The World This Week

– that Warmonger Bush has signed a new National Space Policy which claims the U.S. has a right to deny access to space to anyone ‘hostile to U.S. interests’. The document, the first major overhaul of U.S. space policy in 10 years, has a new emphasis on security and defense, as opposed to research, while encouraging private enterprise in space. (Played too much ‘Alpha Centauri’ is it? Like the first guy who build the first space platform can prevent the next guy from doing the same.)

– that Mexico asked Warmonger Bush to reject a plan to build a border fence to keep illegal immigrants out, but acknowledged that its plea was likely to fall on deaf ears. Congress gave final approval to a bill to put up about 700 miles of fence, a project Republicans hope will impress voters calling for tougher immigration control ahead of November 7 congressional elections. Bush is expected to sign the fence construction legislation into law. (Just build a fence of your own and put a minefield in between the two.)

– that no sooner did Congress authorize construction of a 700-mile fence on the U.S.-Mexico border than lawmakers rushed to approve separate legislation that ensures it will never be built, at least not as advertised, according to Republican lawmakers and immigration experts. The House and Senate gave the Bush administration regime leeway to distribute the money to a combination of projects – not just the physical barrier along the southern border. The funds may also be spent on roads, technology and ‘tactical infrastructure’ to support the Department of Homeland Security’s preferred option of a ‘virtual fence’. (They decided that building a fence would means Mexico doesn’t have to do anything but leave everything to the fence. And in the future, they can’t blame Mexico anymore!)

– that the leftist presidential front-runner in Ecuador said that the devil should be insulted by comparisons to Warmonger Bush, whom he called a ‘dimwitted’ lea-duh who has done ‘great damage’ to the world. Rafael Correa referred to a U.N. speech by his friend, Hugo Chavez, who caused an uproar in the U.S. by calling Bush ‘the devil’. (Obviously Rafael Correa isn’t very bright-witted either when he need to talk about something so blatantly obvious to anyone with a good brain.)

– that increasing numbers of Australian teenagers as young as 16 are becoming social smokers of the stimulant drug ice, as they look for alternatives to the party pill ecstasy. The latest monitoring of ecstasy users by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre has found that young people are smoking ice with their friends as drug syndicates deliberately seek a younger market. The Australian National Council on Drugs said it was concerned the syndicates were shifting their business base away from heroin to the equally addictive ice. (Execute both traffickers and abusers for a long term solution to drug abuse & trafficking.)

– that Australia hauled in North Korea’s ambassador to protest Pyongyang’s nuclear test but stopped short of expelling him, saying there was a ‘marginal advantage’ in maintaining diplomatic ties. Alexander Downer said he had told ambassador Chon Jae Hong the test had further isolated the communist regime from the rest of the world, threatened regional security and ‘humiliated’ China. (It’s not like Kim Jong Il gives a damn how China feels about the matter.)

– that Downer said, “I said it was one thing to be offensive to the United States and Britain and Australia and their allies, but it’s another thing to treat the Chinese, who have been such stalwart supporters of North Korea for such a long time, in this way. North Korea has treated China extremely shabbily.” (10 years is not too long for a gentleman to have his revenge. [君子报仇十年未晚。] And China is that gentleman.)

– that Australia’s worsening drought is driving farmers to suicide and gover-min funds should be used to help them leave increasingly unviable land, scientists and politicans said. The side effects of the worst drought in living memory include mental illness, depression and suicide in rural communities, said opposition Labor Party health spokeswoman Julia Gillard. But the suggestion of exit payments to farmers was criticised as ‘un-Australian’ by a member of parliament for the rural-based Nationals party, which is part of Howard’s coalition gover-min. (Some of these politicians ought to read more details about Australia’s water shortage and farming problems in Jerrard Diamond’s book: ‘Collapse’.)

