 |
And here's more to feast your eyes... |
WON'T
GET FOOLED AGAIN [till the next boo-boo]
[Updated August 22, 2008]
Click
here for the BigO homepage
CITIRAYA CEO DISAPPEARED WITH $51 MILLION
The nation-builder press Aug 15, 2008.
"Three years after Ng Teck Lee fled the country with money he pocketed while running waste recycling company Citiraya, it has now surfaced just how much he amassed..."
DO YOU REMEMBER THAT THE PAP'S DR MICHAEL LIM WAS CITIRAYA'S CHAIRMAN?
The nation-builder press, Mar 3, 2005.
When news first broke that listed-company Citiraya was having cash flow problems, reporters were shoving mics up the chairman's nose looking for a response. The chairman of Citiraya was Dr Michael Lim Chun Leng. Lim is by training a medical doctor and also card-carrying member of the People's Action Party, the ruling party of $heep City. Lim was at the time a lawmaker, Member of Parliament representing Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Constituency.
Yet in four published reports, it was never mentioned that Lim was a politician from the PAP. He was not in the party's lineup for the 2006 elections.
His name was also not in the recent August 2008 nation-builder report [above] of Citiraya's missing millions.
THE SLIPPER MAN
In contrast, the nation-builder press repeatedly reported that an alleged killer's husband was an opposition man.
The nation-builder press, June 30, 2008.
In one report from June 29, 2008, the nation-builder press said:
"The murder case is of interest as the husband of the accused is opposition party member Tan Lead Shake who was dubbed, 'The Slipper Man' for his preference for wearing flip flops when he contested previous general elections."
NEW LOOK?
"It's the same old story inside."
- The young, restless and cynical MIRROR OF OPINION, August 15, 2008.
$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on
the link.
A TOTALITARIAN STATE ENCOURAGES STUPIDITY
THIS WAY TO 'HEAVEN'?
Pic of General Lee from the nation-builder press, August 19, 2008.
When done correctly, placing two fingers side-by-side means "too much Satan for one hand" in the Heavy Metaller's Satan Finger Salute.
The prime minister of $ingapore, General Lee Hsien Loong, walked the well-trodden path on his annual national speech to $heep City - more babies needed, foreign talent essential, workers must not ask for high pay but increase productivity yadda, yadda, yadda... It only got interesting when he waved his fingers in what looked like a "too much Satan for one hand" salute.
Otherwise, THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION of what has happened to the US$25 or so BILLIONS of $ingaporean's wealth that the PAP government has thrown at U.S. banks and world financial institutions. Perhaps the general thinks it's only "peanuts" and not worth a mention.
Oh right, the general's father said you'll have to wait 3 decades [30 years] to see the US$25 BILLION investment bear fruit. We're sure we will NOT be around in 2038 to hear that speech.
%&@# sigh...
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Meet the new tnuc
same as the old TNUC
The new tnuc on the block
The nation-builder press, April 28, 2008.
"The new logo now shows who the Empire is going after."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, April 28,
2008.
Click
here to see how the tnuc helps workers.
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EVEN IF THE ERA OF CHEAP RICE IS ENDING... NO PROBLEM...
"Prices likely to rise in the short term, but government says there is no shortage."
- The nation-builder press, April 4, 2008.
(click on the above graphic for a better view)
"Another
'UNEEDMEE $INGAPORE' situation. If you want to help 300,000 poor Singaporeans,
lower or remove the GST."
- The young, restles and cynical Mirror of Opinion, April 4, 2008.
"We don't eat wheat. We eat grass." - Citizen $heep
WHY PRICES HAVE RISEN
The nation-builder press, November 14, 2006.
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LAS VEGAS SANDS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE $HEEPLE OF $INGAPORE
Las Vegas Sands Corp President William Weidner stated Jan 4 2008: "We are pleased to have completed this important financing for our Marina Bay Sands development. The completion of this $ingapore Dollar-denominated facility, which is the largest private $ingapore Dollar-denominated financing in $ingapore's history, was accomplished on very favorable terms in a challenging global credit environment."
The entire loan is for S$5.4 BILLION. On Jan 15, 2008, Sands withdrew S$2 BILLION. Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon G. Adelson stated, "We are quite gratified that the $ingapore interest rate is significantly below the rates which we would have to incur in the U.S. or other international markets in today's market."
Here's the lowdown of who's doing what: Goldman Sachs, DBS Bank Ltd., UOB Asia Limited, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited acted as coordinators of the financing. The coordinators as well as affiliates of Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Malayan Banking Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Calyon, and The Bank of Nova Scotia acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.
DBS Bank Ltd. is acting as Technical Bank, Agent and Security Trustee.
THERE IS NO BREAKDOWN AS TO WHICH BANK IS LENDING HOW MUCH.
$ingapore Prime Minister General Lee Hsien Loong has pledged to license only one other casino in the next 10 years.
+ + + + +
An elected president has to stand for elections.
SOUTH KOREANS VOTE FOR PRESIDENT
On Dec 19, 2007, BBC reported South Koreans are voting for a new president after
an election campaign blighted by scandal.
You can read the report here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7150806.stm
By contrast, the president of $heep City who is currently serving his second
term, has never been elected. Although $ingapore's president is chosen by election,
there has never been a suitable candidate found to contest the election. All
candidates must be screened by a government-appointed committee.
President $ R Nathan will get another pay rise on January 1, 2008 bringing
his salary to $3.87 MILLION.
CHEERS TO CITIZEN$HEEP
The nation-builder press, August 4, 2002.
The final two tests on Newater was commissioned and reported on July 17, 2002.
The report said "Mice are being given Newater to drink and fish are swimming
in a tank filled with it..." The tests were to "establish any long-term health
effects" said Professor Ong Choon Nam, a specialist in poisons. On Feb 28, 2003
another report said "the fish study is being repeated due to design deficiencies
of the aquarium system, fish husbandry issues and weaknesses in the initial
study." The report said the panel of experts would meet in May of 2003.
Five years have passed. We assume "long-term" issues can now be answered.
Does anyone know what were the results of the above two tests? As far as we
can ascertain, the reports were never made public. Of the two, the test with
fishes is interesting. Can fish breed in Newater? Does anyone know?
In 2005, 25 $ingaporeans died from the dengue fever epidemic.
WEEK 27: WHEN IS THE DENGUE FEVER EPIDEMIC GOING TO END?
A new strain of the dengue virus is in circulation - Den 2 - which means fewer
people are immuned, the nation-builder press reported December 20, 2007. Meanwhile,
another 17 people have succumbed to dengue fever, among them 13 construction
workers from a worksite in Telok Kurau. The report also mentioned that all of
them are believed to have recovered. So far there are over 8,660 cases, with
eight deaths. Currently, there are about 400 new cases every month.
It looks like we have to wait another two years to get a clear picture of the
extent of the 2007 dengue epidemic. In a July 3, 2007 report, the nation-builder
press said that in the 2005 epidemic, 25 $ingaporeans died. This is the first
time we recall the number of people killed in the 2005 epidemic being revealed
as 25. When SARS struck $ingapore, the PAP government reported only 33 were
killed here.
At the height of the epidemic, there were more than 1,000 cases a month. A government
website indicates that currently there are about 400 new cases a month. $ingapore
may be the only developed city with a recurring dengue fever problem. There
has been no indication when the epidemic may end.
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$ingapore's mentor minister Lee Kuan Yew takes a gulp of Newater. [Nation-builder
press, Aug 17, 2002]
1 MAN, 1 BOTTLE
Remember last week's 2 Girls, 1 Cup?
Last week we read a report that the Public Utilities Board in $heep City, $ingapore
now provides close to 40 MILLION gallons of recycled waste water to manufacturers
in $ingapore. The PUB said major NEW industrial
customers include Shell, ExxonMobil Chemical, and Changi Airport, as well as
new wafer fabrication plants.
Newater is a term which describes toilet waste [urine and faeces] after it is
recycled for human consumption. It is unclear how much of it is included in
tap water piped into $ingapore homes.
The full report
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/316103/1/.html
2 GIRLS, 1 CUP
A Brazilian director has made a short clip showing two girls in an act of coprophagia
(eating excrement). The film has made the rounds on the net.
Jessica Alba starred in a Tiger Beer commercial.
1 GIRL, 1 BEER MADE IN $INGAPORE
$ingapore beer is still manufactured in $ingapore. Asia Pacific Breweries manufactures
Tiger Beer, Anchor Beer, Baron's Strong Brew and Heineken in $ingapore. Other
brands are imported.
1 NATION, 2 MILLION $HEEP
Why are people living in $ingapore prepared to drink shit water? See below.
$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on
the link.
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PUBLIC HOUSING IS SUBSIDISED IN $INGAPORE
The nation-builder press, December 2, 2007.
It was revealed in the nation-builder press December 2, 2007, that $ingapore
town councils that run public housing estates are HOLDING MORE THAN $1 BILLION
in sinking funds. There are only 16 town councils for $ingapore's tiny population
of 3 million odd composed of citizens and permanent residents. Now a new rule
has been passed to control the way the 16 manage the more than $1 BILLION funds.
The PAP government is afraid that if the excess funds are wrongly invested,
they may be lost.
