Singapore’s Class 95 radio station had an interesting challenge recently. They asked listeners to post videos of Singaporeans’ good and bad habits on their website.
A good idea, but I got a problem with the winner. The winning clip is… jaywalking? People jaywalked all over the world, how could that be Singaporean’s worst habit? This is my list:
1) Pride- We Singaporeans are a proud people. Too proud to admit we don’t know everything. I’m sure every Singaporean has an encounter with someone from our dear country who tries to pretend they know what they are doing or talking about when it’s pretty obvious they have no idea at all. These people usually will try to ‘bluff’ their way through with some half-ass explanations that leave you more confused than before the explanation.
2) Refusing to admit we are ever, ever wrong- Like I said earlier, Singaporeans are a proud people. We will never admit we are wrong, even when we know it. Everyone in Singapore from the government to the people walking the streets is somewhat guilty of this. A Singaporean admitting wrong in public? Never heard of it.
3) Reserving tables with tissue paper- Actually I don’t really have a problem with this very Singaporean habit. My problem is with the people who abused the system. There had been times when I sat down for lunch and there is a pack of tissue paper on the seat beside me. I’ve finished my lunch and the tissue paper is STILL THERE! I have no problem with ‘booking’ the seat, I have problem with Singaporeans who take their own sweet time deciding what to eat and then slowly lining up because they know they have a ‘booking’ already. Don’t take your own sweet time about it just because you have a ‘booking’.
That’s my list which, if I may say so, much superior than jaywalking. Pride; hey, I’m a Singaporean as well.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Another quarter; another loss
Having bet the farm already, we knew that Temasek will not abandon their investment in Merrill Lynch.
So I guess we can’t be that surprised that Temasek will buy another $3.4 billion in the company. That is even after Merrill took another $5.7 billion in write-downs. Due to the losses, Merrill announced plans to raise at least $8.5 billion by selling new common shares. Of which Temasek will buy $3.4 billion.
Having invested so much in Merrill, I can understand why Temasek is going in further into the mess. However if Temasek are going in with so much of Singapore’s money, I suggest that take a more hands-on approach in the running of Merrill. Merrill has taken billions of dollars in write-downs in the past few quarters and had sold key holdings to cover those losses.
Merrill may be the No. 3 investment bank on Wall Street, but the problems there had been so bad that they had sold off a 20 percent stake in Bloomberg. You have to wonder just how bad things are there when there had been almost no good news for quite a while now. No matter how big the company is, you cannot have write-downs after write-downs, quarter after quarters.
So if Temasek want to invest more of Singapore’s money in Merrill, go right ahead. But after putting in some much money, Temasek need to put some oversight on the company. These sorts of losses just cannot continue.
So I guess we can’t be that surprised that Temasek will buy another $3.4 billion in the company. That is even after Merrill took another $5.7 billion in write-downs. Due to the losses, Merrill announced plans to raise at least $8.5 billion by selling new common shares. Of which Temasek will buy $3.4 billion.
Having invested so much in Merrill, I can understand why Temasek is going in further into the mess. However if Temasek are going in with so much of Singapore’s money, I suggest that take a more hands-on approach in the running of Merrill. Merrill has taken billions of dollars in write-downs in the past few quarters and had sold key holdings to cover those losses.
Merrill may be the No. 3 investment bank on Wall Street, but the problems there had been so bad that they had sold off a 20 percent stake in Bloomberg. You have to wonder just how bad things are there when there had been almost no good news for quite a while now. No matter how big the company is, you cannot have write-downs after write-downs, quarter after quarters.
So if Temasek want to invest more of Singapore’s money in Merrill, go right ahead. But after putting in some much money, Temasek need to put some oversight on the company. These sorts of losses just cannot continue.
Monday, July 28, 2008
What has changed?
Over the weekend, Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong made a call to the PAP (People’s Action Party) to take back the opposite ward of Hougang.
Now there’s nothing special on that, politicians do it all the time all over the world. What had me wondering was the reason behind this call. The incumbent, Mr Low Thia Khiang, is the head of the Worker’s Party and had scored a crushing win in the last election. In fact I believed he beat Mr Eric Low of the PAP by a record margin for an opposition win. So this call by the Senior Minister surprised me a little because I wondered what has changed.
