Lady Gaga amputate her leg for entertainment - true foreign talent

Is she out of her mind? Lady GaGa amputated leg another silly Gaga joke? No. It’s true.

Lady GaGa astounded fans and TV audiences Friday when she announced that she has had one of her legs amputated below the knee purely for fashion purposes. Crazy, huh? Who in the world would get his or her legs amputated just to be “different”? Only Lady GaGa.

She definitely achieved her objective. Her record company even paid for the operation and her new video will showcase the new “amputation” when filming begins in three weeks.

I don’t think it’s necessary. What was she thinking? How hard would you try to make a difference?

Did Lady Gaga really have her leg amputated for no reason?

If this is true, this is severely messed up!

New reports are circulating that controversial singer Lady Gaga has amputated part of her leg to create the newest fashion statement.

Some sites are reporting that the news has been confirmed by Gaga herself, although we cannot find any substance to support the rumor.

OnlyKent.com and WorldCorrespondents.com have both written on the story – and WorldCorrespondents has confirmed that the story is, in fact, true.

According to the site, Lady Gaga told MTV “This is the latest fashion I’m starting and you can see that I’m a world leader when it comes to wacky and weird shit huh. Next month after I recover from the surgery I hope to have the other leg amputated or maybe my arm, hmm…which one should I amputate next?”

DailyWorldBuzz is also confirming the news stating “The American recording pop artist, Lady Gaga, surprised her fans and the TV audience after she announced that she had one of her legs amputated below the knee solely for fashion purposes.”

This seems way too bogus to be true. Sure, Gaga is one of the weirdest, most unpredictable singers in the world right now but would she really amputate her own leg for cosmetic purposes? And would any doctor actually perform the surgery?

This is one of the most controversial stories this week so we have to ask:

Do you think Lady Gaga amputated her leg to spark a new fashion statement?
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By Frankie Genchi on May 2nd, 2010
Filed Under: Music | Tags: Lady GaGa, LOL, Rumours

The rumours that Lady Gaga has had her leg amputated from the knee down are not true – what a surprise!

According to reports Gaga dropped the bombshell on Wednesday, on MTV.

Then came the blogs, Tweets and photoshopped images of Gaga with a fake leg – and to think, some people still didn’t believe the rumours.

One site who didn’t was E!, who contacted Gaga’s label and eventually received a reply saying that the rumours were “not true”.

So there you go, despite our photo, Lady Gaga still has two (or possibly even three) legs as she arrived in Japan.

Stubborn Mah Bow Tan insists that HDB is still affordable

From: reborner
Subject: Stubborn Mah Bow Tan insists that HDB is still affordable

In spite of the prevailing public sentiments, National Development
Minister Mah Bow Tan repeated his stance yesterday at Parliament that
HDB flats are still “affordable” to Singaporeans.

Mr Mah used a formula called the debt service ratio (DSR) which
compares the monthly mortgage installment to the monthly household
income to substantiate his claims.

The DSR ranges between 17 to 25 percent for new flats and around 30
percent for mature flats in central locations.

“These figures are within the international benchmark for housing
affordability, which ranges from 30 per cent to 35 per cent,” Mr Mah
was quoted as saying in the Straits Times today.

Mr Mah also admitted that “it is possible that prices of resale flats
have risen faster than incomes when indexed against different years.”
in response to a question by PAP MP Lim Biow Chuan.

In an extensive interview with the Straits Times a few weeks ago, Mr
Mah used two sets of figures from the years 1999 and 2009 to show that
the relative pace of income has “out-paced” that of HDB flat prices.

The statistics were disputed by Reform Party member Hazel Poa who
wrote on her blog that the results would be different if the base year
is different, causing much embarrassment to Mr Mah.

The increasingly unpopular Mr Mah has come under fire of late from
Singaporeans for his failure to control runaway HDB flat prices which
have hit a record high in the last few months, caused partially by
rising demand fueled by mass immigration.

Though PRs form some twenty percent of the buyers in the resale
market, Mr Mah insisted that they have “negligible” impact on the
prices.

He also lashed out at first time home buyers for being “fussy” and
having “unrealistic” expectations.

Mr Mah earns around $2 million dollars a year, or more than 4 times
the annual salary of U.S. President Barack Obama.

PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew castigated Singaporeans for being “daft” (stupid)
should they cast a protest vote against Mr Mah in the next general
election over sky-rocketing HDB flat prices.

Catholic Church Scandal?

Catholic Church has been covering up widespread embezzlement of tithes & donations for years in Singapore.....

Now, THAT caught your attention didn’t it. ; )

Before I get sued for defamation, let me say explicitly that my sentence above about the Catholic Church here is NOT true — there was no such news leaking out.

What I did hope to do, was to make a point: When it comes to financial crimes, people are MUCH more rational than when it comes to sexual crimes. http://www.todayonline.com/Print/Hotnews/EDC100424-0000048/Doubt,-dismay,-denial-and-disappointment

A Just Response is needed

Over the last few years, Singapore has been rocked by 2 major financial scandals in the charity sector. In the first, we saw the downfall of TT Durai and the transformation of NKF. In the second, we saw the downfall of Ming Yi the Monk and the transformation of Renci. Additionally, we saw the government introducing stricter laws and regulations to govern the charity sector – a move that many, including myself, applauded as long overdue.

What were the reactions of the public and the supporters when these scandals broke?

Did any donor say that people were just trying to attack and bring down kidney foundations? Did any donor say that anti-Buddhists were trying to bring down Buddhism in Singapore? Of course not! The suggestion sounds incredibly silly to even mention!

Everyone recognized the goodness of having kidney foundations. Everyone recognized the goodness of the Buddhist faith. Everyone recognized the goodness of hospitals, including Renci hospital.

But everyone also recognized that TT Durai and Ming Yi were human, had committed financial crimes, and had to be punished accordingly to fair laws, whether or not followers wanted to forgive them later.

A parallel can be drawn with the scandal that is rocking the Catholic Church now, and through this parallel with NKF and Renci, we can see how simple the solution actually is.

Many people recognize the concept and ideals of the Catholic Church are good. Many people also recognize the Catholic Church has made much positive contribution.

Yet everyone also recognizes that priests are human, and humans fail from time to time. The mistakes made by Catholic priests have been recognize eg. The corruption that led to Martin Luther’s Reformation and also during the Crusades.

For non-Catholics to attack Catholicism for the mistakes of these abusive priests, and priests who covered up the abuse, would be akin to attacking Buddhism for Ming Yi’s failings. For Catholics to perceive the charges and actions against these criminal priests as attacks against the Catholic Church, would be akin to Buddhists perceiving Ming Yi’s conviction as an attack against Buddhism.

When the NKF scandal broke, hundreds of donors immediately called to cancel their donations. Was it because they were against kidney foundations or charities? No! They simply did not want their money supporting corruption. In the same way, if Catholics stopped donating to Church from tomorrow, it won’t be an indication of disrespect to the Church, but simply not wanting to contribute to an administration who covers up abuse rather than seeks justice.

In actual fact, these priests — both the abusers, and those who covered up the crimes — are simply humans who have committed crimes within an organization and deserved to be punished according to the laws of the land, like any other abuser. Structural and systematic checks have to be put in place in institutions to ensure institutionalized abuse and cover ups never happen again.

I have an Irish friend. Here is his response to the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8060442.stm
‘Victims of child abuse at Catholic institutions in the Irish Republic have expressed anger that a damning report will not bring about prosecutions.’

He says “I actually started the get upset and cried a little this morning as I heard about the report, which was released yesterday, on this morning’s news. I’m going to buy a copy of the report and read it from cover to cover

I’m so angry that what I feel is that. If, after that report, 800 people who caused this abuse are being given protection of anonimity and immunity….then we should seek them out and give them our own justice….but these are old men and women (terms i use very loosely) are so old now…..that we would be abusers ourselves

One thing you have to appreciate to understand what happened is this. If a young person in Ireland during this time was discovered to be gay or overly interested in sexuality they were put into the priesthood ‘to cure them’. This on top of the sexual repression of the time and indeed the fact that a person who wants to bully-abuse people will seek out these kind of positions of responsibility…this is all astonishing

What makes me really really angry is that kids told priests in confession about this and were called liars! Kids told parents who told them they were liars…you don’t question the church! And because so many people supported the church, our government felt it couldn’t take on the church and instead let these kids be abused…tens of thosands of them”

I’ve rarely been this angry or upset in my life

indeed…..i know some of the people involved in prosecuting this case…..

it was estimated that there were something like 500 child rapists/priests in the Dublin area alone, and that throughout Ireland a conservative estimate that at least 150,000 children had been assaulted. I0,000 of these have been “paid off”, at a cost of $1.5 billion…..imagine how much it would cost if all were compensated…….

and this is just ireland………..”

