlier this year however, the MOD declared its intentions to open its UFO files to the public.

WARNING! 4 more years of oil in Miri!

Believe it or not! Just hot news from the respectable London-based Depletion Analysis Centre that the world's oil supply will peak in 2011 and then it would be a decline from there... According to the head of the centre, the well-respected Dr. Colin Cambell, a former chief geologist and VP of a string of oil majors including BP, Shell, Fina, Exxon and Chevron
Texaco we must not believe what the oil companies officially say...QUOTE: "When I was the boss of an oil company I would never tell the truth. It's not part of the game". UNQUOTE. Read all about it in Britain's Independent dated 14th June, 2007. Excerpts are below and if you're convinced it will happen, just think what it means for our oil-rich Sarawak, Sabah, Trengannu, Malaysia on the whole and Miri itself... What is Petronas without oil??? What is Malaysia when the oil runs dry? What are the Arab states without this priceless commodity???

A world without oil

Scientists challenge major review of global reserves and warn that supplies will start to run out in four years' time

By Daniel Howden

Published: 14 June 2007

Scientists have criticised a major review of the world's remaining oil reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than governments and oil companies are prepared to admit.

BP's Statistical Review of World Energy, published yesterday, appears to show that the world still has enough "proven" reserves to provide 40 years of consumption at current rates. The assessment, based on officially reported figures, has once again pushed back the estimate of when the world will run dry.

However, scientists led by the London-based Oil Depletion Analysis Centre, say that global production of oil is set to peak in the next four years before entering a steepening decline which will have massive consequences for the world economy and the way that we live our lives.

According to "peak oil" theory our consumption of oil will catch, then outstrip our discovery of new reserves and we will begin to deplete known reserves.

Colin Campbell, the head of the depletion centre, said: "It's quite a simple theory and one that any beer drinker understands. The glass starts full and ends empty and the faster you drink it the quicker it's gone."

Dr Campbell, is a former chief geologist and vice-president at a string of oil majors including BP, Shell, Fina, Exxon and ChevronTexaco. He explains that the peak of regular oil - the cheap and easy to extract stuff - has already come and gone in 2005. Even when you factor in the more difficult to extract heavy oil, deep sea reserves, polar regions and liquid taken from gas, the peak will come as soon as 2011, he says.

This scenario is flatly denied by BP, whose chief economist Peter Davies has dismissed the arguments of "peak oil" theorists.

"We don't believe there is an absolute resource constraint. When peak oil comes, it is just as likely to come from consumption peaking, perhaps because of climate change policies as from production peaking."

In recent years the once-considerable gap between demand and supply has narrowed. Last year that gap all but disappeared. The consequences of a shortfall would be immense. If consumption begins to exceed production by even the smallest amount, the price of oil could soar above $100 a barrel. A global recession would follow.

Jeremy Leggert, like Dr Campbell, is a geologist-turned conservationist whose book Half Gone: Oil, Gas, Hot Air and the Global Energy Crisis brought "peak oil" theory to a wider audience. He compares industry and government reluctance to face up to the impending end of oil, to climate change denial.

"It reminds me of the way no one would listen for years to scientists warning about global warming," he says. "We were predicting things pretty much exactly as they have played out. Then as now we were wondering what it would take to get people to listen."

In 1999, Britain's oil reserves in the North Sea peaked, but for two years after this became apparent, Mr Leggert claims, it was heresy for anyone in official circles to say so. "Not meeting demand is not an option. In fact, it is an act of treason," he says.

One thing most oil analysts agree on is that depletion of oil fields follows a predictable bell curve. This has not changed since the Shell geologist M King Hubbert made a mathematical model in 1956 to predict what would happen to US petroleum production. The Hubbert Curveshows that at the beginning production from any oil field rises sharply, then reaches a plateau before falling into a terminal decline. His prediction that US production would peak in 1969 was ridiculed by those who claimed it could increase indefinitely. In the event it peaked in 1970 and has been in decline ever since.

In the 1970s Chris Skrebowski was a long-term planner for BP. Today he edits the Petroleum Review and is one of a growing number of industry insiders converting to peak theory. "I was extremely sceptical to start with," he now admits. "We have enough capacity coming online for the next two-and-a-half years. After that the situation deteriorates."

What no one, not even BP, disagrees with is that demand is surging. The rapid growth of China and India matched with the developed world's dependence on oil, mean that a lot more oil will have to come from somewhere. BP's review shows that world demand for oil has grown faster in the past five years than in the second half of the 1990s. Today we consume an average of 85 million barrels daily. According to the most conservative estimates from the International Energy Agency that figure will rise to 113 million barrels by 2030.

Two-thirds of the world's oil reserves lie in the Middle East and increasing demand will have to be met with massive increases in supply from this region.

BP's Statistical Review is the most widely used estimate of world oil reserves but as Dr Campbell points out it is only a summary of highly political estimates supplied by governments and oil companies.

As Dr Campbell explains: "When I was the boss of an oil company I would never tell the truth. It's not part of the game."

A survey of the four countries with the biggest reported reserves - Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and Kuwait - reveals major concerns. In Kuwait last year, a journalist found documents suggesting the country's real reserves were half of what was reported. Iran this year became the first major oil producer to introduce oil rationing - an indication of the administration's view on which way oil reserves are going.

Sadad al-Huseini knows more about Saudi Arabia's oil reserves than perhaps anyone else. He retired as chief executive of the kingdom's oil corporation two years ago, and his view on how much Saudi production can be increased is sobering. "The problem is that you go from 79 million barrels a day in 2002 to 84.5 million in 2004. You're leaping by two to three million [barrels a day]" each year, he told The New York Times. "That's like a whole new Saudi Arabia every couple of years. It can't be done indefinitely."