My nose runs, my eyes hurt and they water, my throat is so sore that I have been drinking like a water buffalo, and the air f***ing stinks.

Thrice damned Borneo (and I don’t care if it’s Sarawak [Malaysia] or Kalimantan [Indonesia])!! Thrice damned logging companies!!

Damn them all to the hottest of hells.

And can we call this blasted SMOKE as what it is instead of trying to appease the shitheads by calling it a haze?! It’s not a f***ing haze!!

The next shithead that burns the forest should be NAPALMED to let him have a feel of how it is like to be burnt. And yes, burn him, his family, his clan, his village, his town, his province, his country.

Napalm, or just nuke ALL of them!!

ARRRRGHHHH!!!

The Ugly Shitty-Porean Award

– that when Kwong was first charged, his lawyer, Mr Shashi Nathan, told the court that he was suffering from reactive psychosis and depression, and had begun receiving treatment several weeks before the incident. If convicted of attempted murder, Kwong, an Asean scholar, faces life imprisonment and caning. (Just that? No execution by MRT?)

– that the former civil servant serpent accused of sending hoax emails to gover-min feedback websites, warning of a suicide bomber plot, was undergoing a rough patch at work and had planned to resign, the court heard. Neo Khoon Sing, 36, a senior manager for three years with the National Environment Agency (NEA), was suspended after he was charged in court for allegedly sending three emails on Oct 18 and 19 last year. The court heard that Neo – who had been with the NEA since 1994 and was earning $5,100 per month – was unhappy at work. (Not happy then quit lah! What a sick f**k!!)

The World This Week

– that Hugo Chavez called Warmonger Bush ‘the devil’, ‘a liar’ and a ‘tyrant’< .i> in a scathing attack before the UN General Assembly. “Yesterday the devil came here and this place still smells of sulphur,” Chavez said, referring to Bush’s speech at the assembly. “He came here talking as if he were the owner of the world.” Chavez launched a virulent attack on what he called US ‘hegemony’ and renewed calls for drastic reform of the United Nations to reduce the US influence. His speech was warmly applauded. It was the second anti-Bush tirade at the assembly in two days, following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speech. (Pot. Kettle. Black.)

– that in a speech to thousands of cheering supporters, the leader of Hezbollah vowed the terrorists never will give up their arms, as called for in the U.N. resolution that ended its 34-day war with Israel last month. “No army in the world will force us to drop our weapons, force us to surrender our arms, as long as people believe in this resistance,” said Hassan Nasrallah, who claimed Hezbollah victorious in the fighting. (Enjoy it while you still can. Once Israel can develop the defenses to destroy your flaming arrows far from their cities even after you launch them, you will have nothing to boast about anymore, Nasrallah.)

– that Egypt has lost patience with Hamas and is now demanding the terrorist organization release IDF Cpl Gilad Shalit, but a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt is not convinced it can deliver. According to a report by the Associated Press, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman penned a harsh letter to Damascus-based Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal, demanding that he immediately order Shalit’s release. The IDF officer was kidnapped June 25th by Hamas terrorists in a raid on an army outpost near the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza. (And Egypt can’t do more without risking Hamas leaning more towards Iran.)

– that the Saudi gover-min has denied a French newspaper report saying France’s secret services believe Osama Bin Laden is dead. The newspaper quoted the Saudi secret services as saying the al-Qaeda leader had died of typhoid in Pakistan. But, in a statement, the Saudi gover-min said it had ‘no evidence’ that Bin Laden was dead. The French president has ordered an inquiry into the leaked French secret service memo containing the claim. (“Rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.” – Osalah Bin Lantern.)

– that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he is surprised American politicians ‘are so sensitive and biased with regards to Israel’, and he again expresses doubt that the Holocaust is a historically established fact. Though Israel bombed Lebanon, “it doesn’t seem to have created concern among American politicians. But when somebody questions or criticizes the Zionist regime, there is so much reaction,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview. (Look, f*ckwit. Come back when you hae 6 million of your kind gassed to death, and someone talk about it with disbelief, and then further make genocidal threats against your kind. See if your fellow co-religionists won’t start making noise all over about the Crusades while they shut up about threats of Jihad against the rest of the world!)

– that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that Tehran’s nuclear program is peaceful and said he is ‘at a loss’ about what more he can do to provide guarantees. Ahmadinejad said his country has not hidden anything and was working within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “The bottom line is we do not need a bomb,” he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. (Maybe. But who knows if you won’t give it to your crazy ‘friends’ after you made some?)

– that Shinzo Schizo Abe has put rewriting the US-imposed pacifist constitution at the top of his agenda, a move that could lead to a more active military role overseas but alarm neighboring countries. Abe, who took office as Japan’s first prime minister born after World War II, has been vague on much of his platform but has passionately vowed to revise the constitution, saying he wanted to ‘write it with my own hand’. (The existing constitution must have made him feel like a eunuch.)

– that Shinzo Schizo Abe pledged to work to repair sour ties with neighbouring countries and described China as his nation’s ‘most important’ partner. “A peacefully developing China is the most important country for Japan,” Abe told his first news conference as premier. (Action speaks louder than words. Stop Yasukuni visits.)

