What a formula...

I'm sure some of you have seen this before. I think I first saw this in an email. Anyway, I was Stumbling my around the web and found this formula again.

I just had to smile when I went through the equations again. It does make some sense, doesn't it? Haha...I'm sure female readers would object vehemently ;p

This guy (and I'm assuming it's a guy for obvious reasons) must have had some 'evil' stuff done to him by a girl. Either that or he's just too free.

To be racial or not to be - that is the stupid question

Teargas were fired again.

Water cannons were again brutally effective.

What can I say? That unless you are part of UMNO and its gang of members, you will barred from going to any open rally - much less organize one.

And our Prime Minister has the audacity (to quote The Star) to say the following:

“It has nothing to do with race. People should stop linking or viewing everything that happens in the country as a racial matter,” the Prime Minister said.

How can the people not view things in racial lenses when their leaders speaks about everything along racial lines?

These days, almost everything that comes out of BN and its cronies has the word 'race' laced with it. Be it from building more Chinese type schools in an attempt to appease the Chinese community, to the keris-wielding, keris-kissing antics that they hope people are blind to see.

Perhaps the BN component parties, such as UMNO, MCA and MIC, should all merge into a single political party rather than continuing with their racist agendas. There is no one more racist in this country than the leaders of these parties, despite their outdated justification that the needs of each races have to be championed - separately. I call that bullshit because of the obvious reason that their main objective is the continuance of their stranglehold on power, which they have so unfairly gained at the people's expense.

Our so-called leaders are too entrenched in the mindset that they know what's best for the people. In actual fact, all they know is what's best for themselves. They know what needs to be done for them to stay in power. And they also know that in order for them to wield absolute power, the people needs to be kept ignorant at all cost. And so they loath those who challenge their so-called authority and will move swiftly to denounce, cripple and even persecute any movement that they see will gain momentum and threaten their grip on power.

Our PM has already said it - "saya pantang dicabar". It means he sees it as a taboo to challenge him. He's daring the people of Malaysia, who voted his political party into power, to challenge him. Oh...the arrogance of Malaysia's political leaders. A shame on us for voting such people into office.

You see, there is nothing more sweet than being in power. Being rich and having complete control over one's own destiny is truly...addictive and something that most people would be more than reluctant to lose. To quote a famous phrase by one Lord Acton "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men".

Reading this piece of news, one can only resign to the fact that the government has probably pulled the right strings in preparation of the coming general election. The phrase, "buying into people's heart", aptly applies here. But we should not be discouraged. Instead we should continue to strive for a balanced system and one that is far less corrupt, far more transparent and one that would be held accountable for abusing its powers. Oh...and one that is not racist - that way the PM would not need to worry about the people viewing everything than happens in the Boleh-land as a racial matter.

Ever dreamt in your cube? Try it...you can dream in style...

I'm sure most of you who watch the previous clip had a good laugh. LOLz! I sure did ;p

Anyway, here something different today. A friend emailed me this song just now, but I couldn't embed it in here cause it's been disabled by request.

Do watch it. It's called Cube Dreamin', original composition and animation by Ivan Lim. Nope, not this Ivan - though I wish it was ;p The song apparently won an award at the ITV Awards Music Night. Though someone needs to tell me what an "ITV Awards Music Night" is all about.

The lyrics to the song as follows. I guess those of us sitting in cubes everyday working our asses off can relate to what the song is about.

It was just another day at the usual pace,
I'm sitting in my cube in the same old place.
I see the same old docking station,
the same old job in the same old situation.

Work grows, it's always like that,
the more time I have, it seems, the more work I get.
I sit alone and wonder why
it's been so long since I got to see the sky...

I'm sure, that you're just like me.
We all have our issues with our WLB.
But wait, there is a way,
to get you through the rest of the day...

and it's called:

Cube dreamin', you're dreaming in style,
I'll show you how to do it and it won't take a while,
you just lie back in your ergo chair,
take a deep breath of the office air,
and close your eyes and start cube dreamin' away...

I dream of pretty places where I'd like to be,
I'm lying on the sands on the beach by the sea.
With a warm breeze blowing at me,
it feels so good to be free...

and as I was dreamily watching the tides,
a pretty young lady comes and sits by my side,
and she looks at me with those pretty eyes,
tell me, what was I to do, when she said:
"Come with me now baby I wanna be with you..."

and then I wake up, to find that things are not what they seem.
I see my T41, that stupid machine,
it's got another fatal error, another blue screen.
I guess I'll just restart, then go back and dream....

