Anonymous_X

Shit Asian Dads Say

2012-01-17T22:25:00.000+08:00

Remember these 2 hilarious clips, "Shit Girls Say...and Shit Gays Say (The parody of parody)"?

Now there's yet another one called 'Shit Asian Dads Say' which uploaded a few days ago on 15/01. (However it has gathered an impressive 918,738 views!!)

Super Mario Bros. Crossover 2.0 Trailer

2012-01-17T22:16:00.001+08:00

Heh. Nice one!

MOVE - STA Travel Australia

2012-01-15T21:16:00.001+08:00

Real nice it will make you want to travel too!

How To Be A Typical Ah Beng & Ah Lian

2012-01-14T21:15:00.000+08:00

LOL. These 2 educational videos are presented to you by one talented Noah Yap.

How To Be A Typical Ah Beng

How To Be A Typical Ah Lian

If there's NO Christmas (Animated Music Video)

2012-01-14T20:46:00.002+08:00

Tired of the same old hopes and promises of change made naively by man every Christmas and New Year Simba the cat sings a bitter song about the disappointment and sadness the season brings him and wonders if it would really make a difference if there was no Christmas... this year.

Now if only they have this song, "If there's NO Valentine's Day...", wouldn't it be nice? I feel like eating Cadbury chocolates.

Macy Wu in the 33D Invader

2012-01-12T19:15:00.000+08:00

Heh. Cute title of a movie. The 33D Invader. Lol. Still it's quite a (daring) move by Macy Wu to act in such a HK Category III film especially as she has to strip and to have intimate scenes with two men.

Her first movie is a Hong Kong Category III film, which requires her to strip and have intimate scenes with two men.

But Chinese model Macy Wu insisted she didn't do it just to get noticed.

"I didn't strip because I wanted to be famous," said the 25-year-old rookie actress.

"Not everyone becomes famous just by taking their clothes off.

"There are also other actresses who are already famous, but take their clothes off in movies," she told Chinese website Shangdu Entertainment last September when her movie, The 33D Invader, opened in Hong Kong.

The Hubei native told Sina Entertainment, another Chinese website, that she accepted the role because the director Cash Chin films women in a beautiful way.

Shaw Organisation, which owns the movie's distribution rights, told The New Paper that they have submitted The 33D Invader to the Media Development Authority (MDA) for rating. The local movie distributor hopes to release it here in the first half of the year.

MDA's director of Content and Standards, Ms Amy Chua, confirmed the film has been submitted for review and is pending classification.

She explained that elements such as sex, nudity, language, violence and horror will be taken into consideration.

To Wu, movies are an artistic expression regardless if they are erotic or not.

She also feels actors should try everything.

"I don't want to be typecast as a soft porn star. I will take on any role as long as it's suitable and I like it," Wu told Shangdu Entertainment.

Chin told Sina Entertainment that he talent-spotted Wu when she was a model in Beijing.

He was attracted to her charisma and knew immediately after meeting her that she was perfect to play the lead role in The 33D Invader.

Wu had reportedly beat Chinese model Mavis Pan to get the role. Pan enjoyed brief fame last year when photos of her in bed with popular Hong Kong actor Raymond Lam surfaced.

Whatever Wu's motives were to star in the erotic movie, whether she makes it big remains to be seen.

The 33D Invader made about HK$3million (S$498,000) in Hong Kong, which is good money, said the spokesman from Shaw Organisation.

Interest in Wu peaked a month after The 33D Invader was released in Hong Kong when she received more than 100 responses to most of her postings in Weibo.

But now, news about her has dwindled since the movie ended its run in cinemas there.

Not exactly Shu Qi

Wu's trajectory is vast contrast to Chin's former muse, Shu Qi, who propelled to stardom after starring in Chin's erotic film, Sex and Zen 2, in 1996.

Chin made a name for himself making skin flicks like The Fruit Is Swelling (1997); Naked Poison (2000); The Forbidden Legend: Sex & Chopsticks (2008) and its sequel the following year.

In The 33D Invader, Wu plays Future, a woman who travels from the year 2046 to 2011 in search of a healthy man to impregnate her because the entire male population had become sterile due to alien radiation.

Future sets her eyes on college boy Lawrence (Chen Jun Yan) and their frolicking turns schoolmate Jeana (Japanese adult video actress Akiho Yoshizawa) green, so she decides to seduce Lawrence too.

Meanwhile, two evil aliens (Japanese adult video actor Taka "Hand Of God" Kato and Hsueh Ya-Wen) travel back in time to try to thwart Future's plans.

The flick is a loose remake of the 1993 Hong Kong erotic hit Crazy Love, which starred sweetie-pie actress Loletta Lee in a career-changing role.

Both movies share the same Chinese title Mi Tao Cheng Shu Shi, which literally means "when the peach is ripe".

The 33D Invader also features three other babes, Chen Chih-Ying, Lee Ko-Chu and Monna Lam.

Director Chin told Shangdu Entertainment that the movie is highly scintillating and on average "features one nude scene every six minutes".

Some scenes are so hot and heavy that only the lighting man and cameraman were allowed to be on the film set, Chin said.

A spokesman for Shaw Organisation said they brought in the movie because "good and interesting R21 movies still appeal to mature movie-goers."

It would be interesting for viewers as the movie is the Crazy Love of 2012, she added.

She denied they were influenced by the local box-office success of another Hong Kong erotic film, 3D Sex And Zen, which took in $590,000 when it ran for six weeks here last July.

3D Sex And Zen earned more than US$5 million ($6.4 million) in Hong Kong since opening last April, one reason being the novelty of a 3-D skin flick.

Wu, who is not married, did not think her family would understand her decision to act in the movie and deliberately did not tell them much about her role.

She explained to Sina.com: "I'm old enough to make this decision on my own. It's simply a movie, just that there's nudity involved.

"My friends understand why I took on this movie and are supportive. They tell me, which successful actress hadn't stripped before? But these stars still have supportive fans.

"Whether an actress strip or not is all about movie requirements. What's special about actors is that we do what normal people cannot or do not dare to do."

Her male co-star Kato, with whom Wu shares some intimate scenes, said in an interview with Chinese website Sohu Entertainment that she was very daring.

"Some actresses agree to do an erotic movie, but later become so scared they cry on set," he said.

"But Wu is different. She's got guts and is gracious."

Meanwhile, Wu appears to be at a crossroad in her life. She posted on her Weibo account on Christmas Day: "The older you get, the less you know about what you want, which gets you thinking harder about what you want.

"So what do I really want?"

From Diva Asia, "Macy Wu: "I didn't strip for fame"".

Jodi Mohd Nizam Lee and the importance of getting publicity by writing "Happy New Year" wrongly in Chinese

2012-01-09T20:08:00.001+08:00

Jodi Mohd Nizam Lee: a beauty...with too much brain? Heh. I like her strategy (really!) for gathering attention by her mistake. She's for sure subscribing to 'there is no such thing as bad publicity'.

A beauty contestant, who is representing the Republic in the Miss Asia Pageant in Hong Kong this year, is in the spotlight for making a controversial move to garner attention.

27-year-old Singapore permanent resident Jodi Mohd Nizam Lee, who was born in Sabah, admitted to deliberately writing two out of four Chinese characters of the greeting "Happy New Year" wrongly, in a bid to attract media attention, reported Sin Chew Daily.

She told reporters that it was done intentionally so that the Hong Kong media would report about her.

"I did not have to get naked or get into a fight but I still got to be on the front pages of all Hong Kong newspapers," she boasted to the Chinese newspaper, and claimed that she could actually speak fluent Mandarin.

She later clarified on her blog that she actually wrote the Chinese characters accurately on another piece of red paper and posed with it as soon as she finished posing for photographs with the first wrongly written piece.

"I apologise for any embarrassment caused which was not my intention," she wrote.

Yahoo! Singapore has reached out to her, and she claimed that reporters of earlier Chinese reports on her had misinterpreted her words. She explained that it was due to her nervousness that caused her to miswrite the first piece, and she hoped Singaporeans can forgive her mistake.

Retail business manager, Teo Ming Hui, 29, told Yahoo! Singapore that he is appalled by Johi Lee's actions of gaining fame the fast way.

"I was totally astounded when I read the news. Why does she have to go so low in order to gain the media's attention?" he questioned.

This is not the first time a Singapore beauty contestant has made the headlines for the wrong reason.

Ris Low, then 24, was crowned Miss Singapore World 2009 that year, but she later stepped down after a wave of public outcry over her credit card fraud convictions in May 2009. She was also slammed by the media and netizens for her poor English language skills.

From Yahoo! News, "Did S’pore beauty queen fumble greeting for attention?".

English Girls Ordering Indian Food With Google (Super Intelligent)

2012-01-08T21:30:00.001+08:00

So what do you think? Are they for real?!?!

Airsoft GI - Left 4 Dead - Impulse 76 Fan Film

2012-01-08T21:25:00.001+08:00

A cool fan film (a short, but impressive one at 9 minutes 13 seconds) for the game "Left 4 Dead".

NUS server hacked easily by Team Intra?!

2012-01-08T21:16:00.000+08:00

SC Magazine Australia in "Singapore University hacked" quoted the hackers: "I made it my personal goal to get in and r*pe their sorry asses for the message."

The Singapore University refers to NUS.

And the hacker group involved is Team Intra. (Yeah, and the group is so mysterious that it's difficult to find more info about them. Heh. There's one 'professional sports team' called Team Intro. I doubt they're the same team. Hur hur.)

The hacker group claiming responsibility for yesterday's hack into a National University of Singapore (NUS) server said that an error message had spurred them on.

Australian IT publication, SC magazine, yesterday reported that the message popped up when the group, Team Intra, had initially probed the website.

It has allegedly stated, "If you're trying to use the SQL error message to dig for juicy information, get lost."

This message spurred the hackers to continue with the attempt.

They exploited a vulnerability in the server's database and gained access to about 70 staff members' user names, passwords and domain information.

Team Intra then posted the information online, where it was accessible to public.

A spokesman from NUS told the media that the leaked information was not of confidential nature. He added that none of it had been removed or tampered with.

He also clarified that the online group hacked into a server, which hosted research papers and publications, and not the NUS network.

The Straits Times reported that NUS has reset the passwords of all affected accounts, disconnected the server from the network.

The spokesperson also said that appropriate measures would be put in place to prevent similar incidents from happening in future.

First reported by the magazine www.scmagazine.com.au, the article drew comments from a netizen who signed off as Team Intra.

He shed light on the purpose of the hack.

The user said that Team Intra "did not have any problem with the university", and it was "simply a demonstration of how weak their security was".

He added that the group did not intend to leak private data but wanted to show the poor security standards of the website.

"We have our best intentions."

He added that it took just five minutes to get the server's security but they did not change anything on the server.

The user alleged that the passwords had been accessed before as the group had found a list of passwords posted on a password cracking forum.

From Asiaone, "Hacker group spurred on by NUS error message".

SINGAPORE--Hackers have infiltrated the National University of Singapore's (NUS) backend systems and made away with a trove of information, including staff usernames, domain information and hashed passwords. University has confirmed the incident but noted that the affected data is not confidential.

According to a report Thursday on IT security Web site Secure Computing Magazine's (SC Magazine), hacker group Team Intra had infiltrated the tertiary institution's database by exploiting a SQL vulnerability. The hackers apparently felt the urge to do so after the NUS Web site, upon receiving probes, generated an error message which stated: "If you're trying to use the SQL error message to dig for juicy information, get lost."

The hackers reportedly retorted: "I made it my personal goal to get in and r*pe their sorry asses for the message." The group subsequently published the stolen information which included NUS staff usernames, domain information and hashed, or encrypted, passwords, it added.

SC Magazine also noted that it had notified the Singapore university about the breach.

[UPDATE: Jan. 6, 9.45 a.m.] SC Magazine has since updated its report with a statement from the NUS' head of IT security, Yong Fong Liang, who said the security breach affected a server which did not contained any sensitive information. Yong was quoted to say: "[The] hackers infiltrated into the system exploiting an application security loophole. This system is a departmental server containing public data... The leaked passwords are for local accounts that allow access to the departmental server only. They are not NUSNET accounts and passwords."

In an e-mail statement to ZDNet Asia, an NUS spokesperson confirmed the hack. "On Jan. 5, 2012, the university discovered that one of our Web servers had been hacked into. We have looked into the matter and ascertained that the information stored on the server is not of a confidential nature. In addition, no information has been removed or tampered with," he said.

"As a precautionary measure, the passwords of all affected accounts have been reset. The affected server has also been disconnected from the network," he noted, adding that the affected server was an isolated, standalone system that was not linked to the NUS network.

The spokesperson also noted that the university is investigating the matter and will put in place appropriate measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

[UPDATE: Jan. 6, 3.44 p.m.] In a comment on SC Magazine, a commentor who claimed to be part of Team Intra, said the hack was not targeted and was simply a demonstration of how weak NUS' security was.

"Just clearing this up, it is not our intention to LEAK any private data to the public. We are just here to show the poor security standards some Web sites have. We have our best intentions. NOTHING was changed on the server, and NO ONE was harmed," he said.

"[NUS tried] to prevent hackers by sending out a simple statement, 'If you're trying to use the SQL error message to dig for juicy information, get lost.' However [it did] nothing to actually ensure that [it is] safe," the commentator said, adding that it only took 5 minutes of WAF (Web application firewall) bypassing to get past the university's security infrastructure. He also noted that while the passwords obtained were hashed, the team took less than 4 to 5 hours to decrypt all the hashes.

He revealed that someone else previously also managed to access the same database. He explained that when his team searched for one of the hashes, it found the hashes on a password-cracking forum InsidePro. "No one on that server is safe, if this is absolutely the case," he said. "National University of Singapore had and still has many more holes in its Web site."

