Why we should stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program?

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year, a public holiday and many people would like to sleep a little bit later than usual because they do not have to go to work but for yarl restaurant's noise pollution victims, there is no such thing as a peaceful holiday. At 6.20 a.m. this morning, yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss once again turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood to chase everyone out of their bedrooms. Whenever he turns on his kitchen hood with its loud and deafening motor sound, it is as though he is saying:

Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. That is why I am so daring. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant. My skin is very thick and I don't know how to feel ashamed of myself. I know very well that my kitchen hood is making a lot of noise but I don't care. I am also a liar. Sometime in August 2013, I lied to Fong Kui Lun's (MP of this area) assistant that I would reduce the noise in the neighbourhood without any intention to do so. Since he came to see me to ask me to reduce the noise after complaints from the neighbours, I might as well lie to him because I know that he cannot do anything to me. I am not going to spend a single sen to solve the noise problem. Let the neighbours suffer as long as I can make money. It is really amusing to make everyone in the neighbourhood suffer for the sake of my business. The entire neighbourhood is very quiet at this hour of the day, so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop, and the only noise you can hear is my kitchen hood noise. Each morning, when I turn on my noisy kitchen hood, everyone has to flee from their bedrooms. At night, long after bedtime hour, I can still make loud and deafening noise so that my victims cannot sleep. How funny! Sleep deprivation is a beautiful thing! See how my victims suffer? This clearly shows how grand I am! The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has given me the authority to do so through their inaction. These DBKL fellows dare not do anything to me. I can make others suffer under my noise pollution program and they cannot do anything to me. No one can do anything to me. Can we torture others for the sake of our business? Well, Malaysia Boleh and that is why I am doing it! MONEY FOR ME, NOISE FOR YOU-this is the motto of my life. Ha! Ha! Ha!


What a way to begin the first day of Chinese New Year with! As for the Chinese, I am sure that they would like to begin the first day of Chinese New Year with some peace but all they can hear is yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise permeating the entire atmosphere. Sad to say, this is what  are going to hear all day long today and all our lives unless yarl restaurant's noise pollution program is stopped forever. If yarl restaurant's boss wants to turn on his noisy kitchen hood so early in the morning, he should put it in a place where it cannot disturb anyone. Why put his noisy kitchen hood outside people's bedroom windows? And why does he refuse to do anything even after so many complaints about his noisy kitchen hood? Selfishness is the answer. Should we encourage selfish and irresponsible people like him to triumph in our society? Is it time we put an end to yarl restaurant's noise pollution program.

1. The fact that yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood at such an early hour in the morning when the entire neighbourhood is so quiet that we can even hear the sound of a pin drop is a clear indication of selfishness on his part. We cannot deny the fact that many people are still sleeping at this hour particularly when today is a public holiday. But does yarl restaurant's boss care? No, he doesn't. He is only interested in his business.
2. He has been warned many times that his kitchen hood is making a lot of noise but he chooses to turn a deaf ear to these complaints. He even lied to Fong Kui Lun's (MP for this area) assistant that he would reduce the noise (last August) without the intention to do anything about it. In other words, he is a selfish liar.
3. His noise pollution program can go on for 17-18 hours at times thus depriving his victims the right to have adequate sleep and rest. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture for the prisoners of war and criminals. Does yarl restaurant’s boss has the right to impose this kind of punishment on innocent people? Who is he? Someone who is busy making money at the expense of others.
4. Can we turn on some kind of loud and deafening motor noise at 6.20 a.m. in the morning when everywhere is still so dark and quiet? Well, yarl restaurant’s selfish boss is doing that every day. Whenever anyone complains, he would turn on his noisy kitchen hood a little bit later i.e. at 6.45 a.m. After a few days, he would revert back to his old habit - turning on his loud and deafening kitchen hood earlier and earlier with each passing day from 6.45 a.m. → 6.35 a.m. →6.30 a.m. and today at 6.20 a.m. If no one complains, he can even turn it on at 5.20 a.m.! This is a truly a gross transgression of human rights and he is doing it with his eyes wide open ignoring all the sufferings that he is causing to others.
5. According to the environmental laws, we are not supposed to make noise exceeding 50 dBA between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Even between 7.00 a.m. and 10 p.m., the noise level shouldn’t exceed 60 dBA. How much is 60 dBA? The sound level of an ordinary conversation. What kind of noise is yarl restaurant making? Loud and deafening motor noise that goes on endlessly and continuously throughout our waking hours and even intruding into our sleep. Just imagine how much noise a motor can make outside your window if it is turned on all day long! But yarl restaurant's boss really has the guts to make loud and deafening endless noise with his kitchen hood outside people's bedroom windows - chasing them out of their bedrooms early every morning without feeling ashamed of his selfish behavior at all. Maybe his skin is really thicker than the crocodile skin!

There is actually no difference between yarl restaurant's noise pollution program and the Lynas Case or Gold for me, Cyanide for You Case because this noise pollution program is causing us a lot of stress and our health is also deteriorating because of the noise. In actual fact, the Lynas victims are luckier than yarl victims because they need not be tortured by loud and deafening noise all their lives. Noise pollution is very stressful and the health hazards that come with is no less serious than radiation and cyanide. Should we allow selfish and irresponsible people to triumph in their evil acts? Let us hope that the public could help us to put an end to yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. If there is nothing to cook, then yarl restaurant's noise pollution victims do not have to suffer anymore.

In Malaysia, there are no laws to protects our basic rights. If someone were to put up a loud and deafening kitchen hood outside your window and turns it on for 17-18 hours a day, torturing you day and night with the noise i.e. chasing you out of your bedroom at 5.40 a.m. and forbidding you to sleep at 11.40 p.m., you cannot say or do anything about it. You can only bear the noise with fortitude. If you can't bear it, then go and buy a new house and move away. How many Malaysians are suffering from tinnitus because of this kind of noise? Similarly, if someone were to build a nuclear plant in front of your house, you will have to bear the radiation that comes from it with fortitude. Malaysians are not rich. Many of them can only afford to buy one house in their lifetime and even that they have to pay like hell. Please do not let selfish and irresponsible people who sacrifice others for the sake of their business to triumph over their evil deeds. We may not be protected by the law but there is something which all of us can do. Let us all boycott this kind of people and their business so that they will not triumph over their evil deeds.

Is it really necessary to eat in a restaurant? Do you know that it is more hygienic to cook your own food and much cheaper too minus the monosodium glutamate! Each time I eat in a restaurant, I am sure to find some extra ingredients in my food. Extra ingredients such as hair, ants, cockroaches, and flies, are common but of course there are those that you cannot see with your eyes! Have you seen restaurant workers stirring soup with the ladle that they has earlier used to taste the soup? I have seen this countless times. That's why I only eat in a restaurant when I have no choice. Only last Wednesday, I found some ants in the packet of rice which I bought from a restaurant in Brickfields! And don't be surprise if you find Shit in Your Food! When it comes to catering i.e. cooking food in bulk, you may even see frog's legs in your food. Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes. Wonder where they come from. Here I would like to share with my readers the article entitled "Dirty Restaurant in Kuaka Lumpur".