According to the report, the 16 town councils must limit their investments in
non-government stocks, funds or securities to 35 per cent of the sinking fund.
So how did they amass such a bounty of more than $1 BILLION? This money, according
to the report, is collected through monthly service and conservancy charges
and government grants. No breakdown was given.
"THERE'S SO MUCH SUBSIDY, THEY'RE GAMBLING WITH IT AT THE
STOCK MARKET. Please, no more subsidies."
-
The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, December 2, 2007.
+ + + + +
The nation-builder press, November 17, 2007.
SOUND EXPLANATION WANTED FROM MINISTRY
The London-based parent company of nightlife giant Ministry Of Sound has filed
suit against its $ingapore franchise, alleging a host of shortfalls in the way
it is run - from the kind of music played to its unstable website.
A November 17 press report said that Ministry Of Sound filed suit in Britain's
High Court of Justice on November 15, 2007, seeking damages and a court order
to force its $ingapore licensee, LB Investments (a subsidiary of LifeBrandz),
to fall in with its guidelines on running the club. Some of the claims by Ministry
Of Sound:
- that Lifebrandz's focus has been on promoting its other nightclubs in Clarke
Quay
- that LB Investments breached its contract with its licensor in the areas of
staff uniforms, music policy, door policy and the dismissal of key employees
- that the MoS $ingapore website has "often been down or inaccessible"
- that LB Investments owes it S$200,000 in royaltes, which were due in April.
Brand-name companies that have folded after a short stint in $heep City, $ingapore
include France's Crazy Horse. Bled to death.
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A TOADY'S VIEW
"It was the "goblin" that wreaked havoc on markets the world over but come Oct
31, investors may be celebrating Halloween for more reasons than one. The goblin
that is the impact of the United States sub-prime mortgage problems could go
away by year-end in time for Christmas..."
- Nation-builder Johnson Choo reporting in the nation-builder press, September
11, 2007. On November 9, 2007, the goblin was still here.
"Fortune-tellers are not journalists."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, November
9, 2007.
For decent reports, read the features here:
Stock Market Mayhem And Bush's Moral Swamp
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWswamp.html
The Big Squeeze
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWsqueeze.html
Housing Flameout: California Falls Into The Sea
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWcali.html
It's Time For The Banks To Face The Hangman
http://www.bigozine2.com/features07/MWhang.html
= = = = =
FILIPINAS ENTER MEAT CITY, $INGAPORE
$ingapore, already known as $in City and $heep City now has a new name, Meat
City. A recent Human Trafficking Report 2007 by the US Dept of State has ranked
$heep City one tier lower to level 2 for the rising number of Asian women being
routed into $ingapore for prostitution. The women come from Communist China,
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
This report comes ahead of two new casinos set to open in the next few years
in $heep City, $ingapore. Casinos are a natural magnet for prostitution and
other seedy activities.
A special report in the Inquirer Nov 6 spent time with two Filipinas said to
be tricked into the sex trade in $ingapore.
Lalaine, 19, was a saleslady for a popular department store when she was lured
by a "friend of a friend" to work "for better pay" as a waitress in $ingapore
only to find that her workplace was a nightclub where she was forced to do a
strip-tease and encouraged to have customers fondle her.
Kristine, a recent widow at 23 with two children (her husband died December
2006), was also told of the tremendous earning opportunities ("malaki raw ang
kita") in $ingapore by an acquaintance - a neighbor who was also their barangay
(village) chairman. She agreed to a "hostessing" job there, but ended up being
a call girl, having sex with different men in different hotels as arranged by
her employer.
Lalaine and Kristine are just two of a growing number of young Filipino women
being trafficked to $ingapore for sexual exploitation, drawn in by the adventure
of work abroad on the false promise of a high-paying decent job.
At the night club in the Tanjong Pagar area in $ingapore, Lalaine saw fellow
Filipinas doing everything to earn their monthly quota of 300 points. (Points
may be earned through the drinks that they consume; the minimum price for a
drink of S$20 earns two points.)
"That's why some do everything to meet their quota, they allow themselves to
be touched in their private parts, including their breasts," Lalaine tells INQUIRER.net.
The full story is here.
Popular $ingapore can't get Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand to supply it with
sand. The popular $ingapore government has to import sand from neighbour BURMA.
That's what friends are for.
YOU WANT SAND?
General George Yeo of $ingapore with Burmese General Thein Shin [left]. This
picture was taken in April 2007 when $ingapore's Foreign Minister General Yeo
was in Burma to negotiate for sand. Indonesia has refused to export sand to
$ingapore.
+ + + + +
Who would you follow?
THE MIRROR OF OPINION
"The taxation system has tilted towards the rich and away from the middle class
in the last 10 years. It's dramatic; I don't think it's appreciated and I think
it should be addressed."
During an interview with NBC television, Mr Buffett brandished an informal survey
of 15 of his 18 office staff at his Berkshire Hathaway empire. The billionaire
said he was paying 17.7% payroll and income tax, compared with an average in
the office of 32.9%.
"There wasn't anyone in the office, from the receptionist up, who paid as low
a tax rate and I have no tax planning; I don't have an accountant or use tax
shelters. I just follow what the US Congress tells me to do."
Mr Buffett also took a pot shot at hedge fund managers. He said: "Hedge fund
operators have spent a record amount lobbying in the last few months - they
give money to the political campaigns. Who represents the cleaning lady?"
- Mr Warren Buffett, CEO Berkshire Hathaway, complaining about his low tax rate,
The Guardian UK, Nov 1, 2007. He thinks the rich should pay more taxes. Mr Buffett's
estimated personal wealth is US$52 BILLION.
"Those are admirable sentiments. But we live in a real world."
- $ingapore's founding prime minister who is now Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew
about why ministers in $ingapore should earn multi-million dollar salaries,
April 9 2007, IHT
$ingapore announces 60 percent pay raise for ministers
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/09/news/sing.php?page=2
+ + + + +
General Lee (left) explains compassion must begin here. General Tan Shwe
(right) ordered his soldiers to shoot Burmese protestors.
$INGAPORE'S GENERAL AND THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH 2007
"[General] Lee said denying Burmese leaders medical treatment in $ingapore would
go 'against human nature'.
" 'I mean, somebody is sick, he wants to come to $ingapore, he needs treatment
and you're telling me that I shouldn't treat him because he's not a good man?
It goes against the Hippocratic Oath of doctors'."
- General Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of $ingapore who earns slightly
more than $3 MILLION, Oct 6, 2007, Reuters. Burma junta leader Tan Shwe, 74,
stayed in a $ingapore hospital in January, 2007. Burmese Prime Minister Soe
Win, 55, was also in $ingapore at least twice in 2007 to treat an illness reported
to be leukaemia. $ingapore imports sand from Burma after Malaysia and Indonesia
stopped sand exports to $ingapore.
Full story here http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKSIN20915220071006
Boat people to Rear Admiral Teo Chee Hean, $ingapore's defence minister,
"I'll see you in California."
$INGAPORE'S GENERAL AND THE BOAT PEOPLE OF VIETNAM
"...[W]e had to cope with this fleet of rickety, unseaworthy boats, packed to
the brim with [Vietnamese] refugees, men, women and children.
Some were ill, some were armed and dangerous, all were desperate. A few deliberately
sank their boats, to try to force us to rescue them out of the water, and take
them into $ingapore.
"...Some of the boat people were grateful for the fuel, food and water we gave
them to help them on their way. Others were angry at us for not helping them
more. The flow of boat people continued, several hundred a month, for years
after Operation Thunderstorm.
"In 1978 Rear Admiral Teo Chee Hean was a navy officer commanding an RSN ship.
He turned away a refugee boat after replenishing it. The leader of the refugee
boat cursed him: 'You'll be in trouble one day, then I'll see you in California'."
- Excerpt of a speech by General Lee Hsien Loong, then the deputy prime minister
of $ingapore at Raffles Girls School, Aug 23, 1997. Full text of speech here
http://www.moe.gov.sg/speeches/1997/230897.htm
Indonesia took the refugees in.
Click here for a look
at life on Galang Island.
SO WHERE DID REFUGEES CHASED OUT OF $INGAPORE'S WATERS GO
TO?
"Galang Island, about 100 kilometers south of $ingapore, accommodated about
250,000 boat people from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam from 1975 to 1996 who fled
poverty and political upheaval in their respective countries. Vietnamese accounted
for the majority. Camp sites were built on the island to accommodate the refugees
who had arrived in several areas on Riau Province on the eastern part of Sumatra
in boats.
"Galang has become a humanitarian memorial monument, showing that Indonesia
is a tolerant nation that respects human rights," [an Indonesian official] said.
Soon after the end of the Vietnam War on April 30, 1975, about 1.75 million
Vietnamese fled their country. About 900,000 of them found resettlement in the
United States and some others in Western countries and Australia. Countless
thousands more who left in rickety boats, however, lost their lives in pirate
attacks or rough seas."
Story here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDQ/is_2005_March_28/ai_n13481936
"How did $ingapore's hippocratic oaf maneuver
until we are now dependent on BURMA for SAND? That's the story you'll never
read anywhere."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, Oct
6, 2007.
= = = = =
LOW CRIME DOESN'T MEAN NO CRIME
(The official slogan of the ministry of "Home Affairs")
The nation-builder press, October 23, 2007.
