Was at SunTec City earlier, after a long roundabout route from Marina Square through Millenium Walk. I have never seen SunTec City more ‘desolate’ than this. It reminds me of Marina Square, some time after the currency crisis back in 1997.

Four million smiles to welcome the IMF / World Bank delegates? Unless they are all buying a large amount of high value items, I guess they can’t smile no more with this kind of traffic.

Walking around the basement area I can see the restaurants empty and several joints have their managers standing outside giving their best smile and asking for the rare few people – like my friend and I – to patronise them. This is really sad.

The authorities may boast they have done a damned good job keeping the delegates safe and letting the meetings run smoothly, but no one will thank or compensate these tenants for the cost they have to bear. And that’s not forgetting the poor motorists who have to ‘bear with it’ for these 10 days and pay extra ERP because they have no choice but to exit the CBD and re-enter it again because of the kiasu road blocks.

All these sacrifices Singaporeans made for our nation and guess who takes the credit and go so far to expect you to be grateful?!

* Pictures are all taken with my Sony W550i. If they are blur, it’s not the camera’s fault. It’s the camera man’s – i.e. my – fault.

The World This Week

– that Donald Rumsfool warned North Korea may pose a threat as a weapons seller to terrorists and that America would consider taking the nuclear warheads off intercontinental ballistic missiles [ICBMs] so they could be used against terrorists. (And people are going to sit back and let you launch them, without worrying that they might be a nuclear tipped one? In reality, I’ll just fire off my entire nuclear arsenal at you the moment you have one coming in my direction – nuclear tipped or not!!)

– that 9 people became the first terror suspects to be held in British jails without being charged for longer than 14 days after a court granted police more time to quiz them as the investigation into a foiled alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound passenger jets continued. Police were granted extended warrants to detain eight terror suspects until August 30, a police spokeswoman said. Two others were released without charge. (They need an Internal Security Act to just detain them indefinitely. But of course, B-liar will first need a square moustache.)

– that Zimbabwe’s opposition and civil society groups have expressed anger at a proposed law to monitor communications. The bill proposes a monitoring centre, apparently with Chinese technology, that would eavesdrop on telephone, internet and other communications. The gover-min says the bill is similar to anti-terror laws elsewhere to protect people from organised crime. (Even when it’s the United States gover-min, anyone would take that excuse with a bucket of salt. And when it’s Mugabe’s gover-min, it’s just simply unbelievable.)

– that Iran welcomed a planned ceasefire to halt the month-long war between Lebanon’s Hizbollah and Israel but described the U.N. Security Council’s call for disarming the Iranian-backed group as ‘illogical’. (It’s the same logic behind the disarming of the Nazi Schutzstaffel.)

– that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenged Warmonger Bush to a televised debate and voiced defiance as a deadline neared for Iran to halt work the West fears is a step toward building nuclear bombs. “Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen that based upon international regulations, it wants to use it and no one can stop it,” he told a news conference. The White House said Ahmadinejad’s call for a presidential debate on global concerns was a ‘diversion’ from international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. (Debate? What for? Just set up a ring and let these two thugs do it WWF style!)

– that that Hizbullah’s Nasrallah has said that he wished all Jews would gather in Israel so they could all be destroyed at once; and that there is no creature more disgusting in the world than a Jew, “and note that I said a Jew, not an Israeli”? (That is quite enough. I have enough of these fascists fashioning themselves as Muslims.)

– that in an interview with Lebanon’s NTV, Hizbullah lea-duh Hassan Nasrallah stated he did not believe that the abduction of IDF soldiers from Israel’s northern border would lead to the war. The terrorist organization lea-duh stated that on July 11th, the day before the multi-pronged Hizbullah attack on Israel’s northern border, he never believed that major warfare would result from the skirmish. (If I had knew, if I had knew. If everyone knew before hand… no one would end up begging.)

– that UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon], the neutral force that has been stationed there since 1978, is tasked with maintaining peace between Israel and Hizbullah along the 70-mile Israeli-Lebanese border. However, as columnist and ZOA Philadelphia chapter President Lori Lowenthal Marcus writes in the Weekly Standard this week, it appears that UNIFIL took a clearly one-sided stand in favor of Hizbullah during the recent war in Lebanon. UNIFIL “openly published daily real-time intelligence, of obvious usefulness to Hizbullah, on the location, equipment, and force structure of Israeli troops in Lebanon,” Marcus wrote, “even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction.” (It’s been very obvious right in the beginning the UN was hardly neutral. Not to mention completely useless.)