'cause I'd rather do:
Cube dreamin', I'm dreaming in style,
I'll show you how to do it and it won't take a while.
you just lie back in your ergo chair,
take a deep breath of the office air,
and close your eyes and start cube dreamin' away...

I close my eyes, and start cube dreamin' away...

Ini Bodoh!

Haha...watch this you'll...LOL
(I apologize to those who doesn't understand Bahasa Malaysia - I don't have the translation)

Of dinner, getting the boot and enjoying a cup of latte

The last entry was about being hectic - and a lot on other different stuff that made it hectic for me. I should really be posting about my trip to KL and Genting two weeks ago. But procrastination is one of my habits. Took lots of pictures, so will see if I find time to blog about it.

Anyway, I have finally managed to go about organizing the celebrations for one of our product releases. While there are still quite a lot of stuff to coordinate and complete before the actual day of the event - which is next Thursday - I'm hoping that it'll be a success. Have some help from a few friends, so keeping my fingers crossed - as usual.

There will be a Treasure Hunt in QueensBay Mall - yeah, we are doing it in a shopping complex - and then we are going for movies at the GSC and then finally an appreciation dinner at TGI Fridays. Some of our managers were really great in willing to contribute some $$$ to having this celebration. Haha...it's all in the idea to reward your hardworking employees, right? ;p I will update more with pictures after the event next week.

And on other news...

England got booted out of Euro 2008! I guess they weren't lucky enough this time. But I heard they were crap last night, so perhaps they deserved it, despite Israel doing them a favour by beating Russia earlier on. And you know what? Because of not making it to the finals, England's economy could be affected. Read this.

And of course, Steve Mclaren surely got the boot for selecting the wrong players, not to mention the wrong formation, which of course resulted in the wrong result that night. Well, practically everything seems to have gone awry for England, its squad, and its the manager. The FA will now spend the next few months looking a suitable manager - and I really hope they get the right one this time.

Oh well, I haven't spent much time on these matches these days. It was good that I went to Starbucks that night instead and got myself a hot Toffe Nut Latte.
Accompanied by a slice of Mocha Cheesecake ;p
Mmmm...Yum! Yum! If only I have one of each with me right now...

Simply hectic

Not much to update over the weekend, though it sure has been a tiring one. First, I made the mistake to clean the shelf. Then I thought I should get those plastic like shelf cupboards (where you can assemble them - DIY - on your own, to replace the old wooden - also DIY - shelves/cupboard. There was just too much dust around the open shelves and being the lazy me - I just wanted something to keep my things clean, without much effort ;p

But then after I took off all the stuff from the shelves...cleaned them, move them to the newly bought plastic drawers...I decided that the room needed some cleaning - and that means all the sweeping and moping, and not forgetting changing the bedsheets and comforter.

On hindsight that wasn't a lot work, cause that's what I usually do anyway when I clean the room. But then I also thought I should organize all my documents also, which includes, bank and credit card statements (from different banks), bills, receipts, and a whole host of other 'stuff'. I went to get new files - different colour ones too - and cleaned the drawers and tables that were littered with unsorted documents.

And then last night I found out that I had a bunch of clothes - t-shirts mostly - that started to get moldy (OK, I know...yuck...) on me and so I had to sort all of them out, pack them and sent them to the laundry today. I was too lazy to wash all the clothes + bedsheets, so I thought paying to get them done was the better way out ;p

To me, it was definitely a tiring weekend - and yet I managed to slot in a session of mahjong with my sis-in-law and friends. And watched both episodes 7 and 8 of Heroes ;p And went out for a dinner of dim-sum in Georgetown with a visiting friend from Kajang.

And you know what? All the cleaning started because my 80GB external HD crashed on me on Friday and I was turning my room upside down to find the receipt for it. In the end, I didn't find it and didn't need it either. Brought it back the shop at Bukit Jambul (Bayan Baru) and the guy said they will send it back to their supplier/distributor/(not sure what he called it) for repair - and the sad part is that it'll take 3-4 weeks. Said it was still under warranty and gave me another receipt for collection. I'm hoping that it can be recovered...would hate needing to download all the stuff that's in there again. I think I have burned all the pictures in there onto CDs, so it should be alright in that department. Even if it's unrecoverable, I pray that I don't need to buy a new one. Touch wood. Cross my fingers.

