Poskod Malaysia

Oh goodness, the new year. The past weekend was just — woah.

• Khairy Jamaluddin taking a break from politics. Betul ke? Why? Internal upheaval, or stunt? (The Star)
• National Union of Journalists (NUJ) prez Hata Wahari has closely criticised Utusan Malaysia for its editorial policies; thing is, he’s also an Utusan journalist — so now he’s facing internal inquiry. (Malaysiakini)
• The photo of an Indonesian woman allegedly raped by a cabinet minister in 2007 — and still serving in the current cabinet — has been making its rounds on the Internet. Terrible that the case wasn’t investigated, but more terrible that it is now being sensationalised. (Malaysia Chronicle)
• Should Selangor go to court over the appointment of state secretary NH Chan? The state vs federal government crisis deepens. (The Malaysian Insider)
• Rising conservatism: an op-ed critically examining Christian fundamentalism gets bashed for being “pro-gay” and “anti-Christian” in its comments section. (Malaysiakini)
• Meanwhile, author Abdellah Taia has come out — in his native Morocco, a country that bans homosexuality. (The Jakarta Globe)
• 1 January is Public Domain Day: the day when the work of new (or, rather, long-dead) writers enter the public domain. Here’s the list of authors you can start stealing from with impunity in 2011: F Scott Fitzgerald and Isaac Babel among them! (Public Domain Day)
• This would have been good to have last Saturday: a guide on how to prevent a hangover. (Wired)
• An iPhone glitch caused thousands of users to oversleep over the New Year. The bug was in place for a whopping two days. (The Daily Mail)
• 2,000 birds fall from the sky in central Arkansas. (The Huffington Post)
• Also: the best memes of the decade. Has all the usual favourites. (The Huffington Post)
• A list of all the conflicts currently raging all over the planet, circa 2011. Important to note that the most brutal don’t get a lot of coverage. (Strategy Page)
• Surprisingly riveting: 3D art made from cut-out pulp-fiction novel covers. (Toxel)

(Image from Toxel)