Eric Low seems that he will be the PAP’s man again in the next elections, so what make Mr Goh Chok Tong think he will do any better this time. After all the problems the Singapore government had this year (the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari, the bad investments by GIC and Temasek, the decline of the Singapore economy, rising prices etc), I would think that the PAP would and should be more worried about keeping their seats than taking over other people’s.
So what has changed since the last election? A hell of a lot; and the PAP should worry less about Hougang or Potong Pasir, and a lot more about their own seats.
Now there’s nothing special on that, politicians do it all the time all over the world. What had me wondering was the reason behind this call. The incumbent, Mr Low Thia Khiang, is the head of the Worker’s Party and had scored a crushing win in the last election. In fact I believed he beat Mr Eric Low of the PAP by a record margin for an opposition win. So this call by the Senior Minister surprised me a little because I wondered what has changed.
Eric Low seems that he will be the PAP’s man again in the next elections, so what make Mr Goh Chok Tong think he will do any better this time. After all the problems the Singapore government had this year (the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari, the bad investments by GIC and Temasek, the decline of the Singapore economy, rising prices etc), I would think that the PAP would and should be more worried about keeping their seats than taking over other people’s.
So what has changed since the last election? A hell of a lot; and the PAP should worry less about Hougang or Potong Pasir, and a lot more about their own seats.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Comics this week
Trinity #8- You know how I had complained about the non-stop lectures by Kurt Busiek on how different Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman truly are? You remember how I liked last week’s issue of Trinity because the main story was finally going somewhere? This week Kurt Busiek had combined the two. However, it wasn’t that bad as we finally get to see what Morgan Le Fey and Enigma are up to. The forming of the second Trinity was interesting but I think the story and explanations were a little out there even for a comic book. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are the core of all 52 universe in the DCU; that’s a funny one to take.
Avengers Initiative #15- One big problem with mega crossovers like Secret Invasion is that readers are pushed out of their series with something that might not have anything to do with their series. To be fair, Dan Slott and Christos Gage had largely avoided this and had continued to put out some very good issues despite Secret Invasion…till now. The issue has 3-D Man being helped out by the Skrull Crusader, before being betrayed by him. Hey, he’s a Skrull. The rest of the issue shows where Crusader stands on the invasion, and why he is betraying his race. A nice good story but I can’t help but feel that this story was pushed to the forefront due to the invasion. The rest of the cast were forgotten due to this and I feel that was a huge problem.
Avengers Initiative #15- One big problem with mega crossovers like Secret Invasion is that readers are pushed out of their series with something that might not have anything to do with their series. To be fair, Dan Slott and Christos Gage had largely avoided this and had continued to put out some very good issues despite Secret Invasion…till now. The issue has 3-D Man being helped out by the Skrull Crusader, before being betrayed by him. Hey, he’s a Skrull. The rest of the issue shows where Crusader stands on the invasion, and why he is betraying his race. A nice good story but I can’t help but feel that this story was pushed to the forefront due to the invasion. The rest of the cast were forgotten due to this and I feel that was a huge problem.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Review of The Dark Knight
When you heard that The Dark Knight had earned over $200 million in just five days, you know it has to be good. The sequel to ‘Batman Begins’ has the intense Christian Bale as the caped crusader again under the direction of Christopher Nolan, and it is every bit as good as advertised.
However, the true stars of the film are the villains. Batman's arch-nemesis the Joker makes a return to the big screen along with Two-Face. The deceased Heath Ledger was good but and Aaron Eckhart as ‘Two-Face’ Harvey Dent was nothing short of great.
The film starts with the Joker robbing a mob-owned bank as Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) teamed up with the new district attorney Harvey Dent to eradicate the mob. Batman feels that Harvey Dent could be the public hero Batman cannot. However Batman's love interest, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes), is dating Harvey. Protecting Gotham comes first for the Batman though as Batman, Gordon, and Dent take it to the mob.