Dirty Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

Official Blog

Dirty Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

April 1, 2011 at 4:00 pm

It is a topic that will literally churn your stomach. Hygiene in the Malaysian food and beverage industry is still, unfortunately, an issue, as seen in a recent article by the New Straits Times. Not even a well known restaurant is spared from the scourge, as an inspection by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall revealed cockroach and rat infestations in the restaurant’s kitchen.

Two of Malaysia's favourite dishes, Penang laksa and cendol

The restaurant has been fined and will close until the situation is rectified. The issue of hygiene is clear cut, would we want to eat in a place that is dirty and unhygienic? The logical answer is, of course, no, right?
But what about roadside stalls and backalley shops that sell us our daily roti canai and other Malaysian delicacies? Malaysians still frequent these spots, seemingly without any ill effects whatsoever. Why then the double standard? If we get all squirmy about rats and cockroaches in the kitchen, why not get upset when a rat or cockroach goes past us when we are eating by the drain? Do we really accept different standards of hygiene based on the price we pay? Or should we start to rethink about the way we view the food and beverage industry?
Now, that’s really food for thought. Tell us what YOU think.
Read the full article below:
Yet another eatery has been told to cease operations and clean up its kitchen after a City Hall inspection, recently.
Restoran Al-Esfan in The Boulevard, MidValley City was slapped with a close order by City Hall because of cockroach and rat infestations in the kitchen.
City Hall health department director Dr Sallehudin Abu Bakar ordered the 24-hour restaurant to shut down for a week beginning yesterday to facilitate a major clean-up of the premises.
Dr Sallehudin and his team of 10 officers raided the restaurant on Tuesday afternoon following complaints on the restaurant’s low level of cleanliness from the public.
During the inspection, Dr Sallehudin and the officers found the area where beverages were made and the kitchen where food was cooked to be infested with cockroaches. They also saw a rat and some droppings in the kitchen.
The closure was done under Section 21B of the Federal Territory License Food Establishment 1985 bylaw.
After inspecting the restaurant, Dr Sallehudin described its kitchen’s condition as atrocious.
“We found cockroach infestation and a rat in the kitchen. The floor was also wet and slippery. We examined the freezer and found it poorly maintained. Raw food materials were not properly placed and the racks were on verge of collapse.
“Furthermore, there is no proper lighting in the kitchen, which also sorely lacks ventilation,” he said.
Dr Sallehudin said his officers visited the restaurant four days ago for an initial inspection and had advised the operator to improve the restaurant’s conditions.
However, during the raid, it was discovered that the advice had not been taken seriously, leaving the department with no choice but to issue the close order.
“Since they did not heed our advice, we took the affirmative action to shut down the restaurant temporarily. They are given a week to clean up and they will have to comply with our requirements.
“We will also revisit the restaurant to assess its cleanliness and if it is found to be up to our standard, we will allow them to reopen,” he said.
He said cockroaches were also found in an uncovered tub of margarine, and such careless disregard for hygiene could cause serious health problems for their diners.
Dr Sallehudin also noted that the food waste was not disposed of properly, and that the cooking oil’s colour and texture had led him to suspect that it was recycled.
The restaurant operator, he added, had also committed an offence by allowing customers to light up within its enclosed premises, which had been declared a no-smoking zone.
The restaurant operator had not attempted to stop the customers from smoking there.
The restaurant operator, who did not want to be named, said they had been operating at The Boulevard for 10 years.
“We clean up once a year but it looks like we will have to do it more frequently now,” he said.
Source: New Straits Times 



SHIT IN YOUR FOOD

This morning, yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.10 a.m. After being wakened up from my deep sleep with his noisy kitchen hood every morning, the first thing I will do is to write an article about his noise pollution and sleep deprivation program in this blog. This blog is specially created to fight noise pollution and hence oppression in Malaysia. This is because I do not want to suffer in silence - let the whole world know how the noise pollution victims in Malaysia are suffering! What do I mean by oppression? Is noise pollution a form of oppression? Just browse through some of the articles here and you'll understand how much sufferings yarl restaurant's victims have to endure every moment of their lives. Oppression is defined by the Macmillan Dictionary as oppressive leaders, government, or laws that treat people unfairly or in a cruel way. To make yarl restaurant's victims to suffer from noise pollution and sleep deprivation every day of their lives is a form of cruelty. The laws that we have here are treating us unfairly by not only subjecting us to loud and deafening noise all our waking hours but also during our sleep. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture intended for the prisoners of war or criminals. We are not criminals or prisoners of war in a concentration camp so why torture us this way?

 In Malaysia, there are no laws to protects our basic rights. If someone were to put up a loud and deafening kitchen hood outside your window and turns it on for 17-18 hours a day, torturing you day and night with the noise and forbidding you to sleep, you cannot say or do anything about it. You can only bear the noise with fortitude. If you can't bear it, then go and buy a new house and move away. How many Malaysians are suffering from tinnitus because of this kind of noise? Similarly, if someone were to build a nuclear plant in front of your house, you will have to bear the radiation that comes from it with fortitude. Malaysians are not rich. Many of them can only afford to buy one house in their lifetime and even that they have to pay like hell. I will not let selfish and irresponsible people who sacrifice others for the sake of their business to triumph over their evil deeds. Let us all boycott this kind of people and their business. What shall I write today? The Lynas case or the Gold for me, Cyanide for You Case? Every morning, when yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise wakes me up from my deep sleep and chases me out of my bedroom, I couldn't help thinking of the Lynas victims and cyanide victims. They have been living peacefully for generations in the same place but now their houses are no longer safe for them because of radiation and cyanide. Can they afford a new house and move elsewhere?

Well, today I am going to share with my readers a real life story of what happened in a mamak restaurant in Bangsar a few years back. Hope you enjoy reading it. Well, as you know, these Indian fellows don't use tissue to clean their ass after shitting. Instead hey use their hands to clean their ass. It just happened that this worker in the mamak restaurant was wearing a ring and some of the shit got stuck in the ring and that was how the  shit got into the food. The customers were so furious after finding some "extra ingredients" in their food that they overturned the tables and chairs in that restaurant. Imagine eating shit in a restaurant - Ugh!!! This is terrible. It was a good thing they discovered the shit. What if they didn't know anything about it and just swallowed it as part of the food and enjoying it? So my dear readers, be careful with what you put in your mouth next time you eat out.

There were two restaurants operating in the same venue before yarl restaurant but none of them made any noise at all. Yarl restaurant is the only restaurant that makes loud and deafening noise all the time. Having lived opposite 3 restaurants, I have developed a phobia of eating in restaurants. Each time someone gives me a treat in a restaurant, I wish I have brought my own plate, fork, and spoon with me. (You should have seen how they wash and handle these!). And of course I keep looking out for "extra ingredients" that shouldn't be there! The vegetables and meat - have you ever wonder how do the restaurant workers wash it? How come there is still sand in the vegetables? Is it safe to eat sand? The thing I hate most is to find sand in my mouth! This is particularly true when it comes to green leafy vegetables because the restaurant workers just cannot afford to wash them properly. Do we really need to eat in a restaurant? Here, I would like to share with you some dirty restaurant secrets the kitchen crew won't tell you.

