Fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra Wednesday said he wanted to send flowers rather than bombs to the Privy Council president as a New Year present.

In his Twitter message, Thaksin said: "If I can make an order, I will send a bomb that is full of flowers and has the scent of tea rose to his home so that HE Prem has some sympathy for me."

The ex-leader was responding to messages from "followers" of his Thaksinlive account in the Twitter social-networking website.

One of the followers said: "I hope there is no bomb during the New Year celebrations. I'd like you to please order your men about this."

The Nation

Google gave the first public look at its Chrome OS four months after declaring its intention of developing the PC's main software, a move that pits it directly against Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc. True to Google's Internet-pedigree, the Chrome OS resembles a Web browser more than it does a traditional computer operating system like Microsoft Windows, matching Google's ambition to drive people to the Web -- where they can see Google ads. Google said the software will initially be available by the holiday season of 2010 on low-cost netbooks that meet Google's hardware specifications, such as using only memory chips to store data instead of slower hard drives, the current standard. Netbooks running Chrome OS will only be able to run Web applications and the user's data will automatically be stored on the Web in the so-called cloud of Internet servers, Google executives said at an event at the company's Mountain View, California headquarters on Thursday. "It's basically a Web browsing machine," said Altimeter Group analyst Charlene Li, referring to the netbooks powered by Chrome OS. read more...

It looks like an ordinary ultrasound scan, with a blurry contrast of light and shade. But to Dawn Kelley and William Hickman, it's the face of Michael Jackson.The imaginative couple say they can clearly see the face of the late pop star when they look at the picture of their unborn baby. Mr Hickman, 29, a window cleaner, said: 'I showed my daughter Ami, who's six, and she saw it straight away, so I thought "well, if she can see it too, it's not just me seeing things".'Mother-of-six- Dawn, 34, went for her 20-week scan at Sunderland Royal as normal last month, but doctors could not see the foetus's stomach or diaphragm. A few weeks later she was sent to a different medical centre for a closer look.The more powerful scanner there is normally used to examine internal organs so the images it produces are much more detailed.Mr Hickman said: 'We were looking at the pictures again, and I just saw Jacko there. read more

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” American President Ronald Reagan famously demanded in 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviet leader didn’t exactly rush forward at the controls of a bulldozer, and whether the speech had an effect or was simply an example of surfing on the tides of history, with the collapse of other soviet satellite states and mass demonstrations for reform in East Germany, the Berlin Wall did come down, marked on November 9 of 1989. The Berlin Wall wouldn’t be officially demolished until the summer of 1990, but an off-hand answer to the question of an Italian journalist by a GDR Public Information Officer that “free passage” through all border crossings would be allowed, sent Berliners to test the barriers that evening. The answer was a response to Hungary ending border restrictions, effectively opening a back door to the West.

East German hardliner Erich Honecker had resigned after mass public demonstrations a month before and a temporary crossing through the wall was opened at the Brandenburg Gate on December 22, just before Christmas. The wall separating east and west Berlin was first constructed in 1961, went through four generations of reconstruction, but today is almost entirely vanished except for a sometimes recognizable path marked by information stands and a few remaining sections left as an art project. For 2009 in Berlin, a series of special events and exhibitions celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the “peaceful revolution” that lead to the reunification of Germany and a divided Berlin.

Following a meeting with Chavalit, Cambodian Premier Hun Sen told reporters how his wife cried at the mention of Thaksin Shinawatra's fate and how a plan to give Thaksin a home "that deserves his honour" was discussed.

"We have been great friends since Thaksin was businessman and the relationship has remained the same since he entered politics," Hun Sen said. "Though I'm not Thai, I'm hurt by what has happened to him. My wife even cried on knowing about it and has an idea to build a home for Thaksin to come and stay honourably."

It was the closest thing to saying Cambodia would be willing to give Thaksin a political exile, an issue which will present both countries with an awkward situation, in addition to the Phra Vihear conflict, going into the Asean summit. read more...

Now there's a new diet trend for people who love the Internet and shame in equal measure.

It's called Tweet What You Eat (TWYE), and it's basically an online food journal. Except that unlike most food journals, this one gets shared with the public, so the entire world gets to know that you just ate an entire can of whipped cream for funzies. The idea is that once you know everything that you're eating, you can tell where most of your calories are coming from and get your diet under control -- TWYE just has the added bonus of making you really embarrassed about pigging out on Wheat Thins.