This morning was a rush. Had to use my lunch break to go fix my car. On Friday afternoon, I detected some 'noise' coming out of my car and at first I thought that something was lose beneath the car. I tried jacking up the car and having a peek at what might be lose, but could not find a clue. Then I thought my exhaust could be punctured because the Wira SE I'm driving has low profile tires and I kind of put a dent on the exhaust about more than a year back.

So I sent my car for a check up at the Proton Edar workshop and found out that the muffler was broken, thus making the clunking noise I was hearing. Dang...it meant I needed to spend $$$ again. And I was already going broke with all the expenses this month. Anyway, couldn't get it done at the Proton Edar place, and so I brought it to a store by the name of Kiong Lee (somewhere near Vistana Hotel if anyone reading this is familiar with the Bayan Baru area) - which is an exhaust repair shop.

Well, the long story short, got the whole thing fixed for RM270. The muffler itself was around RM180 - got a stainless steel one - but I changed other parts of the exhaust as well to fix some problems I had with the car. Apparently, according to the guy there, the exhaust (sometimes just the muffler like in my case) for the Proton Wira SE usually last for about 2 years only - before the thing goes. Talk about low quality.

I guess the best part of it was that I don't actually need to pay the fix till the end of next month - caused I charged it to my credit card ;p Hehe...ya ya...I know, I know, I do keep track of my expenses. But this is one of the best examples on why using credit cards can be very convenient and useful.

Anyway, no pictures of all the things that I have crapped about above. If I'm feeling free or maybe just for kicks, I'll try taking some pics and puting them up here as an update. Till then, I'm going to get back to planning for this appreciation dinner I'm helping to organize for my department. Where should we have it....G-Cafe? Or Cafe Laurel? Anyone reading this been to any one of them?

Tagged...

Hehe...don't usually do tags, but let's see if some old friends are reading this blog...

Those Who've Done it:

Limadang.com
RamblingMoo.com
blogginginmypyjamas
StylewithPassion
Chinneeq
Dora-zooropazoo
Babyshern
Frankensteina
Diyanazman
Lost in Translation Yup...she's one who tagged me...
Simply Rojak

This super tag of love goes out to:

Ling at Wildflower - Although I'm not sure if she knows that Simply Rojak has been revived. OK need to tell her first lol ;p

Boso at Boso.Me - Hey man...sorry for not keeping in touch more. I'm sure you have plenty of people to tag! ;p

Sonu at Rimes of an Indian Yo dude! Update thy blog! ;p

A cup of politics

From basically telling people that BN is the lesser of two evils when compared to PAS - which was more than three years ago - to now explaining to people that a rally for electoral reforms is the right of people living in a democracy. By the way, I still don't think PAS is a good option, but that is a story for another time.

Perhaps I did not get my car damaged. Perhaps I did not have to close up shop for the day and lose the opportunity to do business. Perhaps I did not get my shopping plans interrupted. Perhaps that's why I am supporting the rally.

What happened that day was that I came down from Genting with a friend and got on a train with several Bersih supporters still wearing their yellow t-shirts. They were talking about the march and some were sharing pictures that were taken. They were heading to Seremban - a smart move too I must say since along some of the towns police has set up checkpoints - if I'm not mistaken - to search for these supporters.

I now remembered why I stopped blogging - specifically stopped blogging about politics. I got tired of convincing the religious right about the need to form an inclusive political system for a multi ethnic and multi religious country. I got tired of trying to tell people to stop being racist and communal. I got tired of repeating myself on the merits of political awareness and active participation. There was like...a lost of hope.

I write with the intention to educate and create awareness. Who do you think you are? - Some might ask. You think you are smarter than me? - Some would say. Without disrespect nor offense, I believe there are too many ignorant and politically apathetic people around. Not only in Malaysia, but then again, my country matters first to me.

But there are far more socio-political blogs in Malaysia today. And they are doing a great job covering issues that would have otherwise been buried by the local media. Thinking about it, perhaps I should leave it to them and revert back to something much lighter. Perhaps it'll get me more readers. Heh.

Anyway, too much politics these few days is getting to my head. Need some coffee despite it being my bedtime now. A cup of these would be nice.

Not knowing is not an option

Just finished reading Zewt's "Can we really “not be part of it”?" blog entry and it really shows how many of us in the current generation are still in the "tidak apa" attitude - some call it don't know, don't care.

During my university days in the UK, it's rare that someone would start a conversation that touches on our country's current affairs. Students then mostly complained about the pegged Ringgit and its effects on university fees being inappropriately high. And then there was always the lingering discontent about Malay students getting scholarships and grants to do medicine courses - while that same opportunity is lost to equally eligible non-Bumi students.

