What’s behind the magic of a soufflé? |
- What’s behind the magic of a soufflé?
- Australia PM hopeful, cautious on possible Malaysia jet breakthrough
- Indonesia’s legislative elections: Are people getting cynical about the whole thing?
- Snowden, Greenwald urge caution of wider US government monitoring
- Central African Republic peacekeepers ‘overwhelmed’, says UN chief
- With MH370, no room for false hopes
| What’s behind the magic of a soufflé? Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:58 PM PDT
For those of you who have not mastered the art of making a soufflé, have a look at our picture for pointers on what makes a good soufflé and how it is achieved. Usually restaurants prepare the pastry cream ahead to cut the preparation time. Once an order is placed, the egg whites are beaten to stiff peaks and folded into the cream. Subsequently it's baked in a ramekin until it puffs up and the top browns. Just remember one rule. Soufflés need time. When you're winding down your meal, order your soufflé. They need a lead time of at least 20-35 minutes to prepare and bake in the oven. Be patient. You will be rewarded with a sweet treat for your time. Here are places in the Klang Valley to try a good soufflé: Maison Francaise Yeast Bistronomy Miam Miam Milk and Butter Restaurant & Cafe  |
| Australia PM hopeful, cautious on possible Malaysia jet breakthrough Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:58 PM PDT
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that a patrol vessel hunting for Flight MH370 had picked up a "ping" yesterday, raising hopes that it could be from the underwater beacon of the plane's "black box" voice and data recorders. Australian search authorities said such a signal would be consistent with a black box, but both they and Xinhua stressed there was no conclusive evidence linking it to the Boeing 777 that went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. "This is the most difficult search in human history. We are searching for an aircraft which is at the bottom of a very deep ocean and it is a very, very wide search area," Abbott told reporters in Tokyo, where he is on a visit. "We need to be very careful about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon." Up to a dozen planes and 13 ships will be scouring three separate areas about 2,000km northwest of Perth, Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said today. A black box detector deployed by Chinese vessel Haixun 01 picked up the "ping" signal with a frequency of 37.5kHz per second - the same as emitted by flight recorders - at about 25 degrees south and 101 degrees east, Xinhua said. "The 37.5kHz is the specific frequency that these locator pingers operate on," said Anish Patel, president of Sarasota, Florida-based Dukane Seacom, which made the black box locator. "It's a very unique frequency, typically not found in background ocean noise," such as whales or other marine mammals, he told Reuters. Xinhua also reported that a Chinese air force plane had spotted a number of white floating objects in the search area. "The characteristics reported (by the Chinese vessel) are consistent with the aircraft black box," Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the Australian agency coordinating the operation, said in a statement. "However, there is no confirmation at this stage that the signals and the objects are related to the missing aircraft," he said, adding his agency was seeking more information from China. Sonar equipment Authorities have not ruled out mechanical problems as a cause of the plane's disappearance, but say the evidence, including loss of communications, suggests it was deliberately diverted thousands of kilometres from its set route. Dozens of flights by a multinational taskforce have failed to turn up any trace of the plane in the past four weeks. It was briefly picked up on military radar west of Malaysia and analysis of subsequent hourly electronic "handshakes" exchanged with a satellite led investigators to conclude the plane had crashed far off the west Australian coast hours later. Malaysian authorities have faced heavy criticism, particularly from China, for mismanaging the search and holding back information. Most of the 227 passengers were Chinese. Malaysia said on Saturday it had launched a formal investigation into the plane's disappearance that would include experts from Australia, the United States, China, Britain and France. Normally, a formal air safety investigation is not launched until wreckage is found. But there have been concerns that Malaysia's informal investigations to date have lacked the legal standing of an official inquiry convened under UN rules. Under International Civil Aviation Organisation rules, the country where the aircraft is registered leads the investigation when the incident takes place in international waters. Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the investigation would comprise three groups: one would examine maintenance records, structures and systems; an "operations" group would study flight recorders, operations and meteorology; and a "medical and human factors" group would look into psychology, pathology and survival. ― Reuters |
