While I am not as knowledgeable about it as she is on this subject, as an expatriate having lived in Malaysia for 8 years now, I have experienced this dichotomy a few times.

For examples, as a true French, I like to discuss politics, religion and other “intellectual” subjects around a good meal with friends and family and am not afraid of having heated arguments about it with them. We usually end up agreeing to disagree when finishing our coffees and move on to digestive with a good laugh.

These kind of discussions and exchanges are rare in Malaysia. Traditionally, one do not challenge elders on such subjects. So most simply don’t talk about them.

Because of this, I believe many Malaysians feel a disconnect between themselves and politics or religion that is not healthy. They simply ignore these subjects until their lives are directly affected by it. They welcome the government hand-outs, but do not ask where these come from or what they cost. They do not challenge or question religious views they may hear from a neighborhood religious leader. And so on.

Modernity requires one to be able to question things and make his own choices. Which can be difficult to reconcile with local cultural values. In the end, it leads to a shadow world where all political discussion and debate happens online. As a result, opinions and pre-conceptions are reinforced, which create an ever bigger gap between the older generations who bid their times and wish to enjoy the benefits of traditional values, and the younger ones who wish to enjoy the benefits of living in a modern world.

If only they could exchange about it around around a good nasi lemak or nasi ayam so as to better understand where each are coming from…

SEO is about improving the visibility of your website or web page in search engines. The higher your site rank in the search engine result page, the more visitors will visit it. The following vido is a good introduction to the basics of SEO.

What I have grown to respect a lot about SEO is that while the web is ever changing, malleable and on the move, the basics of SEO remain the same. A bit like in cooking. The good recipes all share the same basic principles: fresh ingredients, quality products, and good craftsmanship.

Over the years, I’ve learned most of these basics. Today, if I can not claim to be a three star chef a la Danny Sullivan, Aaron Wall or Rand Fishkin, I know enough to play around the kitchen, cook most of the basics on a daily basis, and throw in a grand dinner once in a while

I never understood why we have to change the time. Instead of going through this whole shenanigan every year, why not just change the time we do things? Those who like the “extra” hour of sunlight can always start and finish their day an hour earlier.

Time to get rid of this bad idea.

While some may chose to take a career break, most would prefer to find a job and keep their career buzzing. Unfortunately, this is not an easy feat to achieve, especially when moving to a new country. A 2009 study from the Permit foundation found that while almost 90% of spouses and partners were employed before expatriation, this figure fell to 35% during expatriation, and 75% of those who are not working want to work – especially among the younger age groups, men, graduates and unmarried partners.

The reason is that trailing spouses face many hurdles when looking for a job in their new country of residence.

• Visa - obtaining a work visa may be difficult.
• Language – how to interact with other when one do not master their language?
• Local network – cut from friends and support network, it takes time and a lot of efforts to find opportunities.
• Children structure – kindergarten and other childcare facilities may not be available.
• Local opportunities – developing country offer less opportunities for qualified job.
• Cultural differences – the working culture can vary greatly among countries, scaring employers away from expatriates applying to manager positions.

As a result, most spouses are forced to take a break. Very unfortunate as 46% of trailing spouse have a Masters or PhD, and 79% speak two or more languages. This qualified work force could be a boon for companies and developing countries in many ways. Unfortunately, companies prefer to recruit and send expats from their HQ, and developing countries have a tendency to create hurdles for protectionists’ reasons.

The American system is broken. It cost twice as much compared to other developed nations, and it does a poor job of treating its people. How can the flagship of democracy and development not have a decent universal health care system is beyond me. I truly hope Obama will be able to pass his reforms through. And the speech he just gave is a huge step in this direction. Finally.