And yet, even with so much to complain about, most non-Bumi students are politically apathetic. Looking at how they were brought up - I mean those in the 70s and 80s; and I'm one of them - it's hard to blame them for not caring. The education system in Malaysia has been designed to bully and scare its students into toeing the line. Non-Bumis are constantly reminded of the May 13 tragedy and slowly we have been brainwashed into not wanting to care nor participate.

I have a friend who told me - quite a few times - that she doesn't like politics, and so don't quite get it nor care about it. And this friend of mine is a law student. At that time I found it quite amusing because to me politics - i.e. policy making and governance - and the study of law is inseparable.

I said to my friend that she doesn't need to like politics, much less love it, though she needs to know it. This is especially true for minorities in a multi ethnic and multi religious country such as Malaysia - particularly when it's divided by racial politics. Each race, each group, each party are out to protect his or her own rights - ONLY.

For example, we have Malay parties fighting for their so-called agenda on one corner. On another side, we have the Chinese fighting desperately for the need to maintain education in Chinese, less their identity be lost through assimilation. And then we have all the other race-based political parties. Even the opposition political parties are racially biased, if not religiously biased.

My point is that if the minorities themselves do not stand up for their own rights, then there is a high chance that these rights will slowly be trampled over by the so-called majority. And this has been happening to the minorities in Malaysia ever since May 13, 1969.

One has to realized that there is no escape from politics. From the moment you wake up in the morning, everything - from the water you use for washing your face, to the bread you eat for breakfast are affected by the policies that your government is making. How much does your car cost? How much do you need to repay your loan interest? How much do you need to pay for fuel? How much do you need to pay for toll? How much do you pay for a bowl of noodles? All these and much more are touched either directly or indirectly by the very policies that our elected - some appointed - politicians make on our behalf.

Not knowing politics is not an option. Not knowing and not participating ensures the lost of your ability to act (i.e. vote) correctly. And in the end, there isn't much point to complain about injustices since you didn't quite care in the first place, no?

Electoral Reforms! Are You Game?

Note: Click the banner for the full-sized version

Some people complained about it...some even said it disrupted their shopping plans...some were bemused by the popularity it gained...some are confused over the number of people who joined...one minister was so shocked that he stammered his way through an interview with Al-Jazeera...

On the other hand, some thought it was history in the making...a lot cheered the people for making it...many more wrote about it on their blogs...and even more are now talking about it...and it gave some people back their belief that this country can be changed for the better...

And well, I missed it...but that's another story. Regardless of your reason for being there AND for not being there - it now matters not. What matters is that when there are thousands of people willing to take a march and face possible persecution, I believe something is wrong and that the voices need to be heard. What is a democracy without the right to voice our discontent - even if some would argue that it's only of the minority?

We are not living in a mob-ruled country where the majority (or more accurately - the minority with "powers") tramples over the rights of the so-called "minority". If Malaysia is to move towards a truly democratic country, then it should learn how to live with people voicing their opinions and criticisms openly. Like someone mentioned in his blog earlier, it's called EVOLUTION of our country's democratic process.

And so to contribute and to make up for missing out on this moment, I made the above banner with my thoughts aim directly at the powers that be. Think you would lose the next election if you submit to electoral reforms?

If you like it, feel free to share the banner.

A night out at QEII and Glo

Weekends are usually quiet and unproductive, unless someone made the effort to organize some gathering or activity ;p Here's an update on something lighter in view of the recent entries that I have been posting on Simply Rojak.

Anyway, last Friday some us went out for a night out - thought we try out QEII around the jetty area - in Penang of course :) It's not such a new place, but it's been a while since I was out clubbing or having a drink in town - so it was nice to chill out.

Presenting...QEII

Waterfront view

Nice and calm...

And a chance to cam whore ;p

Some of us...

And some of them ;p

Anyway, I found that it wasn't as happening as I've heard from people. Perhaps it was just a quiet weekend. Because we then decided to head down to town and it was pretty quiet there too - I mean as compared to most weekends where there are lots of people, and most importantly...ahem...'leng luis' ;p

OK, so we decided to chill out in the Glo, cause some of us wanted to dance a little. And usually the crowd at the Glo is pretty OK. RM350 for a bottle of Chivas for eight people's not too bad, I guess - considering that they were trying to pull people into the club.