I hope everyone does also realise that if the Church is made to compensate, where the compensation money comes from —- from the lay Catholic followers who have been tithing faithfully, and whose family members may have been victim to the abusers………

The lesson we must learn : Preventing similar abuse in institutions in Singapore

Seeing this scandal as an issue with the Catholic Church as opposed to criminals within the Catholic Church organisation also misses the point in another way. In fact this may be even more dangerous because it blinds us to the lesson we ought to learn.

Have we looked at the Catholic Church, asked how this could happen on such a wide scale for decades, and go unchecked? Have we asked if the same organisational weaknesses are present in our temples, our Buddhist, Taoist monasteries? Our military? Our boarding schools? Etc etc? If the same weaknesses are present, do we then ask if there really has been no abuse, or if we are simply doing what the Catholic Church has been doing for decades —- turning a blind eye? The moment we see it as a Catholic Church problem, we stop looking beyond there, and we miss opportunities to check the problem that may be also occurring in non-Catholic organisations.

I know that many people simply cannot buy the idea that Catholic Priests are such evil people, who need laws and checks and regulations to keep them from molesting kids. I think an excellent book written by Anna Salter provides great insight and explains the fallacy of this thinking very well. Anna Salter is a psychologist who interviewed many victims and perpetrators of sexual crimes. She wrote the excellent book ‘Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists, And Other Sex Offenders’ ( http://www.amazon.com/Predators-Pedophiles-Rapists-Other-Offenders/dp/0465071732 )

based on these interviews.

The main point made in this book:

People need to stop asking the question “How could good church people be abusers?!?!”
People need to start asking the question “What is the best platform for an abuser to make use of?”

The starting question cannot be “What are priests/monks like? Are they likely to commit such crimes?” because the answer is No. And that leads to self-denial / defensiveness.
The starting question always has to be, “What would be the best target/platform/opportunity for a criminal to make use of? Where is security the most lax?”

Then you realise that a swindler of money would be clamouring to start charities in countries where lax laws govern the finances of charities.

Then you start realising that child molesters are clamouring to be priests in systems that cover up their crimes. In schools that have no safeguard mechanism.

You know what’s the scary thing?

When you start asking those kinds of questions, you know that such abuse/crimes are taking place all over the world, in environments where we most trust our kids to be.

The USA, Ireland, Germany etc has done very well to acknowledge it happens, and take steps, even though i believe it is far from enough/ideal.

What scares me are the environments, all over the world, where people claim/believe that no/little abuse is taking place. Because it doesn’t mean no abuse takes place, it means nobody is even doing anything to look.

It’s happening all the world over, Asia, Europe, etc etc and i think Europe/US is already ahead in doing something about it. I think we need to learn from this experience. - Mathia Lee

Actress Joanne Peh's breast left dangling

Ann Kok may have won the fashion stakes in Part 1 of the MediaCorp Star Awards 2010 but Joanne Peh was definitely the talk of town with her vampy look in Part 2.

Joanne Peh's black dress accentuated her slim waist and gave the audience a peek-a-boo of her side breast. I think Michelle Chia must have regretted standing next to her.

There was no major surprise for Joanne Peh last night as she got into the Top 10 Most Popular Female Artiste award.

On her celebration plans, the birthday girl revealed that she will be jetting off to Los Angeles to meet the parents of her boyfriend, Bobby Tonelli.

In preparation for the meeting, Joanne Peh has thoughtfully prepared a handmade 3D jigsaw puzzle globe. As Bobby Tonelli's parents have never been to Asia, she hopes to bring them a part of it in the form of Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Joanne Peh's nipple shape and size is clearly visible under her black dress in this photo.

Joanne Peh revealed what she ought not to be. Her revealing clothes were so skimpy that didn’t hide anything.

At MediaCorp Star Awards on Sunday, Peh was wearing (hope she has worn some) a cut gown that revealed her girly assets without hesitating.

A viewer who was watching the awards at his home with his family said they got scared rather than astonished on seeing her in such an outfit.

His mother exclaimed, “What is she wearing?” in a horrified manner.

“Her boobs are popping out from the sides! The gown is so ugly. How could she agree to wear something so revealing?”

Her so called glamorous dress was trashy rather than flashy. For such a disgusted choice either Peh is to be blamed or her designer for creating awful breast revealing dress.

She’s not the only star who walks the carpet with a trashy designer dress. Adding their names to the list was China-born American actress Bai Ling whose frontal assets are on full display.

More salacious than Peh and Bai Ling is an American actress Rose Mc-Gowan who notoriously turned up in her net-and-string dress at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.

And to top up the list is songstress Lady Gaga who was seen almost naked in her music video, Telephone where she wore a provocative dress made of net stockings and black tapes to cover her essentials but actually failed to do so.

Whatever celebrities do their fans ape them with a blind fold thinking that it is in vogue nad never realizing that these trashy dresses can be head sprainer rather than head turner.

On being asked about wearing such barely called clothes plain answer came, “Stars do it all the time! Some local actresses are even worse. This is no big deal.”

One netizen, remarking on website said for Peh: “I got so scared when I saw Joanne Peh hugging the presenter, because I really didn’t want to see her breasts playing peek-a-boo.”

One can laugh on such statements but actually these are the things to be taken care of as fans are following them religiously.

Marina Bay Sands to generate US$1 billion a year

With a floating garden that overlooks Singapore's glitzy waterfront from about 200 meters in the air, the Marina Bay Sands is an architectural showstopper. It is also a massive US$5.7 billion bet on the future of Asian gambling.

(The resort said exactly at 3.18pm tomorrow it would open the first phase of the resort with 963 out of 2,560 hotel rooms, a portion of its shopping mall, some restaurants, the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the event plaza and the casino. The rest of the hotel rooms and suites, the Sands SkyPark and additional shops would be available as part of the grand opening on June 23, the statement said. The museum, theatres and the remainder of the shops would open towards the end of the year, it said.)

Developer Las Vegas Sands Corp. and its chairman, Sheldon Adelson, have created ambitious casino-resorts in the past, but none quite like Marina Bay, which industry observers—and Mr. Adelson himself—are comparing with iconic regional landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House and Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers. Analysts say Marina Bay, which opens Tuesday, could become the world's most lucrative casino.

That optimism underscores the growing prominence of Asia for a casino industry with limited prospects in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and other U.S. markets. With Marina Bay set to open Tuesday and rival Steve Wynn's Encore at Wynn Macau opening last week, two of the gambling industry's biggest competitors now rely on Asia for the majority of their revenues. A third, MGM Mirage, decided last month to sell its stake in an Atlantic City, N.J., property in order to maintain a foothold in Macau, where it has the smallest market share but is keen to expand.

After a series of delays, Sands will only open some parts of Marina Bay on Tuesday, with a bigger official opening in June.

Still, Tuesday's opening marks a return of optimism for the battered global gambling industry after two years of pain. A celebration in December of MGM Mirage's new $8.5 billion CityCenter project in Las Vegas was tempered with concern it would take business from other casinos. After Sands narrowly avoided filing for bankruptcy-court protection in 2008 and 2009, financing troubles forced the company to halt progress on many of its other projects to focus on Singapore.

While Las Vegas remains weak, prospects are now bright in Macau—the world's largest casino market by revenue. In 2009, gambling revenue in Macau was about $14.9 billion, up 9.6% from $13.6 billion in 2008. Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue in 2009 was $5.6 billion, off 9.4% from $6.1 billion in 2008.

Macau recorded its two biggest months to date in terms of gambling revenue in January and March, and industry watchers and insiders are salivating at the prospect of a new golden age of gambling in Asian markets.

"The Asian market is going to be overpowering and we're just getting started," said Bill Lerner, a casino consultant for Union Gaming Group, which is based in Las Vegas.

Mr. Adelson, who had earlier predicted Marina Bay could generate $1 billion in cash a year, last week set expectations even higher. "Not only are our hopes justified, we think we're liable to exceed our own expectations," Mr. Adelson said.