Dirty Restaurant Secrets the Kitchen Crew Won’t Tell You

What's going on back there? Keep your budget and health in check with these insider secret restaurant tips from the other side of the kitchen doors.

By Sheri Alzeerah

1. Our waiters don't wipe down the menus between customers...

...or salt and pepper, or bottles of ketchup and mustard. It may come as no surprise to a germaphobe that restaurant kitchens are bacteria paradise. But bugs dwell on tabletop items too. Good Morning America sent a team of scientists to swab the items on the tables of 12 restaurants, including the items mentioned above. They found that menus carried the most germs, with an average count of 185,000 bacteria—nearly 16 times that of the second most germ-infested item, pepper shakers. (Everyone looks at the menu. Not everyone loves pepper.) Next time you're out, place your order. Then wash your hands before you eat.  

2. We get sick, too.

But taking a sick day is not always the reality. According to a recent study by The Food Chain Workers Alliance, 53 percent of food chain workers reported going to work when sick. “A lot of poor, transient people work in restaurants,” says Peter Francis, coauthor of industry exposé How to Burn Down the House, in Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney. “They're not giving up the $100 they'd make in a shift because they're sick.” Keep an eye out for chefs sitting on the sidewalk smoking, sneezing, and coughing in their hands, says Chris Gesualdi, chef instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.

3. If our bathroom's dirty, imagine what our kitchen looks like.

For a clear sign of a restaurant’s sanitation standards, just step into the restroom. “Reality is when the bathroom is filthy and every customer can see, just imagine how dirty the kitchen is where the customer can't see,” says Cannon. Just because employees must wash their hands before returning to work doesn’t mean you—or your food—are safe. (Some of the restaurant workers just piss in the drain outside the kitchen and whether they wash their hands or not after that only God knows).

4. That marked-up pasta dish pays my wages.

You know something like pasta costs only a few pennies and is usually topped with something that costs only a little more. But it’s safe to assume you won’t see $1.50 rigatoni on a menu any time soon. Bottom line, restaurants need to turn a profit. “At a fine-dining restaurant, the average cost of food is 38 to 42 percent of the menu price,” says Kevin Moll, CEO and president of National Food Service Advisors, in Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney. You also might be charged for sharing, cutting, corking, and other services that require minimal manpower. Markups help pay for kitchen labor, wait staff, décor, music, advertising, or even real estate costs. (It is always cheaper to cook yourself. A packet of Italian spaghetti only costs around RM4.00 at AEON Big Hypermarket and it is enough for the whole family. But if you were to eat out, you have to pay RM6.90 for a small plate of spaghetti. Some restaurants may even charge more than RM10.00 for that small plate of spaghetti. Is it worth  your money?)

PLEASE STOP YARL RESTAURANT'S SLEEP DEPRIVATION PROGRAM

Last night, yarl restaurant turned off its loud and deafening kitchen hood at 11.05 p.m. but this morning, at 6.23 a.m., the loud and deafening noise of this kitchen hood can be heard loudly and deafeningly in the entire neighbourhood chasing everyone out of their bedrooms. How many hours did we get to sleep? 7 hours and 18 minutes - we don't even have the right to sleep 8 hours a day in Malaysia after more than 56 years of independence! What should I write about this morning? Well, maybe I should write something about Lynas since I am suffering from a similar fate as the Lynas victims. Although initially I wasn't interested in their plight at all, I am beginning to understand the pain that they are going through as they are struggling to fight for their right to live in a safe environment. I truly understand now what it means to have your lives destroyed by selfish and irresponsible people who are only interested in their own profits without taking into account the intense sufferings that they may cause to others. Home is the best place on earth but my home and my life are now destroyed by yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. Having a house that you cannot live in is a terrible thing. All I can do now is to continue to suffer through yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. The more I am being tortured by yarl restaurant's noise pollution program, the more I sympathize with the Lynas victims. Just what kind of fate that am I sharing with the Lynas victims? According to Peter Boyle:

The shareholders of Lynas know that Kuantan is a beautiful community where fishermen have made a living for generations, and they want it to remain a place for their children to grow up safe. It is a place where many people come home to retire. It is a community that depends on tourism. It is a place of beautiful scenery. Then Lynas came in and took up 250 acres of land in the coastal area for its toxic waste-producing rare earth refinery. It is next to the Balok river and close to an urban area with a population of some 700,000.

 

Similarly, before yarl restaurant started operation in January this year, the place that I am living now was a peaceful and quiet place. My family has been living here for more than 30 years and I want it to remain a place for my children to grow up peacefully. I also hope to spend my retirement years in this place, the place where I grow up. Then yarl restaurant came here and put up its noisy kitchen hood outside our windows and makes loud and deafening noise day and night. We are being chased out from our bedrooms very early in the morning (sometimes as early as 5.30 a.m.) when we are still in our deep sleep. At night, long past bedtime hour, yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood is still making a lot of noise rendering it impossible for us to sleep. This loud and deafening noise may just go on until midnight. All our waking hours are plagued by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening noise and this terrible noise also intrudes into our sleep. Since yarl restaurant's boss often turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood at an average of 17-18 hours a day, this is seriously affecting our health. Like radiation, noise and sleep deprivation can also kill us. We are suffering intensely from yarl restaurant's noise pollution program but we cannot say or do anything about this. If we have the money, we could move out but how much does a new house costs now? Why can't the Kuala Lumpur City Hall do anything about this? They only know how to increase property taxes even though we are living in degrading conditions. Can the public please help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program? If there is nothing to cook, then yarl restaurant's boss doesn't have to turn on his noisy kitchen hood to torture us anymore! We shouldn't selfish and irresponsible people to triumph in their evil deeds.
 

A million Malaysians say shut polluter Lynas

Wednesday, November 27, 2013       

By Peter Boyle, Sydney

Malaysian activists outside Australian corporate polluter Lynas' HQ in Sydney. Photo by Peter Boyle.

