Final Crisis #7- Goods news: After months of delay, Final Crisis #7 comes out just 2 weeks after Final Crisis #6. Bad news: I have no idea what Grant Morrison is writing about. After a thrill ride of #6, Final Crisis #7 makes no sense! I’m all for the high end concept of Morrison’s writing, but the end result needs to make sense. This doesn’t! I know I haven’t been keeping up with the Superman series but since when did Superman’s X-ray eyes able to do DNA analysis? And his “I only look at the Miracle Machine for a few seconds but I tried to remember every nuts and bolts and I will rebuilt it and bring everyone back” moment. Superman has a photographic memory? Is this still Superman? Barry Allen running through time and space to outrun the Black Racer so that he can lure the Black Racer to Darkseid and kill the fallen god. It read as confusing as it sounds. And don’t even get me start on the last scene with Bruce Wayne in pre-historic times. Final Crisis end with a big question mark.
Reign in Hell #7- The most under-rated miniseries on the market race to its end as Satanus has firmly defeated Neron. With the war all but over, all the do-gooders now have to race out of hell. Not an easy thing to do when Satanus has close off hell. With only one exit out of hell, everyone is racing to the realm of Purgatory. A race against time with the rulers of hell on their backs? Seems that #8 will be fun.
Nova #21- I guess it’s inevitable. After 20 great issues, there is bound to be a bad issue. This is that bad issue. I know Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are in charge of everything cosmic in the Marvel Universe, but maybe they have too much on their plate right now. AKA, I think maybe they are too busy with the upcoming War of Kings to concentrate on their regular series. This issue seems to be a rush job and that’s something a great series like Nova do not need or deserved.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
A Political Price for Gaza
I have made no secret about what I felt about the recent conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. I felt that the attack by the Israelis was timed more for political considerations than any real security threat. I can see no other reason why the attack stopped a day before Barack Obama became the U.S President and 2 weeks before national elections in Israel.
So it’s with some satisfaction that I see Israel paying a political price for their actions. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's President Shimon Peres got into a fiery debate regarding Israel's assault and blockade of Gaza. The Turkish Prime Minister also stormed out of the debate because of a failure by the moderator of the debate, Mr. David Ignatius, to do his job properly. After a 25min monologue by the Israel's President, the moderator cut off Mr. Erdogan’s response. What kind of moderator give 25mins to 1 guy and then just give 12mins for the response? Who is this David Ignatius?
However that’s another question for another day. The problem for Israel now is that they are fast running out of allies in the region. When Turkey, who is widely considered one of the more moderate Arab countries around, start blaming Israel for the suffering in Gaza, Israel has truly lost the propaganda war. What’s more is that Turkey will play a key role in any settlement between Israel and Syria.
The list of friends Israel has in the Middle East has never been long, and it seems to be getting shorter by the day. Exactly what they deserve for starting a war due to politics!
So it’s with some satisfaction that I see Israel paying a political price for their actions. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Israel's President Shimon Peres got into a fiery debate regarding Israel's assault and blockade of Gaza. The Turkish Prime Minister also stormed out of the debate because of a failure by the moderator of the debate, Mr. David Ignatius, to do his job properly. After a 25min monologue by the Israel's President, the moderator cut off Mr. Erdogan’s response. What kind of moderator give 25mins to 1 guy and then just give 12mins for the response? Who is this David Ignatius?
However that’s another question for another day. The problem for Israel now is that they are fast running out of allies in the region. When Turkey, who is widely considered one of the more moderate Arab countries around, start blaming Israel for the suffering in Gaza, Israel has truly lost the propaganda war. What’s more is that Turkey will play a key role in any settlement between Israel and Syria.
The list of friends Israel has in the Middle East has never been long, and it seems to be getting shorter by the day. Exactly what they deserve for starting a war due to politics!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
A Small Change Needed in the Budget
Usually when the World Economic Forum comes to town in Davos, Switzerland; there will be a lot of talk about how well the world economy is and that it will go from strength to strength. Not this year!
On the first day of the Davos forum, both the Chinese and Russian leaders (Wen Jiabao and Vladimir Putin) gave a gloomy assessment on the global economy and blamed the United States directly for causing the global economic crisis in the first place.