To succeed, Marina Bay will have to attract wealthy gamblers to Singapore from neighboring India, Malaysia and Indonesia without siphoning off too much business from Macau, a four-hour plane ride away.

Success in Singapore isn't certain. The government banned casinos for decades and is only allowing them in cautiously—imposing a hefty surcharge on its citizens and introducing a system that allows Singaporeans to put their family members, or even themselves, on a blacklist. "Singapore's revenue potential is still a large question mark for investors," said Dennis Farrell, a bond analyst for Wells Fargo Securities. "It's an untested market."

Under a government-mandated duopoly, Sands will share the Singapore market with Malaysia's Genting Group, which beat Marina Bay to opening day with its family-oriented Resorts World project on Feb. 14.

Working in its favor, Marina Bay has a plum location on Singapore's central waterfront and an arresting engineering marvel: a 7,000-ton cantilevered floating garden called a SkyPark that perches atop the project's three 55-story hotel towers. Sands says the public observation deck will be longer horizontally than the Eiffel Tower is tall.

No official numbers have been released from Resorts World's 10 weeks in operation. But on a recent Sunday morning, all the blackjack, baccarat and roulette tables on Resorts World's large casino floor were ringed with hordes of gamblers and onlookers, making it difficult to get a seat at any table. Slot machines were also hard to come by, and the two large video roulette theaters were overflowing with gamblers.

Another indicator of market appetite: calls to Singapore's National Council on Problem Gambling, which nearly tripled between January and March. So far, 567 Singaporeans have registered with the government body to have themselves blocked from entering the casinos.

Credit Suisse analyst Foong Wai Loke projects that the two Singapore casinos will together generate annual revenues of about US$2.6 billion—about 40% of the Las Vegas Strip's US$6.1 billion in 2008.

Other industry observers have estimated a market of US$3 billion to US$3.5 billion a year.

Mr. Adelson predicts "an almost inexhaustible supply" of gamblers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, China, Vietnam and Australia.

Marina Bay will need time to ramp up. When the company announced the opening date in February, it still didn't know what would be ready for the soft opening in April. Now, company spokesman Ron Reese said the company expects to open the casino floor, about one-third of the project's 2,500 hotel rooms, 10% of its shops and half its restaurants.
—Sam Holmes in Singapore contributed to this article.
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Marina Bay Sands gets casino licence ahead of phase one opening on Tues
Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, April 27

SINGAPORE: With just one day to go before phase one opens to the public, Marina Bay Sands has received its casino licence. There had been speculation the licence would not be issued in time.

The casino is one of several attractions to open, along with dozens of retail shops and restaurants and getting there will be easy, with a range of transport options available.

With parking at Marina Bay Sands starting at S$8 an hour and a new ERP gantry leading to the area, visitors might be better off leaving the car at home.

The Electronic Road Pricing gantry is located at Bayfront Avenue, a new road just outside the integrated resort and will be switched on from April 26.

So why not take the bus instead?

Eight public bus services by operators SBS Transit and SMRT have been re—routed to stop at Bayfront Avenue, a new road just outside the integrated resort.

Services include 97 from Jurong East, 133 from Ang Mo Kio Interchange and 106 from Bukit Batok.

The full list of services are:

SBS 97/97E Jurong East to Marina Square SBS 133 AMK Interchange to The Esplanade, Raffles Ave SBS 502 Pioneer Road North to Marina Sq SBS 518 Pasir Ris to Suntec City SMRT 106 Bukit Batok Interchange to Marina Centre Terminal

Visitors can also take the train, stopping either at Marina Bay station on the North—South Line or at Promenade Station on the new Circle Line.

The integrated resort is just a short walk away and with the opening of The Helix bridge, visitors are now able to cross the bay in style.

The pedestrian walkway runs parallel to the Bayfront Bridge, a new vehicular bridge that connects Marina South to the rest of the Marina area.

Coaches from Malaysia will also stop at the resort and there will be a shuttle service to and from the airport.

Taxi companies have so far not announced any surcharge for pick—ups from the resort.

Goh Chok Tong's Swiss Standard of Living - 25 years after

Vanessa Lee wrote:
IT HAS been more than 25 years since then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong first mooted the idea, in December 1984, of Singapore achieving a Swiss standard of living by 1999.

We seem to have moved beyond talk of a Swiss standard, towards aiming to be a global city. But to what extent is Switzerland still an appropriate role model, and should cross-pollination between the two cultures be looked at more seriously?

After all, we share many similarities. Compared to our neighbours, we are both small countries with strictly limited natural resources, which punch above our weight. Like Singapore, multi-ethnic Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch. Living with foreigners is also something held in common.

"Thirty, 40 years ago, people from Italy, Spain and Portugal were building our roads, to build our nation basically," said businessman Martin Silberstein, who is also president of the Swiss Club in Singapore.

Some sentiments may be held in common, suggested one Swiss expat.

Mr Michael Schuerch, who has worked in Singapore, and now works in the banking industry in Hong Kong, said: "Switzerland is not part of the EU. Like some Singaporeans, some Swiss think we are special and unique compared to our neighbours. However, the Swiss who travel abroad may recognise that they're not that special."

As nations that are also financial hubs, Singapore and Switzerland similarly experienced having been briefly put on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) "grey" list.

Last November, Singapore was taken off the grey list, which comprises countries that are not sufficiently transparent in sharing tax information.

"Switzerland has adopted, like Singapore, the OECD standards with regard to transparencies and with regard to the exchange of information with regard to tax issues. Singapore, like Switzerland, was on the grey list almost at the same time," said Mr Joerg Alois Reding, the Swiss Ambassador to Singapore.

"Since last September, Switzerland was able to fulfil the requirement to be taken off the grey list by concluding more than 12 double taxation agreements," he said.

Small nations need to have their niche, said the Ambassador. "I think Switzerland and Singapore, we will ... always be able to find the niche in order to fufill the expectations of the markets.

"I think we have to let our voice be heard through our economic and administrative competencies."

Of course, there are many differences between the two. Under Switzerland's system of direct democracy, for example, people vote in national or regional referendums which can be called several times a year.

Also, environmental consciousness and recycling are taken more seriously in Switzerland, where "nobody just throws out old batteries", said Dr Suzanne Hraba-Renevey, executive director of Swissnex, which promotes Swiss education and innovation.

For one Singaporean, working in Zurich for a year was a pleasant surprise.

"To be frank, I've been working for probably 11 years and working in Zurich was actually the first time I actually achieved work-life balance," said Ms Crystal Koh, a financial lawyer in her 30s.

Walter Woon is Not Welcomed by Pappies?

Slip of the tongue is a slip of the mind....

SINGAPORE - Professor Walter Woon, who stepped down as Attorney-General recently, said he "was kidding" when he told The Straits Times (ST) last week that he had "outstayed" his welcome.

"I was kidding. I was being facetious," Prof Woon told The New Paper (TNP) in an interview published on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Prof Woon was responding to a commentary in Today written by Mr P N Balji, the director of Asian Journalism Fellowship. Mr Balji had analysed the comments by Prof Woon during his exit interviews with the media.

In his interview with ST, when asked if he had annoyed "the powers that be", Prof Woon said: "Best to leave before you outstay your welcome, although I think among some people, I've already outstayed my welcome."

Referring to the quote, Prof Woon told TNP: "I was thinking more about the people I prosecuted rather than anything else."

On the public spat he had with Dr Lee Wei Ling, director of the National Neuroscience Institute, over whether ailing C K Tang boss Tang Wee Sung should be shown some kind of mercy for trying to buy a kidney, Prof Wong said the case wasn't meant to be high-profile.

"But considering the person who was making the criticism, you can't jolly well go down and ask somebody (like a spokesman or a senior official) to cross swords with her."

When asked why he didn't stay on until Senior Counsel Sundaresh Menon takes over as Attorney-General (AG) on Oct 1, Prof Woon said: "I wasn't asked. My term was up in April. And nobody said anything about staying. And I never thought about staying on."

According to Prof Woon, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had asked to see him at the Istana earlier this year to talk about the end of his two-year term.

"If he hadn't asked to see me, I would have asked to see him because it was about time to discuss it," Prof Woon told TNP.

It was during the meeting that Prof Woon learned that Mr Menon would be taking over from him as AG.

"It was like okay, fine," Prof Woon said when the paper asked him for his reaction.

No Casino License for Marina Bay Sands?

