Rants & Ravings

MUMBAI - PRE and post-operative transsexuals in the southern Indian city of Chennai are to get their own public toilets in an effort to boost recognition of the community, a report said on Monday.
Three toilets are to be built to cater for the sizeable transgender population as part of a pilot project that will begin after the upcoming general elections, the English-language Indian Express newspaper said.
Municipal commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni was quoted as saying that the scheme was aimed at 'extending recognition to the community and mainstreaming them' and more facilities could be built if the public responded well to the idea.
But it has drawn a mixed response from the transgender community itself.
'I don't agree with this. We want to mingle with the mainstream. We don't want to be separated like this,' said Aasha Bharati, president of the Aravanigal Association in Tamil Nadu state.
'Using separate toilets will open the way for discrimination. We want to be considered as females. In our hearts, we are women.'
India's first transgender television host, Rose Venkatesan, was more positive. She said: 'It is a big problem, because not everyone has undergone a sex change.
'This is a good idea but in the long run, I see a society where there is no difference and all use the same toilets.'
There are about 30,000 transgendered people in Tamil Nadu state and there are thought to be about 500,000 across India. They are among the most marginalised and discriminated against in India's hierarchical, conservative society. -- AFP

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_347855.html

I wonder what the symbol for the 3rd toilet will look like..

Labels: current affairs

There was an interesting article in the paper this week about record number of students applying for Polys instead of JCs. Well I have a theory on this trend. There are 2 reasons:

1) It's now more difficult to get into the universities in Singapore than in the past. Everyone has heard of their own anecdote of how there are/were dumping ground faculties in universities. However, based on what the press has been printing of late, that doesn't seem to be true anymore. And an A Level student without a degreee has very limited career prospects. The best paying job one can find would probably be a relief teacher. Even then, it's a temporary solution at best.

2) Diploma vs A Level cert. On their own merits alone, a diploma will get you further. You can get fairly decent employment with a diploma compared to an A Level cert. A level qualification was never meant to be on its own. It has always been as a stepping stone to a Degree and so on.

Even with the upcoming 4th Uni coming up, I foresee this trend continuing unless we give more preference to our own students. However as this article will show :http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_335100.html, not likely.

Labels: current affairs, education

Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary (KCPPS) has a “Remedial Programme for Mathematics”, which starts at 6.50am every Thursday and Friday.

Parents were unhappy about them naturally, and I would be too. On one hand, we have policy makers trying to make school start later (which is good, and I'm all for it). Schools starting later also benefit a lot of other people in the country, which I may go into in the future.

However, TNP noted a parent with a daughter in another school as saying that the early remedial classes were a good idea. This parent was of the view that having such classes after school might tire out students even more, since many had CCAs that finished late.

What the heck? How does waking up early and going to school early not tire the kids? Is this parent suffering from brain damage?

Labels: current affairs, stupid singaporeans

Ho Ching to quit Temasek

She will be succeeded by ex-BHP's Goodyear.
By Ignatius Low, Money Editor

AFTER more than six years at Temasek Holdings, Ms Ho Ching, 55, is stepping down as its chief executive officer, making way for an American who will take the helm in October.
Charles W. Goodyear, 51, the former boss of mining giant BHP Billiton, will be appointed CEO-designate on March 1 and he will officially take over from Ms Ho, after a six-month transition period, on Oct 1.

The news took most by surprise on Friday and immediately sparked speculation as to the reason for Ms Ho's departure.

Addressing the issue at a media conference on Friday afternoon, Temasek chairman S. Dhanabalan said the investment company had been mulling the question of who would succeed Ms Ho as CEO since early 2005.

Then, in 2007, it found its man in Mr Goodyear.
'The availability of a very qualified and suitable candidate triggered the Board and Ho Ching to consider a change of leadership in Temasek,' he said.
'Since then, Ho Ching and the Board have been engaged in due dillgence and in trying to attract Chip in as Ho Ching's successor.'

Temasek, which managed $185 billion in assets as at end-March last year, has seen the value of its investments fall in tandem with global markets, following the financial crisis which erupted last September.

