RE: President Obama temporarily barred from Air Force One due to Durian - breath

Wow, its been so long since i last wrote!

Ok as you guys have most probably have heard (unless you live under a pineapple under the sea with good o' Sponge Bob) Obama is in KL!

Okay, I'm a little late so I'm gonna go ahead to rephrase that..

Obama WAS at KL!!!!!!!!

The most important person on the planet has finally come to visit Malaysia


All I saw (twitter, instagram, facebook, tumblr) was this hash tag: #OBAMAinKL

and apparently, the "king of the world" (in terms of governments) met the king of fruits!

Don't know how true or credible this is but the Americans sure don't appreciate the smell of the king of fruits~!!!!
(check out of of those dare's by fear factor where the lady needed to eat a Durian..she acted like its the most disgusting thing ever compared to bull's testicles and raw stuff...like whatever o.0 )

here is the story that I came across today, enjoy!!

---Obama temporarily barred from Air Force One due to durian-breath

KUALA LUMPUR — US President Barack Obama, on-route to the Philippines after completing a 3-day visit to Malaysia, was denied entry into the presidential plane Air Force One by the Secret Service after his durian-tainted breath triggered the aircraft’s hazardous gas sensors.

Mr Obama, who had just enjoyed a large serving of the thorny fruit known for its pungent, strong smell yet delicious taste, was stopped by his own security personnel at the aircraft door and asked to return to his armoured limousine and taken to a nearby airport VIP lounge where he could ‘decontaminate’ his mouth.

A Secret Service spokeswoman said that this drastic measure was unusual, but needed to be taken for the safety of the entire plane, as the Asian fruit’s overwhelming smell, quoted by some as ‘reeking of garbage stink’, could overcome the other personnel and endanger the flight.

STRONG STOMACH: Obama being escorted away from Air Force One

“We are truly sorry to do this to the Commander-in-Chief, but we have strict rules about toxic smells on our flights,” said the spokesperson who declined to be named. “Our job is to ensure the security of the president, but if he poses a danger to himself by consuming such thing, we have to make a stand.

“We can’t have our pilots or other staff suffocating just because Mr Obama says ‘Hi’ to them, unleashing the smell of hell unto them. Heck, I don’t think even our delicate electronic instruments could withstand such a rancid scent. A couple of his security details had to be taken to the emergency room just now when he flashed his grin at the crowd before we left the hotel,” she said.

“So, unless POTUS is willing to spend the entire flight to Manila wearing a biohazard suit, we simply cannot allow him on the plane. No way.” 



NOT FOR EVERYONE: The ‘musang king’ durian

Met at the lounge, Mr Obama said that he could not resist having a go at the durians he saw by the side of the road as his entourage drove by, as ‘it brought back happy memories of his growing up years in Indonesia’.

“I was just enjoying the ride, Skyping to Michelle and the kids when I saw it — a huge, beautiful pile of Musang King durian being sold by an old Chinese fellow,” said Obama, in between chewing spearmint gum and gargling Listerine vigorously. “Suddenly my head was filled with all those sweet times I spent with my buddies in my mom’s village just outside Jakarta in 1967. Jumping into rivers buck naked and picking fresh mangoes and rambutans at Farmer Wak Djomo’s orchard. His durians were just divine. Golly, I LOVE Malaysia!

“I’m sorry if I caused a few hours of delay, but look, I’m the Chief. I just had to get me some.”

The entourage made the impromptu pit stop where the president spent about half an hour eating 3 durians before continuing on his journey. The flight to Manila is expected to resume in six hours, after getting clearance from Hazmat personnel.

The durian seller, Mr Denny Lim, 67, said that while he was initially surprised by the VIP visit to his fruit stall, he felt honoured and glad to see a durian lover rediscovering his roots.

“At first I thought I was in trouble with polis one,” said Mr Lim. “The big black cars passed by with polis bike and all, then they all stopped and reversed. These big, big white men came and surrounded me, and then this black man came, bought 2 durians, squatted beside me and started opening them. He looked like he hadn’t had durians for years, so I kesian and gave him one free. I think okay lor, we must treat tourist very nice-nice one. Visit Malaysia Year what.