| Indonesia’s legislative elections: Are people getting cynical about the whole thing? Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:54 PM PDT APRIL 6 — With so much attention being paid on who will be Indonesia's next president, it is easy to overlook an equally important democratic event that will take place next week — the legislative elections. On April 9, over 180 million eligible voters will elect more than 20,000 legislators for 532 different legislatures at the national, provincial, district and municipal levels. But in the last two legislative elections after its first democratic election in four decades in 1999, Indonesians have seen declining voter turnouts. From 92.7 per cent in 1999 the number of voters dropped to 84.07 per cent in 2004, and further down to 70.06 per cent five years later, according to a study by Kompas daily. This has raised questions as to whether the number will continue to dip this year. Some recent surveys show a significant majority of respondents remain interested in voting this year. Compared to five years ago, there is a high level of interest and awareness in this election. The Indonesia Research Centre found that 95 per cent of its respondents would vote in the legislative election, though only 78 per cent knew when it would be held. Another survey conducted by Asia Foundation shows that 30 per cent of its respondents will make the necessary effort to be able to vote, if their names are not on the voters' list. "When we talk about non-voters, we have to take into account those who do not vote for technical reasons, like because they were not on the voters lists; those who do not vote because they do not know who to vote; and those who do not vote for political reasons," Gita Putri of the Centre for Law and Policies Studies (PSHK) told me. "I really doubt that most of them are political non-voters," she said. Technical glitches might have caused the low voter turnout in 2009. That election was notoriously flawed with administrative issues like incomplete voters' lists, as well as logistics problems involving ballot papers and vote counts. But her other observation was spot on too: most people really do not know who to vote to represent them in the legislatures. Over 230,000 candidates from 15 parties are contesting this election, a daunting number by any standard. In my electorate alone, I have to choose from among 35 candidates of national parliament, 35 candidates from the House's Regional Representative Council, and a few dozen others for the Jakarta city legislature. Talk about option paralysis. Added to this is the disillusionment with political parties because of the number of corruption cases involving politicians and parliamentarians. I grew up in the Suharto era of three-party politics, when elections were held merely to legitimize his presidency. We all knew that the ruling Golkar Party would win by a landslide anyway. But even then, party identification — whether with Golkar or the two other opposition parties — seemed higher than now, when the level of scepticism towards political parties is high. But while many Indonesians couldn't care less who gets to represent them in parliament, they are passionate when it comes to electing their leader. Since the first direct presidential election in 2004, a party's presidential nominee has been a determining factor that encourages people to show up at the polling booth. A political party has to win 25 per cent votes or 20 seats in parliament in order to be able to nominate a president, or they will have to form a coalition. This is the reason why parties tend to promote their presidential candidates instead of legislative candidates in the open campaign season in the last two weeks, although the presidential race is not until July. Poor recruitment systems, weak institutional building, and the perception that parties are filled with corrupt politicians have made many people shun politics, denying Indonesia of many competent people with integrity in its politics. But my research into the election has allowed me to meet many legislative candidates with quality and integrity, though they may be in the minority. Only 0.5 per cent of all the legislative candidates and five per cent of candidates for national parliament are clean and competent, if one survey is to be believed. The key now is how to get that handful of people elected. Last month, Gita's organisation PSHK and a number of human rights, environmental, and anti-corruption non-governmental organisations launched Bersih2014, a website dedicated to endorsing legislative candidates they deem qualified for the job. To earn their endorsement, each candidate must have never been involved in human rights abuses, be pro-environment, are not tainted by any corruption case, champion pluralism, and do not discriminate against women. Sadly, they only came up with 97 candidates of national and regional legislature to endorse. Other organisations have also provided resources for people eager to seek information on whom to vote for next year. Even the influential Tempo magazine dedicated an issue on legislative candidates they endorse. The majority of Indonesians may be non-rational voters who will choose candidates based on their looks, or vote who their religious leaders tell them to, or how much money they receive from candidates on the eve of the election. But with more information comes empowerment. In the marketplace of Indonesia's politics, the more empowered its voters, the more likely the young democracy will mature. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Snowden, Greenwald urge caution of wider US government monitoring Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:52 PM PDT