The company is currently staring at paper losses running into the billions, having taken major stakes in international banks like Barclays and Merrill Lynch.
Mr Dhanabalan on Friday dismissed talk that these 'losses', as well those from the company's investments in Thailand's Shin Corp, were the reason for Ms Ho's departure
'Absolutely not... It has got nothing to do with performance,' he said emphatically.
He added: 'I would be a little cautious in coming to the conclucion that these investments are losses because we have a long term view about investments.
'It's too early to say whther some of them will, in fact, result in a big loss.'
Temasek has also taken large stakes in Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd and Barclays Plc.
Mr Dhanabalan said Ms Ho's resignation has 'got nothing to do with performance'.
Wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Ms Ho was appointed to Temasek's board in early 2002 and became chief executive in January 2004.
She was hired 'purely on the basis of merit and not on her relationship with anyone', said Mr Dhanabalan.
Ms Ho said she has not decided what she will do after vacating the CEO's office on Oct 1. She will also resign from the board of directors.
'Chip brings capabilities that I don't have,' she said. 'I don't see myself as needing to direct it in any way.'

Shock over Ho's departure

By Alvin Foo and Francis Chan

SHOCK was the main initial reaction among the local financial and business community at the news that Ms Ho Ching is to step down later this year as Temasek Holdings' chief executive.
Industry leaders, analysts, academics and fund managers were still coming to grips with the news, but most agreed that with or without Ms Ho, Temasek will still remain a global corporate titan.

Former BHP Billiton chief executive Charles 'Chip' W Goodyear will be taking over the hot seat when Ms Ho steps down in October.

CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said: 'I'm taken aback by the timing. It's been a most difficult period for Temasek given their paper losses.'

Mr Wong Kok Hoi, APS Asset Management's chief investment officer, said: 'The whole industry is surprised by the announcement. Nobody expected the timing.'

Despite their shock, most, like Singapore International Chamber of Commerce chief executive Phillip Overmyer, believe the Singapore investment company will carry on without a hitch.
'Temasek is such a strong company, with a very capable board, and that means it will continue to get on with business - missing her, but never missing a beat,' he said.

Others, however, saw the appointment of Mr Goodyear - an American and another non-Singaporean in a key role at Temasek after New Zealander Simon Israel - as a move to make the organisation politically less controversial.

Mr Israel joined Temasek in 2006 as its second executive director after a stint as Asia-Pacific chairman of French food and beverage group Danone.
Senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies, Dr Gillian Koh, said: 'The criticism from the outside-in perspective, levelled at Temasek has been that it is too close to the Government.
'These two personalities in particular re-emphasise that this entity is being run on a commercial basis.'

With reference to my last post, the exit looks kind of .. convenient.. yes sure there's the whole wanting to find a replacement since 2005. Woulda coulda shoulda.. sounds like a shady cover-up. Things are going south faster than an anvil at terminal velocity so time to pass the buck. Can't let someone so high profile be seen holding a sack of crap. Contrary to what the official press release is, sounds like a real spin job is being done. Welcome Charles W. Goodyear, sorry you're the sad sack that's stuck holding the bag of crap. Hope you survive the experience.

Labels: current affairs, sinkingship, stupid policies

From 1 side of the spectrum: Dr Tony Tan yesterday finally confirmed that Spore Inc suffered paper loss of S$260 billion,probably a world record.Dr Tan disclosed that GIC had portfolio value of US$300 billion(S$450 billion),and we know fr TMS's report that TMS has portfolio value of S$200 billion.So a total investment value of S$650 billion,built up mainly by Spore citizens over the last 50 years.

Minister Tharman confirmed that Spore Inc's loss was around 40%,so a loss of S$260 billion.BUSINESS987fm.sg/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=fddd870f77eee110VgnVCM1000001f0aa8c0RCRUpdated: 19th January 2009, 1710 hrsGIC, Temasek outperform market:

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

The value of the investments of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), and Temasek Holdings fell less than the decline in global equity markets last year.In a written response to queries in parliament today about the extent of losses suffered by the two investment firms in 2008, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugratnam said investments by the two firms have inevitably been affected amid the financial turmoil.But he said the two investment companies lowered their holdings in equities early in the crisis, which helped them post a smaller drop in their portfolios.