We dance, we drank and took lots of pics. And here are the results of that:

After a few shots...

After a few more...he was practically "blushing" by that time ;p

Me with the gals. Where has the other one gone to?

Ah...here she is... :D

Ouch!

The whole gang - and time to go home too looking at some of the sleep eyes

Thanks to Sharon and FL for the pics - They, of course had handbags to carry cameras ;p

Consult me first!

The Star carried a short piece of news, Samy: Consult before demolishing temples, with regards to Samy Vellu saying that 'he' should be consulted first before any more of the Indian temples are demolished.

I smiled when I read that. They don't listen to you la, Uncle...and not like they care about what you've got to say either. If they did, the problem this time round would not have happened in the first place - this is certainly not the first time that the people are angry at the way their temples have been destroyed - without any care, consultation and most importantly, respect. And you can be sure that no such thing would happen to a mosque in Malaysia. Now, that's called double standards.

"Emotional Abuse"

Now apparently, Kelantan's Menteri Besar is trying to make Malaysia famous again with his out-of-this-world comments - how does this guy come up with such "unthinkable" ideas?

His latest theory - I called it a theory simply because there is really no scientific proof on this - is that:

Malaysia's Muslim men are suffering sleepless nights and cannot pray properly because their thoughts are distracted by a growing number of women who wear sexy clothes in public, a prominent cleric said [...]

He further added that:

We always [hear about] the abuse of children and wives in households, which is easily perceived by the eye, but the emotional abuse of men cannot be seen [...]

Our prayers become unfocused and our sleep is often disturbed [...]

What can I say? Just Wow...x2

Now, I'm not sure if that's what he has actually said - but judging from the other mind-boggling theories he has came up with in the past...I'm not too surprised.

Just think about it. What he's suggesting - and has done so quite a number of times - is that women and the way they dress is responsible for how a man thinks and acts. When a man acts based on the judgment of his penis, it's considered justified if the opposite sex shows them a bare shoulder or thigh (what were they doing looking there in the first place?). How stupid is the logic? And how much more sexist can one get?

Of wheat and bread - Updates

This is a follow-up from my previous entry on the possible rise of bread prices in view of the higher cost of wheat worldwide.

According to this piece of news, bread will now costs between 20 sen and 30 sen more per loaf - and this price increase started yesterday. A loaf of Gardenia white bread will now cost RM2.10. Prices for bread from Hi5 has also seen an increase of 10%-25%.

However, the festive season price control scheme would be on for 15 days until Nov 15 for Deepavali.

"Unity, Liberty, Equality" by Tan Cheng Lock

The following speech was written by Tan Cheng Lock titled, "Malayans - Unite To Achieve Merdeka (Freedom) - Stand By 3 Principles of Unity, Liberty, Equality". - taken from Sepuluh Tahun.

Do take some time to read it. Unity, Liberty, Equality - these are the things that we have not fully attain, even after 50 years of independence. Much worse, we have found our rights eroded and bullied into accepting it.


On this, the occasion of the first anniversary of the founding of the Malayan Democratic Union, permit me to offer the President, the Executive Committee and members my cordial congratulations, coupled with the earnest prayer that the Union, which occupies a unique position in this country in that it embraces all race, will have a giant growth as an organisation pledged to help to bring to fruition the ideal of a democratic self-government in a United Malaya, in which the different racial elements comprised in its domiciled population shall be ensured equality of status and rights.

Emancipation from oppressive conditions, whether they be political, social, or economic can only be won at the price of personal endeavour. National progress must be attained by definitely organised and carefully concerted endeavour. Success needs to be achieved – it cannot be granted or conferred.

Unless every one in a population regards not only his selfish interests but also concerns himself with his share of the collective interest, self-government or good government is not possible.

We have set a movement on foot at aiming at winning our freedom by making Malaya one country and one nation with a common destiny for its peoples animated by a spirit of brotherhood and active co-operation for mutual help and benefit in all spheres of life. There is no other alternative if we Malayans of all races are intent upon facing reality and securing the supreme political goods of liberty and justice.

Trade, travel, migration and intercourse of all kinds being of the very texture of human life on this planet throughout the history of mankind, there is no such thing even in the modern world as a homogenous national state.

Further, the geographical position of Malaya, a rich and underpopulated land with easy reach of the overcrowded countries of China, India and Java, has made a mixed population inevitable.

Even in a mixed population the different communities, while being politically united, can maintain their own intellectual, cultural and spiritual life.