– that Lebanon has deployed its army on its southern border with Israel for the first time in almost 40 years, vowing to reassert control in the area by stopping attacks and arms smuggling. At a ceremony to mark the occasion, army commander Brigadier General Michel Sleiman called on his troops to confront any violations of an August 14 UN-brokered ceasefire that ended Israel’s 34-day war against Hezbollah. (But will they? Or will they take off their uniforms to join Hezbollah? Or give uniforms to Hezbollah terrorists so they can operate freely on the borders?)

– that Syria and Israel can live side-by-side, in peace and harmony, accepting each other’s existence, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said. He also added that an impartial arbiter was needed to mediate between the two countries, but said that the U.S. lacked both the will and the vision to fulfill that role. (And as usual, say only right?)

– that the Hamas regime has said it will shutter all gover-min offices in protest at attacks by Fatah supporters. Eight people died and some 60 were hurt when gunmen from the rival groups clashed in Gaza on Sunday. The clashes have been triggered by cash-starved Hamas’ inability to pay the wages of gover-min workers. (The Israelis should just get ready their pop-corn and watch a good show while they make sure none of the sides got too powerful for the other to cope with.)

– that the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed wing of Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction, threatened for the first time to kill Hamas lea-duhs, including exiled political chief Khaled Meshaal. The threat marked an escalation in the power struggle between Fatah and the ruling Hamas movement after two days of internal fighting in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank in which 12 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 wounded. In a statement sent to Reuters, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said it held Meshaal, ‘Palestinian’ Interior Minister Saeed Seyam and senior Interior Ministry official Youssef al-Zahar responsible for the deaths. (It is clear that the mess they are in, is not all to do with Israel.)

– that ‘Palestinian’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said his Hamas-led gover-min will not recognize Israel and has problems with a widely touted Arab peace plan because it does. International assistance to the Palestinians has dried up because the terrorist movement will not recognize Israel and renounce violence. But Haniyeh repeated the terrorist group’s hardline principle despite the crippling Western sanctions that have bankrupted his gover-min, led to strikes and demonstrations by public service workers and clashes between Hamas forces and police identified with the rival Fatah. (Sooner will tigers and lions become vegetarians than Hamas will recognise Israel.)

– that deemed a ‘moderate’ by Israel and the U.S., Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) told the Arab media his Fatah Party needn’t recognize Israel. (Like I have said before a long time ago, you can’t trust any shithead going with a ‘Abu blah blah’ moniker.)

– that cheered on by supporters, Haniyeh vowed that Hamas would never recognize Israel. He said, however, that the group was prepared to accept a long-term cease-fire with Israel if it withdrew to 1967 boundaries. (How to accept a ceasefire with something you never recognise?)

– that a Virginia National Guard unit came under scrutiny after a video seemed to show troops abandoning a civilian truck convoy during an attack by Iraqi insurgents, resulting in the killings of three unarmed drivers. The video, obtained by ABC News, shows a military personnel carrier racing away after insurgents open fire and disable four Halliburton trucks near Balad, Iraq. “I do not know who the driver was of that Humvee, but he abandoned us,” civilian driver Preston Wheeler of Mena, Ark., who taped the footage, told ABC News. Wheeler said almost 40 minutes passed before U.S. troops returned. (“Not my problem,” says the guardsmen.)

– that Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said there was no ‘reason or logic’ to suspending Iran’s nuclear work and talks were the only way to resolve a standoff with the West, according to state TV. (Does Iran actually know logic?)

– that Iran called the threat of international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program a ‘rusty’weapon and repeated that it would not abandon uranium enrichment. The six countries at the center of efforts to persuade Iran to drop uranium enrichment – a key step toward making nuclear weapons – said they have agreed to pursue possible sanctions. (Sanctions do not work. Act, or let it be.)