While we won't argue that keeping a food journal can be very helpful for people trying to lose weight, it's the notion of also sharing it with the world and setting yourself up for fear of judgment from others that really takes this diet from handy online calorie counter to new method of dietary torture. Besides, do you really think we care what the Internet thinks of our breakfast cookie habit?

The official exhibition of rare Michael Jackson memorabilia will go on display in London this week. The exhibition is a documentation of his musical legacy, said curator Robert Santelli. The show, starting Wednesday at the O2 Bubble Arena, will feature Jackson in his many guises, including his roles as stylist, dancer and lyricist.

Some of the memorabilia includes the late singer's navy blue Rolls-Royce, a selection of his trademark gloves and sequined jackets and a contract from his early days with the Jackson 5. Another jewel of the exhibition is the design and patent for the shoes he invented for the lean dance move that he does in the "Smooth Criminal" video. TheAssosiated Press

Ex-premier Thaksin Shinwatra Saturday criticised Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, saying he had failed in running the country and lacked leadership and courage over the appointment of the national police chief. Thaksin phoned in to his supporters gathered for a training session organised by the 111 Thai Rak Thai Foundation in Phuket. He said three years after the military coup that brought down his government, the country had been destroyed economically and politically, with respected institutions discredited and politicised.

"The country's credibility is ruined. No country wants to bring its investment to Thailand because of the country's political instability,'' he said. The Nation

We knew it was coming soon, and now we know when: tomorrow, or - depending on whether you read this post before midnight - today. Yes, Microsoft Security Essentials is set to shed the beta tag and will be available for public download starting September 29, 2009. Many of our readers have been using the successor to Live OneCare since it first appeared as a leaked (and then official) beta build back in June of this year. Reviews have generally been very favorable. MSE has been praised for its good detection rates, infrequent false positives, scanning performance, and minimal resource utilization.

Once the download is live, you'll be able get Security Essentials right from Microsoft's web site. Chances are good that you will also be able to get your hands on the final version from Softpedia - just in case you need a backup plan. MSE will be offered to users in 19 countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Police basked in the limelight Thursday, after a nine-year manhunt ended for the region’s most wanted terrorist following a raid on a house in Surakarta, Central Java. “Alhamdulillah [praise God]," National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri said.Noordin M. Top, a Malaysian national, was among four suspected terrorists killed in the raid in Jebres in the early hours of Thursday morning.“We have conducted fingerprint tests and we have also crosschecked them with the Malaysian police and we can confirm that the body belongs to number one terrorist fugitive Noordin Mohammad Top,” he said to the sound of applause at a press conference. “I am deeply appreciative of my boys [referring to police force], who worked hard, who did not think of looking for promotions, who could not return home” during the intense operations, he said.Displaying photos of Noordin's fingerprints he said 14 points matched between the body and data provided by the Malaysian police. thejakartapost

The country was hit by two mass protests yesterday when about 20,000 anti-government red shirts held a rally in Bangkok and thousands of the rival yellow shirts marched towards a disputed border area near Si Sa Ket.The Bangkok protest was generally peaceful although it was disrupted by a heavy downpour. However, the march by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) to a cliff next to the disputed area near the Preah Vihear temple led to a clash between the yellow shirts and local villagers, who said they feared the protest would further sour ties with Cambodia.The red shirts gathered at the Royal Plaza to mark the third anniversary of the military coup that ousted the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, who is now a fugitive overseas. "We came here today to mark the third anniversary of the coup, which has caused huge damage to the country,"

Former supreme commander Chaiyasit Shinawatra said Saturday that former prime minister Thaksin Shinwatra is waiting for a "miracle" so that he can return home to stay with his family. Chaiyasit, a cousin of Thaksin, said he had returned from visiting Thaksin in the United Arab of Emirates. Chaiyasit said Thaksin was doing well and was happy with doing business with foreign businessmen.