This criticism of the U.S leads me to think of one of the biggest problem I have with the recent Singapore budget. As everyone in Singapore knows, the Singapore economy is tied to the health of the U.S economy. Over 70% of Singapore’s exports go to the U.S and I saw nothing in the new Singapore budget that will change this. Even though new U.S President Barack Obama has already went to work to revive the U.S economy with an 825 billion dollar stimulus package, there’s no guarantee that the stimulus package will be successful. Even if it is successful, there will still be a lot of pessimism over the U.S economy.
America has a record debt that is growing by the day; involved in 2 ongoing wars and it’s in its worst recession since the Great Depression. With all these challenges facing the U.S, I question whether it’s in Singapore’s interest to continually tag our economy to the U.S. It’s no secret that Singapore is suffering more than our neighbors in this crisis because of our closeness of our economy to the U.S and I think there’s no need for me to remind everyone what happened to our country’s investment in Merrill Lynch. As there is no end in sight to the problems in the U.S, I think Singapore should encourage Singapore companies (including government-linked companies) to invest in countries other than the U.S.
Annual budgets are more of a plan for the year than a blueprint, and plans can change. With odds that the financial crisis will get worse before it get better, I think it’s better that Singapore spread the risk around. I suggest that the Singapore Finance Ministry make a small change and look at tax incentives and grants to Singapore companies that move their investments from the U.S to other countries.
A small change like that I think might make the economy recover faster.
On the first day of the Davos forum, both the Chinese and Russian leaders (Wen Jiabao and Vladimir Putin) gave a gloomy assessment on the global economy and blamed the United States directly for causing the global economic crisis in the first place.
This criticism of the U.S leads me to think of one of the biggest problem I have with the recent Singapore budget. As everyone in Singapore knows, the Singapore economy is tied to the health of the U.S economy. Over 70% of Singapore’s exports go to the U.S and I saw nothing in the new Singapore budget that will change this. Even though new U.S President Barack Obama has already went to work to revive the U.S economy with an 825 billion dollar stimulus package, there’s no guarantee that the stimulus package will be successful. Even if it is successful, there will still be a lot of pessimism over the U.S economy.
America has a record debt that is growing by the day; involved in 2 ongoing wars and it’s in its worst recession since the Great Depression. With all these challenges facing the U.S, I question whether it’s in Singapore’s interest to continually tag our economy to the U.S. It’s no secret that Singapore is suffering more than our neighbors in this crisis because of our closeness of our economy to the U.S and I think there’s no need for me to remind everyone what happened to our country’s investment in Merrill Lynch. As there is no end in sight to the problems in the U.S, I think Singapore should encourage Singapore companies (including government-linked companies) to invest in countries other than the U.S.
Annual budgets are more of a plan for the year than a blueprint, and plans can change. With odds that the financial crisis will get worse before it get better, I think it’s better that Singapore spread the risk around. I suggest that the Singapore Finance Ministry make a small change and look at tax incentives and grants to Singapore companies that move their investments from the U.S to other countries.
A small change like that I think might make the economy recover faster.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Singaporeans Are Not Bad Drivers
Just before the Chinese New Year, I saw an article in the Strait Times that state that most people in Southeast Asia believe that Singaporeans are bad drivers. If I remembered correctly, 69 out of 100 Singaporeans surveyed agree with that assessment.
I disagree. To me Singaporeans are not bad drivers, we are terrible drivers! We really are. The article in the papers state that Singaporeans do not give way (which is true) because Singaporeans are law-abiding citizens who do not take kindly to people cutting queue. That is wrong. No one in Singapore give way because Singaporeans has a cannot-lose attitude to life. Singaporeans just can't stand the sight of another car taking their spot on the road because that will mean they would have lost out to the other driver. Not acceptable in Singapore.
I personally think this is why no one on their signal light when they change lanes in Singapore. I lost count on the number of times when I on my signal light to change lanes, and the car in the other lane speed up instead of slowing down. I find it much easier to just cut the lanes without the signal lights, something which I think most Singaporeans agree with.
Another reason I think Singaporeans are bad drivers is because we are whiners on the road. Cars are status symbols in Singapore and as such Singaporeans are very protective about their cars. I personally know of one incident in which a Singaporean complain about a bumpy stretch of road to his foreign friend and the friend, who drive on the road everyday, has no idea what the Singaporean was talking about. To Singaporeans, roads must be prefect and not even a crack on the road is not allowed. It will make the road bumpy! So Singaporeans whine about road conditions even when there there's nothing to complain about.