– that Al-Qaida deputy lea-duh Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video posted on the Internet that Pope Benedict was a ‘charlatan’ because of his recent remarks on Islam. “This charlatan accused Islam of being incompatible with rationality while forgetting that his own Christianity is unacceptable to a sensible mind,” the terrorist said. He also condemned President Bush, calling him a charlatan as well. (There’s nothing wrong with Islam as a religion. There’s only something wrong with Al-Qaida’s brand of ‘Political Islam’, which is what that is incompatible with rationality and reality, and completely unacceptable to the sensible mind.)

– that Pervez Musharraf, bristling at allegations his country harbors Taliban rebels, criticized Afghanistan’s lea-duh, saying he was failing to draw people away from the Islamic militants. Musharraf and Hamid Karzai have been at odds over Afghan accusations that Taliban lea-duhs are running the insurgency from the city of Quetta in southwest Pakistan. (And Musharraf probably doesn’t dare to go to Quetta without some solid security measures. Even then I have my doubts.)

– that Chen Liangyu, chief of the Communist Party in Shanghai, was dismissed and removed from the Politburo, after accusations of corruption and illicit investments of pension funds in real estate and other projects. Chen is also being investigated for having allegedly provided assistance to illegal businesses, shielding corrupt colleagues and abusing his position to benefit family members, Xinhua said. (Chen Liangyu might look like big deal but his bigger backers might still remain scot free.)

– that Shinzo Schizo Abe said he hoped to go on a fence-mending tour of China and South Korea but refused to give ground on emotionally charged disputes over wartime history. (Then there’s really nothing to talk about, Schizo. Go home.)

– that Shinzo Schizo Abe will visit China and South Korea hoping to rebuild regional ties. His visit to Beijing will be the first bilateral summit between Chinese and Japanese lea-duhs for five years. (What’s there to rebuild with Yasukuni around?)

– that North Korea triggered global alarm by saying it will conduct a nuclear test, a key step in the manufacture of atomic bombs that it views as a deterrent against any U.S. attack. But the North also said it was committed to nuclear disarmament, suggesting a willingness to negotiate. The contradictory statement fits a North Korean pattern of ratcheting up tension on the Korean Peninsula, a Cold War-era flashpoint, in an attempt to win concessions such as economic aid. The strategy has had mixed results in recent years as the totalitarian regime sinks deeper into isolation and poverty, with China serving as its lifeline for food and fuel. (* BOOM * There goes 40 years of North Korea’s GDP in the Yanggang province, along with the chances of surviving through the winter for some North Koreans.)

– that after years of supporting their gover-min’s policy of soft engagement towards North Korea, many South Koreans have described Pyongyang’s nuclear test a wake-up call. The so-called ‘Sunshine Policy’ is now under review by Seoul. News of North Korea’s first ever test of a nuclear bomb has not changed the daily lives of South Koreans but for many, it has changed the way they perceive their northern neighbour. (There are times when you have to realise you have a brother so lost you ought to just leave him to die.)

– that former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, the architect of his country’s policy of engagement with North Korea, accused the U.S. of failures that led to Pyongyang’s nuclear test. He defended his own ‘sunshine’ policy of reconciliation, noting there had been no panic in the South after the Stalinist regime announced its first ever atomic weapons test. (There’s another word for your policy. It’s called appeasement. Is it a wonder why one of my South Korean friends says that Kim Jong Il has already won?)

– that Wu Shu-chen, wife of Chen Shui-bian, has been cleared of wrongdoing by prosecutors investigating a corruption scandal. Wu was accused of accepting vouchers from a department store in return for her influence. Prosecutors said there was no evidence that she had intervened during the Sogo store’s takeover in 2004. Chen has been under pressure over a series of scandals involving his family and close aides. The allegations started in May when his son-in-law, Chao Chien-ming, was detained and later charged with insider trading. Prosecutors have also questioned Mr Chen over allegations of misuse of public funds. (陳水扁，下台！吳淑珍，錢還來！趙建銘，關起來！)

– that an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale rocked southern Taiwan, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The Seismology Centre said data showed the quake could be felt by residents in much of southern Taiwan. The tremor struck with its epicentre 156 kilometres southwest of Kengting, a popular coastal resort in southern Taiwan. It originated 47 kilometres under the sea. A second quake with a magnitude of 5.7 hit later according to the US National Earthquake Information Center, but Taiwan’s seismologists said the tremor, 214 kilometres south of Kaohsiung, was not felt. (A warning to southern Taiwan for its ‘unwavering’ support for Chen Shui-bian.)