This is unbelievable for a world class govt regulatory body CRA (Casino Regulatory Authority) to screw up yet again, for the second time in 6 months.

SINGAPORE – Marina Bay Sands may soon have to add another highly publicised delay to its name. MediaCorp has learnt the integrated resort has not received its casino licence, three days to go before its soft opening. And punters are not the only ones who may have to wait.

So far, MBS has received the Temporary Occupation Permit for its hotel up to the 35th storey, its Sands Expo and Convention Centre and casino areas which have been completed, according to the Building and Construction Authority.

The resort had said previously it plans to open 963 hotel rooms (which is up to the 22nd storey), part of the shopping mall and convention centre, celebrity chef restaurants along with other dining outlets and the casino on April 27.

When contacted, an MBS spokeswoman said it was "working tirelessly with the authorities to obtain the necessary approvals to open the property for Phase 1".

But analysts say there is a high chance it will have to go ahead without its casino.

"There may be specific requirements they have to meet and change accordingly after they get the casino license, so some time may be needed to make the changes," said International Club Games Training Center chief executive Ramachandar Siva. He thinks MBS may be "struggling" with, for example, the training and preparation of its staff.

A source close to MBS said one glitch the casino is trying to fix is its surveillance system. "All the cameras must be able to zoom in on the croupiers at all times and the synchronisation is not ready yet. They're not able to capture all tables simultaneously."

The analyst added: "Without the casino licence now, it's a lot of psychological pressure. MBS has sent out many invitations to VIP guests for the opening ... They need to make travel plans, so some of them may not come if they still don't know if the casino will open."

Resorts World Sentosa received its casino licence eight days before its opening on Valentine's Day.

Analysts are divided over how a possible delay of the casino may affect MBS. "It's a very serious matter ... This isn't good for MBS' reputation," said the source close to MBS.

But Chesterton Suntec International research and consultancy director Colin Tan said: "The casino is the least of their worries. They want to make sure their seminar facilities are up to the mark because it's their main selling point here. The casino is more for them to recover their capital ... with a possible delay, maybe they can't meet their expectations this year."

MBS was slated to open at the end of last year but construction woes postponed the opening. Its spokeswoman said MBS is now doing touch-up work on finishes and cleaning works; it is also holding simulation exercises to prepare staff to serve 2,000 guests for its opening.

Its first major event will be the the Inter-Pacific Bar Association 20th Annual Conference and organising committee chairman Yap Wai Ming said: "I'm not worried (that the venue may not be finished in time), but I'm a bit annoyed they're cutting so close to the event. It's affecting our sign-up for the event." - Today
===============================================

WORLD COSTLIEST CASINOS
SINGAPORE, April 26 (Reuters) - Las Vegas Sands is scheduled to open the Marina Bay Sands, the world's No.2 most expensive casino with a price tag of $5.5 billion, on Tuesday. The cost of building casinos has skyrocketted in recent years as firms build hotels, convention centres and retail and entertainment outlets in one integrated resort.

Following is a list of the world's costliest casino developments:
OPERATOR CASINO CITY COST (Billion)
MGM Mirage CityCenter Las Vegas $8.5 bln
Las Vegas Sands Marina Bay Sands Singapore $5.5 bln
Genting Singapore Resorts World Singapore $4.8 bln at Sentosa
Wynn Resorts Wynn LasVegas Las Vegas $2.7 bln
Las Vegas Sands Venetian Macau Macau $2.4 bln
Melco Crown Entertainment City of Dreams Macau $2.1 bln
MGM Mirage/ MGM Macau Macau $1.25bln Pansy Ho
Wynn Resorts Wynn Macau Macau $1.1 bln

Lee Kuan Yew and Kim Jong il - compared

From: "AleXX"
Subject: Can the present North Korean leader claims that he is the best person to rule his country?

Or is it because he has taken over from his dictator father?
Is there any country in South East Asia where a PM claimed himself to be the
best person to rule a country and not because of his father who was once a
strong-man-dictator-like ruler? Is he coincidently the best person to rule?

From: baldeagle
adchin wrote:

.> Lee Kuan Yew and Thaksin were good for their country, if you
.> can put in everyone historically. Mahathir was also pretty good
.> for Malaysia.

I notice that you used past tense ...when talk about LKY,
Thaksin and Mahathir.
I agree that they WERE good for their country.

Was Kim's father GOOD for N Korea ?

According to patriotic Koreans, he was definitely
good for Korea. They are proud to be a truly
independent country...unlike S Korea which
is a neo-colony of the USA.
They supported him...willing to suffer extreme
economic hardship...refusing to rebel against
him....refusing to kowtow to US sanctions.

> If it's a present day question, then my opinion is, no one has a capable
> PM in South East Asia.

People get the leaders they deserve. The poor leaders
in S E Asia are elected by the people.

--------------------------------------------
From: Zanzibar
adchin wrote:

> Lee Kuan Yew and Thaksin were good for their country, if you can put in
> everyone historically. Mahathir was also pretty good for Malaysia.

> If it's a present day question, then my opinion is, no one has a capable
> PM in South East Asia. The countries that are doing well, my opinion is,
> it's because their citizens are smart enough to know that they have to
> work hard and fend for themselves because the Govt cannot be relied upon.

Quite rightly, in Asia, because of them, their citizens are smart
enough to know that they have to work hard and fend for themselves
because the Govt cannot be relied upon. In advanced countries, like
America and EU, Australia, the Govts can be relied upon to take care
of their citizens.

When a transport fare cut is also a pay cut

From: "AleXX"
Subject: Re: Why a transport fare cut, is also a pay cut

"reborner" wrote in message

> Public transport fare to go down by 2.5%, reported Today. Cheaper
> transport fare from July 3, reported mypaper. So we have a fare cut, a
> fare cut, or a fare hike! Which is which? I copied below extract from
> "Blowin' in the wind" blog for ease of comparison.

> The Straits Times reports public transport fares will dip by 2.5 per
> cent from July 3, but savings will vary from commuter to commuter.

> The fact is fares are going up --- appreciably for longer journeys.
> While the minimum fare for the first 3.2km on an airconditioned bus is
> going up by just two cents from 69 cents to 71 cents, commuters will
> have to pay up to 10 cents more for every kilometre after that. And it
> is going to make a difference.

> The longest trip now on an air-conditioned bus with an EZ-link card
> costs S$1.65 cents, according to the SBS Transit website.

> The same trip with the same card will cost S$1.94 from July 3,
> according to the Public Transport Council.

> So we have a fare cut for some and a fare hike for some. So, shall we
> call it a fare cut or a fare hike? Beats me really.

Their propaganda Shit Times will surely highlight a fare down to appease the
public transport commuters.

MP is paid to count number of prostitute on the streets

From: Zanzibar
Subject: Re: MPs job to count prostitutes? LOL

On Apr 20, 11:23 pm, The Cynic wrote:

> http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_516...

> THE sleaze in Joo Chiat has shrivelled.

> The 'hundreds' of women who used to walk the street at night have
> fallen to about 40 to 50, according to the area's MP Chan Soo Sen.

> 'I make it a point to look at (the situation) every week and have a
> rough count,' he told reporters.

> The vice problem is now confined to a 50m stretch along Joo Chiat
> Road, he added, and more family-oriented and lifestyle businesses such
> as food, fashion, advertising and souvenirs have popped up in the
> neighbourhood in the last couple of years.

> The MP was briefing reporters yesterday on the improvements made to
> the heritage area, ahead of the May9 ministerial walkabout by Law
> Minister K. Shanmugam.

> In 2005, he said, 'hundreds' of women solicited customers along the
> 1.3km stretch of Joo Chiat Road. Now, the road is quieter and he sees
> 40 to 50 women on the street when he drives or walks around the area
> at night.

LOL. This MP was trying to appraise himelf and to please himself of
his work when it was the work of the residents there that brought down
the number of pubs and street walkers there.

It was the residents who worked hard through TV media and newspapers
coverages, and with loud calls, over the years, on the serious
problems that had affected families and school-going children there.

Seriously, he dont even know how to solve those street walking
problems there. If it is not of the loud calls by the residents to the
media and Tv coverages of the situations there, the MP would not have
known the severity of the problems there.

He might not even have known of the depth of the problems or anything
of it, if he had not been told or read from the media of it.

Well, now that he can physically count the prostitutes, he should now
say that "the reduction of prostitute was due to the reduction of
market forces there".