A private bus driver was charged October 22 with the murder of his 15-year-old
stepdaughter. According to the nation-builder press October 23, 2007, the 45-year-old
is alleged to have committed the crime on October 20 in his ex-wife's Marsiling
flat. The mother, who declined to be named, came here from China 10 years ago
after her first marriage failed. She married the driver in 2001 and was divorced
four months ago. The daughter arrived from Jilin in China in 2002 to join her
mother here.
There were 17 murder cases in $in City in 2006. From January to June 2007, there
were six murder cases, as compared to 12 for the same period last year. It is
uncertain how a case is assigned as "murder."
Click here for more: http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/stats2006_index.htm
THERE ARE 365 DAYS IN A YEAR
Previously on Oct 5, 2007 we reported some cases of fighting and "causing hurt"
in $in City of which there were no official statistics, until now. On October
24, 2007, a nation-builder report said that "of the 3,697 cases of voluntarily
causing hurt (VCH) reported in the first six months of this year, the police
acted on 319 cases or 8.6 per cent of them." There were 6,406 cases of VCH in
2006, up from 5,490 in 2005. Police took action in 13.4 per cent and 7.3 per
cent of cases, respectively.
Note: In the police stats (http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/stats2007_overview.htm),
there is no category for "voluntarily causing hurt" but the figures were given
in parliament on October 23, 2007.
NOW GENTING WANTS TO BORROW $3.2 BILLION $INGAPORE DOLLARS
TO BUILD $INGAPORE CASINO
Bloomberg News reported Oct 23: "Genting International, a unit of Genting, the
biggest Asian casino operator by market value, is seeking to borrow a record
3.2 billion $ingapore dollars, or US$2.2 billion, to fund a casino resort in
$ingapore, three people with knowledge of the transaction said."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/23/business/sxcasino.php
Last month, Las Vegas Sands was reported to be in talks to borrow $5 BILLION
$ingapore dollars from a consortium of eight banks in $ingapore to build its
$ingapore casino.
The twin casinos are among new plans by $ingapore's PAP government to grow the
economy. Now the people of $ingapore must pony up the cash of approximately
$8 BILLION to build the PAP dream.
In 2005, 25 $ingaporeans died from the dengue fever epidemic.
WEEK 19: STALEMATE?
The Dengue Fever Epidemic 2007 has reached a stalemate with terrorist mosquitoes
still capable of inflicting more than a hundred new victims each week. Rehashing
old news, Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and
Water Resources, told parliament October 23, 2007 that only in one community,
Bukit Batok, has the situation improved. Dr Khor said weekly cases are just
below 200 and that the overall number is still high.
After 19 weeks, $ingapore has yet to declare the Dengue Fever Epidemic over.
The last figure reported in the nation-builder press for dengue cases this year
was 7,315. To date eight have died from Dengue Fever Epidemic 2007. In a July
3, 2007 report, the nation-builder press said that in the 2005 epidemic, 25
$ingaporeans died. This is the first time we recall the number of people killed
in the 2005 epidemic being revealed as 25. When SARS struck $ingapore, the PAP
government reported only 33 were killed here.
$ingapore may be the only developed city with a recurring dengue fever problem.
+ + + + +
LOW CRIME DOESN'T MEAN NO CRIME
(The official slogan of the ministry of "Home Affairs")
The nation-builder press, September 12, 2007.
Parents of three teenagers were asked by a juvenile court judge to look at pictures
of another teen that the trio beat up. Now, nine weeks after the July 6 attack,
the left side of the teenager's head had been left deformed, reported the nation-builder
press September 12, 2007. The three teens, one aged 14 and two other 15-year-olds,
were part of a six-member gang charged with the assault.
For the first half of this year, there were 477 robbery cases. In 2006, there
were 946 robberies. The police do not have a category for assault with deadly
weapon.
For more: http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/stats2007_overview.htm
+ + + + +
WHERE'S
OUR GENERAL?
Asean is facing a crisis of confidence over Burma. The military junta have killed
again. Relations with Indonesia has just taken a dip with $ingapore's neighbour
suspending an agreement that is tied to an extradition treaty the Indonesians
wanted. The prime minister of $ingapore, who also happens to be the Asean Chairman,
has left town. He will stay outside of $ingapore from Oct 7 to Oct 16. He has
an official trip to make to Hungary [total value of trade between the two countries
stands at S$1.4 billion] and then he will make a "private visit" to the US from
Oct 11 to 16. Disneyland? Nah, probably Las Vegas. He's got to be thinking about
the Las Vegas Sands' request to borrow S$5 BILLION from $ingapore banks to build
their casino in $ingapore and the "sand". With Indonesia annoyed, where else
can we turn to for sand?
Burma's General Than Shwe. I am the sandman. Goo goo g'joob.
+ + + + +
$INGAPORE MEDIA IS RANKED 146th FOR PRESS FREEDOM
The nation-builder press, Oct 5, 2007.
General George Yeo of $ingapore with Burmese General Thein Shin [left]. This
picture was taken in April 2007 when General Yeo was in Burma to negotiate for
sand. Indonesia has refused to export sand to $ingapore.
"$ingapore media is ranked 146th out of 168 nations (2006)
by global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders. It isn't what you can read
in the press that's interesting BUT WHAT IS NOT FOUND INSIDE $ingapore's nation-building
press."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, Oct
5, 2007.
General Than Shwe.
I am the Sandman, goo goo g'joob.
= = = = =
LOW CRIME DOESN'T MEAN NO CRIME
(The official slogan of the ministry of "Home Affairs")
Between Sept 6 and 11, three attack/robbery incidents were reported in the nation-builder
press. It is unclear how many cases occured during that week.
For the first half of this year, there were 477 robbery cases. In 2006, there
were 946 robberies. The police do not have a category for assault with deadly
weapon.
For more: http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/stats2007_overview.htm
+ + + + +
'SO BE IT'
"If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save
China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it."
- Lee Kuan Yew endorsing the Tiananmen massacre, the nation-builder press, August
17, 2004. Kuan Yew is the elder statesman of $ingapore. He is a congenital pragmatist.
He currently holds the post of Mentor Minister in $ingapore's cabinet where
the current prime minister is General Lee Hsien Loong.
General George Yeo of $ingapore with Burmese General Thein Shin [left]. This
picture was taken in April 2007.
THE SANDBEGGERS
Financial Times: Burma sand to fill $ingapore's needs by John Aglionby
April 5 2007: Burma has offered to help $ingapore meet a shortage of badly needed
construction materials after Indonesia banned sand exports and seized granite
shipments headed to the city-state. According to General George Yeo, $ingapore's
foreign minister, Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the third-ranking member of
Burma's ruling junta, told him during a recent visit that the regime could "be
a long-term supplier of sand, cement, granite and other construction materials
to $ingapore".
Construction costs have risen noticeably in $ingapore since Indonesia banned
sand exports in January, 2007. Last month, Jakarta seized some two dozen barges
and tugboats preparing to transport granite to its tiny resource-poor neighbour.
Click
here for the full report.
THE
GENERAL'S HOSPITAL
As recent as January of 2007, when the ruler of the military junta in Burma,
General Than Shwe was ill, he promptly took a jet to $ingapore for a stay at
$ingapore General Hospital [sic.] Read the Reuters report here:
Myanmar leader in $ingapore hospital
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSIN138922
ASIA'S 'FINANCIAL PARKING LOT'
"'$ingapore's relationship with the Burmese junta is pragmatic, in both commercial
and what one might call 'national need' terms,' suggested a Western embassy
regional analyst in Bangkok, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"'$ingapore's foreign minister, General George Yeo, was one of the first regional
government officials to trek out to that oddly located new capital Naypyidaw
earlier this year. But he did not go there to admire the place, it was for national
need. $ingapore needed building materials, such as a supply of sand that Indonesia
had just stopped delivering,' the analyst said."
Click here for the full report.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8464
$INGAPORE SHOWS SOLIDARITY WITH BURMA
Bald but with "balls"... $ingapore police stop any protest in $heep city.
When
the monks started their march for peace against the military regime in Burma
it was just a few hundred in Rangoon. By Sept 24, the country was awashed with
tens of thousands of monks and ordinary people marching together in cities across
the whole of Burma.
On Sept 25, Burma’s celebrities join in the protest. Top local movie actor
Kyaw Thu offered the clerics alms at Shwedagon Pagoda in the first show of public
support by local celebrities to the country’s biggest anti-government protests
in two decades. Kyaw Thu is not a state-sponsored or government-funded artist.
On Sept 2, we noted this report in $ingapore’s nation-builder press:
The [$ingapore] police have warned those thinking of taking part in a procession involving Myanmar nationals not to go ahead with their plans.
"A similar assembly held without a permit last Saturday at the Orchard MRT station resulted in 23 Myanmar nationals being called up for investigations. [translated: they were arrested]
"It is believed that they were protesting against a huge hike in fuel prices back home - an unpopular decision in Myanmar which has led to widespread demonstrations there as well.
"A police statement said investigations are in progress and that the protest involved those here voicing their support for other Myanmar nationals in Myanmar. Investigations showed that last Saturday’s assembly was organised through a series of SMSes initiated by three Myanmar nationals.