– that Thaksin Tham-sim Shinawatra has resigned as lea-duh of the party he founded and built up, Thai Rak Thai. He said he had to quit due to ‘changing circumstances’, according to party spokesman Pongthep Thepkanjana. Thaksin Tham-sim. Thai Rak Thai – once a seemingly unstoppable force in Thai politics – has been hit by a mass exodus of members since the coup. (树倒猢狲散。[Literal translation: The monkeys scatter when the tree collapses.])

– that Indonesia will not meet a request by three terrorists sentenced to death over the 2002 Bali bombings to be executed by decapitation rather than firing squad. Lawyers of Amrozi, Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas and Imam Samudra said last week that if the executions were to proceed, the trio wished to be beheaded. (Maybe they should behead them and then use the heads as soccer balls while they still last)

– that Indonesia’s Forestry Mini$ter claims Jakarta is serious about putting a stop to the annual forest fires and smoke pollution. The National Police has been ordered to investigate and prosecute the large plantations responsible, but the minister claims nature has hampered efforts to douse the fires. (Are you blaming God? Either way, you are only serious about putting a stop to it while your statement remains audible.)

– that Indonesia apologised to Singapore and Malaysia for the choking smoke pollution over both countries and agreed to convene a meeting of regional environment ministers to tackle the problem. Anger had been growing in Malaysia and Singapore over the choking smoke pollution from fires raging in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia, which every year drift over parts of Southeast Asia – damaging health and and disrupting transport and tourism. “On behalf of the Indonesian gover-min, I have to apologise to the neighbouring countries for this incident even though clearly this is not an intentional (act) by Indonesia,” said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (Can all of us make our medical claims at the Indonesian Embassy?)

– that Yudhoyono vowed to punish the culprits. (Like how? Hang them?)

– that Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda insisted the meeting should be held in his country, possibly in Pekanbaru city on Sumatra island’s Riau province, near Singapore instead of in Singapore. “We want the meeting to be held nearer to the where the problem is being handled,” he told reporters in Jakarta. (Actually, to hell with the meeting. Just put out the blasted fires, end the blasted smoke, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.)

– that Abdullah Badawi has brushed off rumours of a snap election. He says there is no need for him to seek another mandate from the people who have voted him into power with the biggest majority ever in history. (“I as stable as Mount Tai [稳如泰山] in China. No need for elections.”)

– that Abdullah had drawn a line under a row with Lao Lee, saying that he had nothing more to say on the subject, and that the incident had not hurt bilateral relations. (Quarrelling with Lao Lee is Mama-thir’s favourite pass time, not Abdullah’s.)

– that Mama-thir and Badawi will meet to try to resolve a damaging public row, the two sides said. The months of political brawling have sent shockwaves through Malaysia’s ruling party, and warnings it could lose power if the dispute between its two most senior figures is not halted. (Abdullah should just bring a kris.)

– that Malaysia has called on Indonesia to be more proactive in resolving the annual haze problem. Health Minister Chua Soi Lek warned that apart from the economic fallout, the issue has caused resentment among Malaysians towards Indonesia. Chua urged Jakarta to be more considerate and to act promptly to tackle the problem as the Malaysian public, fed up with having to put up with the choking haze year in and year out, want the authorities to end the blame game and start walking the talk. (Not like the blasted Indonesian gover-min is going to give a damn anyway.)