He added that GIC and Temasek¡¯s strategies also put them in a position to take advantage of any opportunities that may arise from the current downturn.The MSCI World Equities fell 42 percent last year while the MSCI Singapore fell by over 50 percent.

From the other side of it: Struggles of a 76 year old Singapore Street Scavanger

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=11827683&ch=4226714&src=news

Somewhere on the spectrum (tending towards the stupid side):
Hong Kong cafe is dumb. It's overpriced for small portions which are average dishes. Instant noodles at premium prices? That's insane. You'd think it'd be a dumb idea right? Well according to today's Straits Times, the owner "loves to rub it in" because family and friends told him that singaporeans would never pay cafe prices for instant noodles. Why are some people so dumb?

Labels: current affairs, stupid policies, stupid singaporeans

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. said it would cut 600 jobs, about 8% of its global work force, as it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss amid a drop-off in demand and delayed deliveries.Its American depositary shares rose 4.5% to $1.63 in after-hours trading as the Singapore-based chip foundry posted its second consecutive quarterly loss. The stock price has fallen 77% since May.

Chartered said it expects to save about $16 million a year with the latest job cuts. It plans a $8 million related charge in the first quarter.Chief Executive Chia Song Hwee said the job cuts, which total 1,300 since the third quarter, are "a prudent business decision" and part of managing cash and liquidity. The company also plans to reduce capital spending by 35% to $375 million this year from a year earlier.In the fourth quarter, the semiconductor company reported a net loss of $114 million, or 46 cents per American depositary share, compared with net income of $5.9 million, or 1 cent per ADS, a year earlier. Revenue slid 0.3% to $351.7 million.

Chartered cut its forecast last month to a loss of 30 cents to 34 cents a share on revenue of $343 million to $353 million.Gross margin fell to 3.9% from 17.2%. Shipments declined 9.1%, while the average selling price of eight-inch equivalent wafers rose 1.1%.Capacity utilization fell to 59% from 81%.Macquarie warned in an analyst note last week that Chartered risks breaching debt covenants if its utilization doesn't improve.Along with others in the industry, Chartered, which makes chips for set-top boxes, video-game devices, and MP3 and DVD players, is facing declining demand and increasing competition.

It has cut contract jobs and 2009 capital spending, eliminated overtime and temporarily closed plants, and lowered salaries on a short-term basis.The company has been rumored to be in search of a strategic investor but two possible buyers, United Microelectronics Corp. and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., recently expressed no interest.

Privatization by Singapore's state investment fund Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. , which owns 67% of the company, is a possibility.Looking ahead, Chartered expects a first-quarter loss of 57 cents to 61 cents per ADS on revenue of $232 million to $244 million.

When I left my former company, 2 senior staff sat me down to talk to me. (Not including my manager). 1 of them was actually the main reason why I got the previous job even though I didn't meet the qualifications. He told me later that he saw potential in me. I guess he was kind of disappointed in me. Same for the other guy who spoke to me. Except the other guy was more.. vocal about his disappointment. Long story short, both felt that I was giving up too easily and that there was a future in this line. That first you suffer then things get better after 5 years. There was also a bunch of other stuff that made me quite annoyed then. However, looking back, I realised that I made the right choice. If I had stayed, I'd now have gotten a pay cut, possibly also have an uncertain future. I've just been informed that my former department has been shut down since the 24th of Jan and re-opening only on the 3rd of Feb. During this period, it was announced to the press that major retrenchments were being done. An excellent screw job of the staff. Anyway my concern still goes out to the friends I made there who do their best to make the best out of a really bad situation.

Labels: current affairs, down the toilet

Cause they have been outlawed.

UNDER the Environmental Public Health Act, individuals caught peddling tissue paper can be fined up to $5,000.Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed up to three months, or both.