"Those who turned up that day, dressed all in white, split into smaller groups before starting a procession towards City Hall MRT station. Police would like to remind the public that they should not participate in an assembly or procession that does not have a permit as it is an offence,’ a police spokesman said." Yada yada yada…
$ingapore and Burma [or Myanmar] have very close ties. $ingapore is Burma’s biggest supporter investing more than a billion in the country. Other countries have trade sanctions against the military regime.
As recent as January of 2007, when the ruler of the military junta in Burma, General Than Shwe was ill, he promptly took a jet to $ingapore for a stay at $ingapore General Hospital [sic.] Read the Reuters report here:
Myanmar leader in Singapore
hospital
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSIN138922
Even
as $ingapore shows solidarity with Myanmar, the Burmese show solidarity with
the monks:
Tens
of thousands support monks in Burma protests [Sept 24]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2175945,00.html
+ +
+ + +
"WE WILL GIVE HELP BUT NOT TOO MUCH"*
The nation-builder press, September 18, 2007.
According to the press report, The National Union Corporation of $ingapore's
Care and Share Fund will disburse a total of $1.6 million this year, the SAME
as last year.
*An echo from 2001 when the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong set the standard
for government aid to the poor - "not too much." $ingapore government ministers
are the highest paid in the world, in excess of $30 million a year.
+ + + + +
LAS VEGAS SANDS WANTS TO BORROW S$5 BILLION TO BUILD GAMBLING
RESORT IN $INGAPORE
Guess what? Las Vegas Sands, one of the two casino operators allowed to build
a gambling resort in $ingapore, wants to BORROW all the money to build this
resort from $INGAPORE banks, ie $ingaporeans. The report was barely noticed
on FridayÕs [Sept 21, 2007] edition of Toady [a brief mention on pg 44], the
local nation-builder press.
$4 billion was big news on September 19, 2007, but not the S$5 billion loan?
According to a report in MalaysiaÕs Star [Sept 21, 2007], "The casino company
hired eight banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc and $ingapore-based DBS
Group Holdings Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank Ltd,
to arrange the S$5bil borrowing, the sources said."
According to Forbes magazineÕs latest poll [issued last week], the THIRD RICHEST
AMERICAN in the U.S. is casino magnate Sheldon Adelson (US$28 billion), head
of Las Vegas Sands.
Are $ingapore banks willing to take up the challenge to pour money into the
PAPÕs latest growth strategy? According to a Bloomberg report the collateral
for the loan will be the casino itself.
By the way, Las Vegas Sands is rated Ba3 by MoodyÕs and BB- by Standard and
PoorÕs. In the parlance this is Òsub-investment gradeÓ.
The PAP government have taken the bet that gambling resorts will lead the country
into prosperity and growth.
More reports here:
Las Vegas Sands seeks record $ingapore loan to construct casino in nation
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/20/business/sxsands.php
Las Vegas Sands seeks record $ing dollar loan
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/9/21/business/18952067&sec=business
The last time a $ingapore company made the news was Asia Pulp & Paper. It borrowed
billions on the global financial market. HereÕs the old Bloomberg report from
March 12, 2001:
Asia Pulp & Paper to Default on $12 Billion in Debt
ÒAsia Pulp has tapped $6.5 billion from global markets in the four years to
1999, including $2.7 billion to expand business in China. Increased capital
expenditures in the second quarter last year and an announced plan to raise
$1 billion to finance a Malaysian pulp mill caused many investors to dump the
companyÕs bonds last year. The plan for the mill was later shelved.Ó
http://forests.org/archive/asia/aspulpan.htm
+ + + + +
LOW CRIME DOESN'T MEAN NO CRIME
(The official slogan of the ministry of "Home Affairs")
The nation-builder press, September 21, 2007.
Three men, armed with a chopper, robbed four China women in the Balestier Road
area on September 20, 2007. The women lost three cellphones and cash of $4,500
and 14,000 yuan (S$2,000). One of the women worked in a massage parlour in the
area. It also appeared the robbers had earlier struck another massage parlour
a few doors away. The victims were female Chinese nationals and they lost two
cellphones and $1,800 cash. A 23-year-old $ingaporean Chinese was later arrested.
He was found with three cellphones and cash of $1,109 and 13,393 yuan.
Between January and June 2007, there were 477 robbery cases. In 2006, there
were 946 robberies in $ingapore.
For more: http://www.spf.gov.sg/stats/stats2007_overview.htm
+ + + + +
WHY WOULD A MULTINATIONAL COMPANY EARNING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
A YEAR WANT YOUR 1 CENT?
The nation-builder press, September 12, 2007... "This time, the PTC (Public
Transport Council)... gave the green light only for bus services to increase
fares by one to two cents per trip." Hooray?
From the wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ComfortDelGro_Corporation):
ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited is the largest transport
company in $ingapore, as well as the second largest in the world, with
a fleet of 39,100 buses, taxis and rental vehicles. Headquartered in $ingapore,
ComfortDelGro also has operations in China, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia,
Vietnam and Malaysia. Currently, overseas ventures account
for up to 40% of the company's revenue. The Group intends to derive half
of its total revenue from abroad in the next four to six years.
The company owns several subsidiaries worldwide,
$B$ Transit, the largest bus company in $ingapore, VICOM Limited, a vehicle
inspection and testing service provider, ComfortDelGro Driving Centre, a training
centre for motorcars and motorcycle learners, Metroline (UK), Vinataxi (Vietnam),
and other transport-related companies. It also has operations in Australia (Westbus
Group) and China.
The nation-builder press, August 14, 2007. $ingapore's bus monopoly earned
a net profit of $113.9 MILLION for the first half of 2007. In 2006, their net
profit was $244 million. Do we have to ask why ComfortDelGro cannot raise fares
in their overseas operations?
IT'S NOT JUST ONE CENT, IT'S ANOTHER BUS TURD
"It's because it's not just 1 cent. Nobody who uses a bus
makes only 1 trip a day. How will the commuter return home? If you make 4 trips
a day at an extra 2 cents per trip, that's already 8 cents more. And if you
calculate the hike for the family, IT'S NOT JUST 1 CENT."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, September
12, 2007.
ComfortDelGro's NET PROFIT (2003-2007)
2007 - S$113.9 million (half-year)
2006 - S$244.6 million
2005 - S$201.9 milion
2004 - S$200.6 million
2003 - S$134.0 million
Total: S$895 million. Profit not enough?
The ruler of the road, the DETERMINATOR of Distance, the King of Far, Gerard
Ee, has granted his permission in his position as King of the Public Transport
Council for the 7th fare hike in 8 years [visit http://www.ptc.gov.sg/statistics_chrono.asp].
From 2000 to 2006, fare revisions were carried out every year except for 2004.
Another year, another bus turd.
There will be no protest. Here's why, click on the banner below:
$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on
the link.
===========
$ingapore government company Temasek Holdings, headed by Ho Ching, paid S$3
BILLION for a 2% stake in Barclays in July 2007. That investment has already
made paper losses of £150 MILLION when Barclays shares tumbled. Read more: http://www.bigozine3.com/rarities/
NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, BARCLAYS UNLIKELY TO GET ABN AMRO
The Scotsman, Sept 11: BARCLAYS' investment banking head has admitted for the
first time that the rival offer from the Royal Bank of Scotland consortium for
ABN Amro would probably win at its current price.
A sharp fall in share prices in recent weeks means that Barclays' offer, which
is 37 per cent in cash, is currently about US$12bn less than the bid from the
Royal Bank of Scotland consortium, which is 93 per cent in cash.
The whole story by Martin Flanagan here: http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1449772007
The $ingapore government's Temasek Holdings paid S$3 billion to get a foot into
Barclays' bid. Both rival bids close on Oct 4 and 5.
IF BARCLAYS IS FOCUSED, COULD IT LET US KNOW WHAT ON...
Telegraph UK comment by Damian Reece, City Editor, Sept 11: "Bob Diamond, president
of Barclays, has confirmed what we've been saying for weeks: that the Royal
Bank of Scotland consortium trumps Barclays when it comes to bidding for ABN
Amro. This doesn't mean to say it's a great deal for RBS, but at least it's
spreading the bad risk among partners rather than taking it all itself.
All that stands in the way
of RBS's determination to win are the Dutch regulators or its consortium falling
apart. Remarkably, despite the market turmoil of the past month or so, RBS is
still there with its two partners. Like a captain and his two first officers
who have lashed themselves to the wheelhouse, they remain on deck, heading for
their Dutch port in a storm.
The timing of Diamond's comments, just a few days before Barclays shareholders
gather for a crucial vote on the ABN deal, would leave me, if I were a shareholder,
asking, well, what's the point? If Bob doesn't think we can win, without the
intervention of the financial gods, then shouldn't we be focusing on something
else? This year Barclays has gone from the bank trying
to buy ABN to the bank that's failing to buy ABN. It's had to tap the
Bank of England for an emergency £1.6bn while embroiling itself in a row with
the central bank over how it has managed, or mismanaged, the current liquidity
crisis. And that's not to mention the sudden departures and urgent refinancings
of esoteric debt vehicles along the way. I think it's time Barclays seriously
thought about "moving on", as Tony Blair would have said.
