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?)