A sympathetic crowd of nearly 1,000 packed a downtown Chicago hotel ballroom at Amnesty International USA's annual human rights meeting and gave Greenwald, who dialed in from Brazil, a raucous welcome before Snowden was patched in 15 minutes later to a standing ovation. The pair cautioned that government monitoring of "metadata" is more intrusive than directly listening to phone calls or reading emails and stressed the importance of a free press willing to scrutinise government activity. Metadata includes which telephone number calls which other numbers, when the calls were made and how long they lasted. Metadata does not include the content of the calls. Amnesty International is campaigning to end mass surveillance by the US government and calling for Congressional action to further rein in the collection of information about telephone calls and other communications. Last year, Snowden, who had been working at a NSA facility as an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, leaked a raft of secret documents that revealed a vast US government system for monitoring phone and Internet data. The leaks deeply embarrassed the Obama administration, which in January banned US eavesdropping on the leaders of friendly countries and allies and began reining in the sweeping collection of Americans' phone data in a series of limited reforms triggered by Snowden's revelations. Snowden faces arrest if he steps foot on US soil. President Barack Obama said last month he plans to ask Congress to end the bulk collection and storage of phone records by the NSA but allow the government to access metadata when needed. Snowden and Greenwald said that such data is in fact more revealing than outright government spying on phone conversations and emails. "Metadata is what allows an actual enumerated understanding, a precise record of all the private activities in all of our lives. It shows our associations, our political affiliations and our actual activities," said Snowden, dressed in a jacket with no tie in front of a black background. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this week showed the majority of Americans were concerned that Internet companies were encroaching on too much of their lives. Greenwald, who met with Snowden 10 months ago and wrote about the leaked documents in the Guardian and other media outlets, promised further revelations of government abuses of power at his new media venture the Intercept. "My hope and my belief is that as we do more of that reporting and as people see the scope of the abuse as opposed to just the scope of the surveillance they will start to care more," he said. "Mark my words. Put stars by it and in two months or so come back and tell me if I didn't make good on my word." — Reuters |
| Central African Republic peacekeepers ‘overwhelmed’, says UN chief Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:40 PM PDT
The UN Security Council is due to approve next week a 12,000-strong UN peacekeeping force for the former French colony. The force will take over authority from African Union troops in an attempt to restore order to the country. But that force is not expected to arrive until September, stoking fears of a security vacuum as the interim government struggles to control intercommunal violence that has killed more than 2,000 people since December. During a brief visit to the impoverished country on his way to Rwanda, Ban appealed for more help and said the international community was at risk of repeating the mistakes of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, where some 800,000 died. "I commend the African Union and French forces for making a difference," he said in a speech before the interim government. "But they are under-resourced and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the need." Until the UN force can be established, Ban called for "the immediate deployment of more troops and police", though he did not say where he thought the extra forces might come from. A long-promised European Union force is expected to start deploying at the end of this month, adding 800 new troops. "The international community failed the people of Rwanda 20 years ago. And we are at risk of not doing enough for the people of the CAR today," Ban said. At the same gathering, the head of the interim government, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, requested an end to a UN embargo on arms exports to his country. "That way, the army can play its role," he said. Daylight stabbing Two thousand French peacekeepers and 6,000 African Union forces have failed to stop a conflict that erupted after the mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power a year ago in the majority Christian state. Christian militias, known as anti-balaka, sprang up to protect the population after Seleka took to looting and killing but now stand accused of human rights abuses themselves and last month were branded as "terrorists" by the African Union. Highlighting the tensions in Bangui, gunshots were heard around noon on Saturday coming from the Seleka barracks, a Reuters witness said. Earlier in the day, Seleka members stabbed a member of the national army, a resident said. It was not clear whether the victim survived. Chad, which has been at the heart of the peacekeeping mission, began withdrawing around 850 troops on Friday after allegations they were involved in attacks on civilians. A UN report on Friday accused Chad of killing 30 civilians and wounding 300 in a crowded market, although Chad denied the allegation, saying its troops were ambushed by anti-balaka. "The UN report is a pack of lies based on imaginary facts. It contributes to the media campaign against Chad," said government spokesman Hassan Sylla on Saturday. — Reuters |