The rest here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/09/11/ccom111.xml
BARCLAYS INJECTS US$1.5 BILLION INTO GOLDEN KEY
Barclays Capital has thrown a US$1.5 billion (£738 million) lifeline to a third,
controversial, highly geared fund that ran into trouble because of the global
liquidity squeeze. Golden Key, which has US$5 billion of assets under management,
is a structured investment vehicle (SIV) that was designed by Barclays Capital
and managed by the Geneva-based asset management group Avendis.
In a statement, Golden Key said it had been working with a "leading investment
bank" to develop a restructuring proposal. A spokesman for Golden Key declined
to name the bank but sources said it was BarCap. In the past two weeks, Barclays
has stumped up a total of US$4.1 billion to bail out three funds.
More: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article2434459.ece
IS BARCLAYS A GOOD INVESTMENT? YOU BET
+ + + + +
$ingapore's Toady finally reports on Temasek Holdings and Barclays, September
7, 2007 and reproduces The Telegraph article. $ingapore government company Temasek
Holdings paid S$3 BILLION for a 2 per cent stake in Barclays in July 2007. That
investment has already made paper losses of £150 MILLION when Barclays shares
tumbled. By September 5, Simon Israel, the NZ-born executive director of Temasek
Holdings, was in London to "dispel myths about Temasek" reported The Telegraph,
UK. A tele-conference would have been cheaper. Read more: http://www.bigozine3.com/rarities/
As $ingapore media seems coy on the subject,
here's more background.
BARCLAYS TAKES A MONEY-MARKET BEATING
Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Every morning, the British Bankers Association asks 16
banks how much it would cost them to borrow dollars, euros and pounds from each
other. It then calculates what are known as the London Interbank Offered Rates,
benchmark levels that set the cost of money around the world.
The final round of contributions at the end of last week threw up a troubling
anomaly. Barclays Plc, the UK's third-biggest bank, told the BBA that borrowing
pounds for three months would cost it 6.8 per cent -- more than any other bank
on the panel, and a full 11 basis points above the official Aug 31 fix. Three-month
euros would cost Barclays 4.76 per cent, also more than any other contributing
bank. Three-month dollars, meantime, would cost 5.75 per cent which -- yes,
you've guessed it -- was also the highest rate among the 16 institutions canvassed.
So what the hell is happening at Barclays and its Barclays Capital securities
unit that is prompting its peers to charge it premium interest rates in the
money market?
Here are some things we know, and some things we don't know.
We know that Barclays tapped the Bank of England for emergency overnight funds
twice last month at the central bank's penalty rate of 6.75 per cent, which
is 1 percentage point higher than its benchmark rate. On Aug 20, it borrowed
£314 million pounds (US$631 million) to backfill a loan from HSBC Holdings Plc
that had gotten delayed for unspecified reasons.
Last week, it asked the central bank for as much as £1.6 billion pounds. After
initially declining to comment on whether it was the bank that had sought the
funds, Barclays later put out a statement citing a "technical breakdown in the
UK clearing system." It went on to say "there are no liquidity issues in the
UK markets," and that "Barclays itself is flush with liquidity."
Hmmm. If there are no liquidity issues in the UK markets, why is the average
three-month rate for borrowing British pounds at 6.69 per cent, the most expensive
since December 1998 and the highest it's been above the Bank of England's benchmark
rate for at least 20 years?
...As one of my editors used to preach, "in price, is knowledge." There's knowledge
buried in the price that Barclays is being charged in the money markets. We
just don't know what that knowledge is yet.
Mark Gilbert of Bloomberg finds out a bit more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_gilbert&sid=a8uEKKBYY7As
HELPING
THE NEEDY
The following is the leader for The Guardian, Sept 5, 2007.
One might need a keen ear and a specialist dictionary to understand them, but
our bankers are starting to lobby hard. And, however silkily they put it, what
they want is a helping hand from the rest of us.
Yesterday's Daily Telegraph was a prime example. Grandees of finance (unnamed,
naturally) told journalists that the Bank of England was being "Victorian" in
not helping more during the recent market turmoil. As criticism that may sound
mild, but it was practically bullying compared to this weekend's comment from
Barclays' president, Bob Diamond: "For the recovery to continue we need to find
more ways to get liquidity into the short end of the curve." Which in English
means: help, please.
Why would $ingapore's Temasek Holdings want a 2 per cent stake in a bank
like this?
Read on http://business.guardian.co.uk/economy/story/0,,2162564,00.html
BARCLAYS ABN BID HOPES SINK AS SUBPRIME ISSUES RISE
Why Temasek Holdings wanted a stake in Barclays?
LONDON (MarketWatch) , Sept 3 -- As Barclays PLC scrambles to support clients
reeling from the collapse of the subprime debt market in the U.S., the prospects
for it to address a widening shortfall in the value of its revised bid to acquire
ABN Amro Holding NV are withering.
Analysts say that as Barclays responds to a continuing series of funding challenges
stemming from the activities of its investment banking unit, Barclays Capital,
the clock is ticking down on its EUR58.6 billion ($80.2 billion) offer for the
ABN Amro, the future of which shareholders in the Dutch bank will ultimately
decide, most likely in early October.
"ABN Amro is looking increasingly unlikely by the day," said James Hutson, analyst
at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. He says that as the collapse of subprime lending
plays out "things are emerging and Barclays is always there" trying to work
out a solution for clients.
...Barclays, in July revised its bid for ABN Amro to increase the amount of
cash it would provide and to tap China Development Bank and Singapore's Temasek
Holdings for an investment of up to EUR13.4 billion. The new cash-and-shares
offer, which was valued at EUR67.5 billion at the time, put Barclays within
shouting distance of a EUR71.1 billion cash and shares offer for the Dutch bank
by a consortium of banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN).
However, over the past month, the value of the Barclays offer has deteriorated
due to a sharp decline in the value of its shares. - By Henry E. Teitelbaum
The rest is here: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/barclays-abn-bid-hopes-sink/story.aspx?guid=%7BCABD2ED7-E88B-4F79-8F7D-851306450F55%7D
Why is Temasek's Simon Israel in London? To dispel
myths? Right.
One month later, August 27, 2007.
THE FIRST WORD ON TEMASEK-BARCLAYS DEAL
"We are pleased to have this opportunity to invest in Barclays. We look forward
to supporting them in their strategy to create opportunities for a higher level
of sustainable growth. This investment fits well with our interest for long-term
exposure to strong players in the financial services sector."
- Temasek's Managing Director Frank Tang, July 23, 2007.
+ + + + +
NO INFLATION
(news capsule on Page H16)
RISING INFLATION
(backpage cover story)
Both items ran in the nation-builder press, August 31, 2007.
"Propaganda should be consistent."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
31, 2007.
+ + + + +
"The
1 percentage point hike in the CPF interest rate will benefit the majority of
$ingaporeans and translate to SUBSTANTIAL GAINS
for them, said Prime Minister (General) Lee Hsien Loong yesterday." - The nation-builder
press, August 20, 2007. (Our emphasis.)
PEANUTS
"Credit
Suisse said that $ingapore banks have a small exposure to collateralised debt
obligations (CDOs), which are losing value amid concerns over the troubled US
sub-prime mortgage market." - The nation-builder press, August 3, 2007.
"One
man's big deal is a government bank's peanuts."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
20, 2007.
DBS
Bank is a $ingapore government-owned private bank. The report says it has "exposure"
of under S$1 billion.
= = = = =
CAN YOU
LIVE LONGER THAN ME?
The world's oldest person, a Japanese woman who counted eating well and getting
rest as her hobbies, died Aug 13 at age 114, a news report said. Yone Minagawa,
a widow who lived in a nursing home but was still sprightly late in life, died
"of old age" Monday evening, Kyodo News reported.
Born on January 4, 1893, Minagawa was already in her 50s when Japan surrendered
in World War II. She had been certified as the world's oldest person by the
Guinness Book of World Records after Emma Faust Tillman, the daughter of freed
American slaves, died in January. Despite her advanced age, Minagawa was said
to enjoy eating sweets and counted eating well and getting a good night's sleep
as the secrets of her longevity.
Japanese women are the world's oldest living people, in what experts attribute
to a traditionally healthy diet and high standard of medical care. Their life
expectancy was a record 85.81 years in 2006, according to the government. Japanese
men are the world's second oldest with a life expectancy of 78.8 second only
to men in Iceland who on average live to be 79.4.
$ingapore's PAP government recently revealed a $ingaporean's
average lifespan is now longer. $ingapore estimates it at 85 years old
[we reckon the PAP government calculates it as retirement age of 65 + 20 years,
the period of the annuity]. We've done it, we have beaten Iceland's world record.
For your reward, the $heeple of $ingapore are now expected to cough up dollars
for a brand new compulsory ANNUITY* scheme. The fine print on the new contracts
are still being worked over.
*Do a Google on the web. Many insurance sites explain the term, some more fairly
than others. Remember an annuity is a "product" in the hands of insurance people.
And they want to sell it.
In today's nation-builder press (August 24, 2007), former ISD agent Chua Lee
Hoong used the life expectancy figures provided by $ingapore's Coalition of
the Willing partner's US Census Bureau. Why not the UN's figures? Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
for a comparison of life expectancy figures.
WHERE'S MY ANNUITY?
The nation-builder press, August 22, 2007.