– that UNIFIL has been implicated before in partiality towards Hizbullah. Just 18 hours after the kidnapping of three IDF soldiers along the Israeli-Lebanese border in late 2000, UNIFIL troops videoed two cars that were used in the abduction and that were filled with blood and other kidnapping-related evidence. Though the videos may have helped save one or more of the soldiers’ lives, high-ranking U.N. officials, including Kofi Annan and Middle East envoy Terje Larsen, denied that any such videotape existed. Only on July 6, 2001 did the U.N. finally admit that it possessed the tape. (Kofi Annan should resign. A board of inquiry should also be convened to investigate him.)

– that Ehud Olmert said Israel would not accept the presence of peacekeepers in Lebanon from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the state. Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh – Muslim countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel – are among the only countries to have offered front-line troops for the expanded force. (Of course. If you wouldn’t even talk to me, then your neutrality is doubtful.)

– that France’s contribution to UNIFIL is expected to include Leclerc tanks, howitzers, short-range anti-aircraft missiles and radar. Alliot-Marie said the heavy weaponry – rare for a U.N. force – is meant to send a signal that the cease-fire will be enforced. (Let’s hope all those is not for show and they will kick some serious butt when it’s necessary.)

– that Syria has threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers are deployed there, further complicating the struggle by world powers to agree on the makeup and role of a force to police a fragile ceasefire. The warning came as EU diplomats met in Brussels to prepare for a meeting of foreign ministers, attended by Kofi Annan, to try to hammer out who will come on board. (It would be nice if they REALLY close the border. But they couldn’t put the money where their mouth is.)

– that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also warned that deploying foreign troops along the border as envisioned under the UN resolution that led to the August 14 ceasefire would be a ‘hostile’ act against his country. (No problem. He isn’t entirely friendly anyway.)

– that tens of thousands of ‘Palestinian’ civil servants have gone on strike in protest at the failure of the Hamas-led gover-min to pay wages. There has been a big response in the West Bank, with most gover-min offices shut and the first day of the school year heavily disrupted. Ismail Haniya of Hamas had urged workers to boycott the strike. (Where are your Arab brothers and Iranian friends when you needed money? Whither your vaunted Pan-Arabic and Pan-Islamic brotherhood?)

– that the Gaza Strip is in the grip of anarchy and ‘Palestinians’ must stop blaming Israel for all their problems, a senior Hamas figure has said. Ghazi Hamad, chief spokesman for the Hamas gover-min, said the hope that followed Israel’s pull-out last year had been replaced with ‘a nightmare’. Gaza is at the mercy of thugs, he said, and pleaded for an end to deadly clan rivalries. “Let Gaza breathe,” he said. He also said life in Gaza City now involved ‘unimaginable chaos, careless policemen, young men carrying guns and strutting with pride, and families receiving condolences for their dead in the middle of the street’. Such frank self-criticism is rare among ‘Palestinian’ lea-duhs. (Finally wake up already? Live long and prosper, Ghazi Hamad.)

– that Kim Jong-Il has criticised the reclusive country’s traditional close allies China and Russia as unreliable, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said. Kim’s scepticism toward China and Russia was expressed at an ambassadorial meeting in Pyongyang, which took place soon after the UN Security Council passed a resolution on July 15 condemning the North’s test-firing of missiles, Kyodo reported from New York, citing unnamed sources. (Kim needs lessons in realism.)

– that South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon warned North Korea of ‘grave consequences’ and a severe international response if it carries out a nuclear test. Ban said South Korea would take unspecified counter-measures if the communist country, widely condemned for test-firing missiles last month, sets off a nuclear device. (Like what? Move forces across the 38th Parallel and liberate Pyongyang? Or detonate a bomb of their own?)

– that Japan is lodging a ‘strong protest’ with Moscow after Russian border security guards fired on a Japanese crab boat in disputed waters, killing a fisherman. Japan’s foreign ministry is demanding Russia return the fishing boat and its crew. In confirming the death of the fisherman, the Russia embassy said three other members of the crew were safe. (What goes around, comes around, Japan. That’s retribution to some of the shits you are doing to Taiwanese boats in Diaoyutai.)

– that Chikahito Harada, the director of European affairs for the Foreign Ministry, said it is ‘unacceptable’ that the Japanese ship was captured on the water near the northern islands Tokyo claims sovereignty over. (Harada, that is quite… funny.)