– that Taiwan’s ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has begun debating the drafting of a new constitution likely to irk China which regards the island as its territory. Chen Shui-bian said Taiwan should overhaul its constitution, which was enacted by the former KMT gover-min in China in 1947 and has gone through seven amendments since 1991. Chen said the current constitution was a ‘mess’ resulting from ‘exchanges of interests by different political groups’ when it was being amended. (I agree. It is also the same stupid constitution that keeps you in power. Someone should do a Sonthi and rewrite the whole thing… after they removed Chen and his gang of cronies, that is.)

– that Chen’s son-in-law Chao Chien-ming was indicted in June on suspicion of insider trading, while Chen’s wife Wu Shu-chen is also under investigation for allegedly accepting department store vouchers in exchange for lobbying favors. Chen has publicly apologized for Chao’s actions but said he would not resign. (Nice report forget to mention that Chen is also investigated for falsifying invoices for certain expenditure for his office.)

– that China warned Chen Shui-bian against introducing a new constitution for the island, saying the move would be an act towards independence that could not be tolerated. Chen said that redefining the island’s territory in relation to China would be on the agenda as part of his constitutional reform push, which Beijing views as code for Taiwan’s independence. (China should just create some kind of 10 Commandments for Chen so they can smite him when he crosses the line.)

– that Thailand’s coup lea-duh General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said that ousted Thaksin Tham-sim Shinawatra could return to the country, but warned that the billionaire politician – who stands accused of a variety of corruption charges – could face criminal charges. “Thaksin is a Thai citizen. We are all Thai, so there won’t be any problem. We are like siblings,” Sonthi told reporters. (What he is trying to say is, “Don’t come back. Don’t force me to put you in jail.”)

– that Thaksin Tham-sim Shinawatra announced that he had no intention of returning to his former position. “I am taking a well-earned break,” said Thaksin Tham-sim in a message published in London where he is currently residing. (With 3.5 billion worth of wealth, he can call anywhere home.)

– that Thailand’s coup lea-duhs banned political parties from holding meetings or from conducting any other activities, according to a statement read on national television. “In order to maintain law and order, meetings of political parties and conducting of other political activities are banned,” the statement said. “Political gatherings of more than five people have already been banned, but political activities can resume when normalcy is restored,” it said. (Oh.. MORE THAN FIVE. They are surely a lot more enlightened that Singapore. Because in Singapore, if there are four people in a cab, and you are friends of the taxi driver, it will be illegal. Makes me feel like Singaporeans have been living under a perpetual coup for the past 41 years.)

Singapore This Week

– that IMF & World Bank delegates were greeted by very high security fences and road diversions that some said were excessive and which made it inconvenient to participate in favourite Singaporean pastime of shopping in well air-conditioned malls. Singapore was certainly a victim of its own ambitions to impress. (拿自己热脸贴人冷屁股的下场： 暖了别人的屁股臭了自己的脸。 [Translation: The end result of sticking one’s own warm cheeks to another cold butt cheek is your own face stinks even though it has warmed other person’s backside.])

– that the objective of transfer rebate is to help defray the cost of travel for commuters who need to make transfers in order to complete a single trip when they previously had a direct service to reach their destination. Transfer rebate is not granted for changing from one bus service to another of the same number, regardless of direction, since the bus taken will bring the commuter to his destination and no transfer is required. As such, a ride taken on the same bus service number is a new ride and not a transfer. (No matter how much rebates there is, it still cost more that previously.)

– that Baby Lee said to young: ‘Help make Singapore better’. To achieve this end, he said: “I think we want people to speak; at the same time, we would like people to speak with a sense of commitment and responsibility, to feel passionately, fight for what you believe in, argue things out, be taken seriously and if you are right, stand your ground, if finally you are not right, well, okay, let’s acknowledge it.” (He needed help? After all these years of telling us that this country is where it is and it’s all their credit to justify their kind of pay they now say they needed help? Dream on. Or start taking some serious pay cuts to admit you aren’t that cracked up to be. Above which, the one person I knew who fought for what he believed in and stood his ground was treated worse that a common criminal at Hong Lim Park.)

– that Singapore’s openness to foreigners has polytechnic student Alvin Lim worried about his future job prospects. He raised his concerns to Baby Lee at a youth dialogue. (Worry about your begging prospects too, my little Alvin. A friend was telling me about one fat disabled ang moh playing music at Takashimaya, and across the road to Paragon, there’s another disabled ang moh playing music. There’s yet another fat disabled ang moh banging a music instrucment at the junction outside Wheelock place opposite Isetan. Not to mention, the fake monks and tourists asking you for money.)

– that Baby Lee urged Mr Lim and other Singaporeans to look at the overall impact of the policy. While it was understandable that some Singaporeans want to send away the foreigner competing with them for jobs, he said: “You can’t do that. I think we should bring in people who can make a contribution and as for our people, you’ll compete with them but at the same time because they are here, our economy will grow and there will be more business, more opportunities for us.” (Isn’t this self contradictory? I recalled something ago that it was said that most of the jobs created went back to Singaporeans, in which case, there shouldn’t be ‘competition’ at all. Above which, if these were jobs that Singaporeans are incapable of doing so ‘talents’ are then brought in, there shouldn’t be any competition either. If an opposition member asked such a question, the clown would be castigated for talking about a non-existing problem and sued for defamation.)