– that the following Malaysian companies are identified to be partly responsible for the smoke pollution engulfing the region recently: Banggaya Plan SDN BHD Malaysia, KL Kepong Plantation, Klau River Enterprise SDN BHD, Leumevist Resources SDN BHD, Minamas/Gutherie, Sarpindo Graha Sawit Tani. (Remember these shitheads and if they are listed on the stock market, make sure you give them a hand when their shares are tanking.)

Singapore This Week

– that Temasek’s $1.9 billion investment in Shin Corp has sunk by almost $690 million, and Thai officials are investigating whether the deal was illegal. Temasek said executives were not available for interviews but issued a statement in response to a list of questions saying it had not violated any laws, was cooperating with investigators and stood by its investment. (Micropolis is only a walk in the park.)

– that when asked during a question and answer session about Temasek Holdings’ deal with ShinCorp, Baby Lee said it was a commercial decision which also reflected Singapore’s confidence in Thailand’s economy. He added that Temasek complied with the rules and requirements of Thailand when inking the deal. (Isn’t that up to the Thai courts to decide?)

– that Temasek Holdings has confirmed that it’s planning to cut its stake in Thailand’s Shin Corp. In a letter to the Thai media, it says it will do so at an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner to maintain an orderly market. (A better way of saying: Cut loss and run.)

– that Baby Lee has written to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to express his disappointment over the recurring haze problem. Baby said that Indonesia needs to deal with the problem in a timely and effective manner so that investor confidence in Indonesia and ASEAN’s credibility would not be affected. (Oh yes… we are full of ‘condifence’ in Indonesia. As to confidence… none.)

that Babysaid that while it might be too late this year to prevent the land-clearing fires, which caused the haze, it is critical to take action now to prevent future ones. A Foreign Ministry statement said Baby Lee also informed President Yudhoyono that Environment Ministers from the ASEAN countries affected by the haze would meet in Singapor. This is to muster ASEAN’s resources to help Indonesia cope with the present haze problem. (If Indonesia is having problems governing its vast terroritories, maybe it should give them away to more capable nations.)

– that from January next year, all Singaporeans will get to enjoy free wireless Internet in public areas for two years. Baby Lee shared this and other initiatives at a dinner marking 25 years of infocomm achievements. Baby also painted a vision where IT businesses can grow and jobs created as Singaporeans get wired island-wide. (Singapore got free things? Let me check if the sun rises from the west tomorrow. And what’s gonna happen AFTER 2 years?)

– that Baby Lee has said that responsible journalism will help improve the lives of people. Citing Japan, Baby Lee said that it has been very successful at improving people’s lives without an aggressive media. (Was the Japanese media equally muzzled and biased?)

– that from 2008, streaming in primary schools will be scrapped and replaced by subject-based banding. What this means is that weaker students can take a combination of foundation and standard courses, depending on what they are good at. (After so many years of defending the evil streaming system they finally realized that it is better to just ‘stream’ a kid according to the subject he is weak in instead of just ‘streaming’ him entirely. And they need to pay Thumby a million bucks to figure that out. * sigh *)

– that Lao Lee says he is sorry that his recent comments about Chinese Malaysians had caused Abdullah Badawi a great deal of discomfort. Lao Lee had said during an international forum in Singapore more than two weeks ago that ethnic Chinese minorities in Malaysia and Indonesia are being marginalised. In his letter to Abdullah, Lao Lee said he had no intention to meddle in Malaysian politics. Nor does he have the power to influence Malaysia’s politics or to incite the feelings of Chinese in the country. The remarks about Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese minority were made at what Lao Lee called a ‘free flowing dialogue session’ with former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. (Abdullah must have wished he’s got a CCTV.)

– that the future Bras Basah MRT Station has a glass roof that holds a pool of water, allowing sunlight into the station and keeping the heat out. (The Circle Line will also cost more because of all these un-necessary features.)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that in 1997-98, the haze cost the Southeast Asian region an estimated 9.0 billion dollars by disrupting air travel and other business activities. (Charge it to Indonesia.)