– that in the latest upset, Khairy Jamaluddin caused uproar in the MCA by saying that if the ruling dUMNO became weak other parties could seize the opportunity to make demands. Khairy, who is the deputy lea-duh of dUMNO’s influential youth wing, said this could lead to instability in the multi-ethnic National Front coalition. The balance of power between the races is an extremely sensitive issue in Malaysia, where the population is dominated by Muslim Malays living alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. (I think he used a stronger word that ‘party’, and the word starts with ‘r’. Otherwise it wouldn’t have ruffled the feathers of the MCA and become a ‘balance of power between the races’ issue.)

– that Khairy Jamaluddin said he will not apologise for standing up for his race. (Of course. A racist like him cannot admit that racism is wrong. It would be equal to self denial.)

– that Mama-thir Mohamad, who is locked in a bitter dispute with the gover-min, has complained he is now a ‘pariah’ in the ruling party he dominated for two decades, reports said. “I am the former party president yet they don’t want me to talk to the members. I can’t even meet them. Universities are barred from inviting me and newspapers are prevented from reporting about me,” he told the New Straits Times. “I am becoming a pariah in the party,” he said, adding that he was insulted over the attempts to gag him. (Now that’s a demotion. You used to be an international pariah after saying that the Jews controlled the world by proxy. Now you are just pariah of dUMNO.)

Singapore This Week

– that while describing Mr Brown as ‘talented’, Baby Lee said that the column ‘hit out wildly at the gover-min and in a very mocking and dismissive sort of way’. “So MICA replied. How can you not reply?” he said. Noting that some Singaporeans felt that the gover-min’s response was ‘too harsh’, Baby Lee said that the gover-min had to rebut Mr Brown’s ‘serious accusations’ and ‘set the record straight’, as well as ‘to signal that this is not the way to conduct responsible public debate, especially in the mainstream mass media’. (Actually, they have been sore since ‘bah chor mee’. The article finally gave them the pretext they needed. After all, The Onion has been doing such stuff for ages and everyone found them funny. Just because the demons in white and their accursed lackeys, sycophants and retainers didn’t have the ability to laugh at themselves, we are denied that right to do so too.)

– that Ng Eng Hen Eng is confident that multi-racial Singapore will be able to welcome and accept foreign talent. He feels this is what will help Singapore retain its edge. (Indeed. For starters lets fire Eng Eng and Mabok as mini$ter$ and use ‘foreign talents’ instead. It is easy to say shits like this when your employment is not directly threatened.)

– that ‘Eng Eng’ then cited the aircraft maintenance industry as an example of an industry that needed foreigners to help it take off. (Sure. What about everything else? Tell it to my colleague Bernard, a network engineer with expertise in Cisco routers, who is out of job for a year and a half before he get this new contract job!)

– that Baby Lee highlighted immigration as one of three key policies to alleviate Singapore’s lack of population growth and urged Singaporeans to be ‘big-hearted’ in welcoming those born outside Singapore’s shores. (It’s really easy to said that when your employment is not directly threatened.)

– that Baby Lee has assured that the gover-min will do more to provide for the needs of the lower income group. He said besides having schemes like rental and utilities rebates, the gover-min will continue to help such families build up their assets and benefit from the country’s success. (Cut that crap and just watch the cost of living. The people would be much grateful if you would just watch all those self-serving raises that is ‘justified’.)

– that Singapore police are looking into World Bank’s suggestion of allowing outdoor peaceful protests by accredited groups during the bank’s joint meetings with the IMF in Singapore. “The bank’s preference for these meetings and all others has been to seek space for civil society to protest peacefully outside. That remains our preferred position,” World Bank representative Peter Stephens said in an e-mailed statement. (Balls. The bank’s preference can go to hell for all I cared. Singapore has no reason to give in.)

– that the police said they were unable to waive the current rules which prohibit outdoor demonstrations. They said that any alternative that could be adopted must be within the framework of the laws and must not compromise security, which is the foremost priority. The police have already set aside a private secured area in the lobby of Suntec Singapore – the venue for the World Bank-IMF meetings – for accredited civil society groups to express their views. (One country Two [Law] Systems. Chee Soon Juan, or any other opposition politician or dissident for that matter, can only dream about it – even for a indoor venue to express his views.)

-that the IMF-World Bank meetings organising committee believes it has provided an excellent solution to outdoor demonstrations – by setting aside the Suntec lobby for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to air their opinions in full view of delegates. In an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, the minister overseeing the meetings, said the ‘alternative external venues’ suggested by the World Bank are not possible in principle, as Singapore law prohibits all outdoor demonstrations. (Chee Soon Juan: “I have a dream that one day…”)

– that more than 8 in 10 Singaporean youths surveyed said they felt comfortable living and working with someone of a different nationality. But only 6 in 10 youths agreed that Singapore should encourage foreign professionals to become citizens here. This was one of the key findings revealed in a survey on youths in Singapore. Of the over 1,500 youths surveyed, more than 85% said they felt comfortable living beside a person of a different nationality. (It would be quite rare for someone to be uncomfortable living beside foreigners, even working beside them. But whether they feel comfortable knowing jobs that are should first be available to qualified Singaporeans ends up with a less qualified and less capable foreigner simply because he’s ‘cheaper’ is another matter entirely.)