– that Baby Lee also explained how the presence of a foreign Q1 pass holder, such as a draughtsman in an architecture firm, could benefit Singapore consumers. Local draughtsmen might not be happy but chances are, it would lead to better quality and service. “If I’m buying an HDB flat, I want to make sure that it’s built as cheaply, as efficiently, as best as possible. So if they have foreign workers, foreign draughtsman, foreign architects, I would be happy because I think it’s good for Singaporeans,” he said. (Aren’t HDB flat prices are sort of pegged at a certain rate to prevailing market prices and thus no matter how cheap they cost, there will be no direct effect to a HDB flat buyer?)

– that Baby Lee also pointed out that bringing in foreign workers creates job opportunities. He cited as examples the two caSINos being built. They would need 35,000 workers but there are not enough Singaporeans to fill all these posts. The solution is for the companies to hire as many Singaporeans but, at the same time, allow them to hire a certain proportion of foreign workers. Only then can there be caSINos here to provide jobs for Singaporeans. (… Alright I give up trying to rationalise and reason with myself against such illogics. I think I have a better understanding reading some of Warmonger Bush’s ‘Bushism’.)

– that at a dialogue for good governance in Singapore on Sept 15, Lao Lee said while answering a question that it was important for Singapore to have a gover-min that was ‘really firm, stout-hearted, subtle and resolute’. He noted that the attitude of Malaysia and Indonesia towards the Republic was shaped by the way they treated their own ethnic Chinese minorities. Lao Lee said: “My neighbours both have problems with their Chinese. They are successful, they’re hardworking and therefore they are systematically marginalised, even in education. And they want Singapore, to put it simply, to be like their Chinese, compliant.” (Eh, so when someone has a problem with a capable woman boss, does it mean he must be a wife beater and thus he brings that attitude to work as well?)

– that these comments on how Malaysia treats its Chinese citizens are continuing to draw reactions. Abdullah Badawi asked for clarification, saying Mr Lee’s comments could amount to ‘instigation’. (If it was a Chinese in Malaysia saying the same, it’s called: ‘Sedition’.)

– that Muhyiddin Yassin, and the Backbenchers Club of gover-min MPs of Malaysia also asked Lao Lee to apologise. And when asked for his reaction, Syed Hamid Albar described Lao Lee’s words as a ‘very dangerous’ comment. (Khairy must have felt vindicated, and Mama-thir would have been pleased. That’s probably not something which shouldn’t be downloaded to a thumb drive and passed on to our present generation of mini$ter$. And hopefully the only one thing inside his head that isn’t also available in the new mini$ter$ too.)

– that Singapore Polytechnic student Karen Ong, 19, paid an agency $450 to do so but after waiting for over a month, no offers have come her way. It all started in June when a talent scout from Create Talents – now known as Create Talents Pte Ltd – approached her at the Orchard MRT station. She was later persuaded to sign up as a model and pay $450 for her portfolio. (Simply put treat any ‘opportunities’ offered to you, which required you to pay up some money upfront so that you a chance to make lots of money or be famous after that, as a potential scam and just walk away from it.)

– that there were 6,909 divorces in 2005. Up 521 from 2004. (Married because of accident, divorced because of understanding. [因意外而结合，因了解而分开。])

– that in a letter to Voices on TODAY, Rachel Chan wrote: “In 70% of the cases, women filed for divorce but to infer they are to blame is superficial reasoning and a reflection of male chauvinism. The information suggests only that more women are dissatisfied with their marriages. If divorce were a result of men being unable to enjoy home-cooked meals, then this should have been reflected in husbands filing for divorce as a majority.” (Actually, no man will divorce his wife over such things as trivial as home-cooked meals found to be not tasty. To even suggest that is a sign of female chauvinism in its own. Singaporean women these days doth demand too much of their men and has no respect for them. Watch ‘Singapore Dreaming’ for some eye-opening. Not every men could get down and live with being called a ‘loser’ when his life is hitting a rough patch and he couldn’t bring home enough. It’s not like he wanted it that way anyway. Also, refer to your bloody marriage vows for reminder. Meant what you say when you say it, or don’t even get married in the first place.)

– that in a letter to Voices on TODAY, Tan Li Li wrote: “Not all husbands bring home enough to provide the family with a comfortable life or to cover expenses and a housing loan. If the wife stayed at home, the couple might argue frequently, straining relations. Perhaps, men who can’t afford to have their wife stay at home should be more understanding and help out with the chores and children.” (Blame the vaunted modern society build upon the vanity and materialistic desires of men which the TalePAP has touted to Singaporeans. Buy a house you can afford so you can cover your loans. And well, what the fu*k is comfortable life? Is it one where her husband drives an SUV, sons to go to top schools, and where she can carry Louis Vitton to show off, and there is no nagging mother-in-law? God would probably be sorry to tell you there’s no build-to-order marriages, ever. Otherwise, they need to revamp the freaking marriage vow.)

– that Tan Kin Lian will leave the NTUC insurance cooperative on April 1 next year. Tan, 58, has been with Income for 29 years. No successor has been named. He played a big role in growing the cooperative, which has assets exceeding $17 billion and 1.8 million clients. (There are probably those who will be glad to see him leave.)