"Sorry-lah, you have to live beyond 85."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
22, 2007.
114 is not too far away.
CAN A $INGAPOREAN BEAT THIS WORLD RECORD?
Who in $ingapore can beat the record and live longer than 114 years? If we were
punters, we'd put our dollars on Mentor Minister Harry Lee Kuan Yew who at the
age of 83 [Lee will be 84 on Sept 16] looks fit, hale and hearty. He certainly
looks like he is eating well and getting a good night's rest. So here's to your
114th. Just 31 years more to go...
+ + + + +
JUST EXACTLY WHY DO WE NEED THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
Rock & Rap Confidential - Maybe in the beginning
the RIAA sincerely thought its lawsuits against downloaders would scare people
away from file sharing. But the RIAA admits that the number of "illegal" file
sharing households in the U.S. hasn't gone down since 2003. So why the 20,000
lawsuits? Because it's a way to, in effect, sell music at wildly inflated prices.
Sisouda Soysouvanh of Seattle paid the RIAA US$8,250 for downloading eleven
tracks. That's $750 for Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" and each of 10 other songs.
According to Levi Pulkkinen in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the average settlement
paid by western Washington residents to record companies is $4,924. The average
fine for those who just ignore the lawsuit is $6,100. Applying
those figures to the nationwide total of 20,000 lawsuits, that's over US$100
million in blood money to the record companies without having to prove anything
in a court of law.
According to Seattle attorney Lory Lybeck, the record companies deliberately
pick on those who can't afford to fight back: "There's a predominance of these
lawsuits filed against people who can't participate in the federal legal system."
Jane Winn of the University of Washington points out that "[only] the richest
Americans - those in the top 20 per cent when it comes to wealth - can afford
help." Few of those who owe the RIAA money can pay cash, so they have to go
to the bank to take out a loan, making the actual payout even larger and providing
an unexpected boost to the bottom line of financial institutions.
The nation-builder press Jan 14, 2006.
$ingaporeans Mohd Faizal Osman (left) was jailed for three months and Mohamad
Azry Zainol was jailed for four months. Deputy Public Prosecutor Toh Shin Hao
had also requested that the pair's computers - three desktops and one notebook
- be destroyed. The duo were arrested August 2005 after a tip-off by the Recording
Industry Association of $ingapore. Hey, no worries, $ingapore has the Yellow
Ribbon Project for ex-jailbirds.
2,000 $INGAPOREANS* MAY FACE JAIL FOR ILLEGALLY DOWNLOADING
ANIME
A $ingapore company, Odex, that distributes anime [Japanese cartoons] hired
a U.S. company to track illegal downloaders in $ingapore. Odex managed to get
$ingapore ISPs to reveal the downloaders IPs and have sent letters to them.
According to an internet poster, the letters request a simple settlement of
up to S$5,000 or the matter will be brought to court. If
you go by precedent, already two $ingaporeans have been sentenced to jail for
sharing music without permission. $ingapore signed a Free Trade Agreement
with the U.S. that binds us to follow U.S. copyright laws. As far as we know,
no other Asean country has such an agreement.
The advertisement appeared in a local nation-builder newspaper, August 17,
2007. Are these pirated DVDs? And if so, why are they allowed to be advertised
in a nation-building newspaper?
The internet poster said no warning letters were issued to request the downloader
to stop. Many of the $ingaporeans caught were students, one as young as nine
years old. The poster said: "how many files you downloaded didn't matter; when
you downloaded them didn't matter too, since you may have stopped since June
but Odex is backdating your downloading activity (some fans say to up to 2 years)."
According to the poster, Odex says the Japanese copyright holders made them
do it. But there has been no such case anywhere in the world where Japanese
anime producers are suing fans for downloads. So far only the RIAA in the U.S.
has been using legal letters to collect fines for what they deem are illegal
music downloads.
So why is this happening in $heep City, $ingapore?
* At press time, Odex has
1,000 names of alleged illegal downloaders. If the $ingapore courts rule in
Odex's favour, another ISP must hand over another 1,000 names.
$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on
the link.
'YOU CAN'T DO MUCH WHEN YOU'RE DEAD' - NEW PATRIOT
Note: Passport in pocket, new patriots are ready to go anytime.
The nation-builder press, August 9, 2007.
THIS ACTIVIST WON'T CONTEMPLATE JAIL-TIME FOR HIS CAUSE
President of Think Centre Sinapan Samydorai in the nation-builder press,
December 10, 2004.
"$ingapore is full of congenital pragmatists. The values
of the old patriot are long dead and gone."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
9, 2007.
+ + + + +
HOW MANY $INGAPOREANS ARE
THERE IN $INGAPORE 2007?
2000:
The nation-builder press September 1, 2000.
2007:
$ingapore population figures (2006 estimates) as given on the
official website:
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/latestdata.html
The last time the $ingapore government revealed the total number of $ingapore
citizens was on September 1, 2000. The total then was 2,973,091.
In 2007, on the government's website, the number of $ingapore citizens is
UNKNOWN. What is reported on the website is this: $ingapore Residents = 3,608,500.
THE EVER-SHRINKING $INGAPORE CITIZENSHIP EFFECT
"When you factor in $ingapore's falling birthrate, rising number of $ingaporeans
migrating, the 150,000 - 250,000 $ingaporeans currently living abroad, your
guess is as good as ours as to how many $ingapore citizens are living in $ingapore.
Only the government's statistics department knows and it is not revealing."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
3, 2007.
REPORT CARD
[Occasional updates on life in $heep City]
IN 2001
The nation-builder press, March 20, 2001.
IN 2007
The nation-builder press, July 21, 2007.
From the 2007 report, "but mental health or psycho-social problems top the charts.
Nearly a third are being seen for psychological problems."
"Six years later, mama weer all crazee now."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, July
21, 2007.
$ingtel advertisement. The other sacred cow slaughtered in $ingapore - freedom
of speech. Media in $ingapore is controlled/owned by two groups with close ties
to the totalitarian government. Their mission is to be "nation-builders" reporting
to the Ministry of Truth.
FREEDOM IN $HEEP CITY?
"Really? Oops, it's just an advert by telco $ingtel in $heep City."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, August
3, 2007.
+ + + + + +
Hey it rhymes.
WE THE $HEEPLE OF $INGAPORE...
Remember $heep City's national pledge?
What kind of society are we supposed to build? "...a democratic society based
on justice and equality."
So what about homos, lesbians, gays?
According to NMP Siew Kum Hong [aka Xiao Jinhong aka limabean], in $ingapore
"rights" don't mean beans.
In a report in the nation-builder press [July 16, 2007], Mr Siew aka Mr Xiao
aka Mr bean explained how the government can be persuaded, "You've got to phrase
it in the lingo that will convince the government, and what is that lingo? I
think we all know. It is all about growth, job, money."
And he added, "Pitching your arguments in terms of civil rights... will not
take it very far." He's being pragmatic like Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the
congenital pragmatist.
Building "a democratic society based on justice and equality" is just an "idea"
for the $heeple to believe. Definitely not the way the ruling class or the PAP
and their cronies behave.
So why is Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew considering making homosexual sex legal?
Because he cares for their civil rights? Ask Mr Siew aka Mr Xiao aka Mr bean.
He knows their "lingo".
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/288311/1/.html
WHO SAID THIS?
The nation-builder press, Aug 9, 2005.
"Whatever the 'lingo', the message is always the same - it's the $heeple's
fault."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, July
27, 2007.
PM Lee Hsien Loong... proud to lead $ingaporeans.
$INGAPORE WINS TWO WORLD RECORDS
Thousands of $ingapore students have smashed two Guinness World Records - having
the world's longest chain of balloon hat wearers, and the other, having the
most number of people donning the gear. Thousands of students put on their CREATIVE
CAPS to design the whacky headgear at a Balloon Hat Festival over the weekend
July 21-22 at Bishan Park. $ingapore has been breaking the record since 2005.
$ingapore scientists attempting to make the world's best underwear for men have
one major obstacle. Men in $ingapore have NO BALLS.
Sony's I Luv Freedom advertisement. The other sacred cow slaughtered in $ingapore
- freedom of speech. Media in $ingapore is controlled/owned by two groups with
close ties to the totalitarian government. Their mission is to be "nation-builders"
reporting to the Ministry of Truth.
FREEDOM IN $HEEP CITY?
"Really? Oops, it's just an advert by Sony in $heep City. That customers
who buy their blue tooth devices have freedom to access their files, messages,
etc."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, July
27, 2007.
+ + + + +
GUNSMOKE
In $ingapore's parliament on July 18, 2007 the Minister of State for Education,
Mr Gan Kim Yong, told the house that only 987 or 4 per cent of foreign students
are currently in $ingapore's universities.
The nation-builder press, front page lead story, July 18, 2007.
By Friday, the nation-builder press ran a different story.
The nation-builder press, July 20, 2007.
It was clear that the 987 figure was too low. It was the subject of some biting,
cynical postings on the net. Here's one:
"This episode is incredible on so many levels. First, our first-class civil
servants write this incredibly misleading speech for this Minister of State.
Then, our one-and-only newspaper company which is completely controlled by the
government splashes it on the frontpage headlines.
Then, after getting questioned using simple logic, the entire thing collapses.