So don't say Singaporeans are bad drivers. We're not bad; we are terrible!
I disagree. To me Singaporeans are not bad drivers, we are terrible drivers! We really are. The article in the papers state that Singaporeans do not give way (which is true) because Singaporeans are law-abiding citizens who do not take kindly to people cutting queue. That is wrong. No one in Singapore give way because Singaporeans has a cannot-lose attitude to life. Singaporeans just can't stand the sight of another car taking their spot on the road because that will mean they would have lost out to the other driver. Not acceptable in Singapore.
I personally think this is why no one on their signal light when they change lanes in Singapore. I lost count on the number of times when I on my signal light to change lanes, and the car in the other lane speed up instead of slowing down. I find it much easier to just cut the lanes without the signal lights, something which I think most Singaporeans agree with.
Another reason I think Singaporeans are bad drivers is because we are whiners on the road. Cars are status symbols in Singapore and as such Singaporeans are very protective about their cars. I personally know of one incident in which a Singaporean complain about a bumpy stretch of road to his foreign friend and the friend, who drive on the road everyday, has no idea what the Singaporean was talking about. To Singaporeans, roads must be prefect and not even a crack on the road is not allowed. It will make the road bumpy! So Singaporeans whine about road conditions even when there there's nothing to complain about.
So don't say Singaporeans are bad drivers. We're not bad; we are terrible!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Comics this week
Guardians of the Galaxy #9- Jack Flagg? Never thought an issue of Guardians of the Galaxy will start off with Jack Flagg but here it is. With the warden and guards gone, the prisoners of the 42 were left to fend for themselves. Even when he is in a wheelchair, somehow Jack Flagg became the guy running things for the prisoners. Don’t know about that but it was cute seeing a naked Star-Lord being sent in by Blastarr to demand a surrender. The main team led by Rocket Raccoon is now the official comedy section of the book as they were played for laughs again. Now most people who read my blog know that I’m not really that into the art. To me, the story is more important. However I have to say that the art in this issue was especially bad. The last few pages looks like a rush job as the characters looks like they just had face transplants. Hope thing get better as the War of Kings is here.
Street Fighter Legends: Chun Li #1- With a movie starring Chun Li coming up, this series was kind of expected by me. Street Fighter Legends: Chun Li is a prequel showing her before she was known to Shadaloo. Think of it was a straight-forward origin series and you’ll get the idea. Her father even put in a delightful cameo appearance. Dan was shown as well, and the writers seem to be taking some liberty with the story as Dan is shown with his father in Hong Kong. That’s wasn’t how I remember it but I guess they had to change something to keep the story fresh. Instead of Dan getting his ass kicked by Sagat, it will be his father but I don’t really mind small changes like this. However who is Omar Dogan? I don’t remember his name but his artwork in this issue is very good. His lines were clean and the action sequences were solid. He looks like a solid artist with a future.
Street Fighter Legends: Chun Li #1- With a movie starring Chun Li coming up, this series was kind of expected by me. Street Fighter Legends: Chun Li is a prequel showing her before she was known to Shadaloo. Think of it was a straight-forward origin series and you’ll get the idea. Her father even put in a delightful cameo appearance. Dan was shown as well, and the writers seem to be taking some liberty with the story as Dan is shown with his father in Hong Kong. That’s wasn’t how I remember it but I guess they had to change something to keep the story fresh. Instead of Dan getting his ass kicked by Sagat, it will be his father but I don’t really mind small changes like this. However who is Omar Dogan? I don’t remember his name but his artwork in this issue is very good. His lines were clean and the action sequences were solid. He looks like a solid artist with a future.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Singapore need a Rabbit
When the COE of big cars drop to just $200 a week before Chinese New Year, you know that saying times are bad is an understatement. In face-crazy Singapore, a car is the ultimate status symbol but with GDP expected to drop between 3-5% this year; even car-dealers are facing the pinch.
For all the talk about growth in healthcare, education, finance sectors etc; Singapore’s economy is still based on our location as a port. Singapore is still a port city and with a worldwide collapse in demand, Singapore is faring far worse than our neighbors from the credit crunch. Reports state that almost 40% of the container ships worldwide are sitting idle as shipping orders have come to a standstill. That’s very bad news for Singapore.