– that the gantry over the PIE slip road into the CTE levies the highest charge of $3.50 for passenger cars and taxis and $7 for big buses from 8.35am to 8.55am. During this period, motorists said, it can cost as much as $7 for a car or taxi and $14 for big buses to travel from the north end of the CTE to the city. Big buses, for example, pay $3 at the gantry before the Braddell exit, $6 after the Braddell exit and a $5 Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) toll for entering the business district. For cars and taxis, the rates are $1.50, $3 and $2.50 respectively. (Ever noticed they don’t say that the ERP is revenue neutral anymore? And just accept this shit and move on… 66.6%, remember?)

– that the study of traffic on the CTE in July by the LTA revealed two main choke points during the morning peak hours, where vehicles typically crawl along at 40kmh – below the optimum speed of 45kmh to 65kmh. The first is the stretch between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Braddell Road, where motorists heading to the city between 7.30am and 9.30am move at between 40kmh and 53kmh. The second is the stretch from Braddell Road to the PIE, where traffic is clocked at between 44kmh and 55kmh. (It’s set to get worst. More COEs, you know?)

– that evening traffic speeds have also fallen, the LTA said. (Hint: Evening ERP at the CTE rates going up soon!)

– that distance-based charging looks likely when Singapore implements the next generation of ERP. It is a more accurate system, as vehicles which currently enter the Restricted Zone and drive around (like taxis and commercial vehicles) contribute more to congestion than the office worker who drives in and parks his car for 10 hours or so. (So, during the 10 hours when the office worker has parked his car, there is even worse road congestion in the CBD? What a joke!!!)

– that if environmental concerns come to the fore, the in-vehicle unit can be hooked up to the car’s computer to start charging the moment the engine is started. So people who sit in their cars reading the papers with the engine running and the air-conditioner on could forgo more than wasted fuel. (And if you try and kill yourself by carbon monoxide poisoning using your own car, you will still be charged ERP. Brilliant.)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that a drunken Chinese tourist says he bit a panda who attacked him after he jumped into a zoo enclosure to ‘hug’ the bear. Zhang Xinyan, 35, had drunk four draught beers before deciding to enter the Beijing Zoo pen belonging to six-year-old male panda Gu Gu. The startled Gu Gu bit both legs of his intruder, who responded by biting ‘the panda on its back’, Mr Zhang was quoted by state media as saying. “I bit the panda on its back but its fur was too thick,” Mr Zhang recalled. He went on: “No one ever said they would bite people. I just wanted to touch it.” (Use your brains lah. It’s still a BEAR. And even cows bite when they are startled.)

– that the world’s first ban on overly thin models at a top-level fashion show in Madrid has caused outrage among modeling agencies and raised the prospect of restrictions at other venues. Madrid’s fashion week has turned away underweight models after protests that girls and young women were trying to copy their rail-thin looks and developing eating disorders. (Well done. It’s high time the world stop selling the idea that being a stick insect is being beautiful.)

– that Bloomberg reports that Wal-Mart has got itself caught up in a legal spat over that 7,000-pound bronze ‘Charging Bull’ sculpture which still graces New York City, and which has become a symbol for the investment banking industry. Apparently Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor, has claimed that Wal-Mart has breached his copyright, as it is selling ‘photographic and/or lithographic’ copies of the object in its stores. He has sued. (Where can I buy one?)

– that CBS MarketsWatch reports that the former head of Citigroup’s energy-derivatives trading desk in New York faces up to 5 years in clink, after admitting to falsifying company records in order to obtain a bigger bonus payout. 40-year-old David Becker was charged with inflating his trading profits by as much as $20m in 2003, by inputting phony trades into the bank’s system. He is said to have also understated the market risk position on the commodities desk between 2003 and 2004, and entered false data into a computer model which was used to estimate the value of trading positions. The former trader has admitted to a single count of conspiracy to falsify bank records and to commit wire fraud. (I think even 50 years is too short for this bastard.)

– that a German art student tried to join a Chinese dynasty’s army – but he volunteered centuries too late. The 26-year-old man – identified only as ‘Pablo’ or by his Chinese name ‘Ma Lin’ – made a dusty brown suit of armor, a tunic and a helmet, and attempted to blend in with the ancient warriors of the terra cotta army in the western city of Xi’an. The outfit matched the uniforms worn by the thousands of terra cotta soldiers buried in the tomb of the Emperor Qin Shihuangdi, who ruled between 221-210 B.C., the papers said. The soldiers – one of China’s greatest archaeological discoveries – are displayed in a Xi’an museum. (They could just bury him alive and let him be discovered in a few thousand years. Then he will be one in name, and in fact.)

– that Islam so far has proven congenitally incapable of doing what Christianity has done – allowing the evolution of a society in which the political and religious establishments are independent of one another. It is this evolution that facilitated and expedited the ascent of the West, by enabling the development of a political system based on democracy, freedom of thought and speech, and religious and cultural pluralism. These then spurred the major technological, scientific, economic and social advancements that empowered the West and have enabled it to dominate the globe politically and economically for the past 200 years. (It’s really got nothing to do with Islam itself but the Imam, Mullahs, Ayatollahs etc. After all, why have an enlightened populace whereby you cannot fool and control?)