It is akin to what that MP Teo Ho Pin was saying the rise of rent of
sheng shiong stall was due to market forces and there will be no
intervention from them.

Most likely this MP president scholar will be replaced and gone.

yansimon52 wrote:
These PAP's MPs....are like those 'corporals' in SBMT camps......all
are either 'yes sirs' or highly 'kiasu'.
During tough training in the field with new recruits...... knowing
that lunch haven't served and these recruits are hungry.....these 'yes
sirs' corporals dare not even tell their commanding officers that
their recruits haven't eaten yet and got no energy to carry on with
the training.....so these recruits got to 'lan lan' carry on with
their training with empty stomach.
Same as what's happening now in the heartland....where rubbish ppl are
unable to make ends meet due to high cost of living. Well, they have
the 'meet-the-ppl-session' by so-called MP.....but got no substances
in dealing with problem especially those who were homeless and got
evicted by HDB or private banks.
This is what's happening in Sg's society where the rich are getting
richer and the poor are getting poorer.
Nowadays, you won't be surprise to see that some true blood rubbish
ppl have not even step into Orchard Road for a long long time.
Can say that Sg's society is a 'class divide' society....where rubbish
ppl only mingle at their rubbish haunt....that is either at void deck
or neighbourhood kopitiam...that's all

Maximillian Caugilia:
What a big joke! These kind of rookie newbie MP from the PAP camp just
wanna grab glory for whatever it is gonna be - even counting cunt
holes along Joo Chiat for purportedly many years... Damn hard work
eh? LOL LO LOL

Confession of a Singapore School Teacher

From: "truth"
Subject: Confession of an ex- teacher

"When competition becomes too intense and working hard alone is not enough
to attain your dreams - people will resort to excessive risk taking,
unethnical, unfair, unhealthy & immoral ways to get what they want. What
emerges out of this intense competition is not a better, stronger and
cohesive society that can take on world but a selfish, unhappy one that is
bogged down by the numerous failures it creates internally"

I would like to share this truth as an ex-teacher in a secondary school. I
taught for 5 years and what I saw and experience was really sad. And since
this will never see the light of States Times, I would like to reproduce my
experience of what you wrote about in schools.

The EPMS system that was introduced where each teacher is ranked in the
school which ultimately decides their performance and bonus has created a
climate in school where teachers lie, cheat, manipulate, condescend, taunt,
form cliques and segregate.

I'm surprised my teacher friends and I managed not to fall apart in such a
climate. Teachers are observed and ranked in a room with all the HODs and
principal. I was told to look at my colleagues as my competitors. Each
teacher was trying to outdo the other and office politics was rife in
schools. It wasn't a school and I sympathise with the students at the amount
of abuse they get. Teachers make use of pupils to win competitions for
themselves so that they could gain leverage during performance ranking. This
is dispiriting. Do not get me wrong. I'm a performer and I did well while I
was in the vocation but I had to leave because the environment that MOE has
created in the teaching profession today is so bad, that many remain single,
burnt-out or jaded. When I was there, they had a Teacher Renewal programme
where teachers learn to meditate but the crux of the systemic problem was
not corrected. It is no surprise why the government insist on bonding
teaches for 3 years. The attrition rate is very high and it is no surprise
to those still in the profession. 40% of the teaching fraternity has than 4
years of teaching. 60% are less than 8 years of experience. But for the 3
year bond, many would have left earlier and I know 2 teachers who broke
their bonds while I was there.

We are promoting a cold society. And teachers are pitted against one
another, you morally corrupt them. I wonder how many teachers out there
would speak out. I suppose most would rant on MyForum, MOE's teachers portal
instead.

Jacklyn Soo's leaked photos and molest confession

Jacklyn Soo now known as Jameelah Rose (born 1981 in Singapore) is a Singaporean artist and musician. She has been a gamelan musician for 7 years, a multi-disciplinary fine artist and founder of Travellators.

What is written below, so-called confession, maybe true, maybe untrue, or outright lies, will leave it to the readers to decide. No point taking this copy of the article away, as it is found all over the web. Better to stand and fight, than to try to run away from your own shadow.
-----------------------------------------------

Here is Jacklyn's confession....
A secret revealed - Mum's bf molested me when I was 19

Aug 12, '07 2:16 AM
for everyone

Hi,

Today is Sunday and normally Sundays are good days as it is a day for reflection, rest and joy.

However, every Sunday I am faced with an incident from my past and I have finally decided to write this out publicly after telling my friend, Eugene about this matter.

Every Sunday, my Mother's boyfriend visits my home and stays in her room, sometimes fucking her from 11am - 130pm. He is a married man aged somewhere between 48-50 yrs old and has a dying wife suffering from cancer, 3 daughters and a young boy who is still schooling in a secondary school.

His name is Jeffery something. He brings food and drinks to my home every Sunday and lends a supporting ear to my mum when she tells him about her daily life. He is always dressed properly when he comes to my place but I never smile or greet him once.

Now, you may think this is a typical story about disliking 'Stepfathers' who wants to win affection and love from his lover's children, you are wrong, I can tell you that.
I was molested by this fucker when I was 19 yrs old and I regret not telling the authorities about this as I chosed not to because my mother asked me to keep to a secret. I have hinted severely to my relatives about this but I never chosed to tell them. I may do so one day when the time is right for I do not believe in my mother's bf's behavior and character. He has violated me as a person what more a child of his supposedly lover and I often think he has done more harm than this one mistake he told my mum he will never repeat.

It was a Monday morning when I called out to my mother. I had called out to her asking for our cordless phone. I had to make a phone call to a friend who was going to Australia for his studies and I wanted to bid him goodbye.

As I called out for my mother a few times, he opened the door and asked what was it I wanted. I was rather shocked to see him opening my door as he has never done so before. So immediately I thought it was a Sunday and that he was here to visit our
home like he has done so for the past 2 years.

I asked where my mother was and he said she is at work. So i asked him what day it was today and he said it was Monday. Then I asked where my maid was and he said she is at the market so I asked him what was he doing here and he said he was here to use the toilet. At that time, I did not know that he had the keys to my house as my mother had passed him a copy of our home keys for him to use.

Without thinking deeper, I asked him kindly if he could help me take the telephone from my mother's room. He promptly responded with a kind gesture and went to her room to pick up the phone. I was still sleepy and in bed when the conversation took place.

When he came back and stepped into my room, he gave the phone to me and I reached my hand out from under my blanket to take it from him.

I said my thanks and proceeded to call my friend. Just as I was pressing the numbers on the phone, I felt his hand on my left breast. He had cupped his entire hand on my breast and had time to hold both of my breasts in both of his hands! I was shocked and pushed his hands away and asked him to get out.

When I am at home, I do not wear my bra nor do I wear my bra to sleep as it is truly uncomfortable to sleep in a brasserie.

This is my mother's home and I have the right as her child to behave or adopt my own style of living in her house so any thought of me trying to seduce or letting an open audience desire for my body is not valid here. I have no intentions of letting anyone touch me or me seducing anyone because I do not wear bras at home.

I put the phone down and asked him to get out of my house immediately. Before he did so, he put his hands together and asked for my forgiveness. He had also begged me not to inform my mother but I would and I did.

A day after, I revealed this incident to my mother and she replied in her usual cool demeanor that I was lying.

I was shocked my mother had not believe me so I told her the whole scenario in detail and by then, she had acknowledged my fact and started to cry. She still could not believe my story and said she will ask him herself personally. In the mist of this drama, I had also told her that she had picked the wrong man to take care of her and that I hope she will make the right choice after hearing what he had to say.

I was wrong about my expectations. Can you believe that my mother, despite her boyfriend confessing to his deed, is still seeing him after a good 7 years after that incident happened in 2000?

Until today I do not know whether or not to be happy or sad for my mother. She came home one day after work to tell me that her bf had confessed to his actions and that he was terribly sorry for what he did. He had told my mother that he had taken some chicken of essence when he came to my house that Monday morning before leaving the place and because of that drink, he was clouded and not thinking straight. I never knew chicken of essence would make someone horny and not in his.her right frame of mind. In that case, shall we stop the manufacturing of the product and disallow people to consume it?

My mother believed him. CAN U IMAGINE THIS? WHAT THE FUCK? WHY IS MY MOTHER SO FUCKING STUPID AND BLIND? WHY DID I NOT INFORM ANYONE ABOUT THIS BEFORE? WHY AM I SO FUCKING STUPID?

My mother told me she will take the key back from him and that this incident will not happen again. I did not say anything but had asked my mother to promise to keep her word.

There are many more things I would like to condemn this man to. First for committing adultery, second for molesting me and last but not least, for telling all those lies to his wife and family that he has stopped seeing my mother.

I will never allow him to share his opinions or give advice to me on anything in my life and I will never respect him my whole life. Coming from a high ranking position in the army, this guy is seriously fucked up and thinks he can get away with his mistakes. He told my mother before that he cannot let anyone know he is seeing her otherwise he will be asked to resign from the army. I don't know what happen but he is not
in the army now and is currently jobless after his last job as a taxi driver.

What am I going to do? I feel so powerless in this matter because it seems everything has been decided when I had not send him to the police years ago. You may be asking me why I am now only writing this out and if I am seeking sympathy for this. I am not sure what I want to do with this matter as I do not know what to do but I wrote this because I am sick and tired of my mother trying to convince me that seeing a guy outside of my race or religion will embarrass everything about her. Does she still have a right then to voice her opinions on me when she is keeping a molester under her wing?

Yeah, it reads like a damned long soap opera. The bastard stepfather... And here are the leaked nude pictures of Jacklyn Soo that may put her off men forever and turn her into a full-blown lesbo. Poor girl......

CLICK HERE FOR HER leaked nude pictures

Singaporeans doing much but not getting much returns

When Singaporeans made and continue to make dreams to cater to the State, the pace and stress levels will be increased. Incremental and higher expectations are norms to the next level of attainments.

What happens now is that the COMPLIANT Singaporeans have now realized that they have been doing much but are not getting returns. They are awakened to the fact that they had been subtlebly and subliminally brought to face the present reality, precisely because they have worked for the Singapore Dream.

Can it not be said that the Singaporeans have collectively and willingly let themselves be goaded to the predicaments today due to the Singapore Dream they were told to aspire to by the Leadership?

SO, SHOULD SINGAPOREANS GO ON DREAMING TO CATER TO THE STATE?
Me says no, your dream is your private whims and fancies; me wishes that within that dreams of yours'; incorporate some desirable intangibles to cater to the wellbeings of YOURSELF as well as the Human Society as a whole, NOT JUST FOR YOUR COUNTRY.

Material wellbeing alone caters only to the physical needs which is only just parts of existence. Like any other mankind, Singaporeans need humanity(spiritual) to have a meaningful trip on Earth and based in SIN(unfortunate link-just kidding).

patriot

S’pore needs more well-educated new citizens : LKY

from: reborner
S’pore needs more educated immigrants to make country dynamic, says MM
Lee

SINGAPORE : Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has reiterated
the need for Singapore to attract more educated immigrants.

Speaking at the Indian New Year celebrations in Little India on
Saturday, Mr Lee said Singaporeans must recognise that with a
declining population, the country needs such people, including those
who have studied or worked in the US and Europe.

With the economy in a buoyant mood after the government upgraded its
growth forecast for the year, Mr Lee said Singapore needs to grow as
an attractive hub for international trade, investment and talent to
sustain long—term growth.

"We benefited from being open to immigrants from around the world,
especially China, India and the region. Throughout history, Singapore
has welcomed migrants. When I first took office, we had 62,000 babies
every year from a population of 2 million. Today, Singapore citizens
produce only 32,000 babies in a year when we should have 60,000 just
to replace our population," said MM Lee.

Little India is a glowing example of how early immigrants have
flourished and taken root in the country.

Mr Lee said the government understands the concerns of Singaporeans
over new immigrants and foreign workers. So it has taken steps to
moderate the inflow and widen the differentiation between citizens and
non—citizens.

Having educated immigrants here, said Mr Lee, makes Singapore more
competitive and dynamic.

"The majority of the new PRs and citizens are skilled workers and
professionals in finance, IT and R&D. They bring new skills, global
connections and a strong drive to create better lives for their
families," said Mr Lee.

Mr Lee gave an example of how one immigrant is making a difference.

"Shyam Srinivasan came from Chennai at age 14, and went to Geylang
Methodist Secondary School and Victoria Junior College. He took up
citizenship and obtained a teaching scholarship from the Public
Service Commission," said the Minister Mentor.

"Last year, he graduated top of his class in Physics at Oxford
University. He is now doing his Masters in Applied Physics at Columbia
University. He will come back and complete his NS. He will educate and
inspire the next generation of Singaporeans," he said.

Their presence has also helped to shape the Singapore landscape.

Mr Lee cited how many Indian temples today have been refurbished to
look "elegant" and "colourful".

"Our immigration policies have brought in better educated and wealthy
Indians who have made that qualitative difference to our lives. Their
support of these temples has resulted in this transformation,
reflecting the transformation that is taking place throughout
Singapore," said Mr Lee.

Mr Lee said the challenge is to integrate newcomers into Singapore
society and an event like this Indian New Year Celebration is a good
example of how integration can be done.

The event brings together different communities, not just among the
different Indian ethnic groups, but also Singaporeans of all races. -CNA
---------------------------------------------
From trevally8:
Educated?
What is the definition?
We have more than enough native educated Singaporeans!
These FT are like the Romania ambassador.
When they need you, they will sing how good SIN is but when they are going off they will bad mouth SIN until like they were forced to stay in SIN city.
I think the govt seriously do not know what is happening on the ground.
Do we really need those normal educated FT?
----------------------------------------------
From chokky

the unhappiness on the ground is real.
i already felt it when i was doing my ns.
back in the 90s, people talked alot, made noise, but i never got the feeling they were unhappy. but around the late 2000s, things changed. people talked, and they were starting to get genuinely unhappy. they started citing examples of unhappiness, something which was not done previously.

i had many of my guys in ns coming to me asking why they are forced to slog so much in ns out in the field when many others did not, and new citizens did not need to. frankly i had no good answer to them, and today i still have no good answer.

and now the guys have largely grown up---and what are they thinking of nowadays?
----------------------------------------
From diveaces
obviously the FTs here are not educated enuf...we need MORE!!??

haha...obviously by opening the flood gates, any kuchi kurang also can come in....so not very right...
in order to attract the capable and really proper FTs, the brand and the citizenship should be coveted....right now...the citizens here are like 3rd class...how u expect to attract the Good Class FTs?....

Stop Meddling with our CPF contribution rate

From: zero
Subject: CPF contribution rate

In the old days, Lau Lee said the "right" CPF rate should be 50% for
workers in age group up to 55.

After the recession in the 80s, LHL mentioned the "correct" CPF rate
should be 40% because our wage cost was too high then.

Now our NTUC chief said the "correct" CPF rate is 36% when in reality,
it ranged from 34.5% to 10% depending on age of workers.

So what should be the "correct" CPF rate ? or are they making up the
numbers as they go along ? or they have no idea what is the right CPF
rate but too afraid to admit it ?

For one thing, Ngiam Tong Dow was right about the CPF rate, it should be
fix at 30% and leave it at that because constantly meddling create too
much uncertainty.

Don't forget, a high CPF contribution rate will cause over consumption
in housing, medical and education needs.

This is why Sgian should stop voting for PAP, because the more they
meddle, the more they create.

Universal Studios' Roller-coaster is Unsafe: To be dismantled

Newsgroups: soc.culture.singapore
From: zero
Subject: Re: RWS Battlestar Galactica is unsafe and will be dismantled

PRC construction firm has this habit of posting a lower winning bid,
build the ride first and fix any safety or quality issues later.

If they use inferior graded steel then RWS is screwed.

I would expect them to patch up the ride by reinforcing certain stress
points and leave it at that.

Ironically, you have watched Battlestar Galatica, the humans in the show
must "die" before they are saved by cylons again. Just like RWS now.
--------------------------------------------

Battlestar Galactica being dismantled
Universal says tech experts doing ride inspection & review

By ARTHUR SIM

(SINGAPORE) Universal Studios Singapore (USS) at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has announced that its main attraction, the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster, is coming down - parts of it anyway.

No ride, for now: While initial setbacks are not uncommon, the closure of the Battlestar Galactica ride reinforces the view that the theme park would be loss making for a while, says an analyst

In an announcement released yesterday, USS said that it is in the process of a 'complete ride inspection and review'.

USS added: 'The vehicle has been dismantled and components have been analysed, including an X-ray of its parts.'

USS is not saying why X-rays are needed but it said, 'no ride will be operated at any time unless it has passed all inspections and tests'.

The inspection and review includes an investigative team from the coaster's design, engineering and manufacturing company, Vekoma, as well as independent assessors.

The main contractor for USS is China Jingye Engineering Corporation (Singapore) which was awarded the $705 million contract in July 2008. It also won a $60 million contract to supply, fabricate and deliver 23,000 tonnes of structural steel to RWS.

It was reported that the installation of the theme park's attractions were also co-ordinated by China Jingye.

On March 26, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) shut down the ride about a week after the theme park opened.

A spokesman for SPF said: 'Police will reinstate the licence for Universal Studios Singapore to operate the ride once the Conformity Assessment Body (CAB) has recertified the ride to be safe for use.'

CAB is composed of foreign technical experts recommended by Spring Singapore to assess safety standards for amusement rides in accordance with international safety standards.

Chong Kee Sen, an engineer and the honorary secretary of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore said: 'Carrying out tests is part of a verification process and does not automatically imply defects.'

'Generally, the onus is on owners to maintain their buildings. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) further requires that owners appoint a professional engineer to carry out periodic structural inspections. The general guideline for such inspections is 10-yearly intervals for residential buildings and 5-yearly intervals for other buildings,' he added.

M Sivakumaran of SMS Consulting Engineers said that usually all the welded joints on steel members are required to be X-rayed or should undergo similar non-destructive tests.

He added that the welded connections are to be designed for 'fatigue due to cyclic loading'. 'The allowable stresses on the welding are reduced significantly,' he noted.

Jonathan Galaviz, independent travel and leisure sector strategist said theme parks globally have a reputation for requiring significant capital reinvestment over time. 'If major ride attractions at any theme park are not operational for an extended time, the reputation of the theme park can be critically damaged,' he added.

Song Seng Wun, regional economist at CIMB-GK says: 'It is more important how Genting deals with these setbacks.' He added that investors would rather a 'health check' be done sooner than later.

RWS is owned by mainboard listed Genting Singapore. So far, analysts have mixed feelings about the stock but persistent bad news could change this.

Vincent Khoo, an analyst in UOBKayHian in Malaysia says that while initial setbacks are not uncommon, the closure of the Battlestar Galactica ride 'reinforces the view that the theme park would be loss making for a while'.

UOBKayHian remains 'cautious' on Genting Singapore's 'ability to generate significant revenues'. 'Generally I expect investors to stay at the sidelines until they can better assess the competitive impact of Marina Bay Sands (MBS),' he added.

Derek da Cunha, author of Singapore Places its Bets says that Genting Singapore may face some fallout with the closure of Battlestar Galactica but adds: 'Substantively, it is not as material to RWS' overall operations as its casino which is the key and central revenue driver.'

Singapore has a lot to gain from the success of both RWS and MBS and some feel the government will do all that it can to help.

'Since the government has already put its full weight behind the two IRs, you can rest assured that all the pieces will fall into place eventually,' said Mr Song.

Mr Galaviz is more sceptical. 'Both integrated resorts are private sector initiatives and it should not be incumbent on the government to support the IR's beyond marketing Singapore as a tourism hub. If either IR runs into operational or financial problems, it should be the private sector that solves those problems and not the government.'

PM Lee: Why I must sue Journalists

Caesars Singapore posted:
Post subject: PM Lee on why he must sue journalists

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was interviewd by Emmy award-winning journalist Charlie Rose.

Charlie Rose previously interviewed Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and made many references to that interview throughout his conversation with PM Lee.

In the hour-long interview, PM Lee voiced his views on a number of issues ranging from the Nuclear Security Summit, US President Obama's global leadership and the US relationship with Asia and Singapore.

He also analysed Singapore's sensitivity towards the issue of nepotism.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

- On nepotism

Charlie Rose: All right, well, you seem to be sensitive -- you were -- to the issue of what's called nepotism.

PM Lee: We are very sensitive.

Charlie Rose: Tell me about the sensitivity.

PM Lee The whole of our system is founded on a basic concept of meritocracy. You are where you are because you are the best man for the job and not because of your connections or your parents or your relatives.

And if anybody doubts that I as prime minister is here not because I am the best man for the job but because my father fixed it or my wife runs Temasek because I put her there and not because she's the best woman for the job, then my entire credibility and moral authority is destroyed. I'm not fit to be where I am.

And it's a fundamental issue of fitness to govern. First you must have the moral right, then you can make the right decisions. It's a basic Confusion precept.

Charlie Rose: Only when you have to moral right can you make --

PM Lee: Then can you govern and make the country right.

And in Singapore people expect that. So if there's any doubt that this is so, and people believe that I'm there because my father fixed it or the whole system is just make-believe, then the system will come down. It's not tenable.

If it's true, it better be proven and I better be kicked out. If it's not true, it better also be proven to be not true and the matter put to rest.

AleXX posted:
He claimed that he is the best person to be the current PM (with help of the
formation of the leegime trinity- The Son-The Father-The Holy Goh).
Coincidently, his wife is also the best person to be the chief of Temasek.
Coincidently, most of his families, relatives and cronies including his
cousin Wong Cunt Singh were the best people and indispensable to rule
Singapore. What a big political coincidence!

From: Maximillian Caugilia
Too bad that when he believe in his own BS he expects others would
also do the same.

LHL seems to imply that only his royal famiLEE has the super genealogy
to always have the best person to head major Singapore's political,
financial, military and business positions. What a load of crap.

Come on, Mr. LHL, do you seriously think that you can fool other
people all the time? What have you done to prove that you are the best
person on the job and for the job? No one in the global and regional
political arena is taking you seriously - and that is why Charlie Rose
asked that question. Boy, we have paid multimillions for a stupid fool
as the CEO of Singapore.

From: "Poodek"
Subject: Re: PM Lee on why he must sue those who link his success to his father
Can PM Lee find a job on the international job market which will pay him
what he is paid now? Can his wife secure a head honcho position anywhere
outside Singapore? I have my doubts.

From: crunchy nuts ;
I think you had missed out a very important part of the interview.
Kindly refer to what ST had reported:

Charlie Rose had trapped PM Lee into saying something he shouldn't
have said. I think Lee is in trouble now. See what ST had quoted him
saying of North Korea's Kim, "They compare... They put us in the same
list as Kim Jong Il". Now imagine what will happen if Kim wants to sue
Lee in a North Korean court over what he had said. Would Lee go there
to defend his case, even with his whole arsenal of lawyers he has and
face up to the NK justice systems? I really doubt he would. . IHT has
the same dilemma. That is the point Charlie is getting at.

I suggest we should be staying away from NK for a while until this is
settled.... Kim is not a sane man you know. I am seriously warning
every Singaporean not to take this lightly.

Terrible Public Transport in Singapore

In a recent report, the PTC says it sees greater improvements in QoS
(Quality of Service) in its latest report for June to November last
year. This is measured by the number of non-compliance to a set of
service standards laid out by the PTC. I think very few people who have to
endure the sardine packed buses and armpit smelling experience will agree
with the findings. Besides, real personal experience, it is hard for
commuters like myself to dispute the PTC - but note that the PTC only looks
for compliance to standards not measurement of comfort i.e crowding on the
buses and MRT. Few or none on the PTC depend on public transport system to
get to work. In June 2008, I switched from taxis to buses/MRT when the last
taxi fare hike resulted in my taxi fares to work (and back) to surge to
roughly $55 per day [my blogpost on the taxi hike here]. Before the switch,
I took taxis to work everyday for 7 years so my 1st experience taking the
bus/MRT after I switch in 2008, I could see the accumulated changes in
service quality over the 7 year period. The first time I got back onto the
bus/MRT, I was simply overwhelmed by how crowded they have become. Many
people taking public transport may not be aware because the squeeze on our
buses and MRT occurred incrementally over months and years....many
Singaporeans also experienced greater stresses at the workplace, and rising
cost of living may have switch their minds off to the other deteriorating
aspects of our quality of life. Goh Meng Seng showed a few months ago that
the service capacity fell far short of the expansion in population[Link].
You can go through is numbers to see the problem.

For those with longer memories, I would like to show you something else.

Remember these? These are bus tickets from the 1980s. In those days, you
don't have to bring your EZLink or exact change when you board the buses.
Besides the driver, there was another person working on the bus - the bus
conductor. After you got on the bus and sat down, the bus conductor would
come to you to collect the bus fare - if you had a $5 note, no problem, you
would get change. He would then punch a hole in the ticket to indicate which
stop you got on and hand it to you. What has these tickets to do with our
public transport system today? If you're old enough, dig hard for some old
memories. See the truth is the bus conductor could never do his job if the
buses were packed like sardines - he had to issue a ticket to everyone
before the next 1 or 2 bus stops otherwise the passenger would get a free
ride. While the buses in those days did not have air-cons like the modern
ones, they were rarely as packed as today's buses during rush hour. It was
only possible to pack buses like sardine cans only after automatic ticketing
was introduced in the 90s and bus conductors were relieved of their jobs.
These bus tickets remind me how much the pace and quality of life has
worsened in Singapore over the past few decades.

Without the recent spike in COE prices, the cost of car ownership and usage
in Singapore was already the highest in the world. Given the sharp reduction
in number of COEs and recent stock market surge (which I discussed here) ,
the recent hike in COE is probably just the beginning of further increases.
The temporary solution for those who need a car is to go to the 2nd hand
market to get one - this market will tighten up and prices here will also
rise as more people hang on to their cars for longer periods instead of
switching to new cars. As the COE rises, it will start pricing out more and
more people who really need cars. The COE creates unhappiness by allocating
car ownship to those who are wealthy enough to pay for it instead of the
people who need it most. The problem is further compounded by Singapore
having the most unequal distribution of wealth among developed countries and
a for-profit 'public' transport system. The primary goal of the public
transport is to generate profits to pay dividends for its shareholders while
meeting 'standards' laid out by the PTC. There is no incentive for public
transport operators to make quantum leaps in service quality because they
have shareholders to please and shareholders want higher profits which
translate to more dividends.

posted by LuckySingaporean

Warrant of Arrest for Ionescu Rejected by Interpol

Romania Keeps Singapore Updated On Steps Taken In Criminal Case Of Fmr
Envoy Ionescu – FM
9April2010
Romania’s ambassador to Singapore Aurelian Neagu informed Singapore’s
Foreign Ministry of the steps taken by the Romanian authorities for a
lawful investigation of former Romanian envoy to Singapore Silviu
Ionescu blamed for a hit-and-run accident in December, Romania’s
Foreign Ministry said Friday.

Neagu reiterated Romania's commitment to uphold procedures needed to
clear out all aspects related to the case and stressed that all the
public statements made by Ionescu regarding this case were his
personal standpoint and did not represent an official stance of the
Romanian Foreign Ministry or the Romanian authorities, the ministry
said in its press release Friday.

Considering the criminal charges brought against Ionescu by the
Romanian General Prosecutor's Office, Ionescu was suspended from his
diplomatic duties within the Romanian Foreign Ministry under the
provisions of article 60 of Law 269/ 2003 regulating the Statute of
Romania's Diplomatic and Consular Corps.

Neagu also underscored that the Romanian authorities wanted to fully
abide by the law and international procedures in dealing with this
case.

According to the press release, on January 5, 2010, the ministry
submitted a request to the General Prosecutor's Office to investigate
the accident on December 15, 2009 in which a vehicle of the Romanian
diplomatic mission in Singapore was involved. On January 6, 2010, the
Prosecutor's Office set off the criminal prosecution against Ionescu,
at the ministry's request.

On January 11, 2010, judicial authorities in Singapore were asked to
provide all available accident-related data. The request was submitted
via international police cooperation networks, namely, the Romanian
Interpol Office and the Singapore Interpol Office, respectively,
according to the press release.

On January 26, 2010, the Romanian Foreign Ministry provided
information to Interpol Singapore on whether Romanian judicial
authorities are entitled to probe, try and sentence Romanian citizens
for crimes committed abroad, the press release also read.

On January 29, 2010, Interpol Singapore offered additional information
to the Romanian General Prosecutor's Office and said more information
would be provided only in keeping with the investigations that were to
be unfolded by the Singapore Coroner's Court.

On February 2, 2010, the Romanian General Prosecutor's Office indicted
Ionescu for negligent homicide, fleeing the scene of the accident and
false statements. In consequence, Ionescu was suspended from his
diplomatic duties within the Romanian Foreign Ministry, under the
Romanian law, until the end of the investigation. Singapore'
authorities were duly informed, the press release also noted.

On February 11, 2010, Romania's Justice Minister submitted a series of
requests to Singapore's Justice Minister, via an international
rogation commission, calling for full observance of procedural
provisions under Romanian laws.

Romania's Embassy Chargé d'Affaires attended the Coroner's Inquiry
proceedings unfolded between March 3 and March 10, 2010. Various
documents were handed to him informally to better understand the legal
proceedings. No reference was ever made that the said documents were
meant to be an official response to the above -mentioned requests of
the Romanian Justice Minister, therefore, they could not be considered
as such under the international procedures, the press release also
read.

On March 16, 2010, Singapore's Justice Ministry issued a preliminary
answer assuring the Romanian General Prosecutor's Office that
Singapore's authorities are ready to work closely with the Romanian
General Prosecutor's Office throughout the criminal investigations,
while observing Singapore's laws.

Singapore's Police sent to Interpol Romania an international arrest
warrant against Ionescu who is held responsible for a fatal hit-and-
run accident in Bukit Panjang, people close to the matter said
Thursday.

Prosecutor Marius Iacob, chief of Romanian General Prosecutors' Office
criminal department, told MEDIAFAX Thursday that Interpol Romania
received the international arrest warrant against Ionescu from
Singapore's police.

Romania's Foreign Ministry said both Romania and Singapore joined the
Vienna Convention regarding diplomatic relations, therefore,
investigations into Ionescu's case must be carried out by Romanian
authorities.

According to the Vienna Convention regarding diplomatic relations, a
diplomat enjoys immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the
receiving state, which does not exempt the respective diplomat from
the jurisdiction of the sending state.
------------------------------------------
From: Cherry
Subject: Singapore application to Interpol hits brick wall.

Perhaps Singapore could be a bit more respectful of international
legal protocol, especially since Romania has thus far seemed quite
cooperative for their part (already indicting Dr Ionescu on 2nd Feb
for 'negligent homicide, fleeing the scene of the accident and false
statements'; '... suspended from his diplomatic duties'). Think
complying w International norms would achieve a better prosecution
outcome, not to mention, improve the image of Singapore amongst the
international community, rather then a 'high-handed' approach.
Also, given Romania's obvious preference to abide by the mutually
ratified Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (esp Article 31),
perhaps Singapore should cooperate closely with Romania in persecuting
Dr Ionescu along such mutual lines- as the practice of such 'one-
upmanship'- bypassing the Romanian government in disciplining its
diplomat against international diplomatic norms- would be viewed
negatively by the Romanian people, not to mention international
community; God forbid it be view as 'brinkmanship' and ultimately
backfire.
---------------------------------------------

From: yansimon52
Subject: Re: Singapore application to Interpol hits brick wall.
Our MIWs thot they could summon this romanian bastard to our 'Night
Court 14'.....LOL...LOL....if this bastard didn't turn up...issue
'warrant of arrest' to him...so simple!!!.....like what we sgian have
been facing all these while....on minor offence....kena 'warrant of
arrest'.....ie. like late payment for TV Licence or late submission on
Co's account/Income tax...hitting hard on biz ppl.
I think our govt don't bother to help very small SMEs to tide over
their financial problem...our govt only entertain the big boys.
In Sg they usually say......why bother to open up new biz?..by trying
to provide jobs.....better to be bookies or a gambler at the 2
IRs ...where those ACRA/IRAS/Night Court don't bother you..as long as
you are 'chuun' with your bets......LOL...LOL..
They oso say this.....you can afford to die but you cannot afford to
get sick.......

From: "AleXX"
Subject: Singapore Chen-Hoo-Kon-Lan-chiow-weh

Quote:
"As Dr Ionescu is no longer serving as the Charge d'Affaires of the Romanian
Embassy in Singapore, his immunity for acts performed outside of his
function as a diplomat would have lapsed."

Unquote:
Why don't the lan-chiow Papist government (kar-kar-lai) mention that he was
not a diplomate when the diplomatic car driven by him fucked into those
pedestrains and claimed an innocent life? Might as well say that a person
who stole something is actually a thief during the time of stealing and
should be innocent immediately after that.
That would do.....