And the government still pretends thatÊ'locals' are the same as Singaporeans.
If we had real newspapers and TV stations, the reporters would have stuck a
mike under the nose of Tharman and asked him point blank on live TV how many
non-Singaporeans are in Singapore universities.
And, if this Minister of State were indeed some high-flying lawyer making millions
in the private sector, and he made this kind of mistake, he'll never hear the
end of it and his millions will quickly shrivel up after getting sued by his
clients. If the government wants super-high private sector pay, they'll have
to take super-high private sector risks as well." - The Censor
Mr Gan Kim Yong is a career civil servant who has made his way up to Minister
of State.
Mr Gan Kim Yong was Head (Research) at the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1989.
It is not clear if he was part of $ingapore's secret police, the Internal Security
Department [ISD], which is housed in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
http://www.parliament.gov.sg/AboutUs/Org-MP-CV-GanKimYong.htm
Mr Gan has not explained why he gave the figure of 987.
=====================
$ingtel's Free Speech advertisement found on buses and posters. The other
sacred cow slaughtered in $ingapore - freedom of speech. Media in $ingapore
is controlled/owned by two groups with close ties to the totalitarian government.
Their mission is to be "nation-builders" reporting to the Ministry of Truth.
FREE SPEECH IN $HEEP CITY?
"Really? Oops,
it's just an advert by the government-owned monopolistic telco, SingTel - if
you sign up for the mobile student plan, you can talk for free on 20 campuses!"
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, July
20, 2007.
+ + + + +
THERE ARE ONLY THREE CERTAINTIES FOR $HEEP
IN 2007
Died in the wool $ingaporean.
When you wake up on July 1, 2007, the high cost of living will have gone up higher when the new 7 per cent GST tax is implemented.
The other certainty is that your 1999 CPF cuts, which cost $ingapore workers S$7.5 billion in earnings a year, has not been fully restored. That's an estimated S$52 billion that workers have sacrificed so far. In 2006, older workers aged between 50 and 55 had their wages cut further when the employers CPF contribution (pension) was reduced from 11 percent to 9 percent. Talk about helping the aged.
Also, your million-dollar PAP ministers have increased their salaries. They are now your multi-million-dollar PAP ministers. To build a "democratic" society based on "justice and equality"? Who fives a guck for $heep City?
+
+ + + +
"I WILL NEVER FORGIVE"
The nation-builder press, June 1, 2007. (Woman in graduation gown is the
late Ms Selvaraniee Raja, poisoned by Slim 10.)
The passage in the memorial by surviving sister GP Sharlin Raja reads: "Five
years has passed and yet everything seems like yesterday / My innocent sisters
and mum / I hear your crying voice in agony, pain, loss / My Heart Aches In
Pain And Anger / Those Responsible, I Will Never Forgive." Before Ms Selvaraniee
Raja died, she asked that justice be done on her behalf. After she died, her
mother and sister also passed away.
SLIM 10 MAN SEMON LIU DISAPPEARS
The nation-builder press, February 28, 2007.
In 2002, Ms Selvaraniee Raja died from massive liver failure after taking Slim
10 pills, brought into $ingapore by a company run by Semon Liu. In a February
2007 report, Semon had apparently disappeared. So has the story about what's
to be done next.
HER FINAL WISH
The nation-builder press, June 2. 2002. (Ms Selvaraniee Raja died on June
1, 2002.)
Click here for more.
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The PAP government have recently raised their own salaries April 2007. It was
a pay "surge" with cabinet ministers getting hundreds of thousands more.
"THE MIRROR OF OPINION" (slight return)
IT'S BEEN GOOD ENOUGH FOR BUFFETT FOR 25 YEARS
Wall Street Journal, March 16-18, 2007.
"For the past 25 years, Mr Buffett has received the same salary of US$100,000
and US$114,250 in other compensation, representing director's fees..."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, April
13, 2007.
NO BUFFET. FINE DINING ONLY
The above first appeared on Asia1.com. But was quickly revised until it now
looks different. Click here to see the revised banner: http://www.asia1.com/specials/government_payhike/images/header.jpg
"Tonight and every night, roast leg of lamb. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha..."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, April
13, 2007.
$heep City's Prime Minister earns S$3,091,200 (approx US$1,932,000).
$heep City, $ingapore.
WHY THEY CAN'T ORGANISE OR PROTEST
The nation-builder press, April 13, 2007.
"The silence of the lambs."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, April
13, 2007.
The Singapore Democratic Party's attempt to hold a forum to discuss the PAP
ministers pay surge was stopped. The police refused them a permit while the
Immigration Dept did not approve the visit passes of foreign speakers. Why?
"$ingapore's politics are reserved for $ingaporeans. As visitors to our country,
foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in our domestic politics."
You want to be a resident of $heep City?
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SPEAK UP OR ORGANISE
BE PREPARED TO
LOSE YOUR BALLS
+ + + + +
THE PAP'S FUTURE...
The nation-builder press, February 24, 2007
"There will be clean running water, greenery and boardwalks for people and
children to enjoy these streams and ponds - fishing, boating or dining al fresco.
Hotels, condos and HDB homes that front these canals or drains will look out
on greenery and water."
- Mentor Minister Lee Kuan Yew, $ingapore's former Prime Minister, speaking
at the Tanjong Pagar GRC dinner, Feb 23, 2007.
...YOUR NIGHTMARE
The above poster was spotted at the Toa Payoh bus interchange.
On October 6, 2006, a 64-year-old $ingaporean man failed to pay his bus fare.
Instead he attacked the bus driver when asked to pay his fare. For threatening
the bus driver with a "pen knife with a 10-cm" blade, the old man has been sent
to jail for two months.
The above poster has been put up at bus terminals in $ingapore as a "news flash".
It reads like a warning to us.
It provokes the question - WHY COULDN'T THE OLD MAN AFFORD TO PAY BUS FARE?
Bus companies, taxi companies and the MRT have never failed to show dramatic
profits year after year. They also like to raise their fares - a bit at a time.
These transport companies have close links with the government.
By raising the sales tax GST to 7%, the PAP government says the move will help
the poor. Go figure.
$INGAPOREANS SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN REALLY MISSING
Click on the picture for a better view.
Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on the
link.
THE LAST WORD ON "INCOME GAP"
"It should be no surprise that when rich men take control of the government,
they pass laws that are favorable to themselves. The surprise is that those
who are not rich vote for such people, even though they should know from bitter
experience that the rich will continue to rip off the rest of us. Perhaps the
reason is that rich men are very clever at covering up what they do."
- Andrew Greeley writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, February 18, 2001.
+ + + + +
THE RETURN OF "THE MIRROR OF OPINION" (slight return)
WHAT IS A TWO-FACED BASTARD?
Weeks after pledging major investments in renewable energy, President George
W. Bush is calling for cuts at Colorado's National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
The Denver Channel reported. The move has drawn complaints February 5 from two
of the state's Democratic lawmakers. A centerpiece of Bush's State of the Union
speech this year was a 20 per cent cut in gasoline use by 2017 made possible
in part by increasing the use of renewable fuels. The lab does the nation's
primary research on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
WOULD I LIE TO YOU?
"Consumers in $ingapore are highly optimistic about the Republic's economic
prospects for the next six months, even in the face of an impending hike in
the Goods and Services Tax [GST]..." The nation-builder press, January 19,
2007
"Most $ingaporeans are still worried about the economy and job security, placing
these two as major concerns over the next six months..." The nation-builder
press, February 1, 2007
Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said: "You'd
lose all credibility if you are known to censor or fabricate news. To maintain
your credibility, you have to develop a reputation for reporting, not distorting,
the facts. When you become a journalist in $ingapore, you have one of the most
difficult jobs." The nation-builder press, February 9, 2007
THIS
MAY BE AN INCONVENIENT TIME TO BRING THIS UP BUT KISHORE MAHBUBANI DID SAY THIS:
"There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in $ingapore. Poverty has
been eradicated..." - Kishore Mahbubani, $ingapore's former representative to
the United Nations, Jan 15 2001. He is author of the book, Can Asians Think?
$ingapore is planning to raise the sales tax (GST) from 5 per cent to 7 per
cent - the reason given is to help the "poor".
The nation-builder press, February 9, 2007.
$ingapore's Second Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said: "The poor spend
more of their income each month and so will be more affected by the GST." The
report added: "But there will be a raft of measures to offset the impact on
them."
"Sheep cannot know the difference."
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror of Opinion, Feb 9, 2007.
+ + + + +
MONEY NO ENOUGH
The nation-builder press, Dec 14, 2006.
Temasek Holdings is a government company that is headed by Ho Ching, the wife
of General Lee Hsien Loong, the Prime Minister of $ingapore. What $ingapore
needs is not a rise in the sales tax to 7 per cent but... (click on the banner).
+ + + + +
REMEMBER THIS? MEET THE NEW PLEDGE, SAME AS THE OLD PLEDGE
The nation-builder press, November 3, 2006.
In just 11 days after the "pledge", the PAP government announced they will raise
the cost of living in $ingapore by lifting GST (sales tax) to 7 per cent. At
7 per cent, the estimated GST haul will likely be S$5 billion. They want to
spend S$5 billion to help the estimated 330,000 poor $ingaporeans?