| With MH370, no room for false hopes Posted: 05 Apr 2014 05:39 PM PDT APRIL 6 — In years to come, most Malaysians would remember the moment they heard Prime Minister Najib Razak announcing on March 24 that the missing flight MH370 "ended" in southern Indian Ocean. For me, I was driving home after close to 12 hours covering Parliament, tummy growling and body feverish, and hearing the tragic announcement over the radio made me so sick that I skipped work the next day. The announcement was not really a surprise for many of us. We had an inkling, obvious or not, that the only possible conclusion after so long was not going to be something positive. Early on though, many of the journalists, myself included, had hoped that the plane landed somewhere safe, if only because it would make a much more intriguing story. Najib's announcement only confirmed the worst. Despite that, we still have those who question the prime minister's announcement of the plane's fate, citing lack of physical evidence... that debris is yet to be found. Among them are Pakatan Rakyat leaders — led by DAP's Lim Kit Siang — who called Najib's announcement "irresponsible" and a "closure without closure." However, when asked if they have any other alternative explanation about what could have happened to the plane, they readily answered that they too have no idea. In my opinion, it is much more irresponsible to suggest otherwise, that nothing untoward has happened to the plane and there might still be hope that the passengers and crew survived. Because, let us face it, those chances are so slim. I believe Najib's announcement was correct. The conclusion was based on meticulous mathematical calculation and application of physics, that the only logical position of the plane was somewhere over the south Indian Ocean. It was not based on a whim, on the words of witch-doctors armed with bamboo binoculars, nor on the words of a self-styled "ustaz" who received revelations through mystical dreams. Considering that there is no land mass near the spot where the flight ended — which is one of the most hostile areas on Earth — the most probable conclusion is that the plane crashed and there are no survivors. This refusal to come to terms with the conclusion might be attributed to the lack of understanding of the scientific method. The conclusion was reached from the empirical evidence available so far, with the least uncertainty. Until better, more robust evidence surfaces, it is totally fair to assume that there are no survivors. The story could have ended at that, but then as Malays, our penchant to avoid offending others, and to wrap our words in layers of euphemisms might have been our undoing. Right after Najib's announcement that the plane "ended" -- you can think of it as a euphemism for "crashed" or as a disclaimer that we do not know more -- it was up Malaysia Airlines to clarify again that the public must assume the worst. The National Fatwa Council too refused to consider the deaths of the passengers and crew, despite admitting that they are "missing", and as such decreed that the special prayer for the deceased is not required yet. The biggest blunder, however, must fall on the shoulders of Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who is the public face for the operations. Despite Najib's announcement, Hishammuddin insisted again and again that he is still "hoping against hope." But what for exactly? The safety of those onboard? This kind of pussyfooting has given false hopes to some of the families that their loved ones are still alive. And as a result of this false hope, unnecessary pressure and scorn has been directed at Malaysia for its failure in bring them back. This is especially clear from the Chinese families, who accused Malaysia of a cover-up, and had asked for their loved ones to be returned. Where exactly do they think their loved ones are? Do they think that there is a secret warehouse somewhere where the Malaysian government has stowed the missing plane and everybody inside it? And Malaysia is refusing to disclose that for some reason? We have peddled false hope long enough, with continued prayers for the plane to come home and for the passengers to be kept safe by some higher power. The most self-indulgent of the many prayer campaigns is, in my opinion, the one that went like this: "Dear Indian Ocean, keep them safe, warm them, hug them, take away all the fear, take good care of MH370, until we come to take them home." Suffice to say, caring, warm and huggable are certainly not the traits of an ocean, and especially not the Indian Ocean. By the end of this week, the battery of the flight recorder — the "black box" — of MH370 will run out, and with it any chance of finding it in a short period. Just like Air France flight 447, it might take some time, even years, before the debris of MH370 will be found, and almost impossible at all to find the bodies. The families of those onboard MH370 would not need to suffer that long, if we had not offered such false hope that they might be reunited with their loved ones. Because by the looks of it, they will never be. Reality might be cruel. Some might even accuse me of being cruel for pointing that out. But for me, it is those who offer false hope to those afflicted by sorrow who are truly the cruel ones. * This is the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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