“But he paid with US dollars, I said I got no change in US dollar, so he told me to keep the 100 dollars,” said Mr Lim smiling.

While Mr Lim is happy with the president’s durian indulgence, it is said that some others may not be as pleased. According to some other unverified sources, the order to quarantine the president came all the way from Washington DC — the First Lady herself.

“She was on video chat with him when he made the decision to make the durian pit stop,” said the source. “He didn’t tell her why he had to drop her call all of a sudden, but she saw his face, and she knew. She had seen it before when the First Couple visited an Asian store in Texas last year and chanced upon a pack of frozen durians.

“She made the call to the Secret Service with specific instructions to ‘not let POTUS in the plane until he gets rid of that wretched breath’, and between offending the president or pissing off his wife, we knew the better option.”

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RE: International arrivals to Penang up more than 8% this year

Better days are coming for the beautiful pearl of the orient: Penang! 
or fondly known as Pulau Pinang in Malay!

Here's why:

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International arrivals to Penang up more than 8% this year

BY LOOI SUE-CHERN
April 10, 2014
 

Penang continues to record encouraging arrival numbers at its international airport this year.

For the first two months of the year, there were over 268,000 domestic arrivals and more than 196,000 international arrivals.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic) said compared with last year, the numbers were up 33.4% for domestic arrivals and 8.23% for international arrivals.

He said the numbers should continue to grow with more domestic flights coming into Penang.

"We had 334 domestic flights per week coming to Penang in January but as of last month, we have 341 with seven new AirAsia flights from Miri, Sarawak," he said today.

Lim said there was, however, a decrease in weekly international flights from 211 in January to 210 last month.

This minor drop was due to Indonesian airline Garuda's cancellation of its seven weekly Medan-Penang flights while AirAsia had increased its weekly flights to Singapore from 22 to 28.

Lim said although there are four other flights coming to Penang from Medan, state tourism exco Danny Law Heng Kiang will call a meeting with Garuda and other parties of interest on the matter as Medan visitors are contributors to Penang's medical tourism.

Law said Penang generated RM370 million and RM320 million in revenue last year and in 2012, respectively, from Indonesian visitors seeking medical treatment in Penang.

Indonesian visitor arrivals were viewed seriously, he said.

"We are hoping that this year will record an increase of 10% to 15% in our medical tourism revenue."

The country with the most tourists to Penang is Indonesia, followed by Singapore.

The remaining countries are China, Japan, United States, Taiwan, Australia, United Kingdom, Thailand and India.

Law said Penang will be affected a little by the MH370 incident with a 5% drop in Chinese tourist arrivals.

"But the drop is small. We are lucky that we have a diverse tourist market," he said referring to Chinese tourists cancelling their holidays in Malaysia after the disappearanceof Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 last month.

The flight carried 227 passengers with more than150 of them from China.

The families of the missing passengers were unhappy with how the incident had been handled, sparking outcry and negative sentiments against Malaysia in the republic.

Law said Penang is looking to attract more Middle Eastern and South Korean tourists to the state.

He said Penang will send delegations to take part in tourism roadshows in South Korea and Dubai this and next month.

"Our Middle Eastern tourists used to come during the summer holidays between June and August. But now they come all year round.

"They go to Kuala Lumpur for shopping and Penang for its food and beaches.

"We are looking at how to further promote Penang as a destination of choice to visitors from that region," he said. – April 10, 2014.

Here is the Malay translation:


Pulau Pinang terus mencatat menggalakkan nombor tiba di lapangan terbang antarabangsa pada tahun ini.
Bagi tempoh dua bulan pertama tahun ini , terdapat lebih 268,000 ketibaan dalam negeri dan lebih daripada 196,000 ketibaan antarabangsa .
Ketua Menteri Lim Guan Eng (gambar) berkata, berbanding dengan tahun lepas , nombor naik 33.4 % bagi ketibaan domestik dan 8.23 % bagi ketibaan antarabangsa .