Desperate, the mob bosses hired The Joker to kill Batman. The Joker tells all of Gotham that if the Batman does not turn himself in to the police, he will kill more and more people each day. When the Joker begins killing public officials, including the police commissioner and the judge presiding over the mob trials, Batman decides its time to turn himself in. However, Dent refused to do so, believing that doing this would mean that the Joker had won. Hoping to draw the Joker out of hiding, Dent announced that he is the Batman. The Joker attempts to kill Dent, but Gordon and Batman stopped and arrest him. Gordon got promoted to police commissioner due to the arrest.
However the Joker had hired a group of corrupt police officers to kidnap Dent and Dawes beforehand and they took them to separate warehouses rigged with explosives. The Joker revealed that Dawes and Dent have been taken to opposite sides of the city, and asked Batman to choose who to save. Batman decided to save Dawes, while Gordon and the police headed after Dent. However the locations were switched, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Dawes. With the help of a bomb planted at the police station, the Joker escapes from the police. Batman managed to save Dent, but Dent sustains severe burns on the side of his face. Dawes died. In the hospital, Dent went mad with grief over the loss of Dawes. The Joker frees Dent from the hospital and convinces him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters and Gordon.
While Harvey "Two-Face" Dent confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, Batman locates the Joker and defeats him. Defeated by Batman, the Joker reveal his ‘ace in the hole’, Harvey Dent. Batman finds Two-Face in the warehouse where Dawes died, along with Gordon and his family. After a shot fight, Dent lies dead after falling from the building. Batman and Gordon realize the fallout the city would suffer if Dent's acts of murder became known, so Batman convinces Gordon to blame him for all the murders.
As the movie ends, a manhunt is issued for the Batman.
Dark, grim and great, that is ‘The Dark Knight’.
Although called the ‘The Dark Knight’, I feel Harvey Dent was the star of the movie. The engrossing tragedy of the character was what made this movie tick. As I said earlier, Aaron Eckhart was nothing short of great. Christian Bale as the angst-filled hero and Heath Ledger as the crazy maniacal Joker were very good, but Eckhart portrayal of Harvey Dent was the extremely moving. When he went mad at the end, you can truly understand why. The Oscar nomination should go to him as I thought he overshadowed the rest of the cast.
Some parts of the movie are confusing, like Batman’s final fight with the Joker, but on the whole ‘The Dark Knight’ is a great movie which will haunt and move you. Watch it!
However, the true stars of the film are the villains. Batman's arch-nemesis the Joker makes a return to the big screen along with Two-Face. The deceased Heath Ledger was good but and Aaron Eckhart as ‘Two-Face’ Harvey Dent was nothing short of great.
The film starts with the Joker robbing a mob-owned bank as Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) teamed up with the new district attorney Harvey Dent to eradicate the mob. Batman feels that Harvey Dent could be the public hero Batman cannot. However Batman's love interest, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes), is dating Harvey. Protecting Gotham comes first for the Batman though as Batman, Gordon, and Dent take it to the mob.
Desperate, the mob bosses hired The Joker to kill Batman. The Joker tells all of Gotham that if the Batman does not turn himself in to the police, he will kill more and more people each day. When the Joker begins killing public officials, including the police commissioner and the judge presiding over the mob trials, Batman decides its time to turn himself in. However, Dent refused to do so, believing that doing this would mean that the Joker had won. Hoping to draw the Joker out of hiding, Dent announced that he is the Batman. The Joker attempts to kill Dent, but Gordon and Batman stopped and arrest him. Gordon got promoted to police commissioner due to the arrest.
However the Joker had hired a group of corrupt police officers to kidnap Dent and Dawes beforehand and they took them to separate warehouses rigged with explosives. The Joker revealed that Dawes and Dent have been taken to opposite sides of the city, and asked Batman to choose who to save. Batman decided to save Dawes, while Gordon and the police headed after Dent. However the locations were switched, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Dawes. With the help of a bomb planted at the police station, the Joker escapes from the police. Batman managed to save Dent, but Dent sustains severe burns on the side of his face. Dawes died. In the hospital, Dent went mad with grief over the loss of Dawes. The Joker frees Dent from the hospital and convinces him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters and Gordon.
