Comics this week

FF #11- Writer Jonathan Hickman is one of those writers that is either hit-or-miss. He set-up these layered plotlines that not only tell the story but also setup further stories down the road. If the stories he lay down works, it’s beautiful. If it does not, it’s a waste of space. This issue is a setup issue with Reed gathering all his contacts for battle against the Inhumans. Annihilus and his Cult of the Negative Zone, Ronan and the Kree are also all in the mix. How would all this pan out? Frankly I have no idea but currently it’s not very exciting.

Green Lantern: The New Guardians #2- When this series was announced, I dug the idea of a group with members of all 7 Corps together. So I am currently not that impressed with this series thus far because the focus has been too much on Kyle Rayner. Yes, I know the main plot of the series is on how a wayward ring from each of the colored corps has somehow chosen him as their bearer but what about the rest of the cast? Enough about Kyle already! I want more Murk, Saint Walker and Arkillo. And could DC please get their artists in line on how to draw the Guardians. They look like comedians in this issue.

I, Vampire #2- Now this is a surprise! After the debut issue where the action and focus was on the goody, goody vampire Andrew, this issue the focus is on Mary, the Queen of Blood. And I mean this issue was told from the POV of Mary. That is both surprising and bloody great! Personally I find it ironic that for a revamp that was meant for its main superhero lines, the best series coming out of the 52 are series like Demon Knights and I, Vampire which you can’t see a superhero anywhere on the pages.

Not So Fast

As news spread of European leaders sealing a deal to fix its debt crisis, stocks throughout the world rose. Europe has put together a deal that would shored up its bailout fund, pledged new funds for Greece and persuaded/forced banks to take a 50% loss on Greece's debt. As expected, stock markets rose on the back of this grand deal.

The stock markets are counting their chickens before they hatched.

I am not convinced that this “grand deal” will fix Europe’s debt crisis because the deal is missing one key ingredient of solving the crisis. It didn’t say how they Europe intend to deal with the problems facing Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain.

Greece might be the biggest problem facing Europe currently but they are not the only one in trouble. In fact, if things come to a head, the debt crisis of Italy and Spain will dwarf Greece by a hefty margin. How does Europe intend to deal with the potential debt crisis of Italy and Spain?

Keep in mind that under this current deal, they are already forcing banks to take a 50% loss on Greece. I doubt they would be able to get the banks to take any more pain for Italy and Spain. Even if the banks want to, the size of Italy and Spain might make that impossible!

So…what’s the strategy to deal with Italy and Spain? Until they answer those questions, don’t expect the European debt crisis to go away anytime soon.

Alibaba & Yahoo

For years Yahoo has been overshadowed by Google and, to a lesser extent, Facebook. For when I heard that China’s internet giant Alibaba Group is trying to buy over Yahoo, I wasn’t that surprised. However Yahoo! Inc. co- founder Jerry Yang quietly came out to say his company isn’t necessarily up for sale but is “merely” looking at all options.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter. To me, the big news is how a well-known American internet company is being looked at as a takeover target by a Chinese internet company. Both are well known internet giants but it says a lot for China economic growth (and potential) that the Alibaba Group is a potential buyer of Yahoo Inc., not the other way around.

So in more ways than one, whether it happens or not, the potential takeover of Alibaba of Yahoo is a watershed event. Not just for the internet, but for the whole of the business world as well.

Thailand Floods

Since the flood in Thailand started 2 months ago, it had killed 356 people in the country and caused about $6 billion worth of damage to the country. But sometimes words can only say so such, while pictures can say everything. Here are some pictures of the devastation;

So He Was Killed...So What?

Days after Muammar Gaddafi's death, the international community (aka NATO) still claims that there is a lack of an account about how he died. Now I haven’t been paying that much attention to NATO’s war on Gaddafi, but even I know how he died.

We have all seem the video which a wounded but still alive Muammar Gaddafi was captured by rebels forces. Next thing we know, he was dead. It ought to be obvious what happened! He was killed by the Libyan rebels who captured him! Same thing happened to his son Mo'tassim Gaddafi.

I fail to understand why the international community are refusing to admit this pretty obvious scenario. Muammar Gaddafi was killed by the Libyan rebels. It was always going to happen because civil wars are nasty zero-sum game. So what? Admit it and move on. What’s so difficult about that?

Canadians, Canadians, Canadians...

You know I read on Yahoo news that the majority of Canadians believe that their Prime Minster, Stephen Harper, is vastly overpaid. As a Singaporean, I can’t help but think; “Are you Canadians insane?”

For those people who do not understand why I feel this way, maybe this list can help you.

Top 10 Political Leader's Salary by Country (2010):
1. Lee Hsien Loong (Singapore): $2,183,516
2. Donald Tsang (Hong Kong): $513,245
3. Raila Odinga (Kenya): $427,886
4. Barack Obama (United States): $400,000
5. Nicolas Sarkozy (France): $302,435
6. Stephen Harper (Canada): $296,400
7. Mary McAleese (Ireland): $287,900
8. Julia Gillard (Australia): $286,752
9. Angela Merkel (Germany): $283,608
10. Yoshihiko Noda (Japan): $273,676

That’s right! In the list of Top 10 leader’s salary, Canada ranked just 6th on the list. Now for people who think that is still very high, remember I am from SINGAPORE! My Prime Minister is paid 7 times more than the Prime Minister of Canada. Hell my Prime Minister is so far ahead of everyone, I won’t be surprised if Barack Obama or Angela Merkel got red eyes just reading this list!

So for Canadians who believe their Prime Minster is overpaid, remember this; At least you are not a Singaporean!

Australian woman survives attack by large kangaroo!

Let's see if you can understand this? A woman in Australia was walking her dogs when they came upon a big kangaroo.

One of her dogs (who was not leashed) chased after the kangaroo who fought back with its claws. Seeing the dog in trouble, the woman used a stick to attack the kangaroo to save her pet. The kangaroo naturally defends itself against the dog owner, leaving the woman with cuts to her neck, ears and back before hopping off.

The headlines in Australia; Australian woman survives attack by large kangaroo!

Yes, in this whole incident the fault lies not with the woman or her stupid dog but the kangaroo for “attacking” the woman. Not defending itself but “attacking” the woman!

Thanks goodness something like this does not happen in Singapore (cough…monkeys in Telok Blangah…cough).