Beliau berkata nombor perlu terus berkembang dengan lebih banyak penerbangan domestik yang datang ke Pulau Pinang.
"Kami mempunyai 334 penerbangan domestik setiap minggu yang akan datang ke Pulau Pinang pada Januari tetapi sehingga bulan lepas , kami mempunyai 341 dengan tujuh penerbangan baru AirAsia dari Miri, Sarawak," katanya hari ini.
Lim berkata , bagaimanapun , penurunan dalam penerbangan antarabangsa seminggu dari 211 pada bulan Januari kepada 210 bulan lepas.
Penurunan kecil adalah disebabkan oleh pembatalan penerbangan Indonesia Garuda tujuh mingguan penerbangan Medan- Pulau Pinang manakala AirAsia meningkat penerbangan mingguannya ke Singapura dari 22 hingga 28.
Lim berkata walaupun terdapat empat penerbangan lain akan datang ke Pulau Pinang dari Medan, exco pelancongan Danny Law Heng Kiang akan memanggil mesyuarat dengan Garuda dan parti-parti lain yang menarik mengenai perkara itu sebagai pelawat Medan adalah penyumbang kepada pelancongan perubatan di Pulau Pinang .
Undang-undang berkata Pulau Pinang dijana RM370 juta dan RM320 juta tahun lepas dan pada tahun 2012 , masing-masing , dari pelawat Indonesia mendapatkan rawatan perubatan di Pulau Pinang.
Ketibaan pelawat Indonesia memandang serius , katanya.
"Kami berharap bahawa tahun ini akan mencatat peningkatan sebanyak 10 % kepada 15 % dalam hasil pelancongan perubatan kita."
Negara dengan pelancong paling ke Pulau Pinang adalah Indonesia, diikuti oleh Singapura.
Negara-negara yang tinggal ialah China, Jepun, Amerika Syarikat , Taiwan, Australia, United Kingdom , Thailand dan India.
Undang-undang berkata Pulau Pinang akan terjejas sedikit dengan kejadian MH370 dengan setitik 5% dalam ketibaan pelancong China .
" Tetapi kejatuhan adalah kecil. Kita bernasib baik bahawa kita mempunyai pasaran pelancong yang pelbagai, " katanya merujuk kepada pelancong China membatalkan cuti mereka di Malaysia selepas disappearanceof Malaysia Airlines penerbangan MH370 itu bulan lepas.
Penerbangan yang dijalankan 227 penumpang dengan than150 lebih daripada mereka dari China.
Keluarga penumpang hilang tidak senang dengan cara kejadian itu telah dikendalikan, mencetuskan bantahan dan negatif sentimen terhadap Malaysia di republik itu.
Undang-undang berkata Pulau Pinang sedang mencari untuk menarik lebih Timur Tengah dan pelancong Korea Selatan ke negeri ini.
Beliau berkata Pulau Pinang akan menghantar delegasi untuk mengambil bahagian dalam pameran bergerak pelancongan di Korea Selatan dan Dubai bulan depan ini dan .
"Pelancong Timur Tengah kami digunakan untuk datang semasa cuti musim panas antara Jun dan Ogos. Tetapi sekarang mereka datang sepanjang tahun.
" Mereka pergi ke Kuala Lumpur untuk membeli-belah dan makanan Pulau Pinang dan pantai .
" Kami sedang mengkaji bagaimana untuk memajukan lagi Pulau Pinang sebagai destinasi pilihan untuk pelancong dari rantau itu," katanya. - April 10, 2014 ....

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Pokemon on Google maps now! Gotta catch them all!

What is happening? Why is everyone posting pokemon pictures online and claiming that they caught some Pokemon?

Bearing in mind that it was April fool's day, I didnt take much note but as my facebook wall became flooded with these messages, curiosity caught the cat and I was all bend to finding out exactly what in the blue hell was going on!

The pokemon catching joke on Google maps was NOT a hoax!  It's true and simple to do! 

Thanks to a friend, I caught up to speed and now trying to catch some too!

Here's whats up~!
----

Google Maps Is Taken Over By Pokémon In April Fools' Prank

Google is starting April Fools' Day a bit early this year.
The company's maps division announced in a video published on Monday, Mar. 31, that it's got a new job opening. The title? Pokémon master. 