THERE ARE ONLY TWO CERTAINTIES FOR 2007
When you wake up on Jan 1 2007, the high cost of living will be going up higher
when the new 7 per cent GST tax is implemented.
The other certainty is that your 1999 CPF cuts, which cost $ingapore workers
S$7.5 billion in earnings a year, has not been restored. That's an estimated
S$52 billion that workers have sacrificed so far. In 2006, workers aged between
50 and 55 had their wages cut further when the employers CPF contribution (pension)
was reduced from 11 percent to 9 percent. Talk about helping the aged.
The nation-builder press, November 14, 2006.
(click on the banner for more)
THIS
MAY BE AN INCONVENIENT TIME TO BRING THIS UP BUT KISHORE MAHBUBANI DID SAY THIS:
"There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in $ingapore. Poverty has
been eradicated..."
- Kishore Mahbubani, $ingapore's former representative to the United Nations,
Jan 15 2001. He is author of the book, Can Asians Think?
WHAT $INGAPORE NEEDS... IS ALADDIN'S LAMP
"To be FRANK, if money is urgently needed it might be the government companies
that need them. In a November 14 report in the nation-builder press, the PAP
government's Temasek Holdings is said to have made a paper loss of US$1.5 billion
after purchasing the Thai company Shin Corp in January 2006. The Thai legal
system is currently scrutinising the deal for illegalities. The Thai government
is reported to be seeking US$2.6 billion in damages from Shin Corp's TV business.
$ingapore is a country that boasts it has well over US$100 billion in reserves.
And they don't have enough to support 330,000 lowly-paid Singaporeans?"
- The young, restless and cynical Mirror Of Opinion, Nov 14, 2006.
NOTE: $ingapore's Temasek initially paid US$1.9 billion
for 49 per cent of Shin Corp but due to Thai laws, Temasek and their "partners"
had to buy up 96 per cent of Shin for a total of US$3.8 billion or S$6.2 billion.
That's how much is at stake.
+ + + + +
MEET
THE NEW PLEDGE, SAME AS THE OLD PLEDGE
The nation-builder press, November 3, 2006.
REMEMBER THE PROMISE
"Members of Parliament yesterday supported the government's promise to put people
first and to promote active citizenship that was laid out in President SR Nathan's
address to Parliament last week." - the nation-builder press, Oct 12 1999.
PEOPLE FIRST?
The nation-builder press, January 19, 2006.
IN THE SEVEN YEARS SINCE 1999, PRESIDENT
NATHAN HAS SEEN HIS SALARY RISE TO $2,627,800.
Click here for more.
+ + + + +
The nation-builder press, Sept 29, 2006.
END OF "A PAINFUL BUT FRUITFUL POLICY"? REALLY?
On Friday Sept 29, the PAP government of $ingapore announced the "end"
of streaming a week after it also announced it would partially stop the "gifted"
program by removing it from secondary schools. The "gifted" will still be discovered
and nurtured at the age of 10. There will be no end to this "streaming." No
sacred cow slaughtered.
Streaming in $ingapore's schools meant children at the age of 10 would take
an exam whose results would decide on which "stream" they would be placed for
the rest of their school life. Every parent's dream was to see their child placed
in the "gifted" stream.
SANDRA SAYS ONE THING...
The nation-builder press, Dec 7, 2002.
SANDRA TAKES ANOTHER SPIN
The nation-builder press, Sept 29, 2006.
Over the past 26 years [streaming was introduced in 1980], children in $ingapore
have been subjected to this educational experiment that wanted to find and nurture
its best and brightest. But the result must have been underwhelming for $ingapore's
social engineers.
The deputy prime minister who started streaming Dr Goh Keng Swee led a team
of 12 "system engineers" in 1980 to tinker with $ingapore's education system.
After 26 years, $ingapore has produced no intellectuals, no Nobel prize winners,
no world class artists, no literary giants, poets or painters, no entrepreneurs
or inventors. At least not from its "gifted" ranks.
Instead, $ingapore has an abundance of scholars and administrators with iron
rice bowl careers and state-sponsored artists and entrepreneurs who can never
do wrong. An elite class with no "gifts" to show for their ranking, except the
ability to extend an open palm.
The nation-builder press, Mar 16, 2001.
But this 26-year-old "rigorous" policy has produced some unsightly effects:
- in 2005, 540 deaths were ruled by the courts as SUICIDES. Another 850 were
arrested for attempting suicide. Youth suicide is among the top three causes
of death among the young in $ingapore. And study stress is one of the reasons
that push the young to attempt suicide. In April 2004, $ingapore BRAGGED that
it had lowered the suicide rate among the elderly to 17.8 per 100,000 in 2000.
In 1995, $ingapore's elderly suicide rate was the second highest in the WORLD.
The current high suicide rate is being pushed up by the young.
The nation-builder press, April 4, 2004.
- In April 2004, it was reported that 300 patients below the age of 18 were
sent to the Institute of Mental Health for extreme aggression, schizophrenia
and suicidal tendencies.
- In March 2001, it was reported that 20,000 children sought psychiatric help
in 1998.
The nation-builder press, Mar 2, 2001.
There seems to be no end in sight for the streaming of $ingapore's "gifted".
Perhaps it will take another 26 years to figure that our "gifted" are really
not "gifted" after all. The sacred cow will be 52 years old.
+ + + + +
In early 2006, $ingapore's state investment company Temasek Holdings
together with other investors paid Mr Thaksin US$1.9 billion for a 96% controlling
stake in his Shin Corp. The sale triggered city-wide protest against Mr Thaksin
and a military coup ultimately toppled Mr Thaksin on September 19, 2006. The
military have opened a probe on Mr Thaksin's business dealings claiming "rampant
corruption." The regulators, prior to the coup, had already been looking at
the deal to see if it breached any laws.
Thaksin Shinawatra is now taking a holiday in London. His wife has joined him.
It is unclear if he has all of the US$1.9 billion paid for Shin Corp with him.
Deposed Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
YOU'RE WELCOME
The silence of the lambs. Temasek paid with taxpayers funds.
Click
here to read Eric Ellis' Madame Ho's Temasek still in the firing line after
Thai coup.
MEE SIAM, MAI HIAM
(Thai noodles without the chili, please)
Very hiam (spicy) in old Siam for the General and his wife.
+ + + + +
THE SONS OF NEVER-WRONG
The nation-builder press, Sept 27, 2006.
Justified again...
+ + + + +
TEMASEK TO BORROW 1 BILLION EUROS?
On Sept 27, 2006, Reuters reported that the $ingapore government's investment
arm, Temasek Holdings, is said to be borrowing 1 billion Euros (about S$2 billion)
by selling 30-year bonds [See report in the link below]. Temasek said in a statement
in response to reports: "We are always looking at various funding options...
If and when we do go to the market, we will make the appropriate announcement."
Last September, Temasek also borrowed US$1.75 billion by selling 10-year bonds.
Click here for the article: http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060927/3/2qi6f.html
+ + + + +
$INGAPORE'S FOREIGN TALENT POLICY YO-YOs
The nation-builder press, July 12, 2001.
This is what Trade Minister George Yeo said: "There's always
temptation in an economic downturn to say 'out first with the foreign workers
and protect the jobs for $ingaporeans.' I would caution against such an instinct
because the reason why we are attractive to many foreign investors is the assurance
we give them that... if they need engineers, accountants, cartoonists, if you
can't find them in $ingapore, you can bring them in... If in an economic downturn,
we suddently say, well, you are foreign, you go out first even though he may
be doing a good job, this will unravel the reputation that we have built up
painstakingly over the years."
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT MENTOR MINISTER LEE KUAN YEW, FOUNDING FATHER OF $INGAPORE,
SAID:
The nation-builder press, Sept 7, 2006.
THIS IS HOW A NATION-BUILDER PAPER ALSO REPORTED IT
The nation-builder press, Sept 7, 2006.
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+ + + +
WHO FIVES A GUCK FOR
$INGAPORE?
click here for a
better view
Sept
16, 2006 - "Empower $ingaporeans" Rally
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Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had told Parliament when he introduced the amendment that the Constitution had not allowed reserves to be transferred from the Government to government organizations and businesses without it being considered a draw on the reserves.
In other words, under the previous legislation, if the PAP wanted to transfer reserves from the Government to a GLC it would be considered a draw on the reserves and to draw on the reserves would require the consent of the president and, worse, the public would have to be informed.
In order to avoid making such transfers public knowledge and having to get presidential approval, Mr Lee had sought to change the meaning of the articles in the Constitution to allow such transfers to take place but not have them considered as a draw on the reserves.
It seems a very clever way of unlocking the safe. By saying that such a move to transfer reserves from the Government to a GLC would henceforth not be considered a draw on the reserves, the Government is now free to raid the reserves without getting consent from the president or making it public.
The intention, according to Mr Lee, is to enable the Government to "restructure", "merge" or "corporatise" government organizations and businesses. In other words the Government wants to draw on our reserves to do business without telling us.
The questions still remain:
- With such secret and unchecked movement of the reserves from the Government to statutory boards and GLCs, what is there to prevent abuse and misuse of the funds belonging to Singaporeans?
- Is there any provision to ensure that failed businesses are not bailed out?
- Is there a limit as to how much funds can be transfer