While Harvey "Two-Face" Dent confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, Batman locates the Joker and defeats him. Defeated by Batman, the Joker reveal his ‘ace in the hole’, Harvey Dent. Batman finds Two-Face in the warehouse where Dawes died, along with Gordon and his family. After a shot fight, Dent lies dead after falling from the building. Batman and Gordon realize the fallout the city would suffer if Dent's acts of murder became known, so Batman convinces Gordon to blame him for all the murders.
As the movie ends, a manhunt is issued for the Batman.
Dark, grim and great, that is ‘The Dark Knight’.
Although called the ‘The Dark Knight’, I feel Harvey Dent was the star of the movie. The engrossing tragedy of the character was what made this movie tick. As I said earlier, Aaron Eckhart was nothing short of great. Christian Bale as the angst-filled hero and Heath Ledger as the crazy maniacal Joker were very good, but Eckhart portrayal of Harvey Dent was the extremely moving. When he went mad at the end, you can truly understand why. The Oscar nomination should go to him as I thought he overshadowed the rest of the cast.
Some parts of the movie are confusing, like Batman’s final fight with the Joker, but on the whole ‘The Dark Knight’ is a great movie which will haunt and move you. Watch it!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
No to Nuclear Power
People all over the world are thinking of ways to lower their dependence on oil. Everything from solar power to wind power to electricity has been mooted. As a pretty open-minded person, I’m all for all the methods mentioned. All but one; nuclear power is a ‘no’ for me.
Some people are all for nuclear power as it is clean, efficient and relatively cheap compare to other alternative source of power. However, an accident in France recently showed exactly why I’m against nuclear power. About 100 employees were contaminated by a leak at a reactor site in southern France. Now the operators of the site tried to say that the employees were just "slightly contaminated", but when you are exposed to radiation; I am of the thinking that there’s no such thing as ‘low contamination’.
This was the third incident at a French nuclear site in recent weeks and this is in France. I hate to think what would happen if some second or third world country exactly decided to start a nuclear reactor. (Yes Indonesia, I’m talking about you)
So when it comes to nuclear power, I say ‘NO”!
Some people are all for nuclear power as it is clean, efficient and relatively cheap compare to other alternative source of power. However, an accident in France recently showed exactly why I’m against nuclear power. About 100 employees were contaminated by a leak at a reactor site in southern France. Now the operators of the site tried to say that the employees were just "slightly contaminated", but when you are exposed to radiation; I am of the thinking that there’s no such thing as ‘low contamination’.
This was the third incident at a French nuclear site in recent weeks and this is in France. I hate to think what would happen if some second or third world country exactly decided to start a nuclear reactor. (Yes Indonesia, I’m talking about you)
So when it comes to nuclear power, I say ‘NO”!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Why the Surprise?
A few Singaporeans I know reacted in surprise when they read that an average of 1,000 Singapore gave up their citizenship each year. What surprised them wasn’t the number, but where they emigrated to.
The U.S and Australia, they can understand; but other ASEAN countries? Most of them cannot understand why Singaporeans are going to other Southeast Asian countries when Singapore is the most advanced country in the region.
Yes, there is a little of the Singaporean pride in play here but I don’t understand the surprise? I mean its’ hardly a secret that Singapore Malays had always immigrated to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, the joke is that Malaysian Chinese come south in exchange for Singaporean Malays who go north. That’s a joke that is not entirely untrue.
So am I surprised that Singaporeans are going to other Southeast Asian countries? No; I’m just surprised so many Singaporeans are surprised at this.
The U.S and Australia, they can understand; but other ASEAN countries? Most of them cannot understand why Singaporeans are going to other Southeast Asian countries when Singapore is the most advanced country in the region.
Yes, there is a little of the Singaporean pride in play here but I don’t understand the surprise? I mean its’ hardly a secret that Singapore Malays had always immigrated to countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. In fact, the joke is that Malaysian Chinese come south in exchange for Singaporean Malays who go north. That’s a joke that is not entirely untrue.
So am I surprised that Singaporeans are going to other Southeast Asian countries? No; I’m just surprised so many Singaporeans are surprised at this.
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