In order to find the best Pokémon master, Google has developed a Pokémon Challenge that is what it calls "the most rigorous test known to man."
So how does it work? Google has added hidden Pokémon throughout the latest version of Google Maps, and to complete the challenge you have to catch them all. 

To play, you must you have the most recent version of the Google Maps App. Open it and click the search bar, where you'll see a Pokéball and a button that says "Press start." 



From there, you'll see little Pokémon figures all over your map. There even will be Pokémon-style houses. Like here: 



To catch a Pokémon, simply click it (kind of boring, we know). You'll have to search all over the globe to find them all. Here's what it looks like to catch Dragonite: 



The deadline to find all 150 Pokémon is April 2, 2014 at 2:00 P.M. PDT.
Google's video says people who find all of the Pokémon in time will be invited to the Googleplex to participate in the final round of hiring. The winner supposedly will start his or her job as Pokémon Master on Sept. 1, 2014. 

Sadly, this is almost definitely a prank. Need proof? In the disclaimer of Google Maps's video, it says "the role of Pokémon master is not yet available" and recommends you go to Google's jobs page. Hmm.
You can follow Google Maps on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ for hints.
-------

** Gotta catch em all** ;)

source

Pocong spotted at second (2nd) link / Penang Bridge

So what is the latest hype on social media about Penang lately?
Everyone taking instagram photos on the second Penang bridge lately since it has been literary "toll free" till yesterday (toll charges start April 2014 onwards) 

Diverting a little here, I read this article that jumped for joy and was proudly displaying his picture surrounding the event oh himself paying his first ever toll fee to travel on the second bridge...
errr...way to go dude! 

If you have to pay your taxes, while cry while you are able to smile right? 
**(in saying this, I anyone who knows me knows that I can be a lil sarcastic in my commentaries and expressions)

how about some ghost stories today?
How about a 2 in 1 combo of the Second (2nd) Penang Bridge and a ghost story...with pictures to prove it! 

I had come across this article written in Bahasa Malaysia and *ahem* yours truly has translated it into English for those who are more comfortable reading it in English

It's about an appearance of an eerie pale white figure which appeared to be inhuman and of the supernatural..
A pochong. Wikipedia describes it as:

"A pocong is an Indonesian/Malaysian ghost that is said to be the soul of a dead person trapped in its shroud. Known in Indonesia/Malaysia as kain kafan, the shroud is the prescribed length of cloth used in Muslim burials to wrap the body of the dead person. The dead body is covered in white fabric tied over the head, under the feet, and on the neck.
According to traditional beliefs, the soul of a dead person will stay on the earth for 40 days after the death. When the ties aren't released after 40 days, the body is said to jump out from the grave to warn people that the soul need the bonds to be released. After the ties are released, the soul will leave the earth and never show up anymore. Because of the tie under the feet, the ghost can't walk. This causes the pocong to hop."

---- 

BAYAN LEPAS - Some people here were surprised when the spread of two photographs of the incident pocong discovery in the middle of the second Penang Bridge , Bridge Sultan Abdul Halim Shah .The social networking site , Rahimi Isaac said , the picture is spread over a few days ago and become the talk of the local population.According to him, through the picture clearly showed there seem to be packaged white images and high flying ." Then it was on the bridge at the second picture , said the incident happened in the middle of the bridge at night."I got the picture and was very shocked , " he told The Star .For users of the bridge , Mohd Ali Mohd Noor said he was initially surprised to see the picture and try to ask a friend who also frequently use the bridge ."They call this normal, if he wanted to appear to us, how  can stop it? but we have to act normal."After all is not the first time that hear and see all sorts of stories of spirit over the bridge, it is normal, " he said.Meanwhile for Zulkifli Zainal said his experience disturbed at night while riding a motorcycle on the first bridge Penang making it vulnerable."Not what, sometimes there are too shocked to be due to an accident, if that is not strong-willed , it's better to avoid." I used to ride a motorcycle in the middle of the night on the bridge, on arrival in the middle, my motor weight and I had to ride harder and faster , but all of a sudden it becomes lighter and I seemed to be in a state of being thrown into the future, with some luck, I can control the motor ."If I'm wrong , I fear of accidents only , whatever we have to trusts in the LORD Almighty , " he said.For practitioners of Islam , Izzwandy Mamat , scene pocong discovery in the middle of the bridge is common ."The sea is their home and they will manifest their being is many ways ."No doubt the sea is also a place to dump mystical and spiritual "things", so it's not impossible , " he told The Star .Just like humans, spirits also fulfills every corner of the place ." Even the genie can mimic various forms regardless pocong , or ghosts or MISCHIEVOUS THIEVES election , " he said.He stressed , however, look like , things only happen with the permission of Allah SWT."God wants to test the extent of our faith , whether fear of being or at HIS ." It is also a sign that this incident would have put us over to the Lord, " he said.
-----

