Soyuz Up, Beyonce & Taxi Socks

Soyuz rocket Up there

Reported by USA Today

The Soyuz-FG rocket lifted off on schedule. It was topped by a spacecraft that is to deliver U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, veteran Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko and Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a Malaysian physician, to the space station Friday.

What Naut or Not? They called him physician only?

Sheikh Muszaphar, a 35-year-old orthopedic surgeon, is to spend about 10 days on the station, performing experiments involving diseases and the effects of microgravity and space radiation on cells and genes.

Sheikh Muszaphar will be the ninth Muslim in space and Malaysian newspapers on Wednesday devoted several pages and published special pullouts about the mission, which coincides with the last days of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast from dawn until sundown.

On Tuesday, he told reporters at Baikonur that his trip will be an inspiration for his southeast Asian nation as well as to other Muslims all over the world.

"It's a small step for me, but a great leap for the Malaysian people," he said, rephrasing Neil Armstrong's famous words after the 1969 Apollo landing on the Moon.

The US$25 million (euro18 million) agreement for a Malaysian astronaut to fly to space was negotiated in 2003 along with a US$900 million (euro635 million) deal for Malaysia to buy 18 Russian fighter jets.

There was also an article on Beyonce.

Beyoncé cancels Kuala Lumpur show

Beyonce Knowles has scrapped plans to stage her first concert in Malaysia and will instead perform in neighboring Indonesia, which has less stringent rules about how performers should dress and behave.

Knowles — who is famous for her sexy image and skimpy outfits — was reluctant to fulfill the Malaysian government's demand for female performers to cover up from the top of their chests to their knees, including their shoulders.

Pineapple Concerts Chairman Razlan Ahmad Razali said his company, which has brought Western acts such as Kanye West and Earth, Wind and Fire to Malaysia, was "disappointed and frustrated."

"Though Indonesia is also a Muslim country, it doesn't have all these issues that we have," Razlan told The Associated Press. "She can perform as she likes there."

Is it true that Indonesia, being the largest Muslim populated nation don't have the same problem that we have?

In another article, Malaysian cabbies told to wear socks

Before you read that article, watch the picture on the right. Why was it so coincidental that the boy is holding on to his shoes? Is he also checking his socks?

Back to the news...

Authorities are warning taxi drivers of hefty fines if they are caught without socks, shoes and the other proper attire prescribed by a licensing board, an official said Monday.

The dress code requires taxi drivers to tuck in their shirts -- which have to be white, not the beige that many have been wearing.

Pants must be dark, no sandals are allowed, and shoes must be leather ones worn with socks, said Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board chairman Markiman Kobiran.

"Even though it's trivial, it reflects the entire profession," Markiman told The Associated Press.

He said the board can fine drivers who do not dress properly up to $87.

Richard Leow, secretary of a local taxi drivers' association, said the fine was too high given that taxi drivers only earn about $20 a day.

Leow said one of his drivers received the maximum fine last week for wearing jeans.

"This is too much. I saw him, and he was dressed very neatly. The passenger cannot even see the drivers' pants," he said. "(The board) is really harassing all the drivers. This is unreasonable."

We have judiciary conspiracy; the authorities are busy interrogating the whistleblowers. We have the murder of Nurin and Altantunya. We have rape cases unresolved and many more of others as reported in Raja Petra Kamaruddin's blog Malaysia Today. The government seems having difficulty in their priorities.

Now, they are harassing taxi drivers? What the F????