Facebook see govt no ak is it?

The details of 263 Facebook users were requested by the Singapore Government between January and June this year, the social media company revealed in a report released on Monday (Dec 18).

The Government made a total of 204 requests for such information, according to the Facebook Transparency Report. Facebook complied with 59 per cent of the requests.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/263-facebook-user-details-requested-by-singapore-government-9513160

The BBC reports

Figures provided by Facebook suggest it handed over data in 85% of requests from US law enforcement and 90% in the UK.

So the S’pore authorities requests were rejected a lot more than requests by the Brits and Americans.

“Why liddat?”, we should be asking. Ang moh tua kee isit? China is sure to take note as Zuckerberg is trying to get the Chinese to allow FB in. I doubt if Chinais impressed that FB rejects so many of our govt’s requests since we and China are one-party states. Related posts Keeping power in a one-party state

But to be fair to the PAPpies, S’pore’s reject rate is the same as that of Germany.

Btw, three cheers for ST for reporting the UK and US numbers alonside that of S’pore’s. I’m sure someone sure kanna call up to lim kopi.

Uniquely S’porean: Stress is good

High levels of competitiveness and anxiety make S’poreans successful.

So stop KPKBing Chris Kuan and other anti-PAP types that S’pore’s has the highest rate of depression in Asia according to the World Health Organisation. Feeing depessed? Juz take Prozac or cheer when the govt persecutes locks up another subversive.

Seriously, while competitiveness at school may not yield the best exam results round the world, S’pore’s 

https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/04/daily-chart-15

one of the exceptions:

Although a handful of places, notably Singapore, display strong test scores despite high levels of competitiveness and anxiety, most countries near the top of the anxiety scale, such as the Dominican Republic, had below-average results on the PISA science assessment.

 

 

Harry’s “real son”

When I read this  and remembered the allegations about Harry complaining, after his resignation from the cabinet, that our PM, his son, was a softie and that DPM Teo would have made a better PM, I couldn’t help but think that Hun Sen (he says he admires LKY) is the kind of son that he was pining for.

Hun Sen, who has been prime minister for 32 years and says he intends to remain in the job for another decade. Not content with securing a ban on the main opposition party, he is now persecuting unions, NGOs and anyone else who criticises the government.

https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21732850-unions-ngos-and-environmental-activists-are-all-feeling-squeeze-cambodia-systematically

Hun Sen is no softie. He carries a hatchet and is not afraid to use it. If he had siblings who behaved like Dr Lee and Lee Hsien Loong, they’d be in prison at the very least.

 

 

Walk the Talk TRE cybernuts, don’t be like Lim Tean

When TRE used this TRE reader tells off s/o JBJ, analyses TCB’s comments there were, as usual, several complaints that TRE was using too much of my stuff. Some nut posted “stupid TRE moderator who keeps publishing his articles despite many readers’ complaint. Although the mod keeps denying it, they must have agreed on something between them.”

I was reproducing comments by a regular TRE reader who although not insane or bi-polar or autistic is no fan of the PAP. So why not direct their unhappiness about piece at him, not TeamTRE or me?

Seriously does Oxygen and his nutty pals ever wonder if TRE is secretly funded by the PAP? Hence despite the protestations of not having money (its given up asking for help from its readers), TRE still keeps on going?

Here’s my dare to the cybernuts. Raise $10k to fund TRE and I’ll forbid TRE from using my pieces forever and a day. Come on Oxygen, if u are such a great investor putting another 10k into TRE should not be a problem. Right?

Whatever, don’t be like Lim Tean. It’s almost the end of December but still no picture, no sound on his defamation video and jobs rally: Both were promised by end November by Lim Tean himself.- Remind Lim Tean, it’s December.

And will he and Phillip Ang deliver on class law suit: CPF class action: Phillip Ang’s “reply’ to fellow cybernut?

Once the required resources, not just financially, are in place and before the suit is launched, there will be more updates. Action speaks louder than words.

Phillip Ang

Err what if the law suit never materialises?

Got refund or not?

Rumour has it that Phillip Ang has cancelled the Ferrari he ordered when anticipating the inflow of funds into the POSB account.

Locals who get paid in cryptocurrency

And it’s not in bitcoin.

Ownself pay ownself ownself’s cryptocurrency. Wonder how company calculates CPF rates payable? And how is reporting of salaries is done to Inland Revenue?

From a BBC report (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42435838)

At the Singapore based blockchain company TenX, staff usually have their base salary paid into their bank accounts, but their monthly bonus is paid in Pay tokens, the firm’s own digital currency.

The tokens, which can be traded on digital exchanges, were issued in an initial coin offering in June, allowing the company to raise $80m.

TenX co-founder and president, Julian Hosp, said it did not make sense to buy Bitcoin to pay bonuses when the company already had its own currency.

Paying bonuses in tokens can incentivises staff as Pay’s value should rise in line with the company’s success, Mr Hosp added.

TenX community manager, Mike Ferrer, has gone further and opted to receive part of his base salary in Pay, on top of his monthly bonus.

The 32-year-old has been investing in cryptocurrencies for some time, and accepts that there are huge risks, but says he only invests what he can afford.

“I visualise myself throwing in a pile of money and watching it burn in front of me, and if I can’t feel comfortable with that then I know I’ve over invested”, Mr Ferrer said.

Cybernuts really that stupid and cheapskate

This describes cybernuts to the T:

Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community […] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It’s the invasion of the idiots.

Umberto Eco

Who he?

Through Eco’s academic writings and his bestselling books, he became a respected intellectual voice both in Italy and abroad.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/feb/20/italian-author-umberto-eco-dies-aged-84

Don’t believe me when I describe the cybernuts? Well read the comments made by TOC readers collated by TOC https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/12/27/cnas-piece-on-hawker-food-fails-to-see-the-bigger-picture-comments-netizens/.

And remember that TOC cybernuts are not the dumbest of the dumb. TRE cybernuts are the dumbest of the dumb.

 

Well-travelled author’s historical novel about S’pore

When I came across this

ALL ABOUT AUTHORS: Did you know that author Meira Chand lived in England, Japan and India, before permanently relocating to Singapore?
Her books, Sacred Waters, details a journey of a different sort, as protagonists Sita and Amita explore the road to self-discovery in the face of societal and communal hurdles.

LocalBooks.sg

I had to check her out. If u into pretentious BS read

http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/a-strangely-mixed-bag-of-possibilities

Whatever she wrote a historical novel about S’pore http://www.meirachand.com/books/a-different-sky/. It covers the immediate pre-World War II period, the Japanese Occupation and the immediate post war period. If it reads like the way she comes across in the ST interview, not worth opening it then even if ang mohs are said to love it. But then she comes across as one of those ang moh tua kee types.

Btw, she’s on the National Arts Council the body that withdraws grants (sometimes even demanding money back) on books deemed not to do talk about the “right” constructive, nation-building things: Quiet activist looking at his bank statement and smiling.

Ho Ching doesn’t rest

PM and wife may be on hols but MUFG and Temasek have just done a deal that hopefully (Indon regulators willing) would see the Japanese bank acquiring a 73.8% stake in Bank Danamon from its largest existing shareholder, Temasek (Temasek wants to be rid of it’s stake after the Indons blocked a merger with DBS Indonesia.)

the Japanese bank will buy 19.9 percent from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] for 15.875 trillion rupiah ($1.17 billion), a deal it expected to close within a few days.

MUFG will then raise the stake to 40 percent, pending regulatory approval, between the second and third quarters of 2018.

MUFG said after that, it sought approval to hold at least 73.8 percent in Indonesia’s fifth-largest bank by offering to buy out other shareholders in addition to acquiring shares from Temasek.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mufg-m-a-bank-danamon/japans-mufg-seeks-majority-of-indonesias-bank-danamon-idUSKBN1EK11H

Trying to take profit from bitcoin

BBC reporter’s experience of converting it into cash

I have been selling some of the Bitcoin I bought 18 months ago, paying about £60.

In theory that is simple enough and indeed I have sold £500 worth for a small fee. But actually getting that cash into my sterling bank account is far from seamless – so far I am a week in to what promises to be a two-week process.

Hardly the frictionless finance that was promised by Bitcoin’s advocates and if the rush to sell gathers pace there is a good chance that the system seizes up completely.

S’pore abandoned, Bank of S’pore bust

Not the dreams of Oxygen and his fellow cybernuts come true, but reality. Not S’pore in a parallel universe but in S’pore, Michigan.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore,_Michigan

This S’pore did not have the PAP running it. Anti_PAP types ran it.

How PAP can make S’poreans happy without “raiding” the reserves

On a scale of one to 10, the doubling of someone’s pay saw their happiness rise by less than 0.2. The researchers said this was down to people caring more about how their incomes compared to other people’s than how it affected them.

However, having a partner saw happiness rise by 0.6 – losing a partner by separation or death saw the same impact downwards.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-38285223

The PAP can focus on mental health and making sure everyone has a partner. Err on second tots forget about the partner bit.

Good mental health and having a partner make people happier than doubling their income, a new study has found.

The research by the London School of Economics looked at responses from 200,000 people on how different factors impacted their wellbeing.

Suffering from depression or anxiety hit individuals hardest, whilst being in a relationship saw the biggest increase in their happiness.

The study’s co-author said the findings demanded “a new role from the state”.

The study was based on several international surveys from around the world.

 

Sounds like Singapore?

An anti-PAP talking?

[G]overnment has maintained a façade. It proclaimed democracy and concern for social rights. In reality, it eroded civil, political and economic freedom.

Nope some analyst describing Venezuela

 

Trump and Republicans take a leaf from PAP’s playbook

Remember the howls of protest from the ang moh tua kees and the other anti-PAP types when the PAP administration reduced state spending on wards that had Oppo MPs? Unfair they screamed.

Seems that ang mohs in the shape of Trump and the Republicans have done something similar. Their Christmas present tax cut clearly favoured loyal red (Republican-voting) states over Democratic blue ones.

Deductions of state and local income and property taxes, known as SALT, when calculating liability for Federal taxes is now limited to US$10,000. The provision hits hardest Democratic-leaning states with high incomes, high property values, and high taxes, like New York, New Jersey, and California.

FT reports that a New York based banker earning US$5m a year, will be paying an extra US$400-500,000 in taxes.

 

 

So unlike ministers

The zero bonus, or doughnut, could be looming for bond traders as bank revenue from fixed-income sales and trading units has been falling FT reports.

NYT is grinchy over Christmas present

Doesn’t like Trump’s Christmas present

“Well, we have a tremendous spirit for the tax reform,” Trump said. “This is going to be one of the great Christmas gifts to middle-income people.”

Die die must always say bad things about Trump or his works. But then FT reports that a New York based banker earning US$5m a year, will be paying an extra US$400-500000 in taxes

From NYT’s Dealbook

A merry “Taxmas,” but who’ll get the bigger present?

In a surely coincidental series of announcements, several companies — including AT&T, Comcast, Wells Fargo, Fifth Third Bancorp and Boeing — announced that they were giving their employees bonuses or higher wages, and increasing investment in light of the passage of the Republican tax bill.

An aim of the tax bill is to help American companies, in the belief that they will in turn bolster the economy as a whole. (Justin Fox of Bloomberg View writes that AT&T’s bonuses aren’t a gimmick, but a natural consequence of a corporate tax cut.)

But skeptics have asserted that those companies really just want to get on President Trump’s good side. (AT&T, for example, is seeking approval for its Time Warner deal despite a lawsuit by the Justice Department. At a news conference, Mr. Trump praised AT&T’s bonus and capital investment plans.)

Some back-of-the-envelope calculations, courtesy of Binyamin Appelbaum of the NYT:

A bigger question: How long can any economic stimulus from the tax bill last?

From Patricia Cohen of the NYT:

“The really hard question a year from now is going to be is how much of the miniboom we see is just an acceleration of stuff that was going to happen anyway or additional investment that is really going to spur the economy,” said Mihir A. Desai, a professor of finance at Harvard Business School. And finally The tax overhaul doesn’t change the fact that automation will still cause job losses, and that giants like Apple and Alphabet will still pay lower taxes than nascent rivals, Farhad Manjoo writes in his latest State of the Art. (NYT)

Temasek invests in Magic

Cybernuts beware. PAP could use Magic tool in next GE to project light directly into voters’ eyes to trick their brains into perceiving virtual objects as part of their surrounding environment.

Magic Leap has unveiled the first version of its augmented reality system to be made public.

The Magic Leap One Creator Edition is designed to project light directly into users’ eyes to trick their brains into perceiving virtual objects as part of their surrounding environment.

It consists of a large pair of goggles that wrap around the head, a body-worn computer and a wireless controller.

The firm has raised close to $1.9bn (£1.4bn) from investors.

The Florida-based company’s biggest backers include Google, the Chinese tech giant Alibaba and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42430003

S’poreans cage birds mindlessly

Just like PAP cage S’poreans mindlessly.

A FB friend posted this pix of caged merboks. These birds are caught and caged because they make a lovely cooing sound.

I live in a private housing estate very near (10 minutes slow walk) where this pix was taken. I can hear the wild merboks cooing for free from my veranda. And in my walks in the HDB estate where this pix was taken, I have heard these birds sing from the trees, not the cages.

Once upon a time, these birds were rarely seen or heard in the area and I still remember the excitement 30 years ago when they were first spotted in my estate.

Thanks to the nature-loving PAP govt, these birds are now commonplace in the area. Yet people still want to cage them. They like PAP isit? Human Rights Watch talks cock about S’pore?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRE reader tells off s/o JBJ, analyses TCB’s comments

When TRE used a piece by s/o JBJ ranting about Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s comments etc, he was rebuked by a TRE reader

opposition dude:
December 19, 2017 at 7:36 pm (Quote)
Kenneth, kindly do stop talking about your dad at every opportunity. You are sounding like a real sore loser. At the very least carve out your own standing amongst the electorate just like how your dad was seen as a fiery match for Lee Kayu.

He then went on to explain why he disagreed with Dr Tan Cheng Bock’s comments that the fixing of PE 2017 would affect the next general election. He makes some valid points:

With that being said, the electorate will forget about the PE when the next GE comes. This is because PAP has screwed us all over so many times the electorate votes based on the frustration level on the ground at that point in time.

Just compare and contrast the last 2 GEs. The overcrowdedness on the island led to PAP’s lowest vote share, even the PAP admitted it. It wasn’t the raising of GST or lack of freedom of speech or CPF or even high BTO prices, ministers’ pay, lack of accountability or any of the issues frequently raised here on TRE.

Then you look at 2015. The PAP CLAIMS to have solved all the unhappiness for 2011 but we all know the island is even more crowded than before. But see what gratitude gets you, in this case a 10% increase in votes. Even the PAP says they were stunned because we all know that they didn’t do a proper job on the immigration issue.

Now, if the PE alone can decide PAP’s fate then I would be very surprised. For one thing, I would ask myself why the PAP were not reduced in number when the price of so called public housing made us pay up to a 35 year home loan, why there were still so many of them in parliament when GST was raised from 3% to 7% and why voters did jack when the donkeys’ pay was raised 20% in the 90s.

My take on Dr Tan’s comments: Will Oppo parties step up to the mark and score?

 

Why I’m not writing to IMDA protesting proposed changes

Based on comments by FB pals whose judgment I trust, I was to write in giving my objections. In fact I was going to cut and paste and use the text sent by one of them. But because Martyn See put this up on FB, and because I know he misrepresents the facts many-a-time, I’m not going to complain. Too much work researching the facts.

With an enemy like him, the PAP doesn’t need friends.

 

Good economy = Unhappy hols, cybernuts

In the run up and during the festive season in 2015 and 2016, the cybernuts were having a great time sneering and jeering at the 70%  as they smoked weed, drank cheap arak and ate the scraps thrown from millionaire ministers’ tables.

They were so happy because conomic growth was only 1.5% and 2% in these yrs,

They were so happy that fellow S’poreans were suffering, forgetting that the anti-PAP voters also suffered. They were forecasting the end of PAP rule.

Well this yr is different.

When TRE republished Why S’pore’s growth is so gd this year venom and bile and curses came my way (Don’t they know that their hatred, makes me strong?) even though I pointed out that the economy is strong because of an uptick in global trade, and not because of the PAP’s actions.

Chief cybernut, Oxygen (who is so nutty that he donated $10,000 to TRE in 2015) is now saying the world economy will tank next yr and that S’poreans will suffer, quoting analysts.

Well, he’ll be banging his balls because

‘Stars are aligned’ for Singapore stocks to go higher in 2018: Analysts

The likes of banking heavyweights, developers and property trusts will continue to lead the charge next year for Singapore’s stock market, which could see gains of as much as 11 per cent, according to market analysts.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/stars-are-aligned-for-singapore-stocks-to-go-higher-in-2018-9501814

Whatever global equity markets are on a roll.

So as I drink and eat all the way thru to Chinese New Year, my enjoyment will be tripled as I think of how unhappy Oxygen and the other cybernuts are that the revolution against the PAP has again had to be postponed. Reality bites again.

The global economy may not grow as fast as predicted because China may experience slower growth than expected. If that happens stock markets will be in trouble as they seem to be priced to perfection.

But whatever, S’pore’s GDP growth will not collapse to 2%, let alone go into a recession. We may not have a great yr, but it ain’t going to a really bad yr.

So Merry Christmas and Yum Seng.

May the Prosperity Gods be with u.

 

PAPpies do imitate the Japs

Don’t ever say our leaders don’t imitate the Japanese even if I said they didn’t

— Learn from Japanese — set example leh elites

— The Japanese story PM didn’t tell us

The following extracts could be Japanese PM Abe saying, “It’s not a failure. We’re working hard.”*

Improving rail reliability is a “multi-year war”, said Mr Khaw, who added that calling for a leadership change with each disappointment would be a “sure strategy for failure”

SMRT: The cock that Khaw talks

And

“Much progress has been made with the inculcation of a positive work culture, but there remain some deep-seated cultural issues within the company that has needed more time than anticipated to root out.”

Where’s Khaw? (cont’d) 

Meanwhile following the traditional Japanese bowing

Chairman of SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains Seah Moon Ming bowed and apologised to the public for the underground flooding incident along the North-South Line (NSL) on Oct 7-8 that resulted in a 20-hour disruption.

---

*Responding to a complaint by mothers that their children did not places in child care centres, the Japanese PM insisted that 500,000 more nursery places would be available by the end of 2017. “It’s not a failure. We’re working hard,” Abe said, the BBC reported in 2016.

Noble House rebuilding

Commodities trader Noble Group Ltd is negotiating a debt restructuring program with its creditors to stay out of an insolvency process and expects to receive proposals soon, its chairman said on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-noble-grp-debt/noble-group-locked-in-talks-with-creditors-to-restructure-debt-idUSKBN1E9180

What is interesting is that FT reports that the creditors may swap their debts for equity. Should that happen present shareholders including sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp, one of its its biggest shareholders, will be heavilt diluted.

Could be an interesting play then for the brave as there’ll be leverage and the new shareholders will have an incentive to keep the credit lines open. I’m looking at what assets remain.

The Noble House is dead. Long live the Noble House.

 

Will Oppo parties step up to the mark and score?

Or dither and miss another open goal?

Singapore’s first reserved presidential election will weigh on the minds of voters when the next general election comes around, said former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock yesterday.

ST

Well he would say that wouldn’t he?

But even the constructive, nation-building ST said

President Halimah Yacob’s walkover victory prompted a great outpouring of anger and frustration …

——————————

Yahoo reported

Tan predicted that lingering resentment by voters over their inability to choose a president at the ballot box would have an effect on the next General Election. Nevertheless, Singaporeans need more convincing of how the alternative parties can address the bread and butter issues of the day that affect them.

He spoke of the “intra-personal conflict” of the average Singaporean voter. On the one hand, the voter is concerned about the effect on his personal interests, such as health and housing, should he plump for an alternative party. “Because he’s worried, he has never experienced any other government, so he’s not sure if he can trust you or not…so he has exercised his vote in the past elections to preserve those needs.”

On the other hand, the voter “lost an important right in the PE: that is, the opportunity to exercise his vote in the presidential election…this loss is weighing on his mind and will affect his vote in the next election.”

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/prepared-mentor-aspiring-politicians-tan-cheng-bock-165728152.html

————————————–

My view is that Hali’s elevation will only affect the next election if Oppo parties use the issue effectively. Based on their track record, this is unlikely to happen because they are unlikely to use it, it all all. The 2015 election shows what I mean.

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Oppo fought wrong battle in 2015

Oppo fought 2015 using 2011 tactics, something I predicted would happen in 2012 and 2014

I wrote this in 2012

The point I’m trying to make is that the governing PAP seems to have ditched the sacred cow (no longer a Hard Truth) of being mean to S’poreans despite extracting money from S’poreans via all kinds of levies and imposts: it is now willing to spend S’poreans’ money on making things better for S’poreans.

If it spends our money on S’poreans, the Opposition should rethink their assumptions and premises, and the messages they want to send to voters. If not, come the next GE (which could be held before 2016, if the PAP senses that S’poreans have been won over by the spending), the Opposition will be repenting, not the PAP. The ground may be shifting.

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/time-for-opposition-to-rethink-assumptions-lest-it-repents-after-next-ge/

And in 2014 I wrote

One could argue that its recent changes in its public housing and tpt policies and its seeming change in FT PMET policy is geared at winning the “Calm Persistent” voters over and moving “Hard Pressed Anxiety” voters into the “Calm Persistent” group; and the “Calm Persistent” voters into the “Optimistic Contentment’ category. It’s also trying to show S’poreans that the gd life can still be found here.

https://atans1.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/which-voter-are-you/

——————————————

As I’ve always said about the Oppo, “With enemies like these, PAP doesn’t need friends”. And with cybernuts thrown into the mix, PAP hegemony is assured for another 20 yrs.

But hope springs eternal in my ass that the Oppo can do get their act together. Take up Dr Tan’s offer

Asked by Yahoo News Singapore if he saw himself as a unifying figurehead for the opposition and if he was prepared to mentor say, Workers’ Party candidates, Tan responded at length, “I’m prepared to mentor any political group, even PAP chaps can come to me, I’ll still mentor them. Because the objective must be very clear: you want to train people who will be good MPs. MPs who will think of Singapore first.”

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/prepared-mentor-aspiring-politicians-tan-cheng-bock-165728152.html

HNA: From hero to zero

But China Inc helps out prodigal son.

From NYT Dealbook

A beleaguered Chinese conglomerate soldiers on

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America won’t work with it anymore. Investors are starting to feel spooked. But HNA is still doing deals — with help from its country’s lenders.

Several Chinese lenders have indicated that they could extend HNA’s credit lines despite concerns that the conglomerate has spent too much on foreign acquisitions, at least according to HNA.

Human Rights Watch talks cock about S’pore?

Human Rights Watch’s report  on S’pore is partly based on interviews with civil society activists, journalists, lawyers, academics and opposition politicians, many of whom declined to be identified “due to fear of possible repercussions,” according to Human Rights Watch.

S’pore is called “a repressive place”:

“Beneath the slick surface of gleaming high-rises, however, it is a repressive place, where the Government severely restricts what can be said, published, performed, read, or watched,” the 133-page report said.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/human-rights-watch-calls-on-singapore-to-relax-free-speech–assembly-laws-9494568

Yes,

the Government severely restricts what can be said, published, performed, read, or watched.

I personally don’t feel repressed because I have access to whatever I want to read, watch or listen. I can also say publicly what I want to say publicly.

(For the record, I’ve lived in London, Sydney, Melbourne and Manila for longish spells.)

And I don’t think many S’poreans feel repressed. The cybernuts from TRELand, TOC, Chris K’s FB wall etc are free to spew their venom and hatred of the PAP unmolested.

S’poreans are unhappy “yes” but repressed “no”.

What do u think?

Do these rental flat residents know it’s Christmas?

It’s the time of the yr to be jolly as but ex-NMP JJ posted not everyone can afford to be jolly

The corridors are long and narrow. Quite often, our knocks were responded to quite slowly. Some of the residents are advanced in age and not so quick with theirmovements any more. Chai Chee is an old estate and some have stayed here for decades. Some old time residents reminded us of how they have moved across various constituencies before now settling in Marine Parade GRC, without of course moving out of their actual homes.

House visits to rental flats are sobering reminders of life. Often, we meet with a divorcee, an aged single, an amputee, someone chronically ill, a retrenched person unable to get a steady job and more. Each have a story to tell. Some have financial challenges but some are more blessed than others. One told us proudly how her son calls to remind her of her medicine daily and drops by every so often to make sure her medicine box is stocked and in good order. She married young and has 12 great grandchildren and is still in the best of health. Another couple tell us how their children will take turns to come and take them out.

Some are just glad we came for extra pairs of ears to listen to their stories. It is good too that we are not the only ones dropping by. In our previous recent visit to this block, a sizeable group of volunteers from a welfare group were scattered over various homes in the block chatting with the folks who were just happy to have visitors. Happy to do our part to see how we can be of help. Every little bit may mean a lot to these folks.

A cat seemed to have taken a liking for us. She followed us to every home we visited from the fourth floor right until we reached the ground floor, finally leaving when I got into my car. Perhaps she had a story to tell us too.

 

Don’t only blame PAP for low productivity

Official productivity figures account for the cash value of output produced, divided by the number of workers. So the cybernuts and anti-PAP thinkers (Yes there are some) say that given the PAP’s love of FTs, shipping them in by the cattle truck load, the FT flood results in low productivity.

Maybe that’s part of the reason.

But maybe free lunches account for a large part of the problem of low productivity?

[N]owadays a lot of the valued output people like is offered free to users, delivered cheaply by a low-cost technology.

People use Google services, buy a great deal on Amazon and download entertainment. These free or low-cost services help depress reported productivity.

FT Columnist

 

Our Asean neighbours on this list of shame

 

Wonder where we are on this list if calculations were done on a per capita basis?

StanChart event organiser economical with the truth

The name of the StanChart marathon organiser should be Idiotman Asia.

In response to a letter (see StanChart event endangered lives)Ironman Asia, organiser of the recent StanChart marathon Ironman Asia said, “We offer our sincere apologies to those affected by the closures for the marathon.”

This was nothing but a fake apology because it went on to say

there was an agreement to facilitate access to Raffles Hospital “for all emergency vehicles, from all directions, including through closed roads”.

But it never challenged the allegation in the letter that ambulances had faced “significant delays” while going in and out of the hospital that day, due to the roads being closed between 1am and 8am.

Worse it said, “Access to Raffles Hospital on the morning of the marathon was facilitated through Rochor Rd reverse flow towards North Bridge Road. Access to the hospital was available to all vehicles.”

But the letter alleged that non-emergency patients and doctors trying to reach the hospital had to walk to the hospital. Even the constructive, nation-building media reported

Raffles Hospital doctors told TODAY that non-emergency patients and doctors trying to reach the hospital were inconvenienced as a result of the roadblocks, with some doctors having to park their cars in other buildings in the vicinity.

https://atans1.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=39622&action=edit

So it is reasonable to conclude it was lying or innocently misrepresenting the facts when it said “Access to Raffles Hospital on the morning of the marathon was facilitated through Rochor Rd reverse flow towards North Bridge Road. Access to the hospital was available to all vehicles.”

Next yr StanChart would be wise to employ an organiser with more brains that brawn.

He M’sian born Chinese leh

Why would anyone think Hock Tan is honest? Ask the Bumis and S’poreans about the trustworthiness of M’sian-born Chinese.

Is Broadcom making a jobs promise it can’t fulfill?

So argues Andrew in his latest column, citing the $1.5 billion in “synergies” — read, “cost-saving layoffs” — that the analysts think the chip maker could reap by buying Qualcomm. Based on Broadcom’s moves with previous takeovers, that could translate into about 5,400 jobs being cut.

That runs contrary to what Broadcom’s C.E.O., Hock Tan, told President Trump at a news conference last month announcing that the company would move its corporate headquarters to the U.S. from Singapore.

More from Andrew’s column:

Mr. Tan of Broadcom has boasted that he plans to spend $3 billion “in research and engineering.” Mr. Tan has been given high marks for managing the portfolio of Broadcom assets effectively, but he has never been known for industry-changing innovations. NYI Dealbook

StanChart event endangered lives

What were the people behind a StanChart event thinking? If SMRT can get away with doing bad things to S’poreans, so can StanChart isit? After all Temasek owns shares in both.

More likely though they tot they could get away with doing bad things to S’poreans because Sport S’pore a govt organisation was another sponsor of the event?

Cluelessness of ang moh tua kees

Below is a long rant from a bunch of ang moh tua kees. They quote Cesar A. Cruz (a professional Harvard trouble maker), “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”.

Well in S’pore as in many parts of the West, the attitude of the public, as distinct from the chattering classes that the ang moh tua kees mindlessly ape, seems to be “Art should comfort the comfortable and ignore the disturbed”. A view incidentally I agree with.

My take on Seelan Palsy’s arrest: Seelan Palay is really very happy to be arrested a second time. He’s been trying for years. But the anti-PAP mob must mindlessly KPKB even when police do one of them a big favour.

SHRINKING SPACE FOR ARTISTIC AND CIVIC EXPRESSION IN SINGAPORE
– STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF ARTIST, SEELAN PALAY

On 1 Oct 2017, Sunday, Artist Seelan Palay was arrested outside Parliament House, halfway through his performance about how a free mind cannot be constrained by space. The piece had begun at Hong Lim Park in the rain, and then had continued at City Hall (now the National Gallery of Singapore) and thereafter Parliament House. At Parliament House, he was first approached and questioned by a number of police officers, and then was subsequently arrested. As such, he was unable to continue the rest of the performance. He has since been released on police bail, but is subjected to severe restrictions, including restrictions on travels.

In response to his arrest, Function 8 and Community Action Network (CAN) released a statement on 4 Oct 2017, Wednesday. In their statement, they highlighted concerns about Seelan’s arrest, as well as called for the release of Seelan from all restrictions as well as the ceasing of harassment and intimidation of activists, and Arts Engage would like to echo these sentiments.

Seelan’s arrest is troubling as an extreme example of police action, yet not entirely surprising given Singapore’s long and enduring history of warnings and censorship of artists and artworks by the government. For example, just earlier this year, two works under the M1 Fringe Festival were denied ratings by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) – effectively preventing them from being watched as they were originally conceived by the artists (for the Arts Engage statement on this, please refer to: https://sites.google.com/…/artse…/censorship—rating-denied).

However, when these actions against artists are viewed in context of society as a whole, there appears a dangerous trend of shrinking space for artistic and civil expression in Singapore:
– Earlier this year, on 3 June 2017, Saturday, there was a brief silent demonstration on the MRT along the North-South line. Specifically, a number of activists held up the book ‘1987 Singapore’s Marxist Conspiracy, 30 Years On’ while wearing blindfolds. Media reported the demonstration as a protest against the 1987 detentions under the Internal Security Act, and shortly after, it was also reported that a police investigation was launched. However, no clear details were released to the public.
– In yet another instance, licensed busker Roy Payamal was handcuffed and arrested in front of Takashimaya on 11 March 2017, Saturday, for apparently speaking to the police in a loud voice while they were checking his busking license. Roy later clarified there was a misunderstanding, but to date he is still on bail as opposed to being a free citizen.

Clearly, there seems to be a signal to society at large that there is no space for any challenge to authority, regardless of an openness to engage or being of a peaceable nature. Arts Engage is thus concerned that this will result in greater reluctance amongst Singaporeans to speak out in the face of injustice or even just to stand up for their own rights. In the long term, this will negatively impact the growth and maturity of civic discourse in Singapore.

As such, we would like to urge the police and the government to keep an open attitude towards artists and citizens. As Cesar A. Cruz famously said, “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable”. The actions of activists and artists may cause discomfort for some in the society, but equally, there will be others who are comforted by it. In order for society to grow and mature, we all need to learn to be able to engage with issues and people we disagree with, not merely have authorities step in to ‘solve’ the problem by way of criminal persecution or censorship. As a move towards building a society that is respectful of diversity and dissent, Arts Engage would like to call on the government to lead by example, to take time and effort at the very least to engage with artists, activists, and public alike.

In an increasingly divided world, it is important to commit to having authentic conversations at both ground level and at policy level, so as to practice the inclusion of pluralistic points of view and ways of living. In doing so, the terms and platforms of engagement should not always be determined by the government. We must welcome the diverse and creative actions initiated by citizens as well, and honour their fundamental right to the freedom of expression. Not everyone has access to the same platforms to air their concerns, opinions and aspirations, and a healthy society should encourage the various ways that people choose to make their voice heard. Ultimately, embracing different articulations – whether artistic or not, whether political or not – of citizen’s sentiments is crucial to a functional democracy.

Arts Engage

Amos makes no promises about molesting landlord’s kids

Given his views on sex with children and child pornography, it’s strange that he’s not willing to giving assurances that his potential landlord’s kids are safe from his predations. This is doubly so given that he lost his previous accommodation because he was thought to be a clear and present danger to the children living in the shelter he was in: Will Roy, Meng Seng and s/o JBJ help Amos now?

And it’s so funny that he’s so demanding in what he wants in return for US$400 a month in rent especially in his preferred states of Califonia and New York

Amos Yee put this on FB

Super important message, I really need help:

If you’ve been following my Youtube channel you would know I’ve been kicked out of the house I had in Illinois for expressing controversial opinion #85. I need a new place to stay as soon as possible so if anyone in America can has a place to offer please contact me at amosyee@gmail.com. I am willing to pay $0-400 a month for that place (apparently I do make enough-ish on Youtube lol)

Requirements:

Whoever who owns the house be absolutely fine with me voicing controversial opinion #85 (Based on American law, me voicing controversial opinion #85 will not get me arrested or cause any people living with me (even if they’re kids) to receive any harassment in any way shape or form)

You don’t kick me out of the place whenever I voice a political opinion you disagree with (I am a non-violent, pro-free speech, anti-religious, vegan, politically far-left Anarchist/libertarian socialist/anarcho-communist)
Complete privacy – I can’t hear you at all, I can speak at talking volume 24/7, and I can occasionally do shouting noises during the day for some scenes in my videos.

Walking distance (0-5 min walk) from food stores. If you have a bike I can use, then 0-5 min biking distance. Basically, I should be able to eat out without a car (Because I don’t have a driver’s license yet) in 5-10 min.

Blank, non-intrusive walls/backgrounds where I can film my videos in front of which has enough distance between me infront of the background and a spot where I can place a camera on a tripod filming me.

Chairs, tables, Wifi, Fridge, plates + utensils for use, washing machine, dryer + other basic house utilities

When you email me, please provide the place’s state, a general description of the place, how much rent you’re charging me to stay there, the address of the place (if comfortable at that point), the nearest airport to the house + your name and your contact no (if comfortable). I will reply to your email if interested and we’ll skype to confirm details.

I am currently in Minnesota sleeping on a couch owned by modern-day hippies (Yeah it’s a depressing story how I got here, I don’t want to talk about it now). This couch does not fulfill most of the requirements I listed above and is obviously not an ideal place for me to stay long-term. I’ll pick the new place I want based on how much the airplane fare is to get there, if I’m comfortable with the host, the price of the place, how cool the state is (My favorites are California and New York), if the place meets the requirements above etc.

I hope to find a new place as soon as possible so I can continue working on my Youtube videos in peace (And rest assured friends my Youtube channel will cover a wealth of different topics in the future (How horrible Singapore is, religion, SJWs, immigration etc.) and will not be completely devoted to controversial opinion #85). Once again if anyone can provide a place for me do contact me as soon as possible at amosyee@gmail.com so we can skype and confirm details. Thanks alot for your help

Why S’pore’s growth is so gd this year

And next yr’s should be better.

Nothing to do with the PAP administration.

All down to the recovery in global trade.

Since 2010 global trade has, by and large, shown only lacklustre growth. Once expected to grow regularly at 1.5-2 times global gross domestic product, trade has been growing at, or even below, the rate of broader economic output in recent years, prompting some to proclaim the end of an era of “hyperglobalisation”.

This year is expected to be the best in recent history for global trade. The WTO in September upgraded its forecast for world trade growth, predicting it would expand by 3.6 per cent in 2017. That is largely the result of a better global economy. For the first time since the crisis all of the world’s major economies are in relatively rude health.

FT

Don’t overleverage in property

But the recovery in global trade remains far from a boom and there are still plenty of signs of fragility.

FT again

And yes the scholar and SAF general now running SPH screwed up big time when in ran NOL. selling it when the cycle was turning.

Quiet activist looking at his bank statement and smiling

The whacking persecution prosecution of Jovolan Wham (Jolovan Wham: Money talks, BS Walks do-gooders),has the ang moh tua kees, cybernuts, progressives and social activists sullen and despondent despite Christmas being the time to be jolly.

So I tot I’d cheer them up with the story of a quiet activist and progressive who by annoying the PAPpies is laughing all the way to the bank. Better still he double annoys the PAPpies because they know that he’s making money by annoying them

Edmund Wee is a very quiet warrior. Via some of the books he publishes, he walks the walk, not talk the talk, of a progressive S’pore unlike Lim Tean (Remind Lim Tean, it’s December).

Readers of this blog will know that Edmund Wee’s firm had to refund a National Arts Council (NAC) grant Charlie and Edmund, a graphic novel about the Schoolings pls. Note the the ST headline (a month or so ago) “Very few arts projects for which official funding is withdrawn: Baey Yam Keng”.

What readers are unlikely to know is that he’s making serious money from Charlie Chan: the book has sold 24,000+ copies here and 9,000 copies in the US/UK. And is being translated into other languages including Real Chinese (not simplified Chinese).

He shows that there is money to be made from propagating progressive tots here.

What regular readers may not know is that Edmund also published Jeremy Tiang’s “State of Emergency” after the NAC withdrew a grant from the Singaporean author because the content of his book changed from his original proposal, said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu.

In a written response to Parliament earlier this year, she said that in Tiang’s case, “the project did not meet the funding requirements mutually agreed upon as the content in the book deviated from the original proposal”. ST

Jeremy Tiang’s “State of Emergency,” which follows a family caught up in the Communist insurgency in Malaysia after World War II, and Singapore’s often brutal crackdown on suspected leftists during the Cold War.

—————————————————

Tiang, an established writer and translator, was initially given an Arts Council grant but had his funding withdrawn after submitting a draft, ostensibly because he had deviated from his original proposal.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/Singapore-s-rebel-bookseller-seeks-new-narrative

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Sadly this book’s sales are so-so: the best outcome for locally published books. The usual fate of books (example M Ravi’s Kampong Boy, not by Epigram) is to remain largely unsold.

But Edmund has another winner. Edmund is also behind “The Phantom of Oxley Castle” which sold 800 odd copies (Print run of 2,000) before its launch because of a TOC story that got the anti-PAP mob rushing to buy the book online. And then feeling cheated when TOC had to retract the claim that PM was going to sue the publisher. Read the twists in the plot at https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2017/11/13/tocs-account-on-the-potential-legal-actions-surrounding-the-phantom-of-oxley-castle/

One cybernut even threatened to make a police report against Edmund Wee, saying he cheated said nut and his friends. As though, the police would take the word of TOC, no friend of the police.

But lest Edmund Wee be tot to be anti-PAP, as distinct from having progressive views, he’s also published a kids’ book based on an adult book praising Philip Yeo. Philip Yeo attended the kids’ book launch which also doubled as a charity do.

He’s also published a kids’ book on

How did a boy who was kicked out of school (twice!) and ran away from home end up being the President of Singapore?
Find out in The Runaway Who Became President, taken from our Prominent Singaporeans series

There was once in the US, a black civil rights activist who went into publishing. He became very rich and was accused of selling out. He said something to the effect that his magazines (which targeted a black audience) entertained while educating and mobilising his audience.

While Edmund is not that rich (yet) he’s entertaining, educating and, hopefully, mobilising S’poreans especially the young.

Has Ravi apologised for abusing and hurting a grieving mum?

(Or Why a Mandatory Treatment Order is the least bad option for M Ravi and society)

I reported here (M Ravi apologises for assaults after pleading guilty) that M Ravi is to be assessed  by an Institute of Mental Health (IMH) psychiatrist as to his suitability for a Mandatory Treatment Order (MTO), after he pleaded guilty to several charges.

A TRE reader pointed out

nathan:

November 28, 2017 at 4:19 am  (Quote)

If the Mandatory Treatment Order comes to pass then Ravi can be detained in the IMH indefinetly at the mercy of psychiatry review after psychiatry reviews stretching for years until the panel of IMH doctors all agrees that Ravi is ready for release for outpatient treatment. I am sure Ravi is aware of the implication and will resist it best as he can in Court. The MOT is more feared than a normal jail sentence for those familiar with our criminal justice system.

Put it this way, this sounds unfair and really convenient for the PAPpies but consider what Ravi did when he was sick because he refused to take his medicine regularly.

---

But don’t be too harsh on him for trying to avoid taking his medicine

Common side effects of these medicines include:

• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Trembling.
• Increased thirst and increased need to urinate.
• Weight gain in the first few months of use.
• Drowsiness.

M Ravi out on bail, resting

———————————-

Recently, Jovolan Wham was charged among other things for organising a vigil the night and morning before the hanging of Praba. This reminded me of Ravi’s abusive aqnd hurtful behaviour towards Prabai’s mother during that unfortunate time for her and her family. Fortunately our men in blue intervened.

His many cybernut FB fans were delighted that their hero M Ravi behaved like one of them at the vigil:

At about 5:30am, Ravi, who was accompanied by George — his ardent supporter— appeared at the vigil to berate everyone there. Most of the people he confronted tried to bring him away from the grieving family by engaging him and walking away from the vigil.

After some time, he approached Mdm Eswari and told her in Tamil that “she was responsible for her son’s death as she heeded the advice of Mr Choo and the anti-death penalty activists in Singapore.” When those present confronted Ravi to take him away from the family, he held on to Mdm Eswari, insisting that she was his client. He started spewing Tamil vulgarities at the top of his voice to those who argued that he should leave the mother alone and settle whatever problems he had away from the family. He even shouted at George when he tried to restrain him. Ravi was also seen berating journalist and anti-death penalty activist, Kirsten Han.

After being separated from the family, he then proceeded to throw soya bean at a volunteer cameraman after asking him to film the scene. It was around this time that all the plainclothes policemen who were observing the vigil stepped in and restrained Ravi. They managed to keep Ravi far away from the vigil for the rest of the night. For their professionalism and sensitivity, due credit must be given.

Thankfully, at least as far as Praba’s family was concerned, that was the last they saw of Ravi. He continued his rants online.

https://coconuts.co/singapore/features/m-ravi-unforgivable-behaviour-case-executed-malaysian-drug-trafficker/

They must be really proud of him, causing unnecessary pain and suffering to a grieving mother and her family.

They will be even prouder of his abusive behaviour earlier in the day (read article).

Whatever, I’ve been told that he has not apologised to the lady and the family even though he has apologised publicly for assaulting two lawyers. But then he was charged and pleaded guilty to the assaults on the lawyers and may be hoping for a lighter sentence, and the avoidance a of MTO. Praba’s mum and family never made a complaint to the police.

When Ravi’s lawyer said in mitigation that he wasn’t the kind of guy who went round assaulting people, I laughed. He’s worse: he goes round abusing and hurting a grieving mum. And then doesn’t apologise when he comes to his senses.

He may be bi-polar. But he has admitted publicly that he had refused to take his medicine regularly. I know of a lady who is bi-polar. She keeps bi-polarism at bay because she takes her medicine regularly even though the medicine result in her feeling physically ill. She has written about her struggles.

If M Ravi cannot willingly take his medicine regularly, then sadly an MTO is in order both for his own good and the public good, even if the PAPpies benefit by having a human rights warrior narginalised.

Double confirm, S’poreans are cheapskates

for Singapore’s BeLive, the level of virtual spending remains pretty low. Chief executive Mr Tan tells me that over a 90-day period, most users spend $4.

Or as is more likely these are the born-loser cybernuts from TRELand and Chris K’s FB wall (This is becoming the new home of the nuts because Chris K doesn’t ask for money to keep his wall going). Always complaining of Paying and Paying, while other S’poreans get on with life, spending and spending.

Mobile analytics consultancy Appsflyer found that in 2016, the average global user spent $0.50 per app that provided purchasing options. By region, Asian users spent the most, at $0.70. Europeans spent a mere $0.26.

That tendency to spend underpins one part of the way streaming platforms monetise, allowing viewers to pay for virtual tokens that are used as currency on the platform. Viewers send these virtual gifts to a streamer who – once the platform takes a cut – can cash them in.

Still, for Singapore’s BeLive, the level of virtual spending remains pretty low. Chief executive Mr Tan tells me that over a 90-day period, most users spend $4.

But in China, which according to tech research consultancy IDC has a live streaming base of around 300 million, the industry is more professional and top streamers can draw a wage from the pastime.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42007408

 

Hope not failed Jihadist attack near where I live

I’m concerned that this incident could be an attempt to imitate a London Jihadist attack. I know the location of the florist store and the market. They are nowhere near a road or car park. They are deep in a pedestrian only area. So a skidding car seems out of the question.

Three people were injured after a car crashed into a market in Marine Terrace on Saturday (Dec 9), the police said in statement.

The incident occurred at around 12.30pm involving a car and three pedestrians at Block 50A Marine Terrace.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/3-injured-after-car-crashes-into-market-in-marine-terrace-9484676

In “Pa”‘s long shadow

For most of his adult life James Murdoch has worked for companies controlled by his father. From Hong Kong to London and then New York, he has traversed his family’s global empire, managing vast media businesses such as Sky in the UK and, most recently, 21st Century Fox in the US. Yet he has never quite escaped Rupert Murdoch’s long shadow.

FT

I’m sure this description of James Murdoch reminds S’poreans of someone.

It certainly does for me.

What do you think? Does this description of James Murdoch reminds S’poreans of someone.

Update at 6.42:

The article expects him to go do his own thing soon, breaking away from the family. Something the S’porean that he reminds me of is likely to do in the next few yrs.

Why Jolovan Wham’s vigil singled out?

I understand quiet vigils outside Changi Prison have been “allowed” for a long time. So the police intervention to disrupt* part of the vigil for Prabagaran was surprising; as was the investigation of the vigil, the charge against Jolovan Wham and warning letters issued to the usual suspects present at the vigil: the usual trouble makers like Kirsten Han.

When TRE used Why Jolovan Wham kanna whack? there was a response from a TRE reader that may shed some light on why the police did what they did.

nathan:

December 2, 2017 at 4:07 pm  (Quote)

The G was feeling the heat and getting nervous with the execution of Singaporean drug trafficker Muhammad Ridzuan Md Ali, 31 who, was executed on Friday (May 19) at Changi Prison. His accomplice was spare the noose while Ridzuan refused to rat on others involved to the CNB. So one get a second chance to live while the other got to die for the same capital offence.

For once, there was an outpouring of collect grief by the Malay community. It was an unprecedented sympathetic huge gathering at Ridzuan funeral as he was buried and lay to rest at the Muslim cemetery captured for all to see beamed live via videos in the Internet that must taken the Government aback.

Not long after this execution it was the turn of a Malaysian drug trafficker Prabagaran to be hanged. Jolovan Wham held an vigil for him. Unfortunately for JW, the G was not in the mood for any activists to play up any unwanted publicity for Prabagaran after what the G had seen of the aftermath of executed Ridzuan.

…

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*Kirsten Han’s FB post

About 15 people, including Prabagaran’s family, are gathered outside Changi Prison for a vigil for Prabagaran, who is scheduled to be hanged at 6am.

We put up photos of Praba and lit tea lights for him at about 11:15pm. At about 11:30pm the police came to tell us that we can’t set up the candles and photos. They asked that we put out the candles and said they had to seize everything according to their police procedure. They filmed and photographed everything – including the people who were present – and took away the candles and photos.

It seems like we’re able to stay.

[UPDATE at 6:40am] People dispersed around 1:15am to get showers/rest/food. We met up again at about 5am. Praba’s family were able to stand by the fence and pray. Thank you to all those who attended the vigil or sent your thoughts and wishes to the family.

 

How Norway’s SWF sees S’pore property

Talking about commercial property here, Karsten Kallevig, head of the fund’s property business, might have unwittingly explained why S’poreans vote for the PAP:

the fund had found it harder in Singapore due to “different dynamics” but was persisting there. He added that rents were very volatile in the city state while capital values were more stable. “With pricing and opportunities . . . we have not been able to conclude on anything that for us provides the confidence to start investing there.”

FT report

He is saying, he can’t get in at what he considers to be a gd entry price, yield-wise. Global investors especially SWFs look for relatively attractive yields when investing in commercial property.

What this means is that those invested here in commercial property do so because they continue seeing capital values going up long term. Because they know that S’poreans will keep on voting for the PAP, who is the friend of capitalists? Eat yr heart out anti-PAP cybernuts.

Eat blemished fruit

Half of them acknowledged that they could have taken steps to avoid food waste generated from leftovers after a meal, food expiring or becoming spoilt, and throwing away blemished fruits and vegetables.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/half-of-food-thrown-away-by-singapore-households-can-be-avoided-9464560

This reminded me that for several months now I’ve been regularly buying and eating pears whose skins don’t look that nice. I wouldn’t give them away as presents or use them as altar offerings but they are good to eat and are sold at knocked down prices. A pear that should be going for $2-2.50 is sold at $1 because the skin is less than perfect.

And slightly damaged or overripe pears are sold for 50 cents each. Just cut off the damaged bit.

From BBC article

‘Use by’ Vs ‘best before’

Best before

• “Best before” dates are about quality, not safety.
• When the date has passed, it doesn’t mean that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.
• The “best before” date will only be accurate if the food is stored according to the instructions on the label.

Use By

• “Use by” dates are the most important date to consider, as these relate to food safety.
• “Use by” dates are found on food that goes off quickly, such as smoked fish, meat products and ready-prepared salads.
• Don’t use any food or drink after the end of the “use by” date on the label, even if it looks and smells fine.
• For the “use by” date to be a valid guide, you must follow storage instructions.
• Once a food with a “use by” date on it has been opened, you also need to follow any instructions such as “eat within three days of opening”.
• If the “use by” date is tomorrow, then you must use the food by the end of tomorrow, even if the label says “eat within a week of opening”.

source: NHS

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-42223507

Wah lan SMRT CEO so cock isit?

Scholar and ex-SAF commander is so useless that Khaw, Temasek and SMRT thinks he needs more supervision, a lot more.

It’s not me or angry commuters or the anti-PAP mob saying this. It’s the constructive, nation-building media reporting comments by Temasek, SMRT and Khaw.

If he’s so in need of supervision, why not fire him? Or cut his salary by half? Meritocracy? What meritocracy? Meritocratic hubris/ Who defines “meritocracy”

Here’s how MediaCorp reported the story. ST’s report is along similar lines so maybe there was a dictator dictating the narrative?

Temasek-backed Pavilion Energy’s CEO Seah Moon Ming will step down to focus on his role as chairman of train operator SMRT.

CNA

That shows that Temasek thinks he needs more supervision.

And so does SMRT because

In a separate media release, SMRT said it is “pleased” that when Mr Seah took on the chairmanship in July this year, he had planned to prioritise more time in the role.

“Under the guidance of Mr Seah and our board, SMRT remains focused on delivering key initiatives such as asset renewal efforts, while it continues its multi-year effort to strengthen management, operations and maintenance teams, and build robust engineering and operational capabilities for future needs,” SMRT said.

“The board, CEO and management of SMRT welcome the opportunity to work even more closely with Mr Seah from Feb 1 2018.”

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/pavilion-energy-ceo-seah-moon-ming-stepping-down-to-focus-on-9470572

As to Khaw, Desmond’s public defender

Earlier on Tuesday, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan called for more support for the SMRT chairman, after saying that the flooding of the Bishan-Braddell MRT tunnel on Oct 7 was not a failure of engineering, but a “failure of organisational management at SMRT”.

CNA

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different Parties’ Slogans

Appeared on FB

P.A.P. – PAY & PAY.
S.P.P. – SO, PLEASE PAY.
W.P. – WHY PAY ?
S.D.P – SO, DON’T PAY.
N.S.P. – NOBODY SHOULD PAY.
S.F. – SO SELFISH!!!

Someone added

R.P. – Refuse (to) Pay

I’ll add

D.P.P – Don’t Pay Party

Why Malay name for “otter” is apt

The name reminds us that otters have fangs and claws and are prepared to use them.

Yes, another tale from Udrahpore or Otterpore: Udrahpore not Singapore

This pix from OtterWatch, reminding S’poreans that otters are protective of their pups, reminded me that the Malays call an otter “anjing air”. This translates literally into “water dog”.

 

And yes, the Chinese term for “water dog” is  “sui kow”, the name of a type of Chinese dumpling.

So the original dumpling was made using otter meat?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remind Lim Tean, it’s December

(Update on 26 July 2018 at 6.10am: No pix, no sound from Lim Tean despite having claimed that he successfully collected monies from public for these events)

Didn’t he promise a defamation video and a jobs rally by end-November?

The defamation video is in the process of being finalised . We are adding animation so it is taking a bit longer than expected . But we should be able to release it in the 1st half of November . Apologies for the delay .

As for the jobs rally , that was postponed because of the anticipated Presidential Elections and the ensuing outcry following the walkover . We are planning to put on the rally in November and have an exciting lineup of speakers . We intend to have a jobs rally like never before and will be informing Singaporeans of details soon !

Lim Tean to me in late October Update on Lim Tean’s video and rally

Has anyone seen the video or attended the job rally?

I may have missed the video and the rally, though I doubt it.

I think he hasn’t walked the talk, though I’m happy to stand corrected.

Now I’m not too fussed about the delay in the rally because it’s the rainy season, and anyway the economy is picking up nicely thanks to the PAP global economy picking up.

But the video is something that S’poreans need.

Will Lim Tean make the release of his video his Chrismas present? Maybe he was too busy celebrating his birthday in November?

Or failing that he should make the video his ang pow for Chinese New Year in mid February? This would also good time weather-wise for the rally, though by then there may no longer unhappy, unemployed true blue S’porean PMETs.

Whatever, I hope Lim Tean doesn’t turn out to be another talk cock, sing song artiste like another other No Substance Party former secretary-general. Think Goh Meng Seng, a real talk cock, sing song artiste. By encouraging Tan Kin Lian to stand as president, he was instrumental in helping the PAP deprive S’poreans of president Tan Cheng Bock. No wonder he’s smiling.

Real reason why S’pore wants to be a Smart Nation

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says efforts to simplify and integrate electronic payment systems are underway, including making such a method available at hawker centres, in a bid to transform the country into a Smart Nation.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/national-day-rally-singapore-to-go-bigger-on-e-payments-with-9140068

Makes survelliance of the sheep people a lot easier. Black-listing of trouble makers will also be easier.

Companies in China, including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, are required to help China’s government hunt criminal suspects and silence political dissent, and their technology is being used to create cities wired for surveillance. (WSJ)

NYT Dealbook

I wrote this Coming here, China’s new tool for social control? sometime ago

Beijing wants to give every citizen a credit rating for everything.  Citizens’ ratings are to be linked with their identity-card numbers. The rating will be based on behaviour such as spending habits, turnstile violations, filial piety and “assembling to disrupt social order”. These scores can be used to blacklist citizens from loans, jobs and air travel.

Will Roy, Meng Seng and s/o JBJ help Amos now?

What will the people pictured below do to help Amos? If he isn’t helped, he’ll spend Christmas on the mean streets of Chicago in winter.

Amos the Fabulous has been told to leave his present lodgings by 21 December because there are young children also living in the same place. His views on sex with children and child pornography have led to concerns that he could be a clear and present danger to the children.

He has asked for someone to give him another place to live in. Maybe Goh Meng Seng will offer his private jet?

“Jesus was falsely accused, too”: Does Amos support child pornography?

                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home away from home in Devon, England

Homesick S’poreans living in or visting the UK should visit Dawlish in Devon

The Trip Advisor review, from a person called SW stated: “There are literally dozens and dozens of them – everywhere.”

The reviewer continued in a later post: “Dawlish looks old, sad and ridiculous with so many notices. It feels oppressive for visitors.

“If you want visitors then try welcoming them! Forget the ‘Do not do this’ and the ‘Do not do that’ and start looking at the contradictions, confusion and general negativity it brings.

“I truly have never in my lifetime visited anywhere so bad in this respect.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-42193092

This response is so PAPpish

Vanessa Riley from Dawlish Chamber of Trade insisted that many of the signs were necessary: “People that have not seen the signs have let dogs off.”

She explained “quite a few” of the town’s popular black swans have been lost to dog attacks over the years.

 

Jolovan Wham: Money talks, BS Walks do-gooders

My FB avater is kinda tired of getting messages from do-gooders to sign a petition to get the authorities to drop the charges against Jolovan Wham. It’s as futile an exercise as Inderjit Singh banging his turban against a wall asking for help for SMEs. It’s a waste of time.

When TRE used Why Jolovan Wham kanna whack? a TRE reader made a suggestion that these do-gooders would be wise to follow: help raise money “for him to fight the case”.

ftvhunik:

December 2, 2017 at 6:34 pm  (Quote)

If can, someone just do crowdfunding for him to fight the case. Tbh, if one want to make a different for sg, either change from within, study well and join the opposition, be an activist but knowing the law well or simply escape this country for good. You will never get a good ending when you against the gov.

Singaporeans are not worth for all these sacrifices that you have done for them, they will u turn taking advantage of you and ungrateful to you by calling you dumb instead. Just let them screw and suffer from the shitty policies, one day they will wake up themselves and understand things.

Kee Chui those willing to donate?

Amos in the land of the free

Update on 3 December at 2.45pm: Amos has posted that he has to vacate his present lodgings by 21 DEcember because the authorities don’t want him near young children because of his views on child sex. He’s asking for help to live in the nearest 5-star hotel. OK, I made up the 5-star bit.

Amos learns about the environment in which “freedom of expression” opeates in the land where the buffalo roam . While he has freedom of expression, people can express their disagreement or disgust by barring him from public forums: he’s been KPKBing that that’s what happening. They can even threaten to kill him.

Yee has received harsh criticism and even death threats after posting three videos on the topic, on 15, 17 and 20 November, entitled Why Pedophilia Is Alright, Don’t Discriminate Pedophiles, and Free Speech for the Pedophile respectively.

The Idiots S’pore

And the death threats are “no play play” because in the land of the free where the buffalo roam the freedom to carry and use arms are other freedoms.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Mother Mary wears black by this time next year. His ang moh tua kee allies may want to consider buying him a bullet-proof vest for Christmas.

Related post: Does Amos support child pornography?

 

Ever wondered about how banks detect money laundering?

If u like me have faced questions when u wanted to deposit a S$1000 note into yr bank account, then read https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/11/economist-explains-16.

Software and data bases are the front line, not the teller.

Btw, my standard answer to the teller, “If PAP issues S$1000 notes, cannot use them isit? Not happy, tell PAP to stop printing them.”

Three cheers for TOC

The latest SMRT problem and LTA’s announcement that

the two rail operators are required to inform passengers of any delay exceeding 10 minutes, via regular announcements within stations and on board trains. If the delay worsens, updated information should be announced via mainstream and social media.

reminded me that Terry’s Online Channel has been tracking and documenting delays in train service, announced and, more importantly, unannounced, by SMRT.

This is important because memories are short especially for sheep and BS artists.

Here in Wah train service so reliable meh between 2012 and 2016? I reported that I challenged a TRE reader to tell me about his experiences of SMRT delays between 2012 and April 2016. As expected, no picture, no sound.

I also asked via FB a few other very vocal complainers, but they admitted they couldn’t remember or they were not regular MRT commuters.

Which is why it is important that there is a record of the delays that is publicly accessible. But if TOC closes, then no records exist. And after a trouble-free 2019, come the next GE, the sheep will think that the trains have always run on time.