– that on whether Singapore should encourage foreigners to study or work here, 70% said yes. “It’s good that they want to become Singapore citizens because they really bring the expertise to Singapore and help us as Singaporeans,” said one Singaporean “Singaporeans do feel that they (foreigners) are snatching our places but in a way, they do help us up our standards,” said another. (The propaganda machine is cranking full power. But why not ask those youths who graduated in and around the SARS period but has to languish for almost a year looking for a job, or those who became unemployed during that same period but couldn’t find a job subsequently?)

– that Ng Eng Hen Eng told about 450 undergraduates at the annual Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum: “Don’t let the small size of Singapore limit the scope of your dreams.” “We need Singaporeans to think big, take calculated risks and succeed big. We are in need of more real examples of Singaporeans who achieve dreams beyond others’ imagination. In all fields – business, science, academia, sports – we need to produce our own world-class icons,” said Eng Eng at the forum, on the theme ‘Standing Tall in a Shrinking World’. (Yep. Think big pay without the necessary ‘seppuku’ when you screwed up. Just like the Tali-PAP mini$ter$.)

– that Eng Eng cited ‘water queen’ Olivia Lum, CEO of water treatment company Hyflux, as someone who had fulfilled her dreams in Singapore. The 46-year-old entrepreneur, who is worth US$240 million, was ranked 17th on Forbes Asia’s Southeast Asia list of 40 richest businesspeople. “If she could do it, why not you?” said Eng Eng. (Has Eng Eng considered just how many people out there once think big, but just never made it?)

– that on Sept 18, as many as 700 people from a dozen countries will take to the streets, waving banners and chanting slogans to protest the policies of the IMF and World Bank Group. But instead of marching in Singapore, where the annual meeting will be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the protesters are taking their gripes to Batam. (Another first for Singapore: Out-sourcing the protests. Unless you happened to be Chee Soon Juan.)

– that step on the accelerator while the going is good is Baby Lee’s strategy for growing Singapore’s economy. In a candid conversation with publisher Steve Forbes during the Forbes Global CEO Conference, Baby says Singapore should do well in the immediate future if the economy grows between 3 and 5% yearly for the next 10 to 15 years. ($30,000 – 50,000 pay raise for them every year! 1 year: $360,000 – $600,000! 15 years: $5.4 – 9 million. Yep, should do well indeed, as long as no more ‘external factors’ throwing the spanner into the works.)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called ‘Ocean’s Deadliest’ when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said. (The world will miss you, Steve. Rest in peace.)

– that world Cup winners thieves Italy Shit-taly were held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw with Lithuania in front of 60,000 fans in Naples. The visitors stunned the home crowd by taking a first-half lead through Tomas Danilevicius, with Filippo Inzaghi levelling matters seven minutes later. (There’s a price to pay for stealing the world cup. How about 60 years of football bad luck, for starters?)

– that the pilot of a Canadian airliner who went to the washroom during a flight found himself locked out of the cockpit, forcing the crew to remove the door from its hinges to let him back in, the airline said. The incident occurred aboard a flight from Ottawa to Winnipeg. The regional jet, capable of carrying 50 people, was operated by Air Canada’s Jazz subsidiary. (Wonder how many people shitted in their pants when that happened.)

– that Apple agreed to fork over $100 million to Creative Technology, settling a patent dispute between the two companies. Creative sued Apple in May, claiming the iPod interface infringed on several patents it owned; Apple countersued that same month. Following the settlement, Creative will become part of Apple’s Made for iPod program as an authorized seller of iPod accessories. The comapny wouldn’t comment on whether it has entered discussions with other companies about licensing. (Now that would go a long way to cover some of Creative’s massive losses trying to beat Apple.)

– that expectatations are high after the big 5 US firms (Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) jointly posted a 46% increase in first-half profits to $13.5bn. Although the second-half of 2006 is unlikely to be as good as the first period, many firms (both European and US) are expected to enjoy another record year of profits. Those who work in M&A are expected to receive bonuses up 25% on 2005, with those equity guys seeing gains of at least 20%. Fixed-income traders and fund managers are likely to receive bonus up 15% on last year. On average, your bonus might be as much as 15% up on 2005. (But you can’t expect that even if you worked in a bank. Especially when you aren’t a trader! Just be happy that you are getting any at all!)