Six Malaysian activists from the Himpunan Hijau (Green Assembly) group have begun a three-day occupation of the entrance to the corporate headquarters of Lynas in Sydney. The Australian company has built an unwanted toxic rare earths refinery in Kuantan , Malaysia.
They have come armed with a petition with signatures from 1.2 million Malaysians who demand that the toxic plant be shut down by June 29, 2014 at the latest.
The anti-Lynas occupation is at 56 Pitt Street, Sydney, until November 29 when it will shift to protest outside the Lynas shareholders' annual general meeting at The Establishment Hotel, 252 George St, Sydney. Another 10 Malaysian campaigners will be arriving for the AGM, some armed with share certificates or proxies to take their case directly to Lynas' shareholders.
Green Left Weekly's Peter Boyle interviewed Himpunan Hijau chairperson Wong Tack at the Lynas HQ occupation. Watch the full interview at Green Left TV .
* * *
What brings you to Lynas corporation's headquarters in Sydney?
Our purpose here is to tell Lynas and the people of Australia that Malaysians are very concerned about the issue of radioactive pollution caused by Lynas in our neighbourhood.
We want to let Australians and the shareholders of Lynas know that Kuantan is a beautiful community where fishermen have made a living for generations, and they want it to remain a place for their children to grow up safe. It is a place where many people come home to retire. It is a community that depends on tourism. It is a place of beautiful scenery.
Then Lynas came in and took up 250 acres of land in the coastal area for its toxic waste-producing rare earth refinery. It is next to the Balok river and close to an urban area with a population of some 700,000.
How strong is the community opposition to this toxic plant?
Over the last three years citizens from across our nation have come out to tell Lynas this is not acceptable.
Lynas came in through the back door. They built this plant without the people knowing. The plant was approved without proper procedures. And they built the plant without a proper environment impact assessment of the area.
The location of the plant is not suitable for this sort of industry.
Through the corrupt regime ruling Malaysia, Lynas obtained a temporary licence to operate. It is a temporary licence because Lynas is not fully compliant.
At this moment Lynas is operating without a proper waste management plan. The Atomic Energy Agency recommended that a permanent waste disposal facility must be in place before operations are allowed to go on.
Lynas has misled the people. First it made an undertaking in black and white that all the toxic waste would be shipped out of Malaysia. Now, after it has started operating it says that it has found ways to recycle its waste into building materials.
We have been fighting Lynas over the last two and a half years with public demonstrations of 20-30,000 people again and again.
Then we organised a 300-km Green Walk to raise awareness across the nation. It went from Kuantan, where the Lynas plant is, to the national capital Kuala Lumpur. We walked for 14 days through 15 townships. We started with a few people, sleeping by the side of the streets on the way, and then when we reached Kuala Lumpur more than 20,000 people joined us.
And your previous action, prior to this occupation outside Lynas HQ, was the "Bury Lynas with 1,000,000 signatures" petition campaign. How did that go?
The Malaysian prime minister said that if the people reject the Lynas plant then the plant should close. So in August we launched a campaign to collect a million signatures on a petition for the Lynas plant. We went to the streets and camped out at Dataran Merdeka [Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur] for 36 days and nights and we successfully obtained one million signatures.
At our latest count – just before we left for Australia – we have now collected 1.2 million signatures. The signatures are still coming in. You can see how strong the objections from Malaysians are and how committed we are to closing down Lynas.
So we are here with the voices of more than a million people to tell Lynas we will close your toxic plant down. We also are giving Lynas a deadline to close by June 29, 2014. That will be the date when millions of Malaysians will come to the streets to shut down this toxic plant. This is the message we want to give to Lynas and its shareholders.

STOP YARL RESTAURANT'S NOISE POLLUTION PROGRAM

The time now is 10.40 p.m. and I really would like to sleep but yarl restaurant is still making a lot of noise with its noisy kitchen hood. So here I am, writing another article about yarl restarant's noise pollution program. I will write until yarl restaurant turns off its noisy kitchen hood. Let's see how much I can write and what time yarl restaurant will turn off its noisy kitchen hood tonight. What should I write tonight whilst waiting for yarl restaurant to shut off its loud and deafening kitchen hood? Well, maybe I should write something about Lynas since I am suffering from a similar fate as the Lynas victims. Although initially, I wasn't interested in their plight at all, I am beginning to understand the pain that they are going through as they are struggling to fight for their right to live in a safe environment. I truly understand now what it means to have your lives destroyed by selfish and irresponsible people who is only interested in their own profits without taking account the intense sufferings that they may cause to others. Home is the best place on earth but my home and my life are now destroyed by yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. All I can do is to continue to suffer through yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. The more I am being tortured by yarl restaurant's noise pollution program, the more I sympathize with the Lynas victims. Just what kind of fate that am I sharing with the Lynas victims? According to Peter Boyle:

The shareholders of Lynas know that Kuantan is a beautiful community where fishermen have made a living for generations, and they want it to remain a place for their children to grow up safe. It is a place where many people come home to retire. It is a community that depends on tourism. It is a place of beautiful scenery. Then Lynas came in and took up 250 acres of land in the coastal area for its toxic waste-producing rare earth refinery. It is next to the Balok river and close to an urban area with a population of some 700,000.

 

Similarly, before yarl restaurant started operation in January this year, the place that I am living now was a peaceful and quiet place. My family has been living here for more than 30 years and I want it to remain a place for my children to grow up peacefully. I also hope to spend my retirement years in this place, the place where I grow up. Then yarl restaurant came here and put up its noisy kitchen hood outside our windows and makes loud and deafening noise day and night. We are being chased out from our bedrooms very early in the morning (sometimes as early as 5.30 a.m.) when we are still in our deep sleep. At night, long past bedtime hour, yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood is still making a lot of noise rendering it impossible for us to sleep. This loud and deafening noise may just go on until midnight. All our waking hours are plagued by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening noise and this terrible noise also intrudes into our sleep. Since yarl restaurant's boss often turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood at an average of 17-18 hours a day, this is seriously affecting our health. Like radiation, sleep deprivation can also kill us. The question is Why can't the Kuala Lumpur City Hall do anything about this? They only know how to increase property taxes even though we are living in degrading conditions. Can the public please help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program? If there is nothing to cook, then yarl restaurant's boss doesn't have to turn on his noisy kitchen hood to torture us anymore! We shouldn't allow selfish and irresponsible people to triumph in their evil deeds. (I'll stop now at 11.05 p.m., the time which yarl restaurant's boss turns off his loud and deafening kitchen hood. Let's see what time he will turn it on again tomorrow!)

A million Malaysians say shut polluter Lynas

Wednesday, November 27, 2013       

By Peter Boyle, Sydney

Malaysian activists outside Australian corporate polluter Lynas' HQ in Sydney. Photo by Peter Boyle.