– that Lenovo’s investigation into an incident involving one of its ThinkPad T43 laptops and a flaming battery has confirmed that Sony’s batteries were used by the system, a company representative said. Sony’s batteries were to blame for several incidents involving Dell and Apple laptops that led to battery recalls, but this particular incident at Los Angeles International Airport is the first time Lenovo has observed an incident involving one of its laptops and the faulty Sony batteries, the representative said. In August, Dell and Apple were forced to recall millions of laptop batteries that could short circuit and cause a fire because of faulty battery cells. (Lenovo must be screaming in Cantonese: ‘D** Leh No Mo Sony!!’ [Literally translates as: ‘F*** your mother, Sony!!’])

– that Apple Computer is apparently cracking down on the use of the term ‘podcast’, which refers to audio or video files distributed online, and plays off of the company’s popular iPod player. According to Wired’s Listening Post blog, the company has fired off a letter to start-up Podcast Ready, stating that the terms ‘Podcast Ready’ and ‘myPodder’ infringe on its trademarks. (Obviously Apple never learn. Why is it that when Apple claims to have some of the most innovative products in the world, only the iPod has a substantial market while the Mac languishes? It’s exactly this ‘I own it all and you don’t even think about making a cent out of it or even using it for free’ attitude that sinks Apple all these years.)

– that family members of three people slain by a 14-year-old on newsman Sam Donaldson’s New Mexico ranch sued the makers of the video game ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’, claiming the crimes would not have occurred had the teenager never played the violent game. The $600 million lawsuit names several companies and Cody Posey, who it alleges played the game ‘obsessively’ for several months before he shot his father, stepmother and stepsister in July 2004. Posey, now 16, was sentenced earlier this year to state custody until he is 21. The games and others in the ‘Grand Theft Auto’ series depict police killings and other acts of violence. The lawsuit calls various editions of the game ‘virtual reality murder simulators’. (Had Cody Posey’s family been able to pay that kind of money would they have sued the family for bad upbringing too?)

1. The password must be at least 8 characters long;
2. The password must contain at least one uppercase character (A-Z), one lower case character (a-z), one number (0-9), and one special character (@%&* etc);
3. Passwords must never be words that are found in the dictionary (in any language), nor dictionary words with a numeric suffix or prefix;
4. Passwords should not be names of real or fictitious places, people, products or sports teams (e.g. CHeLSEa5);
5. Passwords must not contain more than 2 repetitive characters (e.g. BBBbbb111) nor may they contain keyboard sequences (e.g. QWErty123);
6. Passwords must also not reference your username, the application or system name, the company or its products;
7. Passwords must be changed at laest every 90 days, and should not be reused. The last 10 passwords are stored to prevent reuse.
8. Passwords must be kept private, not shared, stored on computer systems or post-it notes, and not coded into programs.

Hilarious. So now one cannot even use passwords like 123&56Az, @BCDef19, ASDfgh1@ etc. Sounds like a great policy, no?

It is a GREAT policy to screw your own users that is. I have known a user who tried 15 times before he got it right, and another who tried 30 minutes to no avail. Users end up with a password that they can’t easily remember so they have no choice but to remember by violating item 8 of the policy. One of these days they are going to forget locking their drawers and let someone get their hands on their little note book.

Number combinations out. Dictionary words out. Keyboard combinations out. Hackers now have a smaller list to work with to attempt brute force hacking. Did the people who thought about this shit ever thought about the fact that the hackers could just wack in the same rules and hack away? * sigh *

A thing’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. Such policies are a double-edged sword that cuts both ways, and of course the people who implemented it must be so proud of it and they must be patting one another one the back. Just wait until the CEO himself spent 10 minutes trying to change his password. But again, I doubt he’ll need to log into his computer, ever.

The World This Week

– that Austria’s highest court rejected an appeal by right-wing British historian David Irving and upheld his conviction for denying the Holocaust, the Austria Press Agency reported. The Supreme Court denied the appeal during a closed session last week, APA said, citing a preliminary communication from the court. A court spokesman did not return repeated calls for confirmation. In February, a Vienna state court convicted Irving of denying the Holocaust and sentenced him to three years in prison. (Maybe they should sentence him to 30mins in a refurbished, working gas chamber in Auschwitz instead. If he survives 30mins in a gas chamber full of Zeklon-B gas, he can then go free.)

– that Pope Benedict XVI quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam. “The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war,”the pope said. “He said, I quote, ‘Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'” (It’s a bad passage to quote, even when you don’t agree with it.)

– that Pope Benedict XVI rebuked his fellow Germans and other Western societies, saying they often shut their ears to the Christian message and insisting that the modern world’s science and technology alone cannot combat AIDS and other social ills. Addressing 250,000 pilgrims at an open air Mass, Benedict said modern people suffer from ‘hardness of hearing’ when it comes to God and complained that ‘mockery of the sacred’ is viewed as an exercise in freedom. (They will and can mock no more when the Son of God returns for His thousand year reign. Then every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Jesus is God! Bow now, or bow later.)

– that Pope Benedict rejected the use of God’s name to justify hatred and fanaticism. (It is only the sons of Satan who will utter words of hatred and murderous intent in the name of the Almighty.)