Under the Destitute Persons Act, offenders can be charged for begging.If convicted, they will face a fine of up to $3,000 or a jail term of up to two years.

Under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act, if an individual is found to be creating a public nuisance by using threatening, abusive or insulting words, or behaviour towards another person, he can be fined up to $5,000.

Nice to know that we're trying to destroy the livelihoods of people who are just trying to make ends meet and don't have the necessary skills to make a living via some other means. But at least it allows certain people to proclaim that there are no poor or beggars in the country. Lesser mortals indeed.

Labels: current affairs, stupid policies

Got this list from here: http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/11/03/10-reasons-you-are-rich/

For those who are thinking that they aren't earning enough money or just generally unhappy with their lives.


1) You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night.
2) You didn’t go to sleep outside.
3) You had a choice of what clothes to wear this morning.
4) You hardly broke a sweat today.
5) You didn’t spend a minute in fear.
6) You have access to clean drinking water.
7) You have access to medical care.
8) You have access to the Internet.
9) You can read.
10) You have the right to vote.

Labels: current affairs, introspective

http://wayangparty.wordpress.com/2008/10/14/how-the-world-and-singapore-leaders-respond-to-the-global-financial-crisis/

Labels: current affairs, Politics, poor customer service

This explanation is actually quite good. Taken from http://bygonebureau.com/2008/10/01/the-financial-crisis-as-explained-to-my-fourteen-year-old-sister/

The following is an actual conversation I had with my younger sister, Olivia. She likes to draw, play World of Warcraft, and now, she’s the only fourteen-year-old girl who understands the U.S. economic crisis.

Kevin: Have you been following the news?

Olivia: Yeah, I don’t really get it.

Kevin: Imagine that I let you borrow $50, but in exchange for my generosity, you promise to pay me back the $50 with an extra $10 in interest. To make sure you pay me back, I take your Charizard Pokémon card as collateral.

Olivia: Kevin, I don’t play Pokémon anymore.

Kevin: I’m getting to that. Let’s say that the Charizard is worth $50, so in case you decide to not return my money, at least I’ll have something that’s worth what I loaned out.

Olivia: Okay.

Kevin: But one day, people realize that Pokémon is stupid and everyone decides that the cards are overvalued. That’s right—everybody turned twelve on the same day! Now your Charizard is only worth, say, $25.

Olivia: Uh-huh.

Kevin: At the same time, you’re having trouble paying back the $60 you owe me. So what would you rather do: try and pay me back the $60 or just default and give me your $25 Charizard?

Olivia: I’d give you the Charizard.

Kevin: Exactly. Who wouldn’t? Now, the bank—I mean me—has lost $25 when I expected to make $10. What’s the lesson here?

Olivia: Pokémon is dumb.

Kevin: True, but keep going.

Olivia: That Pokémon cards might be worth less later than they are now?

Kevin: Close. You just can’t rely on them appreciating in value forever. There’s one other good lesson in this analogy.

Olivia: That you shouldn’t lend me money?

Kevin: A-ha, exactly right! You’re fourteen and have no source of income. What would convince me to lend you money if I’m not sure you can pay it back?

Olivia: Because you could’ve taken my $50 Charizard. So you could have either made $10 or gotten something worth what you gave me. If people didn’t realize Pokémon was dumb, then there was no way for you to lose anything.

Kevin: Now, instead of a loan of $50, imagine that it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars; then instead of a Pokémon card, it’s your house. The U.S.’s prosperity was built on the idea that real estate/Pokémon would never go down. Multiply this wishful thinking by thousands of people in America and you can see the scale of our problem.

Since you couldn’t pay me back, I can’t pay my bills and I can’t loan out any more money. Our country is dependent on the ability to borrow money.

Olivia: That doesn’t make any sense. If I borrow money from you, I’m going to spend it.

Kevin: Well, the idea is that you’ll spend it in a way that will make you more money in the future—like college or starting a business.

Olivia: Oh, okay. I have a question for you: did you use the Pokémon example because you think I’m a nerd?