"But he always wants to return to Thailand because he wants to be with children and [divorced] wife. He is only waiting for a miracle from the petition," Chaiyasit said. The Nation

showcase the 19-year-old telescope's new vision. Topping the list of exciting new views are colorful multi-wavelength pictures of far-flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster, an eerie "pillar of creation," and a "butterfly" nebula. With its new imaging camera, Hubble can view galaxies, star clusters, and other objects across a wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum, from ultraviolet to near-infrared light. A new spectrograph slices across billions of light-years to map the filamentary structure of the universe and trace the distribution of elements that are fundamental to life. The telescope's new instruments also are more sensitive to light and can observe in ways that are significantly more efficient and require less observing time than previous generations of Hubble instruments. NASA astronauts installed the new instruments during the space shuttle servicing mission in May 2009. Besides adding the instruments, the astronauts also completed a dizzying list of other chores that included performing unprecedented repairs on two other science instruments.

Now that Hubble has reopened for business, it will tackle a whole range of observations. Looking closer to Earth, such observations will include taking a census of the population of Kuiper Belt objects residing at the fringe of our solar system, witnessing the birth of planets around other stars, and probing the composition and structure of the atmospheres of other worlds. Peering much farther away, astronomers have ambitious plans to use Hubble to make the deepest-ever portrait of the universe in near-infrared light. The resulting picture may reveal never-before-seen infant galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 500 million years old. Hubble also is now significantly more well-equipped to probe and further characterize the behavior of dark energy, a mysterious and little-understood repulsive force that is pushing the universe apart at an ever-faster rate.

Source : HubbleSite

Indonesians have been asked to wear batik on Oct. 2 once UNESCO has classified the traditional textile dying technique as an intangible element of global cultural heritage. The listing, which will give the age-old tradition of batik technology some degree of protection under a UNESCO charter, will be made official at an event in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, between Sep. 28 and Oct. 2. To acknowledge the listing, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked all Indonesians to wear batik.

“Batik is regarded as a cultural icon with its own uniqueness. It contains symbols and is deep philosophy, including humans' life cycle — and it was submitted by Indonesia as a non-material element of cultural heritage," chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie told a press conference at Bogor State Palace on Monday.

“We've been told batik has been recognized as an element of global cultural heritage produced by Indonesians. The President has called on all Indonesians to wear batik on Oct. 2, to celebrate batik,” Aburizal said.
source : The Jakarta Post

MELBOURNE, Sep 6 — A white glove worn by the late singer Michael Jackson sold at auction for A$57,600 (RM173,000) in Australia today, nearly twice the price auctioneers expected, the auction house said. The white bejewelled glove was a trademark of the U.S. singer, and according to auction house Bonhams and Goodman this was the first Jackson glove to go on sale since he died in June at the age of 50. The glove sold in Melbourne today was worn by Jackson in Sydney in 1996, on the day he married Debbie Rowe, the mother of his two elder children, the auction house said.

After a bidding war between collectors in Australia and the United States, it was bought by Warwick Stone on behalf of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

“There was a huge amount of interest in the week leading up to the sale. We were still pretty surprised by the price,” Charlotte Stanes of the auction house told Reuters.

In November 1996 Jackson was in Sydney during the HIStory tour, and attended a premiere in Sydney of the film “Ghosts”, in which he starred. Earlier the same day the singer had married Rowe. At the end of the performance Jackson threw the glove to Bill Hibble, a collector of music and film memorabilia, who has since died. Hibble’s mother put the glove up for auction. Giles Moon, national head of collectables for the auction house, said he was “astounded” by the price it fetched. Jackson was buried last week in California, two months after his death from a drug overdose. His death has been ruled a homicide and police are investigating several doctors. They have said they will seek criminal charges but so far none has been filed. — Reuters

Some 150 teachers from northeastern provinces rally at Government House Thursday morning, demanding soft loans for refinancing their debts.

The teachers were led by Krissada Mangkhata.

He said his group submitted a demanded to the government on June 29 demanding soft loans worth totally of Bt6.9 billion for helping 3,510 teachers and education officials so that they could refinance their debts with banks.

Krissada said the government has not responded to their demand so far they came to the Government House to find out about the progress of their request for assistance.
source : The Nation

A ring of Indonesian hackers on Monday claimed to have attacked a list of more than 120 Web sites as retribution for Malaysia’s alleged theft of Indonesian cultural items and abuse of migrant workers.

A statement was posted on a Blogspot blog titled "Terselubung" saying that a number of Malaysian Web sites had been hacked and defaced to “celebrate” Malaysia’s Independence Day, which fell on Monday August 31.