A political philosopher has affirmed that in a population of mixed communities if the Government assigns no privilege to any one of them and chooses its instruments indifferently from all; in the course of a few generations, identity of situation often produces harmony of feeling and the different races come to feel towards each other as fellow countrymen; particularly if they are dispersed over the same tract of country.

So Malaya can become one country and one nation if the right principles and policy are followed, and the three principles by which we stand may be condensed in the motto ‘Unity, Liberty and Equality.’

In concrete form the three fundamental principles resolve themselves into, firstly
(a) a United Front of Malayan peoples based on inter-communal concord and joint action; and
(b) the political unification of the whole of Malaya, inclusive of Singapore, as a unitary state in all essential respects under one central government;
secondly, a measure of self-government, providing for
(a) a Central Legislature of a United Malaya with substantial elected unofficial majority; and
(b) the exercise of the executive power by a Ministry responsible to the Legislature and all matters of internal and civil administration;
and thirdly, the equality of status and rights for all those who regard Malaya as their real homeland and the object of their single-minded devotion and loyalty.

Responsibility to the governed is the greatest of all securities for good Government.

Malayans of all races! Unite to achieve “Merdeka” or freedom – for only in unity lies our salvation.

Oil jumps $4

With the news of the interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserves (Fed), oil prices has now gone past the $94 per barrel. Fed cut interest rates by quarter-point to encourage lending and to ease the credit market.

The cut has led to a dive in the greenback, and major currencies around the world has seen a rise - in record high numbers - against the US dollar. This, couple with a decline in crude stocks has pushed oil prices to its current level.

As the KLSE opens this morning, the composite index is currently up by more than nine points. Leading the rise in share prices are plantation stocks such as the Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK), IOI Corp and Asiatic. Bursa is also doing well, but it seem that there will be much profit-taking today as investors try to cash in on gains from the past few days.

Personally, I have sold off most of my shares yesterday in view that there is a slim chance that Fed might not cut interest rates. But I'm back to buying today and hopefully the stock market will continue its bullish run for a few more days.

Some excerpts from around the news:

BBC:

US light crude ended the trading session up $4.15 to $94.53 a barrel, while London Brent traded at $90.63 a barrel, up $3.19 [...]

An array of factors have been driving oil prices higher. Oil prices have risen as the sliding greenback makes oil, which is priced dollars, cheaper to buy outside the US.

The dollar hit its weakest levels against the pound since 1981 on Wednesday. At the same time, oil investors have been casting a nervous eye on Turkey's threats to carry out a major military incursion into northern Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels [...]

CNN:

An interest rate cut boosts oil prices because it is meant to spur economic activity, which would drive up demand for oil.

A rate cut also pushes down the dollar, in which oil is priced. A falling dollar makes oil cheaper for foreign consumers and means oil producing countries have less incentive to raise production, both of which are bullish for oil prices [...]

Oil prices got a boost in premarket trade Wednesday after a report said the U.S. economy grew by a robust 3.9 percent rate in the third quarter, which was more than expected.

Oil prices sold off by more than $3 a barrel Tuesday after a report from influential trading house Goldman Sachs urged investors to sell oil now in order to lock in profits.

But crude is still near all-time highs, even adjusted for inflation. The last time oil was this high was the early 1980s, when it rose to $93 to $101 a barrel, depending on the inflation calculation used and the oil contract cited [...]

AFP:

In an accompanying statement to its second rate cut in as many months, the Federal Open Market Committee said that although financial market turmoil linked to a US housing downturn had eased in part, "the pace of economic expansion will likely slow in the near term, partly reflecting the intensification of the housing correction.

"Today's action, combined with the policy action taken in September, should help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets and promote moderate growth over time."

The Fed slashed its federal funds rate by a half point to 4.75 percent on September 18 to ease a credit crunch tied to the housing slump.

Kathy Lien, chief strategist of Forex Capital Markets, said the latest Fed move was "giving the financial markets exactly what they wanted and nothing more." [...]

Telegraph UK:

The statement accompanying the decision was couched in far less reassuring tones than those that came with its emergency cut in September. It said the Fed remains concerned "the pace of economic expansion will likely slow in the near-term", adding that growth risks are to the "downside".
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However, it also voiced concern about the risks inflation poses to growth.

Economist James Knightley of ING said: "It seems as though the Fed is hinting that it doesn't see the need for a series of rate cuts as yet.

, The Dow Jones fell initially on the news but ended the day up 138 points at 13,930 [...]