Kevin: I just wanted to make it easy for you to understand.

Olivia: Fine. But stop telling people I play World of Warcraft. I’m totally over that.

Kevin: Don’t worry, Olivia. I used to be into way nerdier things. Have you heard of Magic: The Gathering?

Olivia: What the hell is that?

Labels: current affairs

In 1939, the Germans built the first of many concentration camps. The purpose of the camps? To hold the non-aryans. Majority of the people who were imprisoned in these camps were Jews. Why? They were blamed for the ills of their society. The country was in bad shape financially. The leaders were looking for people to put the blame on. They found their scapegoats.

A short while later, Americans built internment camps for the Japanese after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Even Japanese American citizens were not spared because their loyalty came under fire.

Now: 2008. Singapore is deciding to build centralised quarters for foreign workers. That sounds noble and all. But a further look at some of the details reveals a bit more. The compound will be fenced up (To keep people out or keep the workers in?) There will be rules enforced to protect the neighbourhood. Oddly enough, no one's talking about the rights of these workers who are in effect being jailed.

Sidenote: Lots of Singaporeans want to migrate/have migrated. They do realise that when they leave, they become "foreign workers" in the eyes of the citizens of whatever country that go to right? And what makes them think that they will be welcomed? Already Asians/Chinese aren't well liked in some parts of the world. Retribution is swift. Maybe one day, they'll find themselves in fenced up compounds as well.

Labels: current affairs

PUB hikes price of Electricity by 21% and at the same time (or almost the same time) oil prices fall by 20%. That's some nice tidy profit for PUB right there. I wonder if they are doing this because they are going to be selling some of the power plants to some China company soon (this is a very poor summary of real events, but it's something along those lines). Always good to make a company look better on the books before you sell it. Or maybe this is just to be able to show a profit on the books when they close the financial year. Whatever it is, once again the people get screwed over.

Labels: current affairs, stupid policies

So in the news today, a malaysian blogger got arrested under the ISA (Internal Security Act). He's being charged with posting articles which might incite hatred. And somehow, one of their mid level party members was able to make remarks comparing the Chinese in Malaysia as Jews in America and calling them immigrants and get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Given that what the blogger said probably reached a smaller portion of the population than what the party member said as it was covered by the press, I'm thinking that the Malaysian authorities need to seriously check their priorities..

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/375432/1/.html

http://cowboycaleb.liquidblade.com/index.php/archives/2008/09/12/dr-mahathir-chinese-dont-mind-being-2nd-class-citizens/

Labels: current affairs

Interesting article relating McDonald's with war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/06/russia.mcdonalds

Labels: current affairs, interesting article

Last week my friend told me that a university professor of mine passed away. He was knocked down by a truck while he was walking home from NUS to his home in Buona Vista. He leaves behind his wife and son. He was 41 years old.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_272763.html?vgnmr=1

Today, Vincent told me that a former colleague of ours also passed away. She was on training in America where she met with a car accident. The driver lost control of the car. She was 24 years old. She was not wearing a seatbelt.

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/30/news/local/news04.txt

And even later in the day, an article on an underage, illegal driver. 16 years old.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_274349.html

So many senseless deaths. Be careful people.

Labels: current affairs, tragedy

Here's an interesting read about how our neighbour across the straits is screwing its people over.
http://cowboycaleb.liquidblade.com/index.php/archives/2008/08/24/cowboy-caleb-chats-with-some-kuching-geologists/

And to be fair, here's how our side is lying to us (or rather just white washing stuff)

http://www.mrbrown.com/blog/2008/08/inflation-headl.html#comments

Labels: current affairs

http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2008/08/devil-chua-lee-hoong-harry-lee.html

Interesting article. It's not that long. Read it. Especially if you've read Lord of the Flies before.

Labels: current affairs

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7557107.stm

Labels: current affairs, Politics

From Channelnews Asia:
The political problems faced by many countries in Asia can be traced back to two words: Money politics.

And the reason such troubles have not taken root here? There is no “money politics” in Singapore, and “we have a Division One team in charge”, said Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew last night.