– that a few days after Mischa Spiegelmock and Andrew Wbeelsoi announced at this year’s Toorcon conference in San Diego that they had found a JavaScript-handling flaw whioch could be exploited to attack Firefox users, they said they were just kidding. The joke was so funny that the entire Firefox user base and Mozilla Foundation forgot to laugh. (But many of us won’t forget to knock them on the head the next time we see them.)

– that The Times reports that, according to a new report said to be published, 90% of traders could face the axe by 2015, as ‘all-electronic algorithmic trading’ comes more to the fore and traders find that they are surplus to requirements. The use of technology in trading highlighted in an IBM report is, of course, nothing new. It was three years ago that floor traders at the International Petroleum Exchange staged a revolt and refused to use new trading technology, as it looked certain to eventually replace them. And UBS Investment Bank was one of the first firms to use technology to trade in the $1.2 trillion-a-day currency market. The firm was said to be posting revenues of $1.4m each business day in 2003 from these activities, and needing only 30 traders – 50% less than the number required in 1999. (The days for them to be obnoxious will soon be the past. Resistance is futile, you will be * obsolete *.)

– that Brian Hunter, the Canadian-based trader who made those losing $6bn bets on the gas market which brought down hedge fund Amaranth, has had to hire two bodyguards after ‘several attempted attacks – not from investors, but from (former) colleagues’! In the meantime, the hedge fund is winding down. As many as 250 of the firm’s 420 employees will be canned this week. (Maybe they ought to just bribe his bodyguards to do it for them.)

– that Hunter himself might find it a little difficult to obtain a new job. Having said that, as he is believed to have earned around $100m last year, he probably won’t mind. (100 million? I wish his former colleagues success.)

– that online gambling firms faced their biggest-ever crisis after U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming there, threatening jobs and wiping 3.5 billion pounds off company values. Britain’s PartyGaming Plc, operator of leading Internet poker site PartyPoker.com, and rivals Sportingbet and 888 Plc said they would likely pull out of the U.S., their biggest source of revenue. (Isn’t it legal in Australia?)

– that Micro$oft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer may be valued in the billions of dollars, but they didn’t quite crack the $1 million mark in annual salary and bonuses for the last fiscal year. Each saw slight salary hikes, from $600,000 in fiscal year 2005 to $616,667 in 2006, but they also pulled in reduced bonuses -$350,000 in 2006, as opposed to $400,000 in 2005. “As the lea-duhs of the company, they are focused on building long-term success, and as significant shareholders in the company, their personal wealth is tied directly to sustained increases in the company’s value,” Microsoft said in its annual proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (They should come and run the Tali-PAP.)

– that Christopher Lee [李铭顺] has been arrested for drink driving after the police was alerted to a case of traffic accident at Serangoon Road. The motorcyclist sustained injuries on his face and hands and the pillion rider had injuries on his face and left leg, who was then conveyed to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He is currently released on bail and police investigations are on-going. (Irene Gan maybe able to recommend her lawyer.)

– that craving for his favourite Hainanese ‘scissors’ curry rice was probably why Christopher Lee was found at Little India in the wee hours one morning. The 35-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drink driving and is currently out on two weeks’ bail. He is also suspected of being involved in a collision with a motorcycle in Kitchener Road. (Dunno how to make Maggie Mee at home?!)

– that Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie are reunited. And the producer of ‘The Simple Life’ says it feels so good. After a yearlong public feud that nearly killed the reality show that made them famous, Hilton and Richie have agreed to film a fifth chapter of ‘The Simple Life’ together, executive producer Jon Murray told The Associated Press. (Was it a real feud or just another publicity stunt?)

– that smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease. New research shows that the active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC) in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function. Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that THC can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs. (And the next thing you get is people asking for pot to be legalised.)