Six Malaysian activists from the Himpunan Hijau (Green Assembly) group have begun a three-day occupation of the entrance to the corporate headquarters of Lynas in Sydney. The Australian company has built an unwanted toxic rare earths refinery in Kuantan , Malaysia.
They have come armed with a petition with signatures from 1.2 million Malaysians who demand that the toxic plant be shut down by June 29, 2014 at the latest.
The anti-Lynas occupation is at 56 Pitt Street, Sydney, until November 29 when it will shift to protest outside the Lynas shareholders' annual general meeting at The Establishment Hotel, 252 George St, Sydney. Another 10 Malaysian campaigners will be arriving for the AGM, some armed with share certificates or proxies to take their case directly to Lynas' shareholders.
Green Left Weekly's Peter Boyle interviewed Himpunan Hijau chairperson Wong Tack at the Lynas HQ occupation. Watch the full interview at Green Left TV .
* * *
What brings you to Lynas corporation's headquarters in Sydney?
Our purpose here is to tell Lynas and the people of Australia that Malaysians are very concerned about the issue of radioactive pollution caused by Lynas in our neighbourhood.
We want to let Australians and the shareholders of Lynas know that Kuantan is a beautiful community where fishermen have made a living for generations, and they want it to remain a place for their children to grow up safe. It is a place where many people come home to retire. It is a community that depends on tourism. It is a place of beautiful scenery.
Then Lynas came in and took up 250 acres of land in the coastal area for its toxic waste-producing rare earth refinery. It is next to the Balok river and close to an urban area with a population of some 700,000.
How strong is the community opposition to this toxic plant?
Over the last three years citizens from across our nation have come out to tell Lynas this is not acceptable.
Lynas came in through the back door. They built this plant without the people knowing. The plant was approved without proper procedures. And they built the plant without a proper environment impact assessment of the area.
The location of the plant is not suitable for this sort of industry.
Through the corrupt regime ruling Malaysia, Lynas obtained a temporary licence to operate. It is a temporary licence because Lynas is not fully compliant.
At this moment Lynas is operating without a proper waste management plan. The Atomic Energy Agency recommended that a permanent waste disposal facility must be in place before operations are allowed to go on.
Lynas has misled the people. First it made an undertaking in black and white that all the toxic waste would be shipped out of Malaysia. Now, after it has started operating it says that it has found ways to recycle its waste into building materials.
We have been fighting Lynas over the last two and a half years with public demonstrations of 20-30,000 people again and again.
Then we organised a 300-km Green Walk to raise awareness across the nation. It went from Kuantan, where the Lynas plant is, to the national capital Kuala Lumpur. We walked for 14 days through 15 townships. We started with a few people, sleeping by the side of the streets on the way, and then when we reached Kuala Lumpur more than 20,000 people joined us.
And your previous action, prior to this occupation outside Lynas HQ, was the "Bury Lynas with 1,000,000 signatures" petition campaign. How did that go?
The Malaysian prime minister said that if the people reject the Lynas plant then the plant should close. So in August we launched a campaign to collect a million signatures on a petition for the Lynas plant. We went to the streets and camped out at Dataran Merdeka [Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur] for 36 days and nights and we successfully obtained one million signatures.
At our latest count – just before we left for Australia – we have now collected 1.2 million signatures. The signatures are still coming in. You can see how strong the objections from Malaysians are and how committed we are to closing down Lynas.
So we are here with the voices of more than a million people to tell Lynas we will close your toxic plant down. We also are giving Lynas a deadline to close by June 29, 2014. That will be the date when millions of Malaysians will come to the streets to shut down this toxic plant. This is the message we want to give to Lynas and its shareholders.

PLEASE HELP US TO STOP YARL RESTAURANT'S NOISE POLLUTION PROGRAM

Yesterday was Saturday but I dared not go out late. I quickly did some shopping, grabbing whatever I could and  tried to be home as early as I could so that I could sleep early and get up early the next morning when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his noisy kitchen hood. Who knows when he would turn it on? He may turn it on as early as 5.30 a.m. But at 10.10 p.m. last night, when I was ready to sleep, yarl restaurant was still making a lot of noise with its noisy kitchen hood. So I turned on some music to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise and did some paper work. At 10.55 p.m., the kitchen hood was turned off so I immediately switched off my computer and went to sleep. But ten minutes later, at 11.05 p.m., yarl restaurant's boss turned on his noisy kitchen hood again. I forced myself to sleep but I just couldn't sleep with the noisy kitchen hood causing vibrations in my brain and heart. I could feel these strong vibrations even after I have covered my ears with 2 big pillows. So I got up and wrote Why is yarl restaurant a terrible nuisance in the neighbourhood. It was already 11.50 p.m. when yarl restaurant's boss turned off his noisy kitchen hood. But this morning, at 6.25 a.m., yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood again to chase us out of our bedrooms. We can't even afford to sleep a little bit longer on a Sunday morning. How many hours did we manage to sleep? 6 hours and 35 minutes. If the kitchen hood makes loud and deafening noise after between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., we can get out of our bedrooms and go elsewhere or turn on some kind of music/song to cover up the kitchenhood noise. But where are we to go during bedtime when yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood chases us out of bedrooms? Since I cannot sleep in my bedroom anymore, I have to sleep everywhere such as in the bus, monorail, LRT, taxi, train and even in my office during lunch time to make up for the 8 hours sleep which yarl restaurant's boss doesn't allow me to have. This is the fate of yarl restaurant's noise pollution victims. We cannot sleep early because of yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise and we have to get up early once the kitchen hood is turned on very early in the morning. This kind of life is really very stressful as we have to live according to the whims and fancies of yarl restaurant's boss. We have to endure sleep deprivation and noise pollution because yarl restaurant's boss wants to do business and to do his business he has to torture us with noise and chase us out of our bedrooms but we cannot say anything or do anything about it. How long are we to suffer like this? Can the public please help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program so that we don't have to suffer like this anymore? Please help us. We are dying from noise pollution because yarl restaurant's boss does not allow us to sleep. If there is nothing to cook, then the kitchen hood doesn't have to make noise until midnight and so early in the morning! Each time we talk about yarl restaurant we can't only think of hell. Since the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) cannot do anything about this, (we all know why they can't take action - it is because the kitchenhood has turned into the speaker when the DBKL people came to check on the restaurant) only the public can help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. The selfishness and irresponsibility of yarl restaurant's boss is clearly manifested in the way he treats the people in this neighbourhood - i.e. by torturing them with continuous, loud and deafening noise more than 17 hours a day (or to be exact 17 hours and 25 minutes today) and subjecting them to sleep deprivation everyday. We shouldn't encourage selfishness and irresponsibility in our society. We shouldn't allow anyone to triumph in their evil deeds!

Actions speak louder than words. Early every morning, when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood to chase everyone out of their bedrooms, it is as though he is giving us this message:

Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. That is why I am so daring. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant. My skin is very thick and I don't know how to feel ashamed of myself. I know very well that my kitchen hood is making a lot of noise but I don't care. I am also a liar. Sometime in August 2013, I lied to Fong Kui Lun's (MP of this area) assistant that I would reduce the noise in the neighbourhood without any intention to do so. Since he came to see me to ask me to reduce the noise after complaints from the neighbours, I might as well lie to him because I know that he cannot do anything to me. I am not going to spend a single sen to solve the noise problem. Let the neighbours suffer as long as I can make money. It is really amusing to make everyone in the neighbourhood suffer for the sake of my business. The entire neighbourhood is very quiet at this hour of the day, so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop, and the only noise you can hear is my kitchen hood noise. Each morning, when I turn on my noisy kitchen hood, everyone has to flee from their bedrooms. At night, long after bedtime hour, I can still make loud and deafening noise so that my victims cannot sleep. How funny! Sleep deprivation is a beautiful thing! See how my victims suffer? This clearly shows how grand I am! The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has given me the authority to do so through their inaction. These DBKL fellows dare not do anything to me. I can make others suffer under my noise pollution program and they cannot do anything to me. No one can do anything to me. Can we torture others for the sake of our business? Well, Malaysia Boleh and that is why I am doing it! MONEY FOR ME, NOISE FOR YOU-this is the motto of my life. Ha! Ha! Ha!

WHY IS YARL RESTAURANT SUCH A TERRIBLE NUISANCE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD?