– that more than 100 Hong Kong celebrities including Andy Lau and Jackie Chan have joined forces to condemn a local magazine for publishing secretly-shot photos of cantopop star Gillian Chung. They denounced the magazine Easy Finder on a ‘live’ television programme. Gillian Chung, one half of Hong Kong’s pop-duo Twins, has filed a lawsuit against the publisher demanding damages. She faced the media spotlight with courage after a tumultuous week. (Since Easy Finder can sink no lower, it should also publish photos of Charlene Choi, if it has any.)

– that Hong Kong’s celebrity and political heavyweights joined a storm of protest after a Hong Kong pop star was secretly photographed semi-nude by a tabloid-style magazine. Jackie Chan and Tony Leung led a protest at gover-min offices calling for curbs on the media as outrage grew over the publication of the photographs of Gillian Chung. At the same time, political leader Donald Tsang and legislators vowed to review law proposals that would curb stalkers and snoopers. (Try the following punishment: Public execution by firing squad.)

– that online video-sharing website YouTube launched an innovative money-maker with its first paid video advertisement, for a music CD by celebrity bad girl Paris Hilton. “YouTube is the hottest community on the Web and that’s where I want to be,” Hilton effused in the ad, dubbed: “Hey YouTube – xoxo Paris”, which introduces her first music video, ‘Stars are Blind’. Send me a comment and let me know what you think of my music,” she coos. “Bye sexy.” (Youtube would probably have more luck with her sex video.)

– that viewers rated Hilton’s video at just two and a half stars, far behind a popular ‘Diet Coke plus Mentos human experiment’ video, which earned three and a half stars and a video of someone’s pet rabbits with nearly five stars. (There’s nothing interesting about a nymphomaniacal media whore.)

– that Viacom’s Paramount Pictures has cut loose Tom Cruise, saying his erratic behaviour and religious proselytising made their mission impossible, the Wall Street Journal reported. “As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal,” Viacom chief Sumner Redstone told the Wall Street Journal. “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount,” Redstone said. (Did the termination read: “Your contract will self destruct in 5 seconds.”? Now Cruise can go serve the Scientologist full time and maybe try and get himself out of that closet in South Park.)

– that Tom Cruise apologised to actress Brooke Shields for attacking her use of anti-depressant drugs, she has told a US television chat show. “He came over to my house and gave me a heartfelt apology,” the 41-year-old told Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. Cruise accused Shields of failing to understand psychiatry in 2005 after she disclosed taking medication to treat post-natal depression. (Perhaps, only when the wallet is hurt, some people start to regain a little of their sanity and humility.)

– that Wacko Jacko (aka Michael Jackson) believes his former lawyers and close associates have illegally conspired to drive him to bankruptcy, his general manager says. Raymone Bain spoke out amid ongoing legal battles involving the singer and unpaid staff. He said he had compiled proof that Jackson’s associates and lawyers had crudely conspired against him. “Mr Jackson is neither shocked nor surprised by these revelations,” Mr Bain said. (It makes one wonder if he actually understand what he is being told.)

– that the tally of planets in our solar system would jump instantly to a dozen under a highly controversial new definition proposed by the International Astronomical Union. Eventually, there would be hundreds of planets, as more round objects are found beyond Neptune. The proposal, which sources tell Space.com is gaining broad support, tries to plug a big gap in astronomy textbooks, which have never had a formal definition for the word “planet.” It addresses discoveries of Pluto-sized worlds that have in recent years pitched astronomers into heated debates over terminology. (What the heck. Soon there will be as many planets as there are countries and we probably couldn’t remember them all anyway.)

– that subsequently, Pluto, the celestial body long known as a planet, will now be considered a ‘dwarf planet’, the General Assembly of the 2006 International Astronomical Union ruled in a vote in Prague, Czech Republic. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will be defined as ‘classical planets’. Three other bodies had been contending for planetary status as well: Ceres, the largest-known asteroid; ‘Xena’ the nickname for 2003 UB313; and Charon, which has been considered Pluto’s moon. Ceres and ‘Xena’ will now share ‘dwarf planet’ status with Pluto. Charon, it has been concluded, will be grouped with ‘small solar-system bodies’. The IAU said in a statement that the definition for planet is now officially ‘a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit’. (So what’s next? Do they want to argue if gas giants are proto-stars and not planets?)