– that the head of the Israeli army’s Northern Command resigned becoming the first – and probably not the only – senior officer to quit in light of the army`s failures during the war with Hezbollah. A military statement said that Maj. Gen. Udi Adam ‘asked to resign his position in the near future. The chief of staff has accepted (the)… request’. (Under a false sense of invincibility, some Israelis have grown complacent. Time for them to pay for this delusion.)

– that terrorist group Hezbollah committed war crimes in its conflict with Israel by targeting civilians with rockets packed with metal ball bearings, rights group Amnesty International said. It said around a quarter of the nearly 4,000 rockets that Hezbollah launched into Israel during the 34-day war were fired directly into urban areas. (Hezbollah would prefer you just talk about Qana, and nothing else.)

– that Hezbollah parliamentarian Hassan Fadlallah said that by criticizing Hezbollah’s actions alongside those of Israel, Amnesty ‘has tried to equate the executioner with the victim’. Fadlallah said Hezbollah was exercising ‘its legitimate right of self-defense’. At the start of the war it had targeted only Israeli military sites, he said, but later fired at Israeli towns in response to Israeli strikes. (Might as well just say you were always aiming for Israeli military sites but you missed.)

– that there’s no evidence Saddam Hussein had a relationship with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his al-Qaeda associates, according to a Senate report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. Democrats said the report undercuts Warmonger Bush’s justification for going to war. The declassified document being released by the Senate Intelligence Committee also explores the role that inaccurate information supplied by the anti-Saddam exile group the Iraqi National Congress had in the march to war. (Use backside to think also know Saddam’s got nothing to do with al-Qaeda. Osalah hates Saddam man!!)

– that the top Taliban military commander said that NATO’s claims to have killed more than 200 insurgents were propaganda and warned that his men would target journalists who reported ‘wrong information’ given by the U.S.-led coalition or NATO. “They are saying that they have killed 200 Taliban but they did not kill even 10 Taliban,” said Mullah Dadullah, Taliban military commander for south and southeastern Afghanistan. “They are just destroying civilian homes and agricultural land. They are using the media to do propaganda against the Taliban.” (Body count does not matter as long as the war is won. And Dadullah can use better excuses for his lust for murder.)

– that Japan’s Princess Kiko will give birth on Wednesday, with many hoping for a baby boy who would become a long-awaited male heir – and end for now a battle over whether a woman can sit on the throne. Newspapers prepared extra editions and bridal and baby-related companies prepared to do brisk business once the 39-year-old princess gives birth by Caesarean section. If Kiko gives birth to a boy, it will be the first male heir of the world’s oldest monarchy to be born since her own husband Akishino in 1965. (Stop keeping the fools in suspense already!)

– that Princess Kiko gave birth to the royal family’s first boy in more than 40 years, ending for now a succession crisis and silencing calls to let a woman sit on the throne. The princess, just one week shy of her 40th birthday, gave birth to the third in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, the palace said. “This morning Princess Kiko had an imperial prince,” an Imperial Household Agency spokesman told AFP. (Masako can now breathe a sigh of relief.)

– that Japan’s new imperial baby – the first male born in 41 years – has been named Hisahito during a traditional ceremony in hospital in the capital, Tokyo. The baby was born to the emperor’s second son Prince Akishino and his wife Princess Kiko, on 6 September. Prince Hisahito is third in line to the Chrysanthemum throne, behind Crown Prince Naruhito and his own father. (For a moment I thought someone was talking about the now defunct chain of Hisatomo restaurants in Singapore.)

– that Taiwan is ‘doomed’ if Chen Shui-bian is allowed to ride out corruption charges and serve a full term, his chief opponent said in an interview ahead of a mass protest to oust the lea-duh. “What concerns Chen Shui-bian are his personal, rather than national, interests,” railed Shih Ming-teh, the former chairman of Chen’s ruling DPP. “Taiwan will be doomed if we let him and his corrupted and ruthless interest group to run the country until his term ends in May 2008,” Shih told AFP in an interview. (It’s high time the DPP lose it all for the money-grabbers they are.)

– that Chen Shui-bian protestors in Taiwan are now planning a general strike and a siege of the palace in their bid to oust the Taiwanese lea-duh. But the move has raised concerns about a possible disruption to the economy. The anti-Chen mega protest in Taipei is turning a deeper shade of red. Well into its first week, the rally is showing no signs of abating as thousands continue their push to oust Chen Shui-bian on grounds of alleged corruption. (He won’t go. The best way to make him go would be to elect a legislature supportive of a recall.)

– that Malaysia has banned an edition of Easy Finder, a Hong Kong magazine which ran semi-nude pictures of a pop star as she changed backstage at a concert. The secretly photographed pictures of Gillian Chung – one half of the chart-topping duo Twins – have caused a furore in Hong Kong, where celebrity and political heavyweights joined protests calling for curbs on the media. (Easy Finder, where are the Charlene Choi photos? Don’t sweat it because there are certain some perverts out there still burning a candle for you.)

– that Ma-mathir’s humiliating defeat in a grassroots party ballot shows he is finished as a force in Malaysian politics after waging a bitter anti-gover-min campaign, analysts said. But observers warned that although Ma-mathir suffered a major blow in the vote which bars him from addressing the ruling party’s annual assembly, his days as a critic are far from over. (The Cantonese have a fitting comment for such people: 死剩把口 [All is dead except for the mouth].)