Today is Saturday but I dared not go out late. I quickly did some shopping, grabbing whatever I could and  tried to be home as early as I could so that I could sleep early and get up early next morning when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his noisy kitchen hood. Who knows when he would turn it on? He may turn it on as early as 5.30 a.m. But at 10.10 p.m., when I was ready to sleep, yarl restaurant was still making a lot of noise with its noisy kitchen hood. So I turned on some music to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise and did some paper work. At 10.55 p.m., the kitchen hood was turned off so I immediately switched off my computer and went to sleep. But ten minutes later, at 11.05 p.m., yarl restaurant's boss turned on his noisy kitchen hood again. I forced myself to sleep but I just couldn't sleep with the noisy kitchen hood causing vibrations in my brain and heart. I could feel these strong vibrations even after I have covered my ears with 2 big pillows. So I got up and here I am, writing this article. Wonder when yarl restaurant's boss would turn off his noisy kitchen hood tonight and when he would he would turn it on again next morning? It is already almost midnight but yarl restaurant is still making a lot of noise with its noisy kitchen hood and we cannot sleep because of this noise. This is the fate of yarl restaurant's noise pollution victims. We cannot sleep early because of yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise and we have to get up early once the kitchen hood is turned on very early in the morning. If the kitchen hood makes loud and deafening noise after between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., we can at least get out of our bedrooms and go elsewhere or turn on some kind of music/song to cover up the kitchenhood noise. But where are we to go during bedtime when yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood chases us out of our bedrooms? Since I cannot sleep in my bedroom anymore, I have to sleep everywhere such as in the bus, monorail, LRT, taxi, train and even in my office during lunch time to make up for the 8 hours sleep which yarl restaurant's boss doesn't allow me to have. This kind of life is very stressful as we have to live according to the whims and fancies of yarl restaurant's boss. How long are we to suffer like this? Can the public help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program so that we don't have to suffer like this anymore? If there is nothing to cook, then the kitchen hood doesn't have to make noise until midnight! We are dying from noise pollution because yarl restaurant's boss does not allow us to sleep. Since the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) cannot do anything about this, (we all know why they can't take action - it is because the kitchenhood has turned into the speaker when the DBKL people came to check on the restaurant) only the public can help us to stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. The selfishness and irresponsibility of yarl restaurant's boss is clearly manifested in the way he treats the people in this neighbourhood - i.e. by torturing them with continuous, loud and deafening noise more than 17 hours a day and subjecting them to sleep deprivation. We shouldn't encourage selfishness and irresponsibility in our society. We shouldn't allow anyone to triumph in their evil deeds! (Today, yarl restaurant's boss turned off his loud and deafening kitchen hood at 11.50 p.m., ten more minutes before midnight).

8 hours sleep a day is a luxury that we can't afford in Malaysia

Last night, yarl restaurant turned off its loud and deafening kitchenhood at 11.17 p.m. and turned it on again at 6.54 a.m. this morning. So how many hours did we get to sleep? Only 7 hours 37 minutes. Why is it really so difficult for us to get 8 hours sleep a day in Malaysia? Why must we be plagued by loud and deafening noise continuously at an average of 17 hours a day but cannot say or do anything about it? To sleep 8 hours a day is something which everyone takes for granted but, as citizens of Malaysia, we have to fight so hard for it over such a long period of time but after so much sufferings we are still being denied the right to sleep 8 hours a day. Where are our basic human rights? Or do we have any? What's wrong with us? What is meant by RAKYAT DIUTAMAKAN (PEOPLE FIRST)? DOES IT MEAN THAT WE HAVE TO ENDURE NOISE POLLUTION WITH FORTITUDE BECAUSE THE KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? WHERE IS JUSTICE? THE LIFE OF A NOISE POLLUTION VICTIM IS AN EXTREMELY PAINFUL ONE TO ENDURE. WE ARE DYING SLOWLY FROM YARL RESTAUTANT'S NOISE POLLUTION PROGRAM. SOMEBODY HELP US PLEASE.


What are the harmful effects of Noise Pollution

Bhishm Khanna

Noise is considered a serious threat to the environmental health. Some of the adverse effects of noise pollution are given below:
1. It interferes with speech. In the presence of noise we may not able to follow, what the other person is saying.
2. Noise leads to emotional and behavioral stress. A person may feel disturbed in the presence of loud noise such as produced by heating of drums.
3. Noise may permanently damage hearing. A sudden loud noise can cause severe damage to the eardrum (Yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise can also cause deafness because it is so loud and deafening that the entire building seems to be vibrating because of the noise that comes from it).
4. Noise increases the chances of occurrence of diseases such as headache, blood pressure, heart failure, etc.
5. Noise leads to increased heart beat, constriction of blood vessels and dilation of pupil.
6. Noise is a problem especially for patients who need rest.
7. Noise may cause damage to liver, brain and heart.

 

SLEEP DEPRIVATION: A FORM OF TORTURE IN MALAYSIA

Before I start writing, I would like to make it very clear that I don't like the idea of getting up early every morning to write articles particularly when I am not feeling well and should be sleeping. It is yarl restaurant's boss who forced me to wake up from my deep sleep and write this. Since yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise can still be heard loudly and clearly even after I tried to cover my ears with two big pillows, I might as well get up and write this article. Why am I writing so much about yarl restaurant's air and noise pollution program? To fight for our right to sleep 8 hours a day. To fight for our right not to be disturbed by loud and deafening noise so early in the morning. According to the environmental laws, we are not allowed to make noise above 55dBA between 10 p.m. and 7.00 a.m. to disturb others. Even between 7.00 a.m. and 10 p.m., the noise level cannot exceed 65 dBA? How much is 60 dBA? The noise level of an ordinary conversation. What about yarl restaurant's loud motor sound ringing in our minds all the time (at an average of 17 hours a day) as though there is a noisy diesel truck parked outside our windows?

Last night, yarl restaurant turned off its noisy kitchen hood at 10.40 p.m. and that was when we could really sleep but this morning, at 6.20 a.m., yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood to chase everyone out of their bedrooms again. Did we manage to get the 8 hours sleep that we are supposed to have? No, we didn't. We only mange to sleep for 7 hours and 40 minutes and of course there have been many instance when we were allowed to sleep less than that (5-7 hours only). 56 years after independence, why is it so difficult for the citizens of Malaysia to get 8 hours of sleep a day? What's wrong with our beloved country that, as citizens of Malaysia, we have to endure loud and deafening noise and sleep deprivation as a part of our lives? What's wrong with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall? What is the Kuala Lumpur City Hall doing? When it comes to increasing our property taxes (between 100%-250%), it is extremely efficient. But when it comes to solving yarl restaurant's noise and air pollution case, it is totally useless. And of course, it does sound ridiculous, that right here in Malaysia, lawlessness still prevails. Yarl restaurant's noise and air pollution program is a very good example of lawleness not to mention the "Lynas Case" and the "Gold for Me, Cyanide for You Case". What do I mean by lawlessness? In the uncivilized world of the distant past when there was no law and order, anyone can do harm to others without fear of prosecution. That was the uncivilized past but in the 21st Century, after 56 years of independence, this kind of uncivilized act is still happening everyday in Malaysia and sad to say, it has been legalized. Why is it so? Because the Kuala Lumpur City Hall is encouraging noise pollution and sleep deprivation (a serious form of torture) by inaction even though it is an obvious fact that sleep deprivation can kill us.