“Today, August 31, 2009, an uncreative country, a country who likes to steal Indonesian culture, a country whose citizen is the mastermind of bombings in Indonesia, a country who has tortured many of our sisters — the migrant workers who worked there, a country who abused our national anthem, a country who harassed Indonesia on the Internet, a country that has stolen Sipadan and Ligitan islands, a country which has trespassed our water illegally, a country which received their independence from Britain, is celebrating its anniversary,” the Web site stated.

Diponegoro University (Undip) has rejected student applications from Malaysian citizens for the 2009-2010 academic year following the recent Pendet dance controversy. “The decision is an expression of our patriotism,” the university's rector Susilo Wibowo said, as quoted by Antara state news agency on Tuesday in Semarang. He said Malaysia did not appreciate Indonesia's cultural heritage as it kept claiming aspects of Indonesia’s culture as its own, such as the Pendet, Reog and Rasa Sayange traditional songs and dances.

The university, Susilo added, would continue to cooperate with some Malaysian universities in technology and other sciences. The university's spokesperson Agus Naryoso said his office would still allow Malaysian students to finish their studies. “Many Malaysian students used to study at the medical school, but there are none this year as we are no longer accepting students from our neighboring country,” Agus said. source : The Jakarta post

Denpasar (ANTARA News) - Tens of Balinese artists staged a demonstration here Saturday protesting a Malaysian tourism advertisement suggesting the Balinese "pendet" dance was part af indigenous Malaysian culture. The artist crowd in front of Denpasar`s Cultural Park on Saturday was led by Prof Wayan Dibia MA of the Indonesian Institute of Arts.

During the rally , Wayan Dibia presented a written statement expressing the Balinese artists` sentiments to Ida Ayu Agung Mas, a member of the Regional Representatives Council.

The welcome dance performed by women in Balinese costume appeared in a "Visit Malaysia Year" advertisement that was broadcast many times. Dibia said the dance was a cultural heritage of the Balinese people.

"Based upon our observation, the dancers shown in the Malaysian ad were in fact two graduates from the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Denpasar, named Lusia and Wiwik. The picture was taken by Bali Record two or three years ago," he said.

Therefore, he called on the government to make an inventory of all artistic products and patent them so that they would not be easily claimed by other countries.

"The pendet dance is part of our cultural heritage that show artistic values and cultural symbols that are exclusively part of Hindu-Bali cultural traditions," he said.

During a video link-up, watched by thousands in Sanam Luang yesterday, he said: "I, Thaksin Shinawatra, and my family will be loyal to the King and the monarchy forever."

More than 20,000 red shirts marched to the Grand Palace yesterday to submit the petition for clemency. Before the group started marching, they gathered in Sanam Luang to hear the song "Deeka Dub Thook Thang Paendin" (A Petition to End the Suffering of the Nation) blaring out of the speakers and listen to Thakin's address.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, with tears in his eyes, pleaded with His Majesty the King to grant him royal amnesty and thanked his red-shirted supporters for submitting the petition on his behalf. nationmultimedia dot com

A meteor (C) streaks past stars in the night sky at the Mont-Tendre near Montricher in the Jura, north of Geneva, late August 12, 2009. The Perseid meteor shower is sparked every August when the Earth passes through a stream of space debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. This picture was taken using a long exposure and a fisheye lens. The small line on the right side is an airplane. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (SWITZERLAND SOCIETY SCI TECH)

In the biggest non-surprise of the decade Intel has announced that it will be installing Windows 7 on its employee's computers. Intel wisely skipped Vista but it could have hardly skipped W7 and been part of the Wintel group. Intel may even jump in before the first service pack is released, surprising for any business with a new Microsoft release.

There is a little bit of irony in this decision. One Intel spokesperson pointed to the virtual XP compatibility mode as a backstop. First of all the CPU needs to support Intel's Virtualisation Technology which many Intel multi-core CPUs don't. Then you have to manually turn it on in the BIOS, not a problem for Intel I suspect but still required. Then there are the older PCs that don't support it simply because Intel VT was introduced in 2005.

For the wider business community, it will come down to lifetime expectations from PCs, the last time they bought some and if the improvement gains touted by MS outweigh the upgrade costs. They can also factor in things like security concerns with older machines, power costs, virus issues and so on. In the end it will be a cost benefit exercise. read more

Writer : James Hein on bangkok pos.com

Thailand, as the Chair of Asean on Wednesday, expressed its "deep disappointment" over Burma's ruling on its opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The ten-member grouping which Burma is a member called for immediate release of all political prisoners including 64-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi. The call came a day after Burma's court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi another 18 months for breaching condition of her house arrest after an American John Yettaw swam across the Inya Lake to stay two nights at her resident in Rangoon in May.