In many Asian countries, money politics is simply the “code word” for buying votes to gain power, and after that is done, “to recover your expenses plus some profit for the next round of vote-buying”, said Mr Lee at the Tanjong Pagar 43rd National Day Celebration Dinner.

“One of the big problems they now face, in other countries, is the people in power want to reserve the money, keep it for themselves. So, they exclude young able people who want to join their team ...

“The result is, there is no talent inside the existing parties.”

Contrast that to Singapore.

“In other countries, elections do not put up a Division One team. They are a Division Three, either a B team or a C team in charge. In Singapore, we carefully select our candidates ...

“Over the years, with each election, we see the quality of the MPs, their education levels, their competence, their abilities, their energy.

“Their youthfulness is renewed and we have a leadership that’s able to meet the rising standards of the population,” said Mr Lee.

But today’s younger generation does not understand all this, the Minister Mentor said.

“They say, oh, let’s have multiparty politics. Let’s have different parties change and be in charge of the Government. Is it that simple? You vote in a Division Three government, not a Division One government, and the whole economy will just subside within three, four years. Finished.”

Such proponents should study Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines, where rotating party governments have led to more mismanagement. “And a ‘freewheeling paress’ has not cleaed up corruption, although according to American ‘liberal’ democracy theories, it is designed to do so,” Mr Lee said.

Even in the face of a global recession, Singapore has enough long-term investments to buffer the setbacks, noted Mr Lee.

“Why are we on top of our problem? Because there’s a Government that’s planning ahead, seeing ahead, calculating ahead, making the right decision. Yes, there will be recession around the world. But we will have enough investments already going on,” he said.

As a mentor and advisor to the younger policy-makers, he cited how he backed Singapore’s hosting of the Formula One in September, even though he himself was not a fan. “We cannot stay still. The world has changed – there’s a jetset that travels all over the world because they are interested in the Formula One races. Why? I don’t know.

“I find very little excitement in it. They wheel around and around, and it’s over. And there’s an accident – so what? But I’m told there is tremendous exitement in the way you get the cars, the way you change wheels, the way you drive, and so on,” he said, drawing chuckles from the audience. - TODAY/ra

Yup, we don't buy votes in Singapore. It's just convenient that we give away money to those who are of voting age before an election. Nope, no money politics here. Doesn't his hand ever get tired of patting himself and his team on the back? Division 1? Ok fine.. Division 1 with no heart. No understanding of the situation the ground. The only thing that I agree with in this whole article are the last 2 paragraphs. Everything else is just more of waving fear to the younger generation (which surprisingly doesn't scare as easy as the older generation). I think he's worried. Cause the new generation is quite different. They respond differently. We don't like threats. We don't heel just because some guy who's out of touch with the world tells us to. Just like they've lost touch with the people, they've lost touch with the younger generation. They think that having dance and rap videos is what it'll take to connect. Laughable.. division 1 indeed...

Labels: current affairs, Politics

Came across 2 articles on the Olympics today. First one was about how some of the fireworks shown on tv during the opening ceremony was fake. Most of it was real, but the one where the helicopter was flying over (or something like that) was a computer generated image. The reason being that they didn't want to accidently hit the helicopter. Which makes sense.. well more sense than the next one..



Coming out of the news was the fact that the small girl who sang the chinese song during the opening ceremony pulled an Ashlee Simpson. She was lip syncing to a pre-recorded track. This was revealed by the art director of the event who posted up this piece of information on the internet before it was removed. I bet he and his family have been mysteriously removed as well.. The reason for the lip syncing is because the girl who can sing doesn't look as good on camera and wouldn't potray China well enough to the rest of the world, so they got another girl who looks good but can't really sing..

Updated: See pics above.

Still don't really get all the hype about the Olympics. My colleagues seem to rave about it every day, about how it makes them proud to be chinese.. duh.. Guess National Education has failed again.. Such hypocrites are people.. one side blame FT (PRCs) for stealing jobs and all, then on the other hand, proud to be chinese...

Labels: current affairs