My head is swinging now due to lack of sleep. Wonder how I am going to face another day at work. My boss is a very stingy boss and whenever anyone leaves the company, he would not take in any replacement. I have to do the job of two people without extra pay and in a severe state of sleep deprivation too. I have not been feeling well the past few weeks. Nothing serious though just having a cough and flu which could have healed a long time ago if only I could have enough sleep. In the past, it only took me 2 or 3 days to recover after sufficient rest and sleep. But now, I can't rest properly with yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise and I can't have enough sleep because yarl restaurant chases me out of my bedroom very early in the mornings when I am still in my deep sleep. Luckily, I am not suffering from cancer or I would have died already. Sometimes I do wonder why, as a citizen of Malaysia, I can't even have the basic right to sleep 8 hours a day? To sleep 8 hours a day is something which everyone takes for granted but, as a citizen of Malaysia, I have to fight so hard for it over such a long period of time but after so much sufferings I am still being denied the right to sleep 8 hours a day. What is wrong with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall? What is wrong with our country? What is the meaning of RAKYAT DIUTAMAKAN? Does it mean that noise pollution is good for us? Does it mean that we have no right to sleep 8 hours a day? Does it mean that we have to cope with excessive sleepiness every day of our lives? Let's read the articles below and find out what it means!

Coping With Excessive Sleepiness

10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss

Why do I need to register or sign in for WebMD to save?

We will provide you with a dropdown of all your saved articles when you are registered and signed in.

By Camille Peri

WebMD Feature

Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, FACC

 

You know lack of sleep can make you grumpy and foggy. You may not know what it can do to your sex life, memory, health, looks, and even ability to lose weight. Here are 10 surprising -- and serious -- effects of sleep loss.

1. Sleepiness Causes Accidents

Sleep deprivation was a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history: the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, and others.
But sleep loss is also a big public safety hazard every day on the road. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that fatigue is a cause in 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 crash-related deaths a year in the U.S. The problem is greatest among people under 25 years old.
Studies show that sleep loss and poor-quality sleep also lead to accidents and injuries on the job. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. They also had more sick days per accident.

2. Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down

Sleep plays a critical role in thinking and learning. Lack of sleep hurts these cognitive processes in many ways. First, it impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. This makes it more difficult to learn efficiently.
Second, during the night, various sleep cycles play a role in “consolidating” memories in the mind. If you don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to remember what you learned and experienced during the day.

3. Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems

Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss can put you at risk for:

• Heart disease
• Heart attack
• Heart failure
• Irregular heartbeat
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Diabetes

According to some estimates, 90% of people with insomnia -- a sleep disorder characterized by trouble falling and staying asleep -- also have another health condition.

4. Lack of Sleep Kills Sex Drive

Sleep specialists say that sleep-deprived men and women report lower libidos and less interest in sex. Depleted energy, sleepiness, and increased tension may be largely to blame.
For men with sleep apnea, a respiratory problem that interrupts sleep, there may be another factor in the sexual slump. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in 2002 suggests that many men with sleep apnea also have low testosterone levels. In the study, nearly half of the men who suffered from severe sleep apnea also secreted abnormally low levels of testosterone during the night.

5. Sleepiness Is Depressing

Over time, lack of sleep and sleep disorders can contribute to the symptoms of depression. In a 2005 Sleep in America poll, people who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety were more likely to sleep less than six hours at night.

The most common sleep disorder, insomnia, has the strongest link to depression. In a 2007 study of 10,000 people, those with insomnia were five times as likely to develop depression as those without. In fact, insomnia is often one of the first symptoms of depression.

Insomnia and depression feed on each other. Sleep loss often aggravates the symptoms of depression, and depression can make it more difficult to fall asleep. On the positive side, treating sleep problems can help depression and its symptoms, and vice versa.

6. Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin

Most people have experienced sallow skin and puffy eyes after a few nights of missed sleep. But it turns out that chronic sleep loss can lead to lackluster skin, fine lines, and dark circles under the eyes.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. In excess amounts, cortisol can break down skin collagen, the protein that keeps skin smooth and elastic.
Sleep loss also causes the body to release too little human growth hormone. When we’re young, human growth hormone promotes growth. As we age, it helps increase muscle mass, thicken skin, and strengthen bones.
“It’s during deep sleep -- what we call slow-wave sleep -- that growth hormone is released,” says sleep expert Phil Gehrman, PhD. “It seems to be part of normal tissue repair -- patching the wear and tear of the day.”

7. Sleepiness Makes You Forgetful

Trying to keep your memory sharp? Try getting plenty of sleep.
In 2009, American and French researchers determined that brain events called “sharp wave ripples” are responsible for consolidating memory. The ripples also transfer learned information from the hippocampus to the neocortex of the brain, where long-term memories are stored. Sharp wave ripples occur mostly during the deepest levels of sleep.

8. Losing Sleep Can Make You Gain Weight

When it comes to body weight, it may be that if you snooze, you lose. Lack of sleep seems to be related to an increase in hunger and appetite, and possibly to obesity. According to a 2004 study, people who sleep less than six hours a day were almost 30 percent more likely to become obese than those who slept seven to nine hours.
Recent research has focused on the link between sleep and the peptides that regulate appetite. “Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin signals satiety to the brain and suppresses appetite,” says Siebern. “Shortened sleep time is associated with decreases in leptin and elevations in ghrelin.”
Not only does sleep loss appear to stimulate appetite. It also stimulates cravings for high-fat, high-carbohydrate foods. Ongoing studies are considering whether adequate sleep should be a standard part of weight loss programs.

 

9. Lack of Sleep May Increase Risk of Death

In the “Whitehall II Study,” British researchers looked at how sleep patterns affected the mortality of more than 10,000 British civil servants over two decades. The results, published in 2007, showed that those who had cut their sleep from seven to five hours or fewer a night nearly doubled their risk of death from all causes. In particular, lack of sleep doubled the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

10. Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment, Especially About Sleep

Lack of sleep can affect our interpretation of events. This hurts our ability to make sound judgments because we may not assess situations accurately and act on them wisely.
Sleep-deprived people seem to be especially prone to poor judgment when it comes to assessing what lack of sleep is doing to them. In our increasingly fast-paced world, functioning on less sleep has become a kind of badge of honor. But sleep specialists say if you think you’re doing fine on less sleep, you’re probably wrong. And if you work in a profession where it’s important to be able to judge your level of functioning, this can be a big problem.
“Studies show that over time, people who are getting six hours of sleep, instead of seven or eight, begin to feel that they’ve adapted to that sleep deprivation -- they’ve gotten used to it,” Gehrman says. “But if you look at how they actually do on tests of mental alertness and performance, they continue to go downhill. So there’s a point in sleep deprivation when we lose touch with how impaired we are.”