– that Mama-thir has dramatically escalated the feud with his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi by accusing the prime minister and his party of bribery to silence him. Ma-mathir failed in his bid to address the dUMNO General Assembly although Mr Abdullah says he will still be invited to attend. He has accused Mr Abdullah of bribing members of the ruling party to vote against him in an election to block his bid to address the dUMNO General Assembly. Mama-thir said: “I accept I have lost because they used bribery in order to win the elections.” (Why is there a need to bribe at all, Mama? You are no longer in a position to distribute power within the party. No one would care to elect you to go in there to make noise when they have no benefits from it. Being head of this party for donkey years you should know by now how your party works!)

Singapore This Week

– that investment company Temasek Holdings has reported a strong set of earnings for its financial year ended March 2006. Its net profit jumped 71% to S$12.8 billion, compared with the previous year. The better showing was driven by the strong performance of companies it invested in, and good solid returns on divestments. Revenues increased 18% to S$80 billion and the total value of its investment portfolio also grew 24% to S$129 billion. (And you will still only get 4.5% for your special account in CPF and need to pay a $3.05 levy on Medisave use.)

– that according to the gover-min, the rate of jobs going to foreigners has been increasing from 30% (21,500 of 71,400 jobs) in 2004, to 44% (49,800 of 113,300 jobs) in 2005 to 46% (37,400 of 81,500 jobs) in 2006. (And there are no unemployed Singaporeans who are qualified for these jobs?)

– that a plan by animal rights ‘activists’ to hold a ‘naked’ protest was met with stark firmness by the Singapore police, just days before the IMF – World Bank meetings are due to start. Sending a strong message to any would-be unauthorised protesters, the authorities detained and deported three activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). PETA had earlier sent out a media release stating they planned to hold a ‘naked’ protest outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) outlet along Victoria Street, with their members covered with a banner. (Are these ‘activists’ vegetarians?)

– that according to PETA, the 850 million chickens killed annually for KFC are ‘tortured’ by, among other things, having their throats slit while they are still conscious and being scalded to death in defeathering tanks. (Want a steamy plate of sea-hum – cockles?)

– that nusiness has nosedived between 40 and 70% for many tenants at Suntec City Mall since the tight security and road closure were enforced around the area. Selo Ozcelik, the operator of Deli Turk, says his restaurant has seen better days even during SARS and the World Cup season. (1/3 of the month bad business and no appreciation whatsoever. We even get criticised as ‘authoritarian’ simply for not barring entry to 27 trouble makers.)

– that the road closures in and around Suntec Singapore are making some motorists see red. Besides the inconvenience of taking an alternative route, those already in the Restricted Zone have to pay for an additional Electronic Road Pricing or ERP charge to drive into Suntec. Before the road closures – motorists could stay within the Restricted Zone and easily drive to the Suntec area. With Nicoll Highway, Raffles Boulevard and Temasek Boulevard closed due to the IMF-World Bank meetings, motorists have to use alternative routes – like the ECP and Rochor Road, Republic Avenue and Republic Boulevard from Crawford Street, as well as from Beach Road via the Ophir flyover into Republic Boulevard. But this means they have to drive out of the Restricted Zone – incurring an additional ERP charges. LTA says this is a temporary inconvenience till the roads re-open after 20th September, when the meetings end. (Why not the LTA just inconvenience itself by turning off the piece of junk called the ERP?)

– that at Changi Airport, delegates expected to fly in two days ago are only just beginning to do so, and limousine drivers are the worst hit by the unexpectedly slow traffic. Singapore 2006 organisers have asked Comfort Delgro to standby 300 taxis at the two terminals, and over the last two days, such messages have sent hundreds of limousine cabbies to the airport only to wait some 4 to 10 hours – for just one or two passengers. (Drive around town and wait for call better earnings right?)

– that Singapore’s tough public security guidelines have come under the spotlight ahead of next week’s annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF. The Singapore gover-min has banned more than 20 foreign activists from entering the country, even though they had invitations from the Bank and the IMF. The police also set tough restrictions for demonstrations by civic groups and on activities by delegates at the meeting and several preliminary events. Those on the banned list include representatives from the World Development Movement in Britain, Thailand’s Focus on the Global South, the Freedom from Debt Coalition in the Philippines and the Forum on Indonesian Development. (Criticise WHAT?! It is not as if they are going to take the protests into consideration. That’s not mentioning, if they value the suggestions / complaints / comments / protests of these groups, they would have made them a member. Hypocrites.)

– that the restrictions have drawn criticism not only from activist groups, but also from the World Bank president, Paul Wolfowitz. He has urged Singaporean authorities to ease the regulations and to allow a ‘strong dialogue’ to take place during the meetings. (What dialogue? Put them as a member of the World Bank then!)

– that the World Bank and IMF annual meetings are held in Washington for two years in a row, then are held overseas one year. The meetings usually draw thousands of activists and protesters, particularly in Washington. Most protesters are concerned about the policies of the two multilateral financial institutions that they say do not help impoverished nations. Over the past decade, the two institutions, along with other multilateral organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, have begun to work with rights groups and aid agencies, and even welcome peaceful protests. (Oh really? It makes one wonder just how much they have ‘worked with’ them that they still have so much to protest about.)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that in September 2006, Germaine Greer’s column in The Guardian newspaper about the death of Australian Steve Irwin attracted criticism for what was reported as a ‘distasteful tirade’. In an interview with the Nine Network’s A Current Affair, Greer said she ‘really found the whole Steve Irwin phenomenon embarrassing and I’m not the only person who did, or indeed the only Australian who did’ and that she hoped that ‘exploitative nature documentaries’ would now end. (What a bee-ach. Why didn’t you pick on him when he’s still alive?!)

– that in her column in The Guardian newspaper, Greer said the wildlife warrior displayed the ‘sort of self-delusion it takes to be a real Aussie larrikin’. “There was no habitat, no matter how fragile or finely balanced, that Irwin hesitated to barge into,” she wrote. “Every creature he brandished at the camera was in distress.” (Oh? She can talk to animals? Buzz off, bee-ach.)

– that asked whether she felt out of touch with most Australians given the wave of mourning that has swept her homeland since his death, Greer replied: “I don’t care what I’m being called, I hope I’m out of touch with what idiots are thinking.” (This is the kind of highly educated people my dad would have commented ‘dok see pin’ [Literally: study diapers [读屎片] in Cantonese. Meaning: study for shit / naught.])

– that angry Australian lea-duhs have told Germaine Greer to ‘put a sock in it’ after the feminist said the animal world had finally taken revenge on Steve Irwin. In an article in British newspaper The Guardian following Mr Irwin’s sudden death, Ms Greer said she had ‘not much sympathy’ for Mr Irwin if he was grappling with the stingray that killed him on the Great Barrier Reef. Mr Irwin was fatally stabbed in the heart by a stingray’s barb while snorkelling off Port Douglas in far north Queensland. (Remind me to celebrate when this stupid bee-ach gets her final recall from the maker.)

– that American magazine Steppin’ Out – which describes itself as the number one entertainment magazine in New York and New Jersey – was much more barbed in its criticism of Mr Irwin, labelling him ‘deceased asshole of the week’. “So while Australians mourn the loss of their beloved wildlife warrior, today the animal kingdom breaths a sign of relief and toasts to more peaceful times ahead,” gossip writer Chaunce Hayden wrote. (Chaunce Hayden has just managed to get itself onto my top 10 ‘International Assholes’ list.)

– that fans trying to avenge the death of popular television wildlife star Steve Irwin may have killed as many as 10 stingrays and cut off their deadly tails, a conservationist said. Irwin, 44, daredevil star of the popular ‘Crocodile Hunter’ programme on the Discovery Channel, was killed last week when stabbed in the chest by a stingray tail barb while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. (Stop harming wildlife if you honor Irwin’s memory.)

– that the software that claimed to provide increased privacy whilst surfing the web has been criticised by computer experts and the blogging community. The application Browzar has been branded ‘adware’ by many because it directs web searches to online adverts. Some technical experts also say Browzar, which claims to leave no trail of webpages visited, does not work. (Don’t be lazy and learn how to wipe out your own surfing trail yourself.)

– that it turns out that Microsoft has made a blunder with Windows Vista. ‘Vista’ in Latvian means ‘fowl’. Yes, that’s right. People are awaiting the release of Windows ‘Chicken’. The word ‘vista’ is also used as a slang term meaning ‘frumpy’ when referring to a dumpy woman, according to a story from Agence France-Presse. (It’s a good thing they didn’t name it Windows ‘Danai’. Danai is ‘Big Breasts’ in Chinese.)

– that according to a recent YouGov survey for Investors in People, a third of all respondents said that they would like to fire their boss. Almost 1-in-4 said that they could do a better job themselves. Topping the list, 65.7% of Dresdner Kleinwort staff interviewed thought that they could do a better job than their boss. (Ouch!)

– that Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, urged Asians to adopt a culture of philanthropy, saying charity is also a way of investing for the future. “In Asia, our traditional values encourage and even demand that wealth and means pass through lineage as an imperative duty,” the Hong Kong business tycoon said in Mandarin at the Forbes Global CEO Conference here. “I urge and hope to persuade you, especially all of us in Asia, that if we are in a position to do so, that we transcend this traditional belief. Even if our gover-min structure is as yet not geared towards supporting a culture of giving, we must in our hearts see building society as a duty in line with supporting our children.” (Sure. Maybe ask your son Richard to help out some of those poor investors who got everything wiped out with their PCCW and Tom.Con shares.)

– that a Swiss driver blamed Canada’s lack of goats as possible roadside obstacles for his speeding through the countryside after police nabbed him, an official said. The driver was caught travelling 161km/h on Canada’s busiest highway between Montreal and Toronto. (Right. Next time, he’ll say it’s the lack of shitting bulls.)

– that a friend suggested that we should not be angry with people – like Xiasuay – who used toilets for the disabled. (For all you known, their disabilities may not be visible. Some of these people may have disabled private parts.)

– that Elton John appears to have ended his public feud with George Michael, saying, “George and I are fine.” Two years ago, John said the former Wham! star was miserable and needed to get out more. Michael responded with a furious open letter saying John was no friend of his. (Since both of them are of the same sexual orientation, they should be able to settle matters where the sun doesn’t shine.)

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.