Bahasa Malaysia version:

Gambar pocong di Jambatan Kedua yang tersebar di media soisial

BAYAN LEPAS - Segelintir penduduk di sini gempar apabila tersebarnya dua keping gambar mengenai kejadian penemuan pocong di tengah-tengah Jambatan kedua Pulau Pinang, Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Shah.

Pengguna laman sosial, Rahimi Ishak berkata, gambar berkenaan tersebar sejak beberapa hari lalu dan menjadi buah mulut penduduk setempat.

Menurutnya, melalui gambar berkenaan dengan jelas menampakkan seolah-olah terdapat imej yang berbungkus putih dan terbang tinggi.

“Kemudian ia berada di atas jambatan pada gambar kedua, kejadian dikatakan berlaku di tengah-tengah jambatan pada waktu malam.

“Saya sendiri yang mendapat gambar berkenaan memang terkejut,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.

Bagi pengguna jambatan, Mohd Ali Mohd Noor berkata, dia pada mulanya terkejut melihat gambar berkenaan dan cuba bertanya kepada rakannya yang juga kerap menggunakan jambatan.

“Mereka kata ini perkara biasa, kalau dia nak muncul kita mana boleh halang, yang penting kita kena buat biasa saja.

“Lagipun ini bukan pertama kali berlaku cerita jumpa macam-macam makhluk halus atas jambatan, ia adalah biasa,” katanya.

Sementara itu bagi Zulkifli Zainal berkata, pengalamannya diganggu pada waktu malam ketika menunggang motosikal di atas jambatan pertama Pulau Pinang membuatkannya berwaspada.

“Bukan apa, kadang-kadang ada yang terlalu terkejut sehingga boleh sebabkan kemalangan, kalau yang tak kuat semangat, lebih baik elakkan.

“Saya pernah tunggang motosikal pada tengah malam di atas jambatan, setibanya di tengah-tengah, motor saya berat dan saya terpaksa menunggang lebih kuat dan laju, tetapi tiba-tiba ia menjadi ringan dan saya seolah-olah dalam keadaan tercampak ke depan, nasib baik saya boleh kawal motor.

“Kalau saya silap, bimbang kemalangan saja, apa pun kita kena tawakal kepada ALLAH SWT,” katanya.

Bagi pengamal perubatan Islam, Izzwandy Mamat, kejadian penemuan pocong di tengah jambatan adalah perkara biasa.

“Laut memang tempat tinggalnya dan mereka akan buat pelbagai rupa di kawasan mereka tinggal.

“Tidak dinafikan laut juga menjadi tempat kepada tukang perubatan membuang benda yang tidak baik, jadi ia bukan mustahil,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.

Sama seperti manusia, makhluk halus berkenaan juga memenuhi setiap pelosok tempat.

“Malah jin boleh menyerupai pelbagai bentuk tidak kiralah pocong, atau hantu raya ataupun toyol,” katanya.

Beliau menegaskan, bagaimanapun rupa bentuknya, perkara tersebut hanya berlaku dengan izin ALLAH SWT.

“ALLAH mahu menguji sejauh mana keimanan kita, sama ada takut pada makhluk atau pada-NYA.

“Ia juga sebagai tanda supaya kejadian sebegini akan mendekatkan kita lebih kepada ALLAH,” katanya.
ghost in Penang, haunting in Penang, second bridge stories spirits
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