Yarl restaurant's noise pollution program: A terrible nuisance in the neighbourhood

This morning, at 6.20 a.m., yarl restaurant's selfish and irresponsible boss turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood to disturb the entire neighbourhood. Actions speak louder than words and each morning, when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood, it is as though he is saying:

Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. That is why I am so daring. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant. My skin is very thick and I don't know how to feel ashamed of myself. I know very well that my kitchen hood is making a lot of noise but I don't care. I am also a liar. Sometime in August 2013, I lied to Fong Kui Lun's (MP of this area) assistant that I would reduce the noise in the neighbourhood without any intention to do so. Since he came to see me to ask me to reduce the noise after complaints from the neighbours, I might as well lie to him because I know that he cannot do anything to me. I am not going to spend a single sen to solve the noise problem. Let the neighbours suffer as long as I can make money. It is really amusing to make everyone in the neighbourhood suffer for the sake of my business. The entire neighbourhood is very quiet at this hour of the day, so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop, and the only noise you can hear is my kitchen hood noise. Each morning, when I turn on my noisy kitchen hood, everyone has to flee from their bedrooms.  How funny! See how grand I am. I can make others suffer under my noise pollution program and they cannot do anything to me. My air pollution program is also very grand. Everyone's clothes are soaked with curry smell from my kitchen each time they put their clothes out to dry in the balcony. Can we torture others for the sake of our business? Well, Malaysia Boleh and that is why I am doing it! MONEY FOR ME, NOISE FOR YOU-this is the motto of my life and I am not the only one doing this. Ha! Ha! Ha!
Raub, Pahang : Gold for me, cyanide for you...

"It is possible for cyanide to leak during the transfer if sufficient precautions are not taken. And if that happens, water supplies in the Klang Valley will be affected" - Tan Hui Chun (Environment and safety consultant)

"Hasil kajian Kementerian Kesihatan mengenai tahap kesihatan
penduduk sekitar kawasan itu, menunjukkan tiada kesihatan penduduk terjejas akibat bahan kimia sianida." - T Muruhiah (Timbalan Menteri, Jabatan Perdana Menteri)

1. Zorro unmasked started probing on this a few weeks back and Malaysiakini reported on 25th June 2009 that Murugiah announced that the health of 3,000 residents of Bukit Koman, Raub is not in danger of cyanide poisoning. That is fast when Bernama broke the news on 23rd June 2009 quoting Murugiah's pledge that he will investigate the matter.
2. I didn't say this but I remember in one movie...

   "Look, I don't know shit about shit but I know right from wrong!" - Erin Brockovich

3. Just because Bukit Koman's residents are simple folks in out of town Raub does not give the license for Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd (RAGM) to do what they pleased.
4. The residents had listed their complaints of :-
   
   • Cyanide-like odour in the place;
   • Headaches, breathing difficulties and skin irritation;
   • noise pollution etc
5. Now, let us go back to the reports and see what Murugiah said. On noise, Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) reported that they measure noise produce by RAGM at 48.7 Db which is lower the allowed 55 Db.
6. Let's say that the readings are correct. When is the readings taken? Is RAGM operating at normal production during the readings? How far are the sound meters placed? Is it aimed at the source (noise) ? What is the height of the meter? Who witness the tests? Are the results independently verified ? Are the sound meters calibrated?
7. On cyanide issue, this is no joking matter. Cambodia and Vietnam have cases of cyanide poisoning in rivers where the effects is 10 years down the line. In certain parts of Cambodia, the natural cyanide caused cancer since there is no proper water treatment system.
8. In history, there is questions whether Napoleon Bonarparte died of arsenic poisoning. Even in Malaysia, the one time Deputy Prime Minister also accused someone of administering him with cyanide poisoning. What this tells you is that cyanide poisoning is difficult to detect and if it happens in Bukit Koman, what hope is there that the authorities will trace down the culprits? The most taht will be done will be mass relocation of the population on some pretentious issue like SARS, maybe?
9. About headache, the report mentioned that 93 are sampled and out of 93 samplings, 6 claimed headache. That will be 6.5%. Is that normal for Malaysians? Is it a normal standard? If it is, then all is well and fine. If not, then what has the Jabatan Kesihatan has to say about it? Is it their diet? Is it their style of living? Is it the air? Is it the water? If this is an issue, then investigate the root cause. Saying that it is normal and acceptable limit must be validated with data. You just can't say it's OK when it's not!!
10. Another blogger, Antares mentioned that one of the important share holder is a Pahang VVIP. To this scribe, everybody needs to make a living. But it must be honest living. Putting a VVIP in the board does not absolve the company from its social responsibilities. In fact, companies with VVIP shareholders should be more responsible than responsible. They are supposed to be the model companies in terms of social responsibilities and sensitive to the surounding needs and problems.
11. Touching on social responsibilities, the Bukit Koman issue should be closely monitored by Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM). Is SAM aware of RAGM? Is SAM aware of the EIA? What is SAM's stand on this? If SAM has been persistently monitoring the EIA reports for the Pahang-Selangor water tunnel project, then SAM should be equally persistent in monitoring Bukit Koman issue.
12. It is always been the case of Malaysian authorities. When a project is new, it will always come up with proposals on waste disposal and monitoring. A case of example is the Tioxide plant in Terengganu. International companies will be presenting the authorities with sophisticated plans on how they dispose toxic waste, how they manage toxic waste, how they store toxic waste etc etc. On paper, it will be the best, the most innovative, the most up to date at par with world's standard. In practise? Who will monitor the waste disposal? Who verify their management system? Who recorded their toxic waste storage? This is more so critical for Bukit Koman residents as Bukit Koman is way too rural to be noticed. There, RAGM may be "king" to do what they please.
13. Planning and executing are 2 different things. RAGM may have the best plannings, but who will monitor their planning and execution? RAGM may claim that they have safety officers under them but paid safety officers may be subject to the whims and fancies of RAGM.
14. Remember Lubok Mandi? During the "gold rush" fever, some died when their makeshift tunnels collapsed. That was a tragedy but in was instant. You can see and watch it. Here in Bukit Koman, arsenic poisoning is slow and sure. It will not be instantaneous. It will be slow and painful. So my qquestion - who will monitor RAGM's activities? Will it be on regular monitoring? Will it be done by independent third parties? Will it be carried out by JAS? Frankly, this scribe is suspicious of government authorities because with "kopi", everything jadi.....
15. Murugiah should not be too fast in declaring Bukit Koman as safe. It needs continous monitoring. Do we have the expertise? Do we have the labs? Do we follow international standards?
16. To be fair to Murugiah, he did called for special hearing on 25th June 2009 but none of ukit Koman residents turned up. The reason given by the residents is that they have a prior engagement with other parties, set up 1 month ago and Muru's hearing was called last minute. The residents claimed that they have called to explain their absence.
17. Gold mining in Bukit Koman is fine but we surely hope that Bukit Koman will not hit international news as a kampung devastated by arsenic poisoning. That said, can Murugiah guarantees no arsenic poisoning in Bukit Koman for at least another 8 years? Heck, I don't think Murugiah can give the assurance because he may be gone from PM's department soon if Kayveas get his way. If Kayveas fails to oust Murugiah from PM's department, maybe the rakyat will when GE 13 comes around....

Till then...G'nite M'sia...wherever u are...