With these problems, all eyes are on the Singapore budget which will be announced today. Let’s hope they can pull a rabbit out of the hat and justify their high pay.
For all the talk about growth in healthcare, education, finance sectors etc; Singapore’s economy is still based on our location as a port. Singapore is still a port city and with a worldwide collapse in demand, Singapore is faring far worse than our neighbors from the credit crunch. Reports state that almost 40% of the container ships worldwide are sitting idle as shipping orders have come to a standstill. That’s very bad news for Singapore.
With these problems, all eyes are on the Singapore budget which will be announced today. Let’s hope they can pull a rabbit out of the hat and justify their high pay.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Just Stupid
I have not commented on Tan Yong Soon's S$45,000 family trip so far because to me it’s a non-issue. For those readers who have no idea what I’m talking about; Tan Yong Soon, a top civil servant in Singapore, wrote an article in the Straits Times newspaper saying that he spent S$45,000 for a family trip to Paris to learn cooking at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Tan is accused of extravagance by Singaporeans given that Singapore is in the midst of a severe recession.
Frankly, I’m more bemused than angered by all this. If someone wants to waste $45,000 and 5 weeks of his own precious leave to go to France, that’s his choice. I don’t understand why anyone will want to spend his leave on a cooking course, but as they say, ‘to each his own’. I don’t even mind him crowing about his trip. This is Singapore! We have people screaming out how good, rich and important they are all over the island.
For all the talk about empathy, humility, ethos etc; Tan Yong Soon's S$45,000 family trip is a private affair and is no business of mine. That is until Member of Parliament Charles Chong’s ‘lesser mortals’ comment. Unlike his follow MP, Teo Chee Hean and Peter Ho, who tried to put out the fire of discontent by expressing great disappointment over Mr. Tan's article; MP Charles Chong’s comments go like this, "Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a bit boastful. Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything?”
Talk about total and utter stupidity! This off-the-cuff comment by Charles Chong will just add fuel to the fire and Charles Chong’s denigration of Mr Tan’s critics as “lesser mortals” just means that he considered Mr Tan (and himself) as “greater mortals”. Mr Chong must now come forward and apologised for his remark. After the storm of Mr Tan’s cooking trip (which was actually picked up by international press), this has the potential to be an even bigger storm. And unlike Mr Tan who can at least claim that he is a civil servant and not an elected officer, Mr Charles Chong do not even have that luxury.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean must be shaking his head right now. After his speech in parliament where he said that it’s important to show solidarity and empathy for Singaporeans facing uncertainties and hardship, this happened! It’s just plain stupid.
Frankly, I’m more bemused than angered by all this. If someone wants to waste $45,000 and 5 weeks of his own precious leave to go to France, that’s his choice. I don’t understand why anyone will want to spend his leave on a cooking course, but as they say, ‘to each his own’. I don’t even mind him crowing about his trip. This is Singapore! We have people screaming out how good, rich and important they are all over the island.
For all the talk about empathy, humility, ethos etc; Tan Yong Soon's S$45,000 family trip is a private affair and is no business of mine. That is until Member of Parliament Charles Chong’s ‘lesser mortals’ comment. Unlike his follow MP, Teo Chee Hean and Peter Ho, who tried to put out the fire of discontent by expressing great disappointment over Mr. Tan's article; MP Charles Chong’s comments go like this, "Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a bit boastful. Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything?”
Talk about total and utter stupidity! This off-the-cuff comment by Charles Chong will just add fuel to the fire and Charles Chong’s denigration of Mr Tan’s critics as “lesser mortals” just means that he considered Mr Tan (and himself) as “greater mortals”. Mr Chong must now come forward and apologised for his remark. After the storm of Mr Tan’s cooking trip (which was actually picked up by international press), this has the potential to be an even bigger storm. And unlike Mr Tan who can at least claim that he is a civil servant and not an elected officer, Mr Charles Chong do not even have that luxury.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean must be shaking his head right now. After his speech in parliament where he said that it’s important to show solidarity and empathy for Singaporeans facing uncertainties and hardship, this happened! It’s just plain stupid.
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