A statement from Thai Foreign Ministry said the Asean reiterated the calls made by the 42nd Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the 16th Asean Regional Forum held in July 2009 in Phuket, for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, to enable them to participate in the 2010 General Elections.

DNA testing shows that Indonesia's most wanted terror suspect, Noordin M Top, was not killed in an 18-hour raid last week, national police said on Wednesday.

The confirmation from Edy Suparwoko, of the national police disaster victim identification unit, refutes law enforcement reports over the weekend that Noordin, 40, had been killed.

Police have hunted for Noordin for years, accusing him of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing and attacks on the Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and Australian embassy in 2004.

He also is the main suspect in last month's twin hotel bombings in Jakarta, which killed seven people and the two suspected bombers, and wounded more than 50.

August 12th is a very special day for the people of Thailand. Their beloved Queen will celebrate her birthday. In recognition of Her Majesty, this day is also recognized as National Mother's Day. (A reminder for all to give the caring woman in their life an extra hug on this day.) It is perhaps difficult for those who are not Thai to appreciate and understand how much warmth and love is bestowed upon Queen Sirikit, by her people and the society that she, together with His Royal Highness King Bhumibol Adulyadej, represents. Our Queen, on the other hand, rises above the mire of politics and helps lead her people by duty, service and respect for her country. Such are the gifts Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand continually gives to her country. And the 12th August is the anniversary of her birth in the year of 1932.

Queen Sirikit's story is not one exclusively of privilege. It is a story of romance, self-discipline, courage, motherhood, devotion and, above all, support for her husband and service to the people of Thailand.

JOHOR BARU, Aug 11 – The family of Noordin Mohammad Top in Johor does not believe that the man gunned down by Indonesian police in Temanggung, Central Java, was that of the country's most wanted terrorist. After looking at photographs distributed by the authorities, Noordin's family members were more confident that the man who was shot was not him.

“According to Noordin's family members, they are confident that the man in the photographs was not Noordin," a man identified as Badarudin Ismail and claiming to speak on behalf of Noordin's family was quoted as saying in the www.detik.com website Monday.He claimed that Noordin's wife, Rahmah, strongly believed that the man in the photographs, which were distributed, was not her husband. (themalaysianinsider.com)

More people believe in Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's ethics and integrity than in former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's, an opinion survey has found.

The survey by ABAC Poll of Assumption University found that 71.4 per cent of the respondents named Abhisit when asked whom they think of as the politicians with ethics while 61.6 per cent named Thaksin. Each respondent can name several choices of politicians in order.

When asked to name politicians with integrity, 68.2 per cent of the respondents named Abhisit while 40.5 per cent Thaksin.
source : nationmultimedia.com

An intelligent observer Dinno Cressbon said Sunday most wanted terror suspect Noordin M. Top would have been unlikely to choose Beji hamlet, Temanggung, Central Java as a hideout.

"Beji is different. It is surrounded by hills where he could not escape, while his previous nine hideouts usually got an easy access to the road and the sea.

"That's why I doubt the dead terror suspect is Noordin M. Top."

He said police could not conclude the remains were Noordin just because the dead man once admitted he was Noordin before police killed him, kompas.com reported

"It's not enough," he added.
Police believed they had killed Noordin in a raid in Temanggung from Friday to Saturday.
Source : The Jakarta Post

Malaysia should neither be branded nor perceived as a breeding ground for terrorists, just because of the involvement of one or two people in terrorism, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

Commenting on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) splinter group leader Noordin Mat Top, who is believed to have been shot dead in Temanggung, Central Java Friday, he said Malaysia has long been a democratic and peaceful country: read more

Local TV stations reported militant chief Noordin Mohammad Top, who is blamed for last month's attacks on two American hotels in the capital, Jakarta, was killed in the bathroom of the house in a rice-growing village in central Java province following a lengthy bomb and gun battle.

Those reports were not confirmed by police. DNA tests will likely have to be performed to ensure the identification.

The suicide attacks on the J.W. Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta killed seven people, all but one of them foreigners, and ended a four-year pause in terror strikes in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim.