V@g38 › Comments

"The banana and your HDB flat THURSDAY, 10 DECEMBER 2009 Singapore Democrats One stall sells bananas for 50 cents each. Another prices them at $1 but posts a sign: "Buy One Get One Free!" Who do you buy from? Unfortunately many shoppers are attracted to the latter. It is this psychology that the PAP preys on when it says that HDB flats are subsidized: Jack up the price of the flats and then sell them at a "discount". This way, the Government calculates, Singaporeans will be eternally grateful for the make-believe assistance. Here's how things work in reality. The Government owns most of the island. From time to time it puts out parcels of land for sale and invites private developers to bid for them. (“Private” is used very loosely here as some of these real estate companies are GLCs). The Government then sells land earmarked for HDB flats to the HDB at a lower price (say, 60 percent) of whatever amount the successful private bid comes to. In other words, the PAP claims, HDB land is... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 10, 2009 Can we have some politeness on the road? I AM amazed how badly Singaporeans behave on the road. Many drivers do not signal before switching lanes. Some should be ashamed of their lack of road courtesy, yet they swear at others for their own wrongdoings. A classic example is the driver of a Volvo I encountered on Tuesday morning. I was driving along Jalan Besar when I crossed the path of this bad-mannered driver. I had signalled before I switched from the right lane to the middle lane. At the same time, the middle-aged man moved to the middle lane without prior signal. For safety's sake, I sounded my horn to alert him. However, he sped up and flashed his middle finger at me. I was astonished how rude he was. He was not remorseful and, in addition, he swore at me. This is not an isolated case. Signalling before changing lanes is one of the basic things learnt before securing a licence. Still, some drivers forget this once they hit the roads. If all of us practise a little politeness, Singapore will be a more pleasant city to live and drive in. Yvonne Lee (Ms)" - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Thursday, December 10, 2009 Falling productivity : Need to wean off Foreign Labor... Productivity has fallen by 6 straight quarters from the last quarter of 2007. In the 1st quarter of 2009, it fell a whopping 14.7 percent. "One is the slowdown in investment in innovation and productivity measures. When the economy grows very rapidly, companies have alot of opportunities to benefit from the growth and the expansion of the economy. So the focus on productivity may be lacking behind. So it is important to refocus attention of companies on productivity growth. There are many measures we can put in place to encourage enterprises to invest in innovation, to invest in research, to invest in benchmarking so that we can raise the overall productivity effort in our economy."- Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong[Link] . Minister Gan blames it on the economic growth and worker's training. But our productivity has been falling during the economic slump while that of other developed countries like US... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 10, 2009 Bank's fault but not a word of apology I TRIED to withdraw $200 in cash from a DBS Bank ATM in Pasir Ris on Nov 13. No cash was dispensed from the machine but $200 was deducted from my account. I quickly called customer service and was told the bank would check and call me within three working days. No one called, so I rang up customer service again on Nov 19 and was told the matter was still under investigation and the bank would need seven to 10 working days. On Nov 24, I received a call telling me the bank had sent me a letter and asking me to refer to it. The letter was from DBS Bank's eChannel Servicing and signed by a Mr See Kim Seng. He said there was no discrepancy and $200 had been withdrawn from my account and I had received the cash. I immediately called the bank and demanded to see the recordings of the closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras. I waited and waited but there was no follow-up from DBS and so I called again on Dec 1. I was told the bank was following up... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 10, 2009 Schoolgirl plagiarises By Sandra Davie, Senior Writer What was written 'There are many paths to enlightenment - their teachings rich and varied, offering wisdom and 'food for thought', and everything we need for our journey to awakening lies within us. In the beginning, spirituality appears like a bud on a bloom, opening gradually, tempting us with a glimpse of its splendour and unfathomable depths. It is here we create the blueprint for our collective existence.' Private tutor Anne Tok, said she googled a line from the essay and up popped the work of Canadian spiritual healer Nancy Tabah Whynott. 'Surely, any teacher reading it would have suspected that the essay was plagiarised or, at the least, written by the parent,' said Madam Tok. -- PHOTO: REUTERS IT IS a contemplative essay on life, and appears in Many Dreams, One World, a book featuring works of primary school pupils. But two parents who read the 440-word piece, entitled The Journey Of Life, were not convinced... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"The global war on the libel industry WEDNESDAY, 09 DECEMBER 2009 The Guardian The Brazilian journalist Luiz Flavio Pinto is intimately familiar with the vagaries of civil defamation law. In July this year, when a court ordered him to pay damages and legal costs totalling nearly $20,000 to the Maionara family, for allegedly defaming their deceased father, he was already embroiled in 14 other lawsuits filed by the same family. The damages award in just this one defamation case amounted to more than a year's gross income for his newspaper, Jornal Pessoal. Pinto is an outspoken journalist who regularly reports on environmental destruction, drug trafficking and political and corporate corruption in the Amazon region. Over the four decades of his career, he has faced death threats, physical attacks and dozens of criminal and civil lawsuits. He is only one of hundreds of journalists and others around the world who suffers the damaging consequences of enormous legal fees, lengthy and... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"The art of passing the buck Sunday, 14 December 2008, 11:40 pm | 2,321 views Andrew Loh Investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy on 15 September 2008. (Guardian, BBC, CNBC) For the next two months, our town councils kept silent on whether they were affected by the collapse of Lehman, even as investors gathered in their hundreds at Hong Lim Park to protest their losses in similar investments. It wasn‘t until the 17 November Parliamentary sitting that Singaporeans were told of the town councils’ losses when Nominated Member Eunice Olsen queried the minister on it. Senior Minister of State for National Development, Grace Fu, revealed that $16m had been invested by the PAP town councils in the failed structured products. Interestingly, none of the PAP or opposition MPs asked any further questions about the issue in Parliament. Ms Fu said, “Are the town councils aware of the risks? I think that is the answer that we should ask the town councils and it is for each of the... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Emergence of an ultra-underclass.. Twenty years ago, we all boarded this plane that was suppose to take us to Switzerland. Most of us were dropped off nowhere near Switzerland while the pilot and his buddies landed on a paradise island with a tall ivory tower. An unfortunate number had to settle for a place no better than a 3rd world country and perhaps worse. A few days ago Minister Yaacob Ibrahim spoke of the emergence of an ultra-underclass among the Malay community after a series of tragedies involving young children from broken homes[Link: The ST online article used the phrase "ultra-underclass" when it first appeared but removed it later]. I believe this underclass is not restricted to Malay community but exists in all ethnic groups. This ultra-underclass is caused by a combination of broken homes and low income resulting in children with poor upbringing. Why is there surprise over having people poor and marginalised when the income gap is so large?... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 5, 2009 Maids are not free to change jobs at will THERE have been several letters recently from employers of maids who have complained about their behaviour and suggested they are too free to decide their conditions of work and who they will work for ('Are errant maids, agencies misusing free ride home?', Nov 23; 'Strike a balance to protect interests of maids' employers', last Saturday; and 'Transfer - the new mantra of street- smart maids', Tuesday). We disagree. Maids are not free to change jobs at will. They are tied to a specific workplace and employer by the terms of their work permit, and can leave them and take work with another employer only with the consent of their existing employer. Workers do not seek to change employers for frivolous reasons; usually, there are charges attached to their transfer by their agency that mean they may work from one to four months more before they receive any benefit at all from their labour. There is no legal restriction on the hours a... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 8, 2009 Errant maid employers giving S'pore a bad name I REFER to last Saturday's letter by Transient Works Count Too and the Association of Women for Action and Research, 'Maids are not free to change jobs at will'. Many employers not only do not give their maids days off, they practically cut their communication with the outside world. Some even go to the extent of restricting their maids from talking to anyone, including other maids in the neighbourhood, or even confiscate their mobile phones. This is absurd. Some maids start their work day as early as 5am and end as late as 11pm. In between, they are not allowed to rest, with even a short nap considered skiving by 'slave-driver' employers. Some employers even restrict their maids from watching TV, which is another sadistic act as this, together with other restrictions, make the maid's employment worse than the life of a jailbird. Have Singaporeans forgotten how we began as a struggling nation? Why must we project to the world... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Using current statistics, an informed blogger estimates that in six years’ time – by 2015 – this city will be populated by 6.59 million people, of just only half (or 3.91 million) will be true-blue Singaporeans." - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Goh Eng Yeow Markets Correspondent Need for full and timely disclosure December 07, 2009 Monday, 12:51 PM Goh Eng Yeow examines the corporate governance issue thrown up by Sino-Environment corporate scandal. FULL and timely disclosure of accounts and any material developments in a listed firm is what differentiates the stock market from a casino. This important guiding principle is what gives investors to put their money to work in the market in the hope of getting a better return than investing in a government bond or simply leaving it in the bank. And as I point out in my Cai Jin column this morning, investors like to be kept informed, rewarding companies who keep them posted on important corporate developments and punishing those who ambush them with unexpected developments. And they don’t like surprises. Bad news is never welcome, but it is harder to stomach if the bearer had not been forthcoming with it in the first place. This is what makes Sino-Environment - the latest... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Google Conquers Time Quentin Hardy, 12.07.09, 04:50 PM EST Real-time search, translation, location--everywhere? MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Years ago, Google defined its mission as "organizing all the world's information," which seemed to many like a slightly pretentious way of talking about Internet search. On Monday the company introduced products for simultaneous translation, real-time Web information and location-based awareness--in other words, evidence Google was serious about its boast. At a press briefing at the Googleplex, the company displayed features like instantaneous recognition of photos taken with a mobile phone, translation of spoken speech from one language to another (also via a mobile phone), improved voice-based search on phones, maps that show nearby locations of any location pressed on a touch screen, and real-time search results based on updates from sources like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, in addition to traditional sources. Google ( GOOG - news - people )... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Dec 7, 2009 Cool response to smaller HDB flats: It's not just a matter of preference I REFER to the report, 'Cool response to smaller HDB flats' (Nov 27), which stated that there were much fewer applications for HDB two- and three-room flats, relative to larger flats. The reasoning that this was due to more Singaporeans being able to afford larger flats may be flawed. It may be due to the HDB's income ceiling policy, which does not allow applicants with a household monthly income of more than $2,000 and $3,000 to buy two- and three-room flats respectively. What this means is that those who earn more than $3,000 have to buy four-room or bigger units. So it is not just a matter of preference. With rising new HDB flat prices over the years, many lower-income households may not be able to afford a two- or three-room flat. This may be why there were fewer applications for smaller flats than for larger ones. The argument that HDB flats are affordable, because most flat owners do not use... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Capitalism without Romance By Jeffrey Friedman Saturday, December 5, 2009 Filed under: Big Ideas, Boardroom, Culture, Economic Policy, Government & Politics, Public Square Understanding what caused the financial crisis is crucial to capitalism’s future. Once we see what really happened, we find a conception of capitalism different than that entertained by either its conservative defenders or its liberal critics. A BBC poll conducted in 27 countries found last month that only 25 percent of Americans think capitalism is working well—and that this is the highest proportion of any country in the world. Overall, 51 percent of those interviewed thought that “regulation and reform” are needed to fix the problems of capitalism, and 23 percent maintained that an entirely new economic system is in order. This is the intellectual toll taken by the financial crisis. But the people of the world, including most of its intellectuals, are simply wrong to think that capitalism caused the crisis. And... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Bankers had cashed in before the music stopped By Lucian Bebchuk, Alma Cohen and Holger Spamann Published: December 6 2009 19:45 | Last updated: December 6 2009 19:45 According to the standard narrative, the meltdown of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers largely wiped out the wealth of their top executives. Many – in the media, academia and the financial sector – have used this account to dismiss the view that pay structures caused excessive risk-taking and that reforming such structures is important. That standard narrative, however, turns out to be incorrect. It is true that the top executives at both banks suffered significant losses on shares they held when their companies collapsed. But our analysis, using data from Securities and Exchange Commission filings, shows the banks’ top five executives had cashed out such large amounts since the beginning of this decade that, even after the losses, their net pay-offs during this period were substantially positive. In 2000-07, the top... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Finally after more than one year’s wait for Singapore, Starhub and M1 will finally launch their own iPhone 3GS plans, breaking the “monopoly” of Singtel in the local telco market. Starhub and M1 will launch their iPhones this coming Wednesday on 9 Dec 2009. Yuxiang did a nice comparisons between the expected iPhone 3GS pricing and tariff plans for Singtel, Starhub and M1. Check out the detail comparisons below: Click here for the source of the iPhone 3GS plans comparison by Yuxiang. Click here for the reason that I don’t like the iPhone." - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Why Did Capitalism Fail? John Carney|Dec. 5, 2009, 11:41 AM | 1,914 |39 Print Tags: Financial Services, Economy, Housing, Real Estate, Housing Crisis, Mortgages, Investing, Hedge Funds, Wall Street, Financial Crisis, Banks The most suprising thing about the financial crisis is that the problems were so widespread in the banking system but absent, or nearly so, in the so-called "shadow banking" system. It was investment banks and commercial banks that loaded up on mortgage backed securities, rather than hedge funds, endowments, pension funds or money market funds. Why did risk become so concentrated in some of the most regulated institutions in the world? Because the regulators held a monopoly on what constituted prudent banking and directed the banks to buy more mortgage backed securities. Jeff Friedman explains the process in The American: For American banks, the answer seems to be an obscure regulation called the Recourse Rule. The Rule was enacted by the Fed, the FDIC, the... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"By JESSICA PAPINI In what will likely be a closely studied ruling, a small investor was awarded $200,000 after an arbitration panel decided her UBS AG broker inappropriately sold her risky Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. principal-protected notes. The case is one of the first involving the Lehman notes to be heard by a Financial Industry Regulation Authority arbitration panel. While the arbitration ruling won't set a precedent, it could indicate how rulings on similar cases will play out. There are "many pending similar cases," said Jacob Zamansky of Zamansky & Associates, who represented the investor, Patricia Flanagan of South Carolina, in the arbitration case. Mr. Zamansky said he is representing a dozen clients in similar situations around the country. As in most arbitration awards, the three-person arbitration panel didn't give reasons for its findings. Other panels don't have to follow precedent, so they could rule in different ways on nearly identical cases. Still, the case will... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"PRs queuing up to join grassroots organizations in Geylang December 7, 2009 by admin Filed under Headlines Leave a comment Permanent residents are flocking to serve in grassroots organizations that they have to be put on the waiting list at the Geylang Neighborhood committee due to a little-known cap of 15 per cent of the grassroots committee members who can be PRs. According to a report by TODAY, there are 1,360 PRs now serving as grassroots leaders, comprising 4.6 per cent of the 29,400 grassroots leaders in Singapore. This number is almost double the reported number of PR grassroots leaders serving in November 2007 and four times the number in August 2000. Minister of Community, Youth and Sports revealed lately that there 4,500 new citizens who are serving as grassroots organizations in various estates. All the grassroots organizations in Singapore such as the Residents’ Committees and Community Clubs are under the control of the People’s Association (PA), a quasi-PAP organization... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"7 Share The evolution of music is in essence a study of how human culture, tastes, and technology have evolved over the course of thousands of years. From ancient Indian music to Beethoven to Lady GaGa, music has embraced new instruments and scientific advances in the search for the perfect harmony and melody. While most of society thinks of music in terms of voices, pianos, and woodwinds, perhaps the world should get ready for the rise of a new instrument: the iPhone. While composing computer-generated music is nothing new, the iPhone’s unique mobile capabilities, accelerometer, compass, GPS, and hardware have already made it a musical instrument (e.g. the Smule Ocarina iPhone App). But that’s nothing compared to what’s in store for us in the future; a recent concert at Stanford University pushed the limits and our perception of what is possible with music. On Thursday, December 3rd, a small group of students and faculty performed as the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra (MoPhO).... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"TOC Editorial: Media’s silence on Yong Vui Kong a national shame Saturday, 5 December 2009, 11:14 am | 3,179 views Choo Zheng Xi/Editor-at-Large Yong Vui Kong’s story will now be familiar with regular readers of The Online Citizen and the activist community, but alien to many Singaporeans who will go about their daily lives without batting an eyelid. This is largely the fault of the mainstream media, which have completely failed in their duty to explain what Vui Kong’s case means for individual Singaporeans. This needs to change. The justice system distinguishes between civil law and criminal law. Civil law is enforceable between individuals, whereas criminal law is enforced by the State. In the latter case, the State moves to punish acts deemed injurious to society. It acts on society’s behalf, through statutes passed by our elected representatives. When the State brings its criminal jurisdiction to bear, it acts on behalf of you and me. If Vui Kong is hanged, he will be hanged in... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Hung: A Briefing on SIngapore's Death Penalty By: Roxanne Hesh Singapore American School 2009 word count: 1520 1 person every 9 days. 40 people every year. Seeing those numbers out of context may be meaningless to you. But add: 1 person killed every 9 days. 40 people killed every year.[i] All of a sudden those numbers become a lot more meaningful. It may seem shocking but those are the statistics for the death penalty in Singapore. Some say the capital punishment is overused in Singapore, as it is the world’s leading country in use of death penalty per capita, and others say it is a good thing death is given to criminals, making the country one of the safest in the world.[ii] Either opinion may be right, but one needs to know the facts behind death penalty in Singapore before taking a side. The country’s death penalty affects the countries reputation, the psychology of people residing in Singapore as well as those merely visiting, and Singapore’s relationships with other countries.... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Vui Kong, we care – a day for compassion Monday, 7 December 2009, 1:27 am | 657 views Vui Kong’s story from Lianain Films on Vimeo. Rachel Zeng On Sunday, 6 December 2009, a group of Singaporeans gathered at Speakers’ Corner to express their concern for Yong Vui Kong, a 21 year old Malaysian who is sitting on death row, and to demonstrate compassion for him. The simple event, which was planned over the weekend, was to have pictures taken of Singaporeans who cared for Yong Vui Kong and to have them presented to his family as a sign of moral support. People started arriving as early as 3.30pm. Because some were caught in traffic, the photo-taking started at 4.40pm, instead of 4pm as originally planned. The 40 attendees, which included families with children, held photographs of Yong Vui Kong that were originally taken with his mother during her birthday almost three years ago – two days before he was arrested and subsequently sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Some of the... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Geely Auto shrs up 7 pct to record on upbeat sales target 2009年 12月 7日 星期一 12:17 BJT 保存为书签 | 打印 | 阅读全文 [-] 文字大小 [+] 全球市场新闻 〔美国金融〕财政部称TARP金援成本料比预想的要少约2,000亿美元 〔美国个股〕思科料重申双位数营收增长目标,然利润率引担忧 《网络世界分析》淘宝挺进中国付费搜索市场,或将与百度、谷歌三分天下 更多市场新闻   HONG KONG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Shares of Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd (0175.HK: 行情) rose more than 7 percent to record high on Monday after the Chinese carmaker said it aimed to sell 400,000 vehicles in 2010, up by a third from 2009. The stock rose to a record HK$4.37, up 7.11 percent, before easing slightly to HK$4.35 at noon. The company also said it planned to boost capital spending by up to 43 percent to 1 billion yuan initially in 2010, and will continue to seek acquisition opportunities, with an interest in projects, including parts and engines. [ID:nTOE5B605H] (Reporting by Alison Leung; Editing by Chris Lewis)" - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"M1 iPhone 3Gs to be Available from 9th December as Low as SG$36 Per Month Posted on 07 December 2009 by Joe Teh The battle started. With the earlier Press Release from Starhub stating the price plan, M1 has also issued a Press Release on their price plan. It seems that the iPhone Lite plan is the most value for money. Press Release after the break. I could not find their Press Release from M1 website. However, OCWorkbench already got it. So, I just copied from it. Press Release M1 to bring iPhone 3GS to Singapore on 9 December SINGAPORE, 7 December 2009 – M1 today announced that it will launch iPhone 3GS in Singapore on 9 December 2009. M1 will offer a range of new 3G tariff plans tailored for iPhone customers, including iPhone at no upfront cost on the Take3 programme and monthly subscriptions as low as $36 on the iPhone Value plan. iPhone 3GS is the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet, packed with incredible new features including improved speed and performance – up to twice as fast... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Friday, December 04, 2009 Cooling day for RATIONAL decisions.. You know the election is coming when they find ways to tweak the rules like that "cooling off day" they added. I really don't know what to make of it. Perhaps they are afraid some report about the next pay hike for ministers or next GST hike will leak out or get fabricated on the Internet one day before voting day and cause votes to swing to the opposition. The Worker's Party said it would be possible for all sorts of (positive) news and explanations from civil servants (who have become not independent) to get aired on that day to swing the votes to the PAP. Mr. Brown in his latest comedic podcast speculates soothing music being played over the airwaves and "Men-in-white" propaganda going on TV that day. The Opposition already has so much stacked against it including the short minimum 9-day campaign period to get their message out, how the boundaries will be drawn, lack of (positive) coverage on the state controlled media... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"SUNDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2009 Financial Times: Bear Stearns and Lehman Executives Cashed in before Collapse by CalculatedRisk on 12/06/2009 09:18:00 PM From Lucian Bebchuk, Alma Cohen, and Holger Spamann in the Financial Times: Bankers had cashed in before the music stopped According to the standard narrative, the meltdown of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers largely wiped out the wealth of their top executives. ... That standard narrative, however, turns out to be incorrect. ... our analysis ... shows the banks’ top five executives had cashed out such large amounts since the beginning of this decade that, even after the losses, their net pay-offs during this period were substantially positive. excerpted with permission It appears these executives were incentivized to gamble. Mark Thoma has more excerpts Did Bank Executives Lose Enough to Learn their Lesson?" - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Sunday, December 06, 2009 Sino-Environment : Mystery bankers, dodgy deals, missing millions We have about 170 Chinese companies listed on the SGX. These are know as S-share or S-chips (those in Hong Kong are known as H-shares). The SGX initiated efforts to court Chinese-based companies to raise equity funds in Singapore in 90s. This was aimed at developing the capital market in view of the limited number of companies in Singapore, given the size of our economy.The exchange has inked MoUs with the provincial governments of Zhejiang, Shandong and Liaoning, as well as the Wuxi municipal government to facilitate the listing in Singapore of companies from those areas. The number of S-shares hit by accounting problems is very long including Oriental Century Ltd, China Sun Bio-Chem Technology Group Company and Fibrechem Technologies Ltd. FerroChina Ltd has halted production in China and filed for bankruptcy. The latest scandal involves Sino-Environment and the extent of its problems became... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet

"Why Singapore hides the human face of the death penalty Dec. 06 2009 - 02:52 am View comments (1) 3 2 12 Singapore, death penalty The Singapore government does not want you to know that Yong Vui Kong, a 21-year-old Malaysian, may have seen his mother for the last time. The Singapore government does not want you to know that in what may have been their final meeting, Yong knelt down and bowed to his mother three times through the glass pane that separated them on death row at Changi prison. The Singapore government does not want you to know that Yong, who has become a devout Buddhist since being convicted of trafficking 47g of heroin into Singapore last year, has offered to donate his organs following his execution, which will be carried out in the next few weeks unless the courts perform an unprecedented about-turn. The Singapore government does not want you to know that Yong came from a broken home, was a troubled teenager at the time of his arrest and had no previous convictions.... more... - V@g38 from Bookmarklet