.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

A thriller that centers on Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the American wife of Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi, who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. Isabella desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man's unorthodox interrogation.

There seems to have been a spate of politically driven movies especially regarding the middle-east conflict and similar matters. It's to be expected I guess with the current climate, it is after all what is on peoples' minds.

Movies such as Babel, Syriana and even Constant Gardener come to mind as they all deal with conflicts.

Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the apprehension and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another and the term 'torture by proxy' is used by some critics to describe situations in which the U.S. has purportedly transferred suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture. SOURCE

Scary eh? Basically you can be taken from anywhere to anywhere without ANYONE knowing about it.

Rendition tells a story, some may say an almost real story of an Egyptian man seized by the US government for no apparent reason..his case is very similar to the real life case of Khalid El-Masri who went through a similar experience due to one different letter (Al-Masri vs El-Masri).

The characters are strong, especially Omar Metwally as El-Ibrahimi, you can almost feel what he's going through.

Supporting are Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The movie does make you think, is it ever right to torture another human being? Is what the US considers anti-terrorist action fair and just?

Do human rights matter when it comes to saving thousands of lives?

These are questioned that may be raised in your mind when watching this movie, to me that's a good sign..it means it's provocative and it touches on some fairly sensitive points.

The flow is good and the camera work is absolutely stunning, it's beautifully filmed. The soundtrack goes along with the movie well.

The only flaws I would say are the lack in character development of Mrs El-Ibrahimi and the agent played by Gyllenhaal. You never really get to understand these characters or find out who they are.

Even so it's worth a watch, I give it a strong 7/10.

This is pretty harsh, it shows you that caning is actually really bad.

Especially 20 lashes.

He tries to a tough buy, but starts wailing after 3-4 strikes, especially when they start landing on top of each other.

Looks seriously painful.

There's an interesting article on Wiki about Caning in Singapore, nothing similar for Malaysia though.

You better make sure you rob people before 7pm aye..

Robbery: At least six strokes. If committed after 7 p.m. and before 7 a.m: At least twelve strokes

What do you think of corporal punishment, is it a really effective deterrent?

It certainly sounds painful as described by New Zealander Aaron Cohen's, he got six strokes in 1982 for drug-trafficking.

It's just incredible pain. More like a burning - like someone sticking an iron on your bum. That's the sort of feeling. Pain - just ultimate pain,'' he said. ��The strokes come at a rate of one a minute - but it seemed like a lifetime to me. I waited and waited for the first one and as soon as I let my breath out - �baam'. Afterwards my bum looked like a side of beef.

Source: MALAYSIA: Illegal Migrant Workers May Escape the Cane

Amnesty thinks it should be banned - Malaysia: Caning should be abolished

More than 60 lawyers and representatives from NGOs, the US Embassy and the press gathered at the Bar Council Auditorium this morning, all for a very noble cause, to witness the birth of a Red Book or Buku Merah known as “Polis Dan Hak-Hak Asas Anda”.

The malaysian bar council recently launched a publication titled "Red Book - Police and your Basic Rights".

It contains information on your rights if/when you are stopped, arrested or questioned by the police and informs you on what you can or cannot do. It's very informative on how to deal with the police (plain clothes or uniformed).

You can download both the English and Chinese versions here:

Red Book - The Police and your Basic Rights (ENGLISH)

Red Book - The Police and your Basic Rights (CHINESE)

Red Book - The Police and Your Basic Rights (MALAY)

It contains information such as colour schemes for police authority cards (blue is inspector or above, yellow below, white reserve and red suspended)

There's more information at the Malaysian Bar including the full version in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese and Tamil.

I think everyone should know about this resource and read it through once, so do let your friends know they have rights, and they should exercise them. Don't be afraid of the Police.

It is indeed unforunate when people are ignorant of their basic human rights.

It is sad too that The Star, The Sun and The NST did not fully report the launch of this booklet (I hear the NST reported it, but only for KL region). The others bear no mention at all of the Red Book.

You can read about the Launch of the Red Book here.