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General roundup (February 1, 2009)

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Shoe monument in IraqSome general news and info from various sources…

Australia – Rafael Nadal won first Australian Open crown, defeating Roger Federer [ATP]

China – Birth defects soar due to environmental pollution; a baby is born with physical defects every 30 secs in China [Chinadaily]

Enviromental – Many effects of climate change are irreversible [BBC]

Iraq – A fibreglass-and-copper monument (pic) is built in honour of the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during a news conference [Youtube]

Japan – PM Taro Aso has announced a 1.5 trillion yen (USD17bn) aid package to help Asian countries weather the economic downturn [BBC]

North Korea – North Korea is scrapping all pacts with South Korea and warned that the downward relations has pushed the peninsula to the brink of war [Reuters]

South Korea – Asiana Airlines, Korea’s second-largest air carrier, is named Airline of the Year by ATW (Air Transport World) magazine [ATW]

Thailand – Deja vu… tens of thousands of protesters held a rally in Bangkok calling on the new Thai government to resign [Youtube]

Eat kangaroo, save the planet

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Dr Ross Garnaut, a professor of economics at the Australian National University, has urged Australians to ditch beef and lamb for kangaroo steaks to help save the planet in his recent climate study commissioned by the Australian government.

Picture of a French kangaroo dish
Image by Shoreline, who said the kangaroo meat was so amazingly GOOD!

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Australian team at MIFC 2008, Putrajaya

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Went to Putrajaya on Friday (Aug 29) to catch the finale of Malaysia International Fireworks Competition 2008, with performance from the Australian team.

First serious attempt on fireworks photography; results are rather poor. Here are a few of the relatively nice photos…

Photo of Malaysia International Fireworks Competition 2008 in Putrajaya

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Malaysia Int’l Fireworks Competition 2008

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Malaysia International Fireworks Competition (MIFC) 2008 is held in the month of August in conjunction with the country’s independence day celebration.

I was planning to go for a show on Wednesday, but the weather was not permitting; will try my luck again on Sunday. Meanwhile, catch a video below, produced by an official media partner of MIFC with the Malaysian team performing on August 12.

Besides the Malaysian team, other teams that are competing in the event this year are from China, Spain, Canada and Australia.

Update – check out a few photos taken by yours truly during one of the shows.

Judge cleared 12-year-old girl to change sex

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A judge has provoked controversy in Australia by ruling that a 12-year-old girl could begin the first phase of a sex change.

The unnamed girl has begun hormone treatment to block puberty after a judge accepted an application from her mother for her to begin to reassign her gender.

A family court judgment said it was important to act quickly to prevent the onset of puberty as the girl dreaded the prospect of menstruation and developing breasts, and had threatened self-harm.

[Read more…] about Judge cleared 12-year-old girl to change sex

50th birthday of conveyor belt sushi

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Conveyor belt sushi (回転寿司, kaitenzushi) celebrates its 50th anniversary on April 2008. Yoshiaki Shiraishi (1914-2001) opened the first conveyor belt sushi Mawaru Genroku Sushi in Osaka in 1958.

Conveyor belt sushi
Conveyor belt sushi (Image by Michael Stephens)

The concept has revolutionised the Japanese food culture, with thousands of conveyor belt sushi restaurants operating around the world.

Some might argue that the kaitenzushi is not of the highest quality, which is probably true… but it allows the consumers to have sushi at much cheaper price, and that’s probably why these restaurants are so popular. Most of the people who visit these places are aware of the flaw anyway.

Btw, the kaitenzushi also has a cute name in Japan… the kuru kuru sushi (くるくる寿司, literally sushi-go-around). The Australians are more direct with the name though, by simply calling it the train sushi.

[Reference from Wikipedia; Hat tip to Japan Navigator]