From ZDNet Asia News, "Singapore's NUS confirms security breach".

What do MPs spend their allowances on?

2012-01-07T22:22:00.001+08:00

...

Under the recommendations of the committee to review ministerial salaries, MPs will see an allowance cut to $192,500.

This is about a 3 per cent cut from their 2010 allowance, a relatively small cut compared to the pay cut of 36 to 37 per cent the Prime Minister and ministers are facing.

However, MPs say the job expenses are diverse and often hefty, and just like regular salaries, their allowances are subject to income tax deductions.

In addition, it is the norm for MPs to contribute a percentage of their allowance to their political party, if they are affiliated to one.

For the People's Action Party, MPs donate 10 per cent of their allowance to the party. The same applied for Mr Chiam See Tong of Singapore Democratic Party when he was an MP, Mr Sin Kek Tong, 64, founder of SPP previously said.

The Straits Times (ST) interviewed 10 MPs to see where their monthly allowance goes to.

Mr Edwin Tong, MP for Moulmein-Kallang GRC, told ST that when he became MP, he opened a separate bank account for his monthly MP allowance, which he only uses for MP-related purposes.

These include dinners with grassroots activists and charitable donations.

He does not see the allowance as income for himself, and having a separate bank account makes it more transparent, he said.

Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP of Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, said MPs may make regular donations to charitable causes, as well as ad-hoc donations made to individuals and organisations.

Other expenses include constituency-related donations, such as to welfare funds, he said.

He added that he also pays for retreats and gatherings for grassroots activists to build teamwork.

Ms Ellen Lee, MP of Sembawang GRC, told ST that she donated $20,000 to the building fund of her ward's community centre.

It appears that this altruistic behaviour is the norm, according to the MPs. Mr David Ong, MP of Jurong GRC, said the MPs take every chance to give back to the community.

Dr Janil Puthucheary, MP of Pasir-Ris-Punggol GRC, said she donates portions of her allowance anonymously.

Ms Tin Pei Ling, MP of Marine Parade GRC, said she spends about half her MP allowance on donations and grassroots activities.

She comes out several thousand dollars each month to grassroots functions. For example, she is forking out almost $10,000 for the upcoming Chinese New Year dinner.

The average dinner for activists cost $5,000 to $6,000.

For what is left of her allowance, she said she is planning to use the money to fund a new social project in her ward, which she will launch soon.

She added that she uses her personal savings for expenses such as travel.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Mountbatten, said about 10 per cent of his monthly allowance goes towards more personal causes, such as the weddings or funerals of grassroots activists and volunteers.

Dr Lily Neo, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC, has been previously reported to have donated her increase in MP allowance back in 2011 to Public Assistance receipients in her constituency.

Mr Ang Hin Kee, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, told Chinese daily Zaobao that MPs all have issues they are close with. He is personally concerned with the disadvantaged in society and reintegrating ex-convicts into society.

Therefore, he will donate to related projects. Even though the sums may be small, by doing so, Mr Ang hopes that he will attract others to do likewise.

Marine Parade GRC MP Seah Kian Peng also told Zaobao that he helped foot part of the renovation bill for his ward's Braddell Heights Community Centre. Other than that, he will also take care of the expenses for dinners held in appreciation of his ward's volunteers.

From Asiaone, "What do MPs spend their allowances on?".

Alien Planet "Full Documentary"

2012-01-07T22:01:00.001+08:00

The CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the Mothership Von Braun and three probes: Balboa, Da Vinci, and Newton. This robotic fleet is responsible for finding and assessing any life forms on Darwin IV. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with diversity of life of all sizes. The drama on Darwin IV is motivated by real science missions, such as the NASA Origins Program and the NASA / JPL Planet-Finder Mission, as well as the European Space Agency's Darwin Project. "Alien Planet " is a cosmic expedition along side Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Jack Horner, Craig Venter, and George Lucas...

And yes, it's not as boring as one might suspect!

the mrbrown show: a minister shares his thoughts on the pay cut

2012-01-07T22:00:00.000+08:00

MP and Minister Midas Jin shares his thoughts on the ministerial pay cut, with his constituents. LOL!!

Prime Taxi: not so prime anymore (or how it decides--wrongly!--to increase its fare as well)

2012-01-03T23:05:00.000+08:00

I'm contemplating to delete this previous post of mine, "Prime Taxi: Always There When You Need a Taxi...and no fare hike (yet?!)".

Yes, it's due to the news that Prime Taxi shall raise fares from Friday, Jan 6.

Time to invest in a good bicycle.

The last taxi operator which has not yet raised its fares will now do so from Friday, according to The Straits Times.

Prime Taxi, the operator with the smallest fleet here, will raise flagdown fares by 20 cents from $2.80 to $3.00, and extend the charging period for peak hour surcharges at night.

It will also extend its city surcharge to public holidays.

The company made the move after its drivers complained that they were losing out to other cabbies, the report said.

ComfortDelGro adjusted its fares on Dec 12, followed by SMRT. Four other taxi operators, Trans-cab, Premier, Smart and Yellow Top, followed suit shortly.

A report from my paper said that Trans-cab decided to adjust its fares when it concluded that there was no competitive advantage in keeping the same fare structure.

Its drivers observed that passengers still took Comfort cabs even though they had become more expensive.

From Asiaone, "Prime Taxi to raise fares from Friday, Jan 6".

Auld Lang Syne - the best 8 clips! (Including a Hokkien version!)

2012-01-01T18:57:00.001+08:00

"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and it may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago". (Source: Wikipedia).

Here are a few clips on "Auld Lang Syne" (8 of them) - Goodbye 2011!:

ViVA Girls - Auld Lang Syne 蛍の光

Auld Lang Syne Hokkien Version

Auld Lang Syne (with lyrics)

Auld Lang Syne - Theme of the film "Waterloo Bridge"

Auld Lang Syne (The New Year's Anthem, Fireworks Version)

Auld Lang Syne - One Man Choir - New Years song (with lyrics) - A Cappella multitrack by Trudbol

Red Hot Chilli Pipers - Auld Lang Syne (Live)

Auld Lang Syne - Kenny G

Slippery Orang Minyak aka Oily Man

2012-01-01T18:41:00.000+08:00

Yes, there's even a Wikipedia entry on "Orang Minyak". Supernatural? Possibly a mutant? Heh.

While most people would be in deep slumber at 2am, residents of Kampung Laksamana in Gombak were wide awake, roaming up and down Jalan Laksamana 1 in Gombak, Selangor.

Around 40 residents all divided into groups of about five to 10 people each and fully equipped with spotlights and wooden sticks were on patrol in the village located about 2km from Batu Caves that Thursday morning. Although they were joking with one another, you could feel the tension in the air.

An outsider might think that a gang rumble was on the cards. But what the residents of this village were worried about were not humans, instead they were keeping an eye out for not one, but two, supernatural beings. They are under attack from a couple of orang minyak (oily man), they claim. This village has been buzzing with sightings of the two paranormal creatures for the last 10 days.

Many residents claim to have seen and heard the orang minyak around the vicinity of the Pangsapuri Laksamana and Jalan Laksamana 1. And they all say the same thing the orang minyak are clad only in their underwear and drenched in black shiny oil. They can jump from one roof to another with ease, and vanish into thin air within seconds.

It's definitely no laughing matter, stresses Aslam Khan, 33, one of the villagers "lucky" enough to have seen them.

As he describes them, one is tall, stocky and bald while the other is thin and curly haired.

"I saw the bald orang minyak hiding behind the water tank of a house at about two in the morning. It was breathing really loudly, like a cow.

"It was black and shiny. When I shone my light on it, the thing stuck out its head to look back at me. Before I could do anything, it climbed up the roof and disappeared," says Aslam.

He says they also found the possible spot where the orang minyak conducts its ritual of reciting jampi (mantra) and having an oil bath. The villagers stumbled across the spot after chasing the orang minyak into some bushes next to the flat.

"There was a large oil patch there," he says, pointing to the ground.

Adds Aslam, the next night, they found a packet of fried rice and noodles at the very same spot. After returning about an hour later, the food was gone, believed to be eaten by the orang minyak.

Supernatural or real?

According to popular legend, the orang minyak is a person who has undertaken the study of black magic and as a rite of passage, has to rape a certain number of anak dara (virgins) to pass that course.

The villagers are worried because almost every house in the neighbourhood houses a young girl.

One, they said, has already had a nasty encounter with the orang minyak.

As reported by a local Malay daily, the 17-year-old girl did not only see the orang minyak a few times, but also felt "someone" caressing her and calling her to go out of the house.

It reportedly also locked the family members outside the house on Christmas eve, forcing the girl's brother-in-law Kamal Bahari Satar, 36, to break down the door.

"We saw a black heap underneath the kitchen table. When other residents poked it with a bamboo stick, we could see blood stains," he was quoted as saying. It then fled to a neighbour's house.

After being "disturbed" for five days, Kamal decided to move his family out of their house, and out of the neighbourhood.

Unfortunately, all attempts by Sunday Star to contact him were unsuccessful.

Although some of these stories sound incredible and illogical, it is hard to find any Kampung Laksamana resident who doesn't believe in it, even those who haven't seen it.

The residents have been carrying out patrols from midnight to dawn. Every now and then, a team of youngsters can be seen riding their motorbikes in a convoy around the neighbourhood.

During the Christmas weekend, some 200 people patrolled the street, waiting for the orang minyak to appear and many carried parangs (machetes) and axes, says Aslam.

"Until we manage to catch this thing, we are going to carry on with our patrols. I don't feel calm although I don't have a wife or younger sister," he vows.

Muaz Amran, 21, another resident who has been patrolling the area every night says he did not believe in such a thing before this.

"I thought the thing existed only in the movies but it seems to be happening in real life," says the fresh graduate, referring to the 1956 P. Ramlee hit movie Sumpah Orang Minyak. He says that although he hasn't seen the orang minyak for himself, he believes his neighbours.

Another resident who only wants to be known as Man says he did not believe his neighbours at first.

Then, on Christmas day, he was woken up at 3am by a commotion outside his house.

"Apparently, the orang minyak had run into the next door neighbour's house but I just brushed aside the incident," admits the bank officer.

The next night, his niece, who is a university student, saw the orang minyak sitting on the wall of his house.

"She woke up when she heard something. When she peeked out of the window, she saw a black figure sitting on the wall with its back facing her," he says.

P. Mohan, 48, also claims to have seen the orang minyak at a house opposite his flat at about 12.30am.

"It was crawling up the stairs of the house, just like Spiderman. When it reached the top it suddenly jumped onto the roof. I don't think a human could do that. It then just disappeared," he says, adding with a slight shudder, "The hair on my hands just stood up. We can laugh and joke about it, but this is serious. All the families here have young girls."

K. Chandran, 49, has yet to see the orang minyak but he too is afraid that it will harm his 14 year-old daughter after hearing stories of how it appeared in an abandoned house next to his.

"I feel very scared now. All of us sleep in the hall with the lights on," says the scrap metal dealer, whose lack of sleep is evident around his eyes.

Chandran shares that he has even installed two additional lights in his house, each costing RM500.

"Ever since these sightings, we have been feeling uneasy. I even dreamt about one of them recently," he says.

Zaki Zainudin, 42, agrees that it has been difficult to get any peace of mind these past few days now they are startled by the slightest sound and get suspicious of every little happening.

"Last time a broken plate was just a broken plate. Now, we wonder why it has broken," he says, before checking to see why a dog was howling nearby.

Zaki then takes out his phone to show photographs as proof of the existence of the orang minyak oil stains and footprint of the orang minyak in Kamal's house. He has also taken a picture of a banana tree leaf with an unusual tear. It has been said that the orang minyak is attracted to the banana bud (jantung pisang).

What is clear is that this stress has caused residents to lose sleep. Those on patrol only manage to catch a few hours of sleep before heading off to work in the morning. All the residents also sleep with all their lights on these days.

Almost at their wits end, the residents have made a police report as well as getting help from a few alternative healers, including a bomoh. They have also been holding prayers almost every night to ask for protection from the evil "spirits".

Their frustration at the menace, and exhaustion, however, is growing by the day.

"I dare it to come and confront me now," says office worker K. Paramasivam, his exasperation evident, echoing the feeling of every Kampung Laksamana resident.

He claims to have seen the bald orang minyak in an abandoned house, before it climbed up to the roof.

His main concern is for everyone in the neighbourhood, especially the young girls.

"I also have a younger sister in my house. We can't be sleeping two or three hours every day. We are not robots."

But in a way this orang minyak episode has been a blessing in disguise for the residents of Kampung Laksamana.

Man observes that the slight "tension" between the supporters of the different political parties has disappeared in the past few days.

"Everybody is helping one another out. Everyone is together as one," he says.

The residents also agree that they are friendlier with their neighbours now.

Paramasivam admits that he never really spoke to his neighbours and got to know them before.

"At the most, I would just acknowledge them. Now I actually talk and get to know them. The neighbourly spirit has been enhanced by these happenings," he says.

From Asiaone, "The 'oily man' strikes fear".

A black-greased man, clad only in equally greasy, black underpants, creeping into a room through an open window that is the image many have of the Orang Minyak. Of course, for most, it is reinforced by the repeat watchings of P. Ramlee's 1956 classic Sumpah Orang Minyak (The Curse of the Oily Man).

Legend as reprised by the Malay hit movie has it that the orang minyak is a regular person, but is pursuing the dark arts. To complete this course of "learning" and for his ilmu (knowledge) to be "effective", the orang minyak is supposed to rape a certain number of virgins.

Different numbers of virgins needed have been bandied about, from one to 40 and 99. Some say that the numbers of virgins depended on the orang minyak's master, but luckily, the orang minyak has the ability to "recognise" real virgins.

According to another popular tale, the orang minyak became what it was because of a black magic ritual gone wrong, and it was only by raping the 40 virgins that he could break the dark spell binding him.

An Islamic faith healer from Kasturi Syifa says he has heard that if the orang minyak rapes the required number of virgins, he will get his wish granted some common wishes are to be good looking and to have the ability to sweet-talk and charm people.

"They say, the person made a deal with the devil," he adds.

He, however, insists that he does not believe in the orang minyak 100 per cent, as he has not come across one yet.

He points out that all the orang minyak that have been captured turned out to be either thieves or mental health patients.

Ustaz Ismail Kamus, an Islamic faith healer from Darussalam, explains that the orang minyak douse their body in oil to evade capture.

They cannot use violence and can only use their magic to evade capture, he adds, "It also keeps on coming back to the same place to taunt the people and show off its abilities'."

Although he has not met one personally, Ustaz Ismail believes that the orang minyak exists.

He notes, it would take a few months to learn the black magic, but once mastered, the orang minyak would be able to walk through walls and vanish into thin air. He adds, the orang minyak is also believed to be very agile and can get strength by sucking out the water from a banana bud (jantung pisang).

From Asiaone, "Orang Minyak: Mythical monster or perverse criminal?".

The black hand creeping through the bedroom window. That's how Elaine Khor remembers the her encounter with the Orang Minyak or Oily Man.

Elaine was assigned to a training session at a hostel in Malacca and shared a room with her colleagues. In the first three weeks of their stay, they discovered money and undergarments stolen from their room despite it being locked.

"We worked on the same shift so it was unlikely to be one of us. It was so strange to have your things stolen from you with no signs of break-in," this 34-year-old professional told Yahoo! Malaysia in an interview.

What was more bizarre, she said, was the frequent visits by a "black hand" - a black hand that was not connected to any human body.

"I was sleeping but woke up in the middle of the night feeling very uncomfortable. I then saw this black hand, a hand only, creeping through an open window, as if it was searching for something," she explained.

She started screaming and it disappeared. Her roommate witnessed a similar hand trespassing their room the following night. More strange things happened at the hostel, from increased "black hand" sightings to a bed being thrown to the ground in an empty spare room.

"We were tired of this charade. After seeing the black hand over and over again, we decided to fight it."

So one night, Elaine and her colleagues gathered some wood from a nearby construction site and decided to venture out to find the "source" of this hand.

The group of girls and boys then headed out of the hostel and started roaming around. Suddenly one of their roommates saw a black figure running by them.

"It went by so fast! The boys chased it but lost track of the figure, it just disappeared! Apparently the figure looked greasy," she added.

Supernatural or supercriminal?

Malaysians know the Orang Minyak as a supernatural being. But, in some cases, the Orang Minyak takes human form.

Legend has it that the Orang Minyak was a supernatural serial rapist who struck a deal with the Devil to gain supernatural powers by raping several virgins - some say 21, while others say 40 - within seven days.

This version of the supernatural being was used as a plot to produce a 1958 movie, Sumpah Orang Minyak or The Curse of the Oily Man, which starred the late P. Ramlee.

Another version of the Orang Minyak which emerged during the 1960s was described as a naked man covered in oil.

The greasy man appeared that way to make it difficult for people to catch or grab hold of him. His black camouflage also makes it easier for him to blend into the night.

In the human form, criminals take on this Orang Minyak disguise to prey on victims in women's dormitories or villages.

In September, residents in Taman Pinggiran Batu Caves Gombak captured a man, posing as an Orang Minyak. Police arrested the man believed to be a black magic practitioner.

Slimy and shifty

Evelyn Khoo remembers the Orang Minyak story as a shape shifting spirit. She recalls many reports of thefts at the village near her grandparents' home in Butterworth, Penang.

"It all erupted one night when neighbour said they saw a shiny black figure running away," she said.

Soon after, the villagers went out on night patrols equipped with machetes and sticks.

"I was 14 at that time and they told us the Orang Minyak can transform into a black dog or mosquito to deceive pursuers," Evelyn explained.

Her grandfather's dog was not spared. Some villagers nearly killed it thinking it was the Orang Minyak in a different form.

"More stories were told to us; that the Orang Minyak can transform into a mosquito and back into man, using that as an opportunity to sneak into out rooms to molest us! It was frightening!"

Many believed that in order to deter the Orang Minyak, women had to wear sweaty clothes to give the supernatural being the impression that men were in close proximity.

Another common remedy is to bite the Orang Minyak's left thumb and cover it with a batik cloth.

But, think about it. Would you want to go near a slimy, greasy, oily supernatural spirit?

From Yahoo! News, "Orang Minyak – Supernatural sicko or real-life rascal?".

A family is traumatised after several sightings of orang minyak forced them to temporarily move out from their house at Kampung Laksamana in Gombak.

Kamal Bahari Satar, 36, told Sinar Harian that the decision was made after the family was disturbed for five days.

"My sister-in-law repeatedly saw the apparition inside and outside our house," he said on Tuesday.

Orang minyak, or translated as oily man in Malay, is a supernatural rapist who uses black grease as a night-time camouflage.

Kamal Bahari said only female family members could see the orang minyak.

The apparition had locked family members inside the house late Saturday night.

"We saw a black heap underneath the kitchen table.

"When other residents poked it with a bamboo stick, we could see blood stains," he said.

According to Kamal Bahari, police also found black footprints outside the house where the alleged incident took place.

He added that his sister-in-law was later treated with alternative therapies after she heard whispers asking her to step outside the house.

"Thankfully, she has recovered but we do not want to take any chances as I have a 22-year-old younger sister," said Kamal Bahari.

From Asiaone, "Family moves out after 'orang minyak' scare".

How to be your own boss - and have more time with the family

2012-01-01T13:10:00.000+08:00

How to be your own boss - and have more time with the family.

A good reading for the New Year! Sigh.

A cool Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review

2011-12-26T23:47:00.000+08:00

Already gathered 3,536,232 views!!

See how the World Searched with Google's 2011 Zeitgeist: http://googlezeitgeist.com

Music: "Sooner or Later" by Mat Kearney; Produced by Whirled Creative with Director Scott Chan.

of Former teacher pleads guilty to underage sex--more than 15 times!!--with student

2011-12-24T10:16:00.000+08:00

According to this website, "Singapore -- Age of Consent": the legal age of consent for sexual activity is fourteen (14) years.

However according to this Wikipedia article, age of consent is increased to 16 years & alos that cases of underage sex are usually charged under the Women's Charter.

Confusing?

Well in the sickening case below, it is quite clear that the former secondary school teacher pleading guilty to having sex with his underaged student--who was 14 years old at that time.

(In addition to the maximum jail term of 10 years, I do wish the name of this sexual predator is revealed! Shame him publicly, please!)

Imagine (no, better don't), he did not use a condom for most of the encounters (which were more than 15 occasions!)! Shouldn't he be caned as well?!

A former secondary school teacher pleaded guilty to having sex with his underaged student, claiming it made him feel "more of a man".

Currently unemployed, the 41-year-old was found guilty of five counts of underage sex with the girl, who was 14 years old at that time.

They had sex on more than 15 occasions within a two-year period from end 2007, at various places including a Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) room of the school.

The teacher, who headed the school's design and technology department, was also in charge of the "Robotics Club" which the girl joined in 2006.

He asked the girl to be his girlfriend because he found her attractive.

The man, who was then married with a child, also bought her gifts when they were on school trips together to South Korea.

They started becoming intimate in the Robotics CCA room in the school by hugging and kissing each other.

He had sex with the girl the first time on a sofa bed inside the room.

This continued on several occasions in 2008 and the court heard that the teacher did not use a condom for most of the encounters.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Kavita Uthrapathy, who pressed for a jail term of between seven and 10 years, said "it was entirely fortuitous that the girl did not get pregnant".

The girl's age also came under scrutiny, with Ms Uthrapathy saying he had "preyed on her youth and vulnerability".

She added that the abuse of trust was a serious aggravating factor, and the teacher had also "violated the sanctity of the school" by committing the offences "very brazenly during the day."

The incident was only brought to light when his wife, who just gave birth to their second child, discovered text messages between the two in January 2010.

A few months later, she informed the girl's mother of the illicit relationship and a police report was made.

The court also heard that the teacher had harassed the girl over the phone, threatening to reveal the affair to her friends.

Ms Uthrapathy added that this caused the girl distress and recurrent nightmares, and she felt "trapped and traumatised".

The court also heard that the man did not express any form of guilt or remorse after committing the offence.

He was also observed to have acted normally by his wife and principals of his former schools.

But the court heard Friday that the man, who has no previous brushes with the law and received numerous awards during his time as a teacher, was remorseful.

He will be sentenced on January 17 next year.

If convicted, he could be jailed up to 10 years, fined or both.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Former teacher pleads guilty to underage sex with student".

A dead man in VivoCity: Suicide?! (Police Investigation still ongoing)

2011-12-24T09:57:00.000+08:00

A follow up to this post, "Gunshot heard in VivoCity; man found dead?!?!", the dead man was revealed to be a male Certis Cisco auxillary police officer. It's also said that 'no foul play suspected'. However I still categorized this post under a tag 'crime' as even if it's a suicide, I'd consider it as a crime.

A male auxillary police officer was found dead in a toilet at VivoCity. He was found with a suspected gunshot wound.

A check with the police revealed that they had received a call at 6pm about a gunshot.

The Certis Cisco officer was found in a toilet located on the first floor, with the door of the cubicle locked from the inside.

A local media agency reported that the officer was found in his uniform, with a gunshot wound to his head, and his service revolver beside him.

He was pronounced dead by paramedics at 6.30pm.

The dead man has been identified as a 25-year-old Malaysian Indian, who had been working for the company for three years.

According to The Straits Times, the officer was on duty earlier at Citibank branch in the shopping mall, where he had been deployed as a security officer.

Police investigations are still ongoing.

From Asiaone, "Gunshot heard at VivoCity, Cisco officer found dead".

Police said there's no foul play in the death of an auxiliary police officer at shopping mall VivoCity on Thursday.

The man was found dead in a toilet cubicle with a gunshot wound to his head.

Some shoppers at VivoCity were shocked, and spooked by news of the incident.

The 25-year-old Indian man from Malaysia was still in uniform when he was found within the locked cubicle, with his service revolver beside him.

"I'm a bit surprised that this happened in a shopping mall where there are a lot of people around," said one shopper.

Details have emerged about the guard, who worked for Certis CISCO for three years.

Auxiliary police officers are required to return their arms within two hours after they are off-duty.

The firm said he was off-duty at 5.00 pm.

An hour later, he was found dead in the toilet.

He was a relief security officer at Citibank for the day.

Citibank said it is "deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing of the security guard" and will assist in police investigations.

But it declined to say if bank officers noticed anything unusual about the guard's behaviour.

Suicide prevention agency Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) said there are signs to look out for when someone is in trouble.

SOS Deputy Director Tan-Lee Yoke Yin, said: "Losing interest in doing some of their usual activities... showing signs of being very withdrawn, just wanting to be alone. But what is important is to look out for is any unusual change in behaviour as well as physical changes."

SOS provides confidential 24-hour emotional support to people in crisis.

Police investigations for the case are ongoing.

From Channel NewsAsia, "No foul play suspected in death of Cisco officer".

of the (always hilarious!) mrbrown show: a clarification about the SMRT breakdown

2011-12-24T09:35:00.000+08:00

Just uploaded yesterday in YouTube, and it has effortlessly gathered 93,154 views!

And this is the actual clip which 'inspires' the above masterpiece of mrbrown show!

MP Seng Han Thong speaking about SMRT disruptions in BlogTV 19-Dec-2011

Sex Appeal & Jokes: SMRT Breakdowns

2011-12-24T09:20:00.002+08:00

SMRT Breakdowns as presented by the sexy Munah Bagharib and the funny Hirzi Zulkiflie. Some coarse language, but well...sexy & funny nevertheless! Haha.

of hot Cebu Pacific dancing flight attendants - All I Want For Christmas Is You

2011-12-24T08:54:00.001+08:00

And all you want for Christmas is...one of those hot Cebu Pacific dancing flight attendants, huh?

Hur hur. I understand the feeling.

The dancing flight attendants of Cebu Pacific are back again, this time swaying to the tunes of Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You'.

The low-cost Philippine carrier gained famed last year by dancing to Lady Gaga on board flights to demonstrate emergency evacuation instructions to passengers.

This year, in time for Christmas, the airline has choreographed a two and a half minute dance routine in a bid to help passengers pay more attention to the safety demonstration.

A spokeswoman for the Manila-based airline, Candice Iyog, told the Associated Press: "Now that it's Christmas, we wanted to bring a little more fun into the flight."

A video of the routine shows four female attendants orange shirts and khaki bottoms dancing away on select flights.

However, the Cebu Pacific dance moves have not been well received everywhere in the Philippines when it took its first routine to the air. Local political leaders frowned upon it, saying the routine done in 2010 was "a cheap promotional gimmick" and was demeaning to women, reported AFP.

The airline then used male stewards to perform the original stunt done by females after it drew criticism from the local community.

Cebu Pacific is not the first airline to use its staff to attract the attention of passengers in unconventional ways.

Other airlines like Air New Zealand have also ran safety videos featuring dancing employees previously.

From Relax, "Dancing stewardesses make Christmas comeback".

SPH Red Apple Day 18/01/12

2011-12-23T00:02:00.004+08:00

Check out also the previous post for SPH Red Apple Day 07/07/11.

#SMRT song

2011-12-22T23:01:00.002+08:00

LOL. The hilarious YouTube clip was uploaded by sweetestkind on 18/12 and it has gathered 155,028 views so far! Great feat!

Gunshot heard in VivoCity; man found dead?!?!

2011-12-22T22:47:00.003+08:00

Latest news which was just published tonight at about 2142 hrs. I sure hope there'll be more details of what happened. It's a mystery: a gunshot, and a man found dead in a toilet cubicle.

A gunshot was heard Thursday evening in shopping mall VivoCity.

When police arrived at the scene, they found a dead man in a toilet cubicle on the first floor.

Police said they got the call around 6pm.

Channel NewsAsia understands the man could be an auxiliary police officer, as he was in uniform.

It is also understood the toilet cubicle was locked from the inside.

Forensic police are still at the scene.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Gunshot heard in VivoCity; man found dead".

GV Katong: Yummy!!

2011-12-22T22:03:00.000+08:00

Interesting! GV Katong Gold Class Lounge offers beefy burgers and Nonya flavours.

So check it out: GV Katong. 112 Katong, 112 East Coast Road #04-09 Singapore 428802.

Accessible with public bus 10, 10E, 14, 14E, 16, 32, 40.

And (perhaps) with the nearest Paya Lebar MRT station (and free shuttle bus to 112 Katong by the mall)

Back in the old days, the joke was that if you went to Katong, you'd see cinemas along the road, along with big, open carparks and people named De Souza.

Yes, there's no denying that, generally, when you mention Katong, you think of Katong laksa, then something Eurasian and, after that, everything Peranakan.

Which is why the new cinema multiplex GV Katong, housed in the refurbished shopping centre 112 Katong (the five-storey mall located at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road which enjoyed its soft launch last week), is kitted out in Peranakan-style decor.

Think shophouse motifs, flowery wallpaper and carpets, and decorative tiles. There's even a mini-showcase with a nonya kebaya displayed in it.

Heck, about the only thing Baba that's not there is an autographed photo of Dick Lee.

But Katongites, Katongnians, or whatever the Katong folk call themselves, don't really give two hoots about the fancy-schmacy theme.

They're cheering because finally - finally! - there's a cinema in the area since the closing of Marine Parade's Republic Theatre in the 1990s. And one with a GV Gold Class theatre, the first in the eastern part of Singapore, mind you.

For me, a Westie who lives in Holland V and who's not even an MParader, the opening of the cinema gives me a reason to visit Katong and soak up the atmosphere.

You see, I'm Jurassic enough to remember Katong as a kind of mini-Las Vegas Strip mall, in the good old days when neon lights shone, makan stalls abounded, the shophouses were busy, and drivers could park freely along the road without putting 100 coupons on the dashboard.

Then, people flocked to Odean-Katong, Roxy and Palace cinemas, all located in close proximity to one another.

I remember, as a kid in the back seat of my parents' car in the 1960s, the wide open spaces around the theatres and a shopping centre called Tay Ban Guan (Katongites called it TBG for short) which you had to walk through an alley to get to. The cake shop there had the best pineapple boat-shaped pastries and old-fashioned butter cakes.

Today, Katong has changed a lot. Things have fancied up. There's an Astons Prime within walking distance of 112. There are hip little eateries called Everything With Fries or Naive.

And at 112 itself, formerly Katong Mall (where nobody, not even Katongians went), you can find things like carrot-flavoured noodles in the food court.

Times, they are a-changing.

But Katong hasn't lost its flavour. Walking around, I felt that the laidback, easygoing, everyday-is-a-Sunday Katong vibe is still in the air.

Everyone seems to wear flip flops and the gals all seem to be friendlier and cuter than where I live.

I'm a movie fan, so I love travelling to far-off, exotic lands to see films. Especially to places so foreign that they don't even have MRT stations (or trains that break down) within walking distance. Marvellous!

Now, the joke about the coconut, the kebaya and the Katong dude with a guitar goes like this... Oh, never mind.

Come find me in the new theatre and I'll tell you about it.

From Asiaone, "GV Katong, from a Westie's point of view".

After much anticipation from residents and tenants from in and around the Katong area, Golden Village (GV) Katong hosted its Gala Opening to a star-studded crowd last evening at the newly refurbished 112 Katong.

Graced by local Peranakan personalities and celebrities who have grown up around Katong, the Opening Gala marked a new milestone in the history of Katong - an area of Singapore associated with Peranakan culture and gastronomical delights.

Amongst the Peranakan personalities who were in attendance were the likes of iconic Peranakan stage performer, Mr GT Lye; Artistic Director of The Necessary Stage, Mr Alvin Tan; and popular actress and thespian, Ms Tan Kheng Hua, who was accompanied by her daughter.

Said Ms Tan, "The opening of GV Katong couldn't have come at a better time! We have been waiting for a cinema in this part of Singapore for the longest time and it's great to finally have a cinema so close to home, right in the middle of our favourite hangout. The Peranakan designs are also truly amazing; we never thought a cinema could look this way!"

Adding to the star-studded night were popular radio personalities Rod Monteiro and The Married Men crew from 91.3FM; as well as Glenn Ong from The Morning Express on Class 95FM who spent their teen years in the area during their time in Saint Patrick's School, just a stone's throw away.

Actress Melissa Faith Yeo, Melody Chen, and husband, Randall Tan also attended the celebrations. The couple especially, were dressed in full Nyonya and batik apparel, fitting in perfectly with GV Katong's Perankan-inspired décor.

The Opening Gala also paid tribute to many of the stakeholders that have, over the years, helped shape Katong into a bustling melting pot filled with local flavour and culture. Local a cappella group, Vocaluptous, entertained guests with two Peranakan songs.

Amongst the special invitees were representatives from the Peranakan Association of Singapore such as Mr Edmund Wong, the third generation owner of epicurean mainstay Kim Choo, who has served Nyonya rice dumplings in the area since 1945; as well as Ms Bebe Seet owner of Peranakan restaurant Rumah Bebe, who has served Peranakan cuisine in Katong since 1928.

Said Mr Peter Wee, the President of The Peranakan Association of Singapore, whose Katong Antique House has been around since 1979, "The opening of GV Katong brings back a long awaited and highly anticipated cinema entertainment for the Katong and Joo Chiat community."

"History has really come full circle and we are happy see such a nice addition to this area. The Peranakan décor in the cinema is also a nice touch, paying tribute to the Katong culture and heritage," added Ms Seet.

With the highly anticipated opening of GV Katong, the iconic cinema will fill the void of an anchoring cinema which has been left vacant for nearly 20 years.

Mr Jamie Au, 35, an 'East-sider' all his life was ecstatic at GV Katong's opening, "When my friends and I were younger, we used to frequent the Republic Theatre at Marine Parade, but that has since closed its doors. The opening of GV Katong will make a big difference in our lives. It's great that we don't have to travel too far even when we decide to watch a late movie on a whim."

Mr Kurt Rieder, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Village said, "GV Katong is delighted to be able to bring the cinematic experience back to the residents and community of Katong and JooChiat. We look forward to creating new memories with filmgoers residing in the East, close to home."

GV Katong has a total seating capacity of 921 seats, which includes 56 plush and super-luxurious Gold Class cinema recliners. Pioneering the concept of in-cinema gourmet dining, GV's signature Gold Class will offer a sampling of the much-acclaimed Peranakan cuisine, including Otak Samosas, Assam Fish with fragrant Basmati rice, Nyonya Kueh delicacies, in addition to Chef Chris Foo's signature Western dishes.

Keen movie-goers, who are interested to watch the latest movies at the brand new GV Katong are welcome to check the listings or log on to www.gv.com.sg for detailed screening times.

GV Katong is located at 112 East Coast Road, Level 4,112 Katong.

From Asiaone, "Peranakan-inspired GV cinema officially opens". (21/12/11)

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel - Steven Sharp Nelson

2011-12-22T21:44:00.002+08:00

A group of musicians calling themselves The Piano Guys released a video of two Jedi playing the theme from "Star Wars" on dueling cellos. Heh. What I like best is the monologue in the end of the clip: You will start cello lessons...Now!

Shit Girls Say...and Shit Gays Say (The parody of parody)

2011-12-20T19:12:00.000+08:00

Thanks Sandy for recommending the YouTube clip, "Shit Gays Say". Like what I said, I have NOTHING against gays, really.

I for sure have NOTHING against girls, either.

So (to play it safe), I'll include both of the hilarious clips:

Shit Girls Say - Episode 1

Shit Gays Say (Parody of Shit Girls Say - Episode 1)

Prime Taxi: Always There When You Need a Taxi...and no fare hike (yet?!)

2011-12-20T17:22:00.006+08:00

First a disclaimer: this post is not sponsored by Prime Taxi. A free ride for a lifetime will be nice, though. Hur hur.

I just cannot resist not to blog about this particular taxi operator. Especially so because Prime Taxi is the only one which has not decided whether to raise its fares like the rest of operators.

So delete all other taxi operators' booking hotline from your phone, and register this no instead: Prime Taxi's Dial-A-Taxi @6778-0808.

I will strike off all the content above if Prime Taxi decided to succumb to its 'peer pressure'. Snigger.

Trans Cab, Premier, Smart Automobile and Yellow Top have notified the Public Transport Council of their decision to raise their taxi fares.

Their move comes after ComfortDelGro and SMRT raised their fares last Monday and today respectively.

Trans Cab, Singapore's second largest taxi operator, will raise its flag-down rate from 20 to 70 cents, depending on the type of taxi, from Jan 3, 2012.

It will also revise its fees for taxi bookings, reducing it by 20 cents for some types of taxis, and increasing it from $8 to $10 for the Mercedes Benz taxis.

Like ComfortDelGro and SMRT, these four taxi operators will also extend the peak periods for which surcharges apply. Peak hours for Trans Cab will follow that of ComfortDelGro - 6am to 9:30am on weekdays, and 6pm to 12 midnight everyday.

The peak-hour surcharge will be lowered to 25 per cent of meter fare, down from the current 35 per cent of meter fare.

Premier, Smart Automobile and Yellow Top have yet to release details of their fare revisions.

The move by these operators leaves only one taxi company, Prime Taxis, which has not decided whether to raise its fares.

From Asiaone, "4 more taxi operators to raise fares".

of SMRT CEO staying 'to put EVERYTHING right'...

2011-12-20T09:43:00.006+08:00

Can't resist grabbing the above screenshot from Yahoo! today.

My comment is like what the manga (anybody can guess from which manga it is? Heh) below:

And like what I had once asserted, after she 'put EVERYTHING right', she should tender her resignation.

of SIA stewardess molested | Next: Kung Fu training will be compulsory for SIA stewardess?

2011-12-20T09:15:00.005+08:00

Yes. One can't help but being angry reading this Straits Times article, "Passenger accused of molesting SIA stewardess".

The accused is one Ukranian sales manager Sierkov Sergii who allegedly touched the buttocks of the 34-year-old stewardess twice and her breast once on board an aircraft last month.

I hope the Truth is soon out and not in form of some 'compensation'.

We need to hear the just punishment is meted out accordingly.

Of course assuming the accused is indeed guilty.

On the other hand, SIA should consider to make Kung Fu training compulsory for its stewardess--just like what Hong Kong Air has done. (Check out CNNGo, "Kung fu compulsory for Hong Kong Airlines cabin crew".)

of Woman in coma after falling onboard SMRT bus

2011-12-20T08:44:00.003+08:00

A 54-year-old woman, Mdm Ding Weibo is in a coma after falling onboard an SMRT bus apparently due to a careless bus driver who had applied the brakes suddenly.

We're all looking forward to find out the action taken by SMRT against this particular driver. Hopefully (for others' safety too), he'll soon be demoted to be an ex-driver!!

A 54-year-old woman is in a coma after falling onboard an SMRT bus on Sunday night.

It is believed that Madam Ding Weibo fractured her skull after hitting her head on a seat.

The bus driver had apparently applied the brakes suddenly.

Madam Ding and her daughter had just boarded bus service No. 167 at about 8pm at Orchard Road, near Heeren shopping centre, when the driver jammed the brakes.

Both made a grab for the handrails, but the force of the brake threw Madam Ding onto the floor.

She was sent unconscious to the Singapore General Hospital.

Her daughter, Ding Xiao Sui, told Channel NewsAsia that Madam Ding suffered internal bleeding, and had to have an operation.

She is still in critical condition.

The family plans to lodge a complaint against the driver.

Her daughter said: "I was so scared and panicked, I did not know what to do. I kept calling for her, but there was no response. She was fine in the afternoon, she was shopping, and now she is in this state."

In a statement, SMRT said: "We are sorry the incident happened and investigations are on-going. We will be in touch with the family..."

From Channel NewsAsia, "Woman in coma after falling onboard SMRT bus".

T-Mobile Angry Birds Live

2011-12-19T21:47:00.000+08:00

T-Mobile Angry Birds Live. It's so ticklishly cool!!

of Transport Minister--and not SMRT CEO--was spotted in the train during morning peak hour

2011-12-19T14:50:00.001+08:00

Yeah. Read the today article of STOMP, "Transport Minister spotted in the train during morning peak hour", and I find myself thinking, "Hey at least this guy is willing to humble himself to the rest of us ~~commoners~~ commuters!"

Unlike SMRT CEO Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, right? Snigger, snigger.

Of course understanding the public outrage, one can assume that perhaps the lady CEO did try the train this morning as well under a heavy disguise.

Perhaps in black (like in the poster below? Hur hur) and with dark glasses too.

I've never been to me - Male version (No, not gay version)

2011-12-19T13:51:00.003+08:00

Note to self: I've got to check out the YouTube clip on the song, "I've never been to me" (The male version, performed by The Temptations). Heh.

Hey mister, hey mister
I just want a dime
‘Cause I need a cup of coffee and a moment of your time
I can tell your raising hell the way I used to do
But I wish someone woulda’ talked to me
Like I wanna talk to you

I’ve been to Georgia and California
Anywhere I could run
I stole a woman in Tennessee
and we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places and friendly faces
Because I had to be free
I’ve been to paradise but I’ve never been to me

Thanks mister, thanks mister
But please don’t walk away
‘Cause I have this need to tell you
Why I’m all alone today
I can see so much of me still living in your eyes
Won’t you share a part of an old man's heart
On the day before he dies

I’ve been to China & Asia Minor
On any ship that would sail
I made some noise with some good old boys
We wrecked a southern jail

I’ve seen the best men crawl and some teardrops fall
There ain’t nothing I ain’t seen
I’ve been to paradise but I’ve never been to me

I’ve even been to marriage
Where children cry for someone they couldn’t find
Never knowing that I was searching
For things I left behind

I thought my heart could wait
but I learned too late
Only love can make people free
I’ve been to paradise but I’ve never been to me

Update: okay, found the clip. Apparently not really that popular, but still a nice song. At least for a comparison to the original, isn't it?

SMRT CEO not (yet) stepping down

2011-12-19T00:29:00.000+08:00

SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa is wrong! Being responsible means doing all she can to get the problem fixed, and then resign!

Even better, to show her sincerity, she should make it clear that while she's 'doing all she can to get the problem fixed', she's doing it without getting her salary. Donate the salary. That may perhaps demonstrate your sincerity better than just 'empty words', Ms Saw!

Photo source: "Asiaone".

SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa has told Channel NewsAsia that she has no plans to step down over the disruptions.

She said she's truly sorry for the inconvenience and discomfort faced by commuters, and that as CEO she's naturally responsible.

But she said being responsible does not mean walking away, instead it means doing all she can to get the problem fixed.

She said she is staying put to make everything right.

Ms Saw also admitted there were several problems that surfaced during the disruptions.

These included detraining procedures, announcements to the public, and bus shuttling arrangements.

She acknowledged that SMRT could have done better.

From Channel NewsAsia, "SMRT CEO not stepping down".

About 80 people gathered at Hong Lim Park yesterday, calling for the resignation of SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa, reported The Straits Times today.

The event at Speakers' Corner was organised by the blog The Online Citizen (TOC).

A photo published in The Straits Times showed a protestor holding a sign with the acronym SMRT, which read "Saw (Phaik Hwa) Must Resign Today".

Ms Saw, 57, has been in the hot seat because of the series of breakdowns on SMRT's train lines.

Who is Saw Phaik Hwa?

Ms Saw was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1954, and came to Singapore after her O' levels. She graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1978.

She was the regional president of DFS Venture Singapore in charge of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia for 19 years, up to 2002. She was retrenched from DFS in early 2002.

Later that same year, she joined SMRT as its president and chief executive, having applied for the position after seeing its advertisement in The Straits Times.

Under her leadership, SMRT's net profit has grown from $56.8 million in 2002 to $161.1 million in 2011.

However, some are critical of her apparent focus on profits rather than the needs of commuters. The Straits Times reported that at yesterday's event, TOC interim editor-in-chief Ravi Philemon said that profits, rather than service and affordability, had became SMRT's priority.

On Friday, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew expressed his disappointment with how SMRT handled Thursday's disruption. On Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that there would be a public inquiry to look into the train breakdowns.

From Asiaone, "Woman in the hot seat".

Aaron Tan threatens Angry German Kid (funny)

2011-12-18T22:26:00.000+08:00

Hilarious video...and translations. LOL.

Latest: SMRT breaks down AGAIN?! CEO, pls DECIDE to resign!!

2011-12-17T09:23:00.005+08:00

Yes, it's OUTRAGEOUS! This morning it's reported that train services between Marina Bay and Newton were disrupted Saturday morning -- two days after a major glitch affected 127,000 passengers on Thursday evening!

And the current SMRT CEO Ms Saw Phaik Hwa yesterday is believed to 'consider resigning if necessary'.

To misquote the Jedi Master Yoda of the Star Wars epic movies: "Consider, you shall not.Resign, you must."

Or (the more correct one): "No! Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try."

Or in this situation, to replace the word 'try' with 'consider'. Hur hur.

Screenshot of Asiaone 17/12 AM: To resign or not to resign: that's (hardly) the question!

Screenshot of Channel NewsAsia 17/12 AM: SMRT is the star news in CNA!

SMRT chief executive Saw Phaik Hwa apologised today for Thursday's five-hour long evening disruption on the North-South line.

Speaking at a press conference at SMRT Headquarters on Friday afternoon, she said SMRT was very sorry that the disruption had happened.

An online news source quoted her as saying that she will consider resigning if necessary, but would reserve her opinion on the matter for the time being.

She was commenting on public calls for her and other senior management to resign.

No effort would be spared in preventing a recurrence of the incident, Ms Saw told reporters.

According to The Straits Times, Ms Saw said it was important that SMRT improve its incident management plans and crowd management.

She also promised her personal attention on improving how SMRT gave timely and better information, an online news source said.

SMRT said in a statement on its website that 300 staff were activated to assist passengers and resolve the fault.

"The disruption is caused by a damaged third rail between Dhoby Ghaut and City Hall MRT stations.

The faulty third rail damaged the collector shoes of four trains, which caused all of them to stall," the statement said.

Thursday's disruption was the second breakdown in as many days and affected some 127,000 commuters.

From Asiaone, "SMRT CEO apologises, will consider resigning if necessary".

SMRT said train services between Marina Bay and Newton were disrupted Saturday morning -- two days after a major glitch affected 127,000 passengers on Thursday evening.

SMRT said the incident happened at 6.50am, and advised passengers to seek alternative transport or take its bridging bus services.

At around that time, MediaCorp hotline caller Jeannie Lau -- who was in an MRT train near City Hall -- said she and other passengers had to evacuate the train after "the doors got stuck".

She added they had to walk along the underground train track -- something with some passengers stuck on Thursday's trains did.

Meanwhile, live reports filed by commuters travelling on MRTs have been flooding social media platforms such as twitter and Facebook.

Twitter user "chuakunyang" who was on his way to work said the train he was in had "lights half off".

The breakdown came a day after SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa apologised for Thursday's glitch which affected 127,000 passengers, including 1,000 trapped in each of the four stalled trains.

When Channel NewsAsia arrived at Newton MRT station, passengers affected by the disruption appeared generally calm.

Announcements at the train station were broadcast every 15 minutes and signs were prominently displayed to direct passengers to the bus stop.

From Channel NewsAsia, "MRT breaks down again". (17/12, 0739 hrs)

Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew has described Thursday's train disruption as an "extremely serious" one, with the safety of commuters compromised.

Mr Lui added he is disappointed with the way transport operator SMRT handled the incident which affected thousands, and that he will look at past lapses before deciding on the penalty for the latest disruption.

Mr Lui met reporters at Changi Airport immediately upon his arrival home after a meeting in Cambodia - an indication the latest incident weighed heavy on his mind.

He said it is justifiable commuters are angry and concerned especially so for those on the affected trains who were left in darkness with little ventilation.

"There are SOPs (standard operating procedures) that need to be followed on how you bring passengers on such affected trains to safety, the timelines to be adhered to, as well as other service recovery related issues," Mr Lui said. \

"I think we need to look at whether SOPs are sufficiently comprehensive and whether they were adhered to and properly followed."

He questioned the timeliness of information given to affected commuters, adding what needs to be done is to determine the root cause of the problem: That the maintenance regime needs to be more robust and comprehensive.

Mr Lui said he has decided not to let SMRT alone handle the post-mortem.

He has tasked the Land Transport Authority to form an independent panel comprising local and overseas experts to review the entire rail network, from system maintenance, incident management, communications and service recovery.

He said the panel, expected to be formed next week, is priority.

"I spoke to Chairman, SMRT, Mr Koh Yong Guan, this afternoon, to reiterate the government's concerns over the incident and over how the incident was handled," Mr Lui said.

"And I told him that the SMRT board and management must make every effort to get to the bottom of this, to improve on their procedures and on how these incidence are managed."

When asked about penalties that may be imposed on SMRT, Mr Lui said that will come later, when "we are clearer as to what exactly happened in this particular instance".

He said: "Certainly, if and when we do impose penalties on them, we will have to take into consideration what had happened in the past."

Mr Lui said he expects the review panel to come up with some answers before the coming committee of supply (COS) debate, which is due in the first quarter of next year.

From Channel NewsAsia, "MRT breakdown "extremely serious": Lui Tuck Yew". (16/12, 2222 hrs)

SMRT CEO Saw Phaik Hwa on Friday offered her sincere apologies to all MRT commuters affected by the five-hour breakdown on the North-South Line during rush hours on Thursday evening.

The disruption affected 127,000 passengers including 1,000 trapped in each of the four trains that stalled.

"We are truly sorry about this. I'm very, very sorry about this." It was one of several impassioned apologies the SMRT chief made during a news conference at the SMRT headquarters on Friday.

Ms Saw promised a full investigation into what had caused the breakdown. She said SMRT will learn from the incident and improve on giving better information.

"We do apologise especially those who experienced considerable inconvenience... What we can promise is that we will spare no effort in preventing such an occurrence," said Ms Saw.

"I will personally look into improving our incident management plan, especially in the areas of giving timely and better information, as well as crowd management, in both our stations and in the trains," she added.

SMRT cited a possible alignment problem in the rail system as the cause of the disruption, and deployed some 60 staff to test for alignment on Thursday night after the incident.

However, the exact point at which the alignment was off has not been established yet.

SMRT acknowledged that the rail network has grown, and hence is more complex. It said this made it difficult for the operator to execute its emergency plans.

SMRT said it will review its standard operating procedures.

SMRT also said it will be working to improve its communication strategies. This includes possibly broadcasting recorded announcements in four languages.

There had been several calls online for SMRT's senior executives to account for Thursday's disruptions.

At the news conference, Ms Saw was asked if she would resign to take responsibility.

She said that "it is something I would seriously consider if there is a necessity to do so, but I think I will reserve comments at this moment."

Thursday's disruption is the latest in as many days.

It happened just a day after train services on some Circle Line stations were disrupted, affecting 1,400 passengers. The Circle Line disruption is the second since the line was fully opened this year and the eighth since its phased opening in 2009.

Ms Saw reiterated that SMRT did its best and its maintenance and service standards were up to mark.

"At the drop of a hat, hundreds of our staff who are somewhere else will come back and do their best when the system is down. For that, I think our staff tried very, very hard," Ms Saw said.

"The amount of effort, from the buses to the train people, communications people to the engineers, station staff, they worked overnight. Just to let you know, our staff have been working overnight for three nights," she added.

More than 300 staff who were not working at that time were activated to help commuters on Thursday evening.

SMRT has also apologised for the "income opportunity" message template that was sent to SMRT Taxis drivers following the train disruption.

The message, which was flashed on SMRT taxi drivers' screens, read: "Income opportunity. Dear partners, there is a breakdown in our MRT train services from Bishan MRT to Marina Bay MRT stretch of stations." A taxi passenger took a photo of the screen and posted it online. It went viral instantly and the message drew heavy criticisms.

SMRT said it was a "very bad mistake" to send out an "insensitive" message alert about the train breakdown.

SMRT explained that instead of using the template for train disruption, a wrong message template was used.

This was subsequently corrected.

The rail operator explained that SMRT Taxis usually sends out messages to advise cab drivers of crowded events, such as during the F1 race.

This is so that its cabbies could head down to the locations to pick up passengers and to ease congestion.

SMRT also addressed commuters' complaints that there were no ventilation and that in one stalled train there were no lights during the network breakdown.

The rail operator said that the Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) was supposed to kick in when power is cut off during a train breakdown.

SMRT's senior vice-president for communications and services, Goh Chee Kong, said: "When the train breaks down, or when the power is cut, there is a UPS that is supposed to turn on. When it turns on, what we have is emergency lighting and also ventilation.

"But the ventilation is different from air-conditioning, and it should last for about 45 minutes. But at the point in time, we have to be aware that it (train) was very crowded. When you have a very crowded train.....some people may feel there's no ventilation.

"We do understand that some commuters complained that it was very dark. We are still investigating what had happened to that particular train where there were no lights."

From Channel NewsAsia, "SMRT CEO apologises for MRT breakdown". (16/12, 1502 hrs)

SMRT has admitted that it was a "very bad mistake" to send out an "insensitive" message alert about the train disruption on Thursday night.

The "income opportunity" message was sent to all SMRT taxi drivers.

A passenger took a picture of it and posted it online.

It went viral instantly and the message drew heavy criticisms.

At the news conference on Friday, SMRT explained that instead of using the template for train disruption, a wrong message template was used.

This was subsequently corrected.

The rail operator explained that SMRT Taxis usually sends out messages to advise cab drivers of crowded events - such as during the F1 race, or when events wrap up at Suntec Convention Centre.

This is so that its cabbies could head down to the locations to pick up passengers, and to ease congestion.

Goh Chee Kong, senior vice-president of Communications and Services at SMRT, said: "We have several templates, but we have one for service disruption. And that should have been the one that was sent out. But our supervisor at the call centre sent out the wrong one, which was very embarrassing and we are very apologetic for it. It should not have happened."

From Channel NewsAsia, "SMRT apologises for "income opportunity" message". (16/12, 1721 hrs)

Two women were sent to hospital for breathing difficulties, after being caught in Thursday night's train disruption.

They have since been discharged.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said a 25-year-old woman was sent to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) from Orchard MRT station at around 8pm.

About two hours later, a 41-year-old woman was sent to SGH in a semi-conscious state from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.

SGH said the younger woman was discharged within an hour against medical advice, while the other woman was discharged on Friday afternoon, after she was said to be "in a stable and comfortable condition".

A psychologist Channel NewsAsia spoke with said that the situation was handled rather calmly, with no visible signs of hysteria.

But she added that such an incident would affect those suffering from claustrophobia, and more so for children.

Dr Elizabeth Nair, the president of the Singapore Psychological Society, said: "He (an adult) would be in better shape than a child who has claustrophobia or develops claustrophobia as result of this incident. Which is why for children who were actually involved, it is a good idea to check and see if there is any impact on them, and give them whatever follow-up treatment or therapy which is required."

From Channel NewsAsia, "Train disruption sent two to hospital". (16/12, 1207 hrs)

Many commuters Channel NewsAsia spoke with have responded positively to SMRT's apology over Thursday night's train disruption.

But they added that more needs to be done to ensure a repeat of Thursday night's incident does not occur.

One commuter said: "This is not the first time this thing has happened, and I think the most important thing is to take action. You can apologise a few times, but in the end, what we expect, as commuters, is a smooth experience."

Another commented: "You can't expect everything to work all the time, so since this happened and SMRT apologised, if it doesn't happen again then I am sure that is fine."

A third noted: "I think their apology was sincere and from the heart, because they handled it the best way that they could. Sometimes when there are mechanical breakdowns, it is beyond human control."

On calls for SMRT chief executive officer (CEO) Saw Phaik Hwa to step down, some said it is unnecessary.

One commuter noted: "It is a knee-jerk reaction. Overall, I think SMRT has been doing a good job, so I do not think the CEO needs to step down..."

Another added: "If you are going to ask the (CEO) to step down after one problem has happened, yes I know it is a big problem, but if it has happened, and SMRT is going to do something about it, then give the person a chance I suppose?"

However, one person said: "If stepping down can help improve the situation, then why not?"

From Channel NewsAsia, "Commuters' reactions to SMRT's apology over train disruption". (16/12, 2031 hrs)

Steven Lim hoax poster...

2011-12-16T16:41:00.001+08:00

...very horrific! Yuck. My eyes?!?! They just popped out of their sockets. Arrgh...

Photo Source: The New Paper, "'Hoax' Steven Lim poster goes viral".

Is the infamous Steven Lim up to his attention-grabbing antics again?

Since yesterday morning, an event poster for "Steven Lim's model search in Nanyang Polytechnic" has been circulating in cyberspace.

It features a shot of him dressed only in a pair of attention-grabbing briefs.

There is a date and time for the event, accompanied by a line which reads: "Are you ready to seize the opportunity?"

The poster has since gone viral.

On Temasek Review's Facebook page, it has been shared as many as 300 times, sparking numerous comments.

Some expressed disbelief that Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) would host an event with Lim.

Others said they were disgusted.

One netizen even proclaimed: "I've lost faith in our education system."

Lim, 35, is best remembered for stripping down to a pair of yellow swimming trunks during the auditions for the first season of Singapore Idol in 2004.

But when contacted by The New Paper, Lim said the poster was a hoax.

An NYP spokesman also confirmed that no such event has been planned.

Lim told TNP: "There is no way I could've have done it. All I know how to use is Microsoft Paint and (I) do not have the programme installed on my computer to do a poster like that."

But he confirmed that the photograph of him in the pair of briefs is real. He said: "Yes, I have that pair of boxers. It was given to me by Patricia Mok when I performed at Fann Wong's hen party."

Lim added that he didn't know who was responsible for the poster.

"People have used pictures of me without my permission before, but I have become indifferent to it. So long as they don't get me into trouble," he said.

'Irresponsible act'

The NYP spokesman said: "This is an irresponsible act. It is not fair that they should use names of organisations in a hoax or prank."

Lim agreed.

"It's not so good to do such a poster, because it looks so real. I would understand why people would feel cheated," he said.

Another reason the poster may fool people into thinking it is real is that Lim owns a modelling agency.

But he stressed that it has never crossed his mind to do a islandwide model search for his agency.

"The people I have as models get me either by e-mail or get referred to me if they want to be a model in my company," he said.

Lim said he is busy promoting himself and his modelling agency in Asia.

"I do have fans and will not let the negative comments stop me," he added.

From Asiaone, "Hoax poster of Steven Lim goes viral".

An online poster featuring former Singapore Idol contestant Steven Lim promoting an event titled, “Steven Lim’s Model Search in Nanyang Polytechnic” is a hoax.

There is no such event, according to Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).

The poster with the tagline, “Are you ready to seize the opportunity?” features Lim in nothing but a skimpy pair of briefs.

When contacted by Yahoo! Singapore, NYP confirmed the poster was a hoax but the school refused to comment if it will take any action.

Lim told Yahoo! Singapore that he had no part whatsoever in the poster and called it “irresponsible”. But he added that similar incidents have happened many times before.

“A lot of people use my image without my permission. There’s even a comic strip of me. As long as there’s no trouble, then I’m indifferent to them using photos of me,” said Lim.

From Yahoo! News, "Former S’pore Idol contestant Steven Lim in poster hoax".

The Call of the Wild: A jogger attacked by 9 stray dogs at Punggol...

2011-12-16T11:56:00.000+08:00

The victim, a 20-year-old student Alicia Tay has learnt from her painful experience, that she should have exercised her lung to scream & not to hesitate to scream whenever she sees a pack of stray dogs in her vicinity. Hur hur.

A jogger was attacked by a pack of nine stray dogs at a park in Punggol on Wednesday night.

The park was only recently developed, and animal experts said the dogs might have been trying to protect their territory.

It was a routine jog gone wrong and 20-year-old student Alicia Tay is perhaps lucky to escape with just scratches and bites.

Ms Tay said she usually runs around the neighbourhood, but decided to check out the new Waterway park.

She told Channel NewsAsia, she slowed to a brisk walk when she saw the dogs.

But they followed her and started to claw at her legs.

When one bit her ankle, she screamed and that managed to scare the dogs away.

She later went to a nearby clinic where she got a tetanus jab.

Ms Tay said a father-and-daughter pair who went to her aid, had earlier jogged past the dogs without any incident.

She said: "I couldn't stop. I was afraid they would pounce on me if I stopped, so I just brisk-walked.

"I hoped that maybe if I continued walking, I may meet people in front.

"But it looked very deserted. So I thought maybe if I left them alone, maybe if I don't give them any attention they would leave me alone as well.

"But apparently that's not the case.

"I feel that probably they felt my fear, they could sense my fear that I was really scared of them, because I was intimidated by them.

"To add on to that, I was alone."

Animal welfare group Action for Singapore Dogs said the pack was most likely abandoned by construction workers.

It said Ms Tay could have intruded into their territory.

Ricky Yeo, president, Action for Singapore Dogs, said: "We see this incident as part of the pack protecting their territory. The Punggol Waterway has just been completed, so a lot of the undeveloped land has been developed now. So their natural habitat has been destroyed."

A resident said: "I've seen just two only. Quite small, not big those type."

Another added: "They don't disturb you, actually. They just play around the hillside."

Singapore's Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority has been running control operations in the area since September. And they have rounded up 22 dogs so far.

Experts' advice to the public is to stay calm, and not to run away from stray dogs.

Ricky Yeo said: "They should gradually slow down, if possible just walk calmly away, in the opposite direction they came from, rather than going into the thick of things."

Operations will likely be stepped up soon to capture the dogs.

According to AVA procedure, captured dogs that are not claimed by owners will be put down.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Jogger attacked by stray dogs at Punggol".

of Desperate passengers stuck in tunnel smash MRT window for ventilation

2011-12-15T21:15:00.002+08:00

Yeah, V for Vendetta...no more! It's V for Ventilation! Hur hur.

... and it stands for "Ventilation".

Passengers stuck in a tunnel due to the MRT service breakdown today (Dec 15) have smashed the train window in a desperate attempt to get ventilation.

The photo was sent in by STOMPer Stefanie.

MRT service has been suspended between Marina Bay and Braddell stations, in the second such breakdown in two days.

From STOMP, "Desperate passengers stuck in tunnel smash MRT window for ventilation".

污奸盗-大马超级禁片 (Corrupt Affairs)

2011-12-15T20:50:00.001+08:00

Presented by Nasi Lemak 2020. Enough said. Heh.

Polite Bear Waves Hello - Yay, a waving bear!!

2011-12-14T23:05:00.001+08:00

Haha. So cute. Grin.

of Coffeeshops to display clearly prices of drinks...

2011-12-14T17:08:00.003+08:00

I'm quite amused to read that CASE has received complaints from unhappy consumers concerning the misunderstanding of the prices of beverages and drinks. Heh. If unhappy, the consumers should just refuse to pay!

To complain to CASE for a relatively small different of pricing is kinda hilarious...

Sure, it's a matter of principle. Yeah, yeah. Okay, I do agree.

Two in three coffeeshops in Singapore will now display the prices of beverages and drinks clearly.

It's hoped that this will reduce misunderstandings between consumers and coffeeshop drinks operators, especially when prices change and consumers may not be aware of the new pricing.

Over the years, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) has received complaints from unhappy consumers who were not aware of the prices at some coffeeshops.

Currently, some coffeeshops display prices but others do not have such a practice.

Consumer watchdog, CASE has worked with two major coffeeshop associations to ensure that the prices are displayed.

The two associations - Foochow Coffee Restaurant and Bar Merchants Association and the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant and Bar-Owners Association - represent 750 coffeeshops.

There are about 1,300 coffeeshops in Singapore.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Coffeeshops to display clearly prices of drinks".

Singapore's oldest social worker, Teresa Hsu has passed away

2011-12-14T17:08:00.000+08:00

Teresa Hsu (or Teresa Hsu Chih) is rightly dubbed as Singapore's Mother Teresa...and the Singapore's oldest person and social worker.

She has earned her rest.

Rest in peace.

Singapore's oldest person and social worker, Teresa Hsu, has died at the age of 113.

She passed away peacefully at home on December 7 and was cremated the same day.

Ms Hsu was born in China in 1898 and came to Singapore in 1961.

She spent her life helping the poor and needy, and continued doing so even after her 110th birthday.

She founded Heart to Heart Service and the Home for the Aged Sick, and her commitment to charity earned her the Public Star in 2009.

Ms Hsu was known for her unassuming manner and shunned the public eye - up until her death.

According to the Heart to Heart Service website, she had asked that no media announcement be made.

She had also requested that no rituals or ceremonies be performed, to avoid "disturbance and inconvenience" to others.

She further instructed that no claim be made on her ashes, according to a notice posted by Sharana Rao, who ran the organisation with her.

Ang Bee Lian, CEO of the National Council of Social Service, said: "She was more than legendary. Her exemplary care, concern and giving spirit have left a growing imprint in social service.

"She showed through action what is possible, what is courageous and what is service to the needy."

Mr Wee Lin, who volunteered with the Society for the Aged Sick in the 1980s before he founded Sunlove Home for the intellectually-disabled, describes Ms Hsu as a "pioneer".

He said: "To go on that long a period, you must have the sincerity and the perseverance. The best service you can do for others is to set a good example, and in a way, she has been a good example...that she has persevered to the end, helping the needy."

From Channel NewsAsia, "Social worker Teresa Hsu dies at age 113".

Singapore's oldest person, Madam Teresa Hsu, died last Wednesday at the age of 113 in her Hougang home.

A notice posted on the website of welfare service Heart to Heart, which she set up, announced her death. It said that Madam Hsu had given instructions to keep the news of her death a low-key affair.

She also did not wish for any rituals to be conducted and asked that no claim be made for her ashes. She was cremated the day she died.

A report in Chinese evening newspaper Lianhe Wanbao yesterday said that Madam Hsu became weak four months ago and had been hospitalised three times for pneumonia and an urinary-tract infection.

A nurse at Heart to Heart told the newspaper that Madam Hsu was wheelchair-bound.

She added that Heart to Heart volunteers learnt of Madam Hsu's death only the next day through her caregiver, Mr Sharana Rao. Mr Sharana is said to have been beside her when she died.

Repeated calls to the welfare service by my paper yesterday went unanswered.

Madam Hsu was born in 1898 in Swatow, China, to a poor family. She came to Singapore in 1961 and set up the non-profit Heart to Heart service to provide food and money to the poor regularly. She would visit the needy every week to distribute food and money, even at the age of 110.

Madam Hsu was handed the Special Award for her lifelong charity work at Her World's Woman of the Year 1999 awards.

She received A Special Recognition award at the 2005 National Volunteerism and Philanthropy Awards. In 2009, she was honoured with the Public Service Star.

At her 110th-birthday celebration, Madam Hsu, known as Singapore's Mother Teresa, said she would never consider retiring. "I will still share my bowl of rice with anyone who needs it," she had said.

She was one of 500 centenarians in Singapore.

From Asiaone, "S'pore's 'Mother Teresa' died at home".

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Exclusive Premiere Trailer

2011-12-13T21:35:00.002+08:00

'Wanna make a difference?' The voice over said. And my mind recalls this particular post featuring Hannah Tan. Hur hur.

But the movie--at least its trailer--is truly promising! Heh.

Groupon cheated me....NOT!!!

2011-12-13T20:56:00.002+08:00

Yes. I thought it was a great deal offered by Groupon: 50% discount of Grilled Gala Platter at Manhattan Fish Market worth $42.25.

~~Groupon lied.~~

I checked the menu in the restaurant & I was dismayed to see that the actual price of such a menu is only $35.90.

Did I read it wrongly?

So after a bitter dinner, I verified it at the official website of Manhattan Fish Market, the price of Grilled Gala Platter is indeed $35.90!

Groupon lied.

No more Groupon for me!!

(I am sure the rest of 4,826 people who bought the deal will swear the same...)

Update: Thanks to Sheena who commented on GST & service charge. I calculated that $42.25 is about 17% higher than $35.90. That means the 17% is contributed by 7% GST & 10% service charge.

Shame on me.

I have stricken the wrong statements in this post. And added "...NOT" in the title of this post.

SMRT Taxis decided to be a follower by also increasing cab fares...

2011-12-13T17:16:00.000+08:00

An inevitably tragic sequel to this post, of ComfortDelGro fare hike, a suspected cartel & "Is the President of NTA the same person with the President of Comfort Taxi Operators' Association?!", it's with complete disappointment that I learn SMRT Taxis will revise its cab fares from 20 Dec and that the changes will be in line with what was earlier announced by ComfortDelGro.

What a wrong move, SMRT Taxis!

You surely have learnt the outcry against the unpopular move by ComfortDelGro. Here is your chance to win over the customers: announce a cut to your cab fares, and take care your taxi drivers by lowering the rental rates.

By deciding to become a follower (and not a leader to dare to move against ComfortDelGro suicidal move to increase the fare), you indirectly 'punished' your taxi drivers as well. Read more on this Asiaone, "Revised fares hit cabbies' takings", about the sorry state of the ComfortDelGro taxi drivers after the fare hike took place yesterday.

I swear undying loyalty to the taxi operators which dare to announce that they will not increase the fare, and that instead they'll cut down the fee!!

Who am I kidding. Lemming mentality thrives in many companies, not excluding are the taxi operators. Really, seriously, prove me WRONG!!

SMRT Taxis will revise its cab fares from 20 December. The changes are broadly in line with what has been announced by ComfortDelGro.

The flagdown rates are up 20 cents, and evening peak hours now stretch from 6pm to midnight, with a reduced, 25 percent surcharge.

SMRT Taxis says it has to keep pace with other operators, so that its drivers will not feel "deprived of a better income opportunity".

It adds that with rising costs, its 4,000 drivers need a more substantial income, not just lower costs or rental rates.

Daily rental charges range from $71 to $130, which SMRT says are not excessive.

ComfortDelGro's taxi fare revisions kicked in on Monday.

The changes include an extended peak-hour surcharge from 6.00am to 9.30am. Previously, the surcharge started an hour later, at 7.00 am.

ComfortDelGro cabbies on the morning shift said passenger numbers during the extended hour dropped by as much as 30 per cent.

But they noted that this is not an accurate reflection of numbers, as December is the school holiday period.

Some added that passenger trends should firm up by January, when more commuters return to work.

Those who took ComfortDelGro taxis during the peak morning period to the Central Business District noted a slight increase in their fares.

This could be because under the new fare structure, the meter jumps by 22 cents instead of 20 cents previously, but over a longer distance.

So long-distance trips would be harder hit. But with the peak-hour surcharge now cut from 35% to 25% of metered fare, others said they barely noticed any difference in their fares.

As for the evening peak period surcharge, the hours have been extended from 6pm till midnight, instead of 5pm to 8pm.

A check at a taxi stand just before 6pm showed many cabs lining up but not too many people rushing to get into one.

While many commuters Channel NewsAsia spoke to were unhappy over the extended peak period hours, most said that it would not make much of a difference in their daily commute. "I will still take a taxi, as time is very precious," said a woman.

From Channel NewsAsia, "SMRT Taxis announces fare revision".

SMRT Taxis will be raising their taxi fares next Tuesday. The changes, coming in the wake of ComfortDelGro's fare hike on Monday, will kick in at 6am, Dec 20.

The operator's fare changes are similar to Comfort's.

Flagdown fares for most taxis will increase by 20 cents and by 70 cents for limousines. But flagdowns for Chrysler cabs remain unchanged at $5.

Meter fares for journeys up to 10km will go up from 20 cents per 385m to 22 cents per 400m.

Waiting time charges for standard taxis have also been increased from 20 cents for every 45 seconds or less to 22 cents for every 45 seconds or less.

Like Comfort, the peak period surcharge will be extended in the morning from 7am to 9.30am, to 6am to 9.30am.

The evening surcharge will also be extended from 5pm to 8pm, to 6pm to midnight. It will also apply to weekends and public holidays, compared with Monday to Saturday currently.

SMRT Taxis said it needed to 'keep pace' with Comfort's fare restructuring so that its 4,000 drivers will have an equal income opportunity, The Straits Times reported on Tuesday.

From Asiaone, "SMRT Taxis to raise fares next Tuesday".

COMFORTDELGRO taxi drivers reported a drop in daily takings of at least 20 per cent yesterday, the first day the company's revised fares kicked in.

Cabbies my paper spoke to lamented that some passengers avoided getting into their taxis as a result of the fare revision.

"Even though they see that our cabs are empty, they choose to board those of other companies," said cabby S. L. Chua.

The 50-year-old, who has been a taxi driver for more than a decade, said his earnings yesterday had been "significantly" affected by the fare changes.

"Typically, I could easily make up to 20 trips in a day. But this morning, I had to go around hunting for passengers," he said.

Cabby Teh Kok Wah, 58, said he barely made enough money yesterday to cover the daily rental of his taxi and diesel costs of about $120.

"It is a lose-lose situation for both the passengers and us. They end up having to pay more while we see fewer people taking our cabs," he explained.

Even during the evening rush hour, cabbies said they faced similar difficulties.

When asked how business had been affected yesterday, ComfortDelGro spokesman Tammy Tan said that it was "too early to say".

ComfortDelGro's taxi companies, Comfort Transportation and CityCab, manage a fleet of about 15,700 taxis. Drivers of other taxi operators, too, reported a drop in earnings yesterday.

Trans-cab cabby H. W. Wong, 58, said: "When the biggest player increases prices, the passengers assume that all the cabs are charging higher fares and so avoid them altogether."

However, cabbies said they expect the situation to stabilise within the next two weeks, once passengers get used to the changes.

They also pointed out that December has traditionally been a slow period due to the school holidays, when people go on vacation.

However, it being the festive season, "people are in a festive mood and won't mind spending, so a clearer picture will emerge after Chinese New Year next year", said Mr Teh.

Yesterday, SMRT, the third-largest operator with some 4,000 taxis, also announced changes to its fare structure.

When contacted, two of the four other taxi companies said they are monitoring the situation.

Trans-cab and Smart Taxi said they are in discussions with their drivers to review their fares.

From Asiaone, "Revised fares hit cabbies' takings".

OneKey to secure all online transactions? (But no bank has joined the system??)

2011-12-12T20:22:00.000+08:00

Hmm...I'm interested to find out why no bank has joined this OneKey system.

A new national system called "OneKey" was launched Monday to help make online transactions more secure.

OneKey is a device with a keypad the size of a name card. It's meant to replace the current system, where users receive one-time passwords via their mobile phones or token devices.

OneKey was rolled out by Assurity Trusted Solutions, a subsidiary of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

Assurity said existing devices are vulnerable to sophisticated hacking where personal information can be stolen and unencrypted SMSes can be sniffed out.

OneKey secures online transactions by ensuring that whoever is using the system is an authentic user. And it does more than generate one-time passwords.

OneKey allows users to enter details like account numbers and transaction amounts.

That's an added layer of verification and a stronger defence against increasingly sophisticated hackers.

OneKey gives users access to multiple online platforms, which means they can do online banking with different banks, using just one device.

No bank has joined the system so far. Some, like DBS Bank, recently rolled out their own upgraded device. But the developers of OneKey are unfazed.

Lim Hup Seng, executive chairman of Assurity Trusted Solutions, said: "If I were the bank, I'd do the same thing that DBS is doing. Why? Because they'd want to make sure that their service gets down to the user. But it's possible for them to transit over at any time they choose. I'm not worried about that. They only have to decide that OneKey is suitable for them, and we can do the transition quite quickly."

Three companies - Phillip Securities, Kim Eng Securities and ST Electronics - have signed up for the OneKey project.

Apart from financial institutions, OneKey's developers are also targeting e-government transactions to better protect, for instance, sensitive income tax information on the Web.

Singapore's tax authority says it is studying the OneKey project, but no decision has been made yet.

Other possible e-government transactions that could use the authenticating service include online applications for work permits.

From Channel NewsAsia, "OneKey for more secure online transactions".

Hot Girl Quits Her Job & Tells off Her Boss

2011-12-12T20:02:00.001+08:00

Haha. She dares?!?!

Diablo 3 Exclusive Intro Cinematic

2011-12-12T19:55:00.000+08:00

Evil has returned! Witness the opening moments of Blizzard's third chapter to the epic Diablo series, first shown at the Spike Video Game Awards 2011!

Hannah Tan is not just making the difference...She's the Difference!! (Because she's still so beautiful eventhough surviving only on 4-hour sleep/day)

2011-12-12T14:20:00.001+08:00

Drool, I mean Google for 'hannah tan' and you'll chance upon not just the above three beautiful photos of her. There are many more!(Try out this page, Diva Asia, "Malaysia's most desired woman is tireless workaholic".)

Her official website, http://www.hannahtan.com/ is kind of corny, though.

Yeah, I'm referring to the over-used caption 'Making The Difference'. Hur hur.

Well, do not underestimate Hannah Tan, though. She's just voted to be the FHM Malaysia' Most Wanted Woman. And she too is reported to be very hardworking that she only sleeps daily for about 4 hours.

The magic of cosmetic is apparently sufficient to hide her eye circles. Heh.

But seriously though, according to HelpGuide.org, the healthy duration of sleep for adults ought to be 7.5 - 9 hours.

Hannah, you have a lot (of sleep) to catch up!!

Hot, hot, hot!

Hannah Tan deserves to be the three times winner of FHM Malaysia's Most Wanted Woman.

Hands down.

Funnily enough, the sweet-as-candy cover girl is sexy, but she doesn't know it.

"I don't know what's so sexy about me," she says earnestly, giving a little girlish giggle.

"I'm the least sexy person (in the FHM list). I don't feel sexy at all.

"It was a shocker. I'm 30. The rest of the girls in the list (which include Sarah Lian, Juliana Evans, Choy Wan, Megan Tan and Andrea Fonseka) are younger than I am."

Well honey, 30 is the new 20.

Besides, sexy is when you're sexually attractive - without being sleazy or trashy.

"I think what's sexy about a woman is her self-confidence," Hannah agrees.

"It's important for a woman to look good and smell good. But what is more important is that your heart needs to be in the right place."

No kidding.

This babe takes her sexiness seriously.

An accomplished TV host and commercial model, Hannah shuttles in between Malaysia, Japan and Singapore nowadays, putting in 20 hours of hard work almost everyday.

That means she gets less than four hours of beauty sleep daily.

Or when the goings get tough, the tough cookie will get going without sleep for two days.

"I've got to multi-task to survive in the entertainment industry, especially in Malaysia," says the beauty with a mission.

"Because of that, I've neglected my health. So my new year's resolution is to get a minimum of five hours sleep everyday."

From Asiaone, "Hannah Tan brings sexy back".

Ooooh - shut up!

2011-12-10T23:34:00.000+08:00

DreamWorks Animation's PUSS IN BOOTS [Ooooh - shut up !]

Blood Moon is here again!!

2011-12-10T22:31:00.004+08:00

I love STOMP!! The article, "Missed 'blood moon' in June? Well, look to the skies tonight" is indeed full of the right information.

I just saw the 'blood mooon' forming at about 10:20 PM! Yeah. Perfect with cloudless sky!!

The blood moon is actually due to lunar eclipse.

Yeah, I feel like howling!! Haha. Photo source here.

Howling...because I don't have a powerful camera to document this wonderful phenomenon!! Sigh.

Spartacus: Death ...and Vengeance!!

2011-12-09T23:25:00.002+08:00

One of my gladiators, Kull XIII has fallen in the arena.

It calls for...Vengeance!

Hur hur.

Yeah. Cannot resist to 'mix' this post with the TV series 'Spartacus: Vengeance' which will be coming to STARZ January 2012.

Here's the trailer:

If you like this literally-bloody show, you may want to check out 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena', and 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand'.

Samsung Girls' Generation (SNSD) Street Dance at Orchard, Singapore

2011-12-09T23:15:00.002+08:00

I am sure their choice of white costume was not politically motivated. Hur hur.

Trailer Cats: Mission Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol

2011-12-09T22:29:00.001+08:00

Heh. Cute. Especially the part when the Tom Cruise/Cat shrieks.

Christopher Melky Tanujaya: killed by a robber ... or something else?

2011-12-09T18:20:00.000+08:00

The tragic news offers a mystery: Christopher Melky Tanujaya--the silver medal winner at the 2009 National Science Olympiad--was stabbed to his death and yet, none of his belongings were stolen (according to his uncle Rudi Tanujaya--also mentioned by Jakarta Post that Christopher's cell phone was also in place!).

Another article by Jakarta Globe has stated that police dismissed robbery as the motive because his wallet was still on him along with all his money and identification.

However just one hour ago, it's reported by Jakarta Post that a jobless man was caught as he allegedly killed Christopher and also snatched his Blackberry.

So, which is the truth? Is it a plain, straight-forward bloody robbery? (Perhaps Christopher had two handphones? One is the one mentioned as 'cell phone was in place' and another is the allegedly missing Blackberry?!)

Or is it something else more sinister like what the victim's uncle Rudi Tanujaya suggested? What is the motive behind the murder, really?

Christopher Melky Tanujaya, 16, should have left for Australia on Wednesday, where he would have decided whether to study at the University of Sydney or the University of Queensland.

But the silver medal winner at the 2009 National Science Olympiad never had the chance to make that decision. His life was cut short by an assailant who stabbed him near a Transjakarta bus shelter in Penjari-ngan, North Jakarta.

Christopher was traveling home from a get-together held by fellow scholarship grantees in Singapore on Monday when the attack happened.

Soon after graduating from junior high in Pluit, North Jakarta, Christopher received a scholarship to continue his high school education at Saint Joseph’s School in Singapore on the merit of his academic records.

He won a silver medal for math at the olympiad in 2009 and likely had a bright future in academia.

Christopher’s mother, Norma Susilowati, 50, said she could not understand why anyone would have wanted to kill her son, saying that he had no enemies.

The boy’s uncle, Rudi Tanujaya, suspected that somebody might have cooked up a plot to kill Christopher out of vengeance.

“The motive could have been payback because none of his belongings were stolen. We found his cell phone and everything was still in place,” Rudi said as quoted by kompas.com.

Police in North Jakarta said that they had yet to find any clues that could reveal the motive behind the murder.

North Jakarta Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Irwan Anwar said that investigators were now scouring through footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed near the crime scene.

Irwan also said that investigators had questioned several witnesses from the crime scene and established a description of Christopher’s assailant.

“Some witnesses said that once the victim arrived at the busway station, near state elementary school SDN 01 Pagi Pluit, the suspect stabbed him. They said that the assailant had wavy hair,” Irwan said.

Christopher is the latest example of a city youth perishing on Jakarta’s streets.

In August, Livia Pavita Soelistio, a student at the Bina Nusantara (Binus) University, was found dead in Cisauk after she was raped and killed.

Livia went missing after she left her home for the campus in West Jakarta on Aug. 16. The police have arrested four suspects in the case.

In March, Amanda Dewi Setiawan, a resident of Taman Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, and a student at IPEKA International Christian High School, died on her birthday after residents found her unconscious with stab wounds to her stomach on the side of a road in Taman Meruya Ilir, West Jakarta.

From Jakarta Post, "Brilliant young talent stabbed to death on Jakarta street".

Jakarta Police have begun to unravel the murder of an academically gifted 17-year-old student earlier this week, an officer said on Thursday.

Witnesses have provided clues on the identity of the man who stabbed high school Science Olympiad winner Christopher Melky Tanujaya to death on Monday, Jakarta Police general crimes division director Sr. Comr. Gatot Edy Pramono said.

“It’s still unconfirmed, but hopefully we can solve the case very soon,” Gatot said. “If that’s the man, we thank God.”

The suspected killer was 165 centimeters tall with curly hair and was wearing a sweater at the time of the murder, the officer said.

“We are having a sketch done, but it will be used in the investigation, not for publication,” he said.

Gatot declined to say whether the alleged murderer was a similar age to the victim or if the two knew each other.

“We’ll talk about it later. We are still searching for the man,” he said, adding that police were still analyzing footage from a security camera installed near the crime scene.

Christopher was stabbed outside a primary school in Pluit, North Jakarta, where he was visiting his family on holiday.

According to police, a passerby heard Christopher calling for help at around 7 p.m. He was taken to Atma Jaya Hospital in Pluit but died soon after.

He had sustained stab wounds to the left and right sides of his neck and to his back and chest.

Police dismissed robbery as the motive because his wallet was still on him along with all his money and identification.

According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, Christopher was the winner of the 2009 National Science Olympiad, where he represented Ipeka Pluit Junior High School in Kota, Jakarta.

He was a student at Saint Joseph’s Institution in Singapore, where he had been awarded a scholarship.

The victim’s father, Stefanus Hans Tanujaya, told the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday that the death was a huge blow to the family, especially because Christopher wasn’t the kind of person to get into a confrontation.

“He was a good kid, he liked to hang out with his friends and he never got into trouble,” he said.

“I never saw him argue with his friends. In fact, he had a lot of friends. He liked to socialize, to play sports. He was just a very down-to-earth person.”

All the family wants now, Stefanus said, is for the killer to be caught so they can know why their son is dead.

“I hope the police can solve this case soon and catch the killer, because we need to know their motive for murdering our son in such a sadistic way,” he said.

“We don’t ask for anything else, because even if the killer is sentenced to death, that won’t bring Christopher back.”

The family is holding a wake for Christopher at Atma Jaya Hospital and plans to bury him today.

From Jakarta Globe, "Clues Point to Killer of Science Whizkid Christopher: Police".

Police have arrested a jobless man who, they allege, robbed and stabbed Math Olympiad winner Christopher Melky Tanujaya, 16, in Pluit, North Jakarta.

North Jakarta police chief Snr.Comr.Andap Bhudy said that Abdul Jalil,24, was arrested on Thursday night at his home in Pluit, kompas.com reported.

On the day of the incident, Abdul, a junior-high school dropout, woke at 10 a.m., watched a music program on TV and roamed around the area. Late in the afternoon, he allegedly prepared his knife and looked for a victim, according to Andap.

When he saw Christopher get off the Transjakarta bus, he followed him,snatched his Blackberry and stabbed him four times in the neck and shoulder, the police allege. He escaped by bicycle taxi.

Christopher, a student of Saint Joseph’s Institute in Singapore, died later in Atma Jaya hospital. He was on his way home after playing futsal when he was stabbed on Monday at around 5 p.m.

From Jakarta Post, "Jobless man arrested for stabbing Math Olympiad winner".

of Chris' Tea House & the look-forward closing date of 18/01/12 & N Thnks fr th Mmrs

2011-12-09T01:23:00.003+08:00

Chris' Tea House will stop its tea cafe business for the public on 18 January 2012.

The keywords to be highlighted from the above joyful news is 'for the public'.

Mrs Christina Lim in her obviously self-consoling statement to SoShiok.com declared that 'she could have kept the tea house as a hobby and continue living a comfortable life instead of working hard to run it as a business and having to face the barrage of unkind remarks by flamers'.

She also added that she would keep the tea house to entertain her 'regulars', friends and associates.

What a horror!! The rest of Singaporeans are deprived of the pleasure of sipping a cup of tea in a high-class tea house.

What a great loss!! We have lost the reasons for living. Oh, woe are we...Not!

Who cares, really?

After being bludgeoned continously into closing down by flamers, Chris' Tea House has decided to stop its tea cafe business for the public on January 18.

Mrs Christina Lim, the owner of the controversial restaurant, said the last straw came when she kept receiving "harassment" from an anonymous person calling her mobile phone.

She told SoShiok.com that she has made police reports and "hopes the harassment will stop soon". She does not wish to reveal details of the harassment as police investigations are still going on.

While it will stop serving tea, the charming tea house at Upper Paya Lebar will continue operating its retail front which offers chinaware, tea and other tea paraphernalia.

She added: "I will be keeping the place but still thinking of other business to venture into."

The tea house was the target of online flamers after her daughter
called a customer "cheapskate" for making unreasonable demands and comments when he didn't spend a lot of money there, and for not understanding the practice of a "highclass" tea house.

Those remarks irked the customer's supporters who gave her and her mother a relentless bashing on a few websites.

Even though her daughter apologised subsequently for her remarks and Mrs Lim had explained her position on customer service and restaurant rules, online flamers continued to attack them.

Some even called for a boycott of the tea house.

But the tea house also had its supporters who slammed the flamers online, arguing that they should have proper etiquette when visiting the place.

Actually Mrs Lim had no intention of opening her tea house to the public initially.

She had bought the shophouse as an investment, and turned her tea appreciation hobby into a masssive project - a period English tea house decorated with matching furniture like wing chairs, fine porcelain and colourful tea paraphernalia.

Friends fell in love with it too and suggested she opened it to the public.

She followed their suggestion and also offered companies the use of the tea house as an event venue at a fee.

But she also found out quite soon that it wasn't a viable business what with the small size of the place and its cheap pricing.

She had told SoShiok.com that she could have kept it as a hobby and continue living a comfortable life instead of working hard to run it as a business and having to face the barrage of unkind remarks by flamers.

Mrs Lim said she would keep the tea house to entertain her 'regulars', friends and associates.

So it will be closed to the public, but open to her best supporters!

From Soshiok.com, "Chris' Tea House to stop serving tea because of harassment".

For posterity, as I sincerely believe a similar devastating PR move by Chris' Tea House ought to be avoided at all cost--yeah, what a painful way to learn 'a bad publicity is still a BAD publicity':

- Screenshot of HWZ forum ,"Chris Tea House finally down for the count":

- Screenshot of HWZ forum, "Tea house call customer cheapskate online in order to clear misunderstanding":

- Screenshot of Channel 5 TV series, "Small & Beautiful" featuring Chris' Tea House (actually somewhat a good publicity):

- Screenshot of STOMP, "Owner rudely 'spat' to family that no babies are allowed at new tea house in Paya lebar":

- Screenshot of SoShiok.com, "Chris' Tea House's business hardly dented by online threats":

The hilarious highlight of this article has got to be:

Reported a happy Mrs Lim: "We had only a slight dip in business."

Uh-huh, right...right...

PS. The last part of the title of this post 'N Thnks fr th Mmrs' is inspired by the Fall Out Boy hit song, "Thnks fr the Mmrs'.

So if 'Thnks fr th Mmrs' refers to 'Thanks for the Memories', it's not altogether a mystery of what 'N' refers too, no? Heh. ;)

Veena Malik: nude photo on FHM India was 'morphed'...

2011-12-08T23:14:00.003+08:00

...because apparently Veena Malik believes she's prettier than the photos of the FHM cover above?

I don't know. I, however, find the covers were delicately done! Don't you just love the ISI initials on her arm? Heh.

Check out also CNN Video, "Pakistani actress Veena Malik alleges FHM India magazine doctored photographs to show her without clothes" here.

Yeah, Veena Malik--and her allegedly nude photo with ISI initials on her arm--has made it to CNN...and also BBC! Referring to BBC News, "Veena Malik sues FHM India magazine over 'nude' photo", Ms Malik is said to feel "cheated and duped" by FHM India, which "tampered" with the photoshoot. Heh.

In other news, rediff, "Veena Malik disowned by father after nude photo scandal".

Partially quoted:

...her father Malik Mohammad Aslam has made it clear in an emotional outburst that he is not impressed with the situation.

He has also demanded that she make a promise not to visit India [ Images ] once the scandal is over.

"I have disowned her," the Mirror quoted him as saying.

"I have severed all ties with her and I don't want her to have any share in whatever meagre assets I have until she is cleared of the controversy and pledges not to visit India again," he said.

He went on to suggest that he hoped his daughter would be punished if found guilty of stripping off for the racy images "so that no other woman would think of doing such thing".

"I can ignore if she disobeys me but I cannot tolerate anything against my country and my faith," he added.

Ouch. And The Times of India has this to say in its article, "Petition against Veena Malik dismissed":

Petitioner Salim Ullah Khan Wednesday moved the court against Zahida alias Veena Malik contending that she should be tried for obscenity, sedition and defamation.

Justice Muhammad Anwar Kasi heard the case in him chamber.

The petitioner said an India-based magazine printed Veena's "naked picture" on its cover. The pictures were also carried in the e-edition of the magazine.

The petitioner contended that Veena's conduct was "controversial and shameful" for Pakistani people.

And to add to her plight? The latest news has FHM threatens to sue Veena Malik as reported in India Blooms: "FHM has has sent her a legal reply threatening to sue her for 25 crores. In their 11 page legal reply to her notice, FHM categorically denied that her photo had been morphed."

A Pakistani actress who is seen posing nude on the cover of an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across the conservative nation.

The initials, ISI, stand for Inter-Services Intelligence.

Veena Malik's photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine's issue this month, has been lighting up social network websites Facebook and Twitter in the last few days, AP reported.

But the 33-year-old has strongly denied posing nude for the lads' mag, insisting that the picture had been "morphed".

"I have never posed nude. I have never done anything like that ever. My manager and legal team are looking into the matter. We will take legal action against them," she told the Press Trust of India news agency.

FHM India's editor, Mr Kabeer Sharma, insisted that nothing had been doctored and claimed the magazine could prove the photo's authenticity.

Mr Sharma told a Pakistan television channel: "We have all the record(s). Veena was very excited about that ISI idea."

From Diva, "Pakistani actress claims FHM "morphed" nude photo of her".

ComfortDelGro taxidriverman: I love to drive the taxi, I like it very much

2011-12-07T20:57:00.001+08:00

Yeah. Heh. 'Taxidriverman'. Heh. The title above is inspired by Dr. Bombay - Calcutta (Taxi, Taxi, Taxi).

Heh. ComfortDelGro taxidriverman. You indeed love to drive the taxi, you like it very much, huh? Especially with the fare hike as per the previous ~~ranting~~ post, right? Sheesh...

of ComfortDelGro fare hike, a suspected cartel & "Is the President of NTA the same person with the President of Comfort Taxi Operators' Association?!"

2011-12-07T20:48:00.001+08:00

Conrad Raj has spoken...and rightly so when he suggested the Competition Commission to "take a look at the call by the National Taxi Association (NTA) for other cab companies to follow Comfort's move, which sounds suspiciously like a cartel at work".

So what is a cartel?

From Wikipedia:

A cartel is a formal (explicit) agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production.

Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products. Cartel members may agree on such matters as price fixing, total industry output, market shares, allocation of customers, allocation of territories, bid rigging, establishment of common sales agencies, and the division of profits or combination of these.

The aim of such collusion (also called the cartel agreement) is to increase individual members' profits by reducing competition.

I leave to you, dear Readers whether or not to agree with Conrad Raj's suggestion above.

For me, I've decided to dump my ComfotDelGro shares (yes, I do have a conscience!), vowed not to call this company's hotline if I ever have a need to book a taxi.

Oh, and I also decided to google for 'Wee Boon Kim'--his name is frequently mentioned in the articles below, and 'credited' to be the one who as the President of NTA which subsequently urged the five other taxi operators in Singapore to follow ComfortDelGro's fare revision.

And I came across this article from Business Times, "ComfortDelGro revises taxi fare structure" in which Wee Boon Kim is mentioned to be "president of the Comfort Taxi Operators' Association".

Is it just a coincidence that the name of the President of NTA is the same with that of the president of the Comfort Taxi Operators' Association?!

Or is it the same person?

A little surprise then that NTA urged other taxi operators to follow the highly unpopular move by ComfortDelGro...

If the latest round of price hikes by transport provider ComfortDelGro brings about a better cab service, there will be little reason to complain. Unfortunately I believe that will not be the case and the level of service will be, at best, no better.

At the current level of fares and surcharges, many taxi drivers are picking and choosing their passengers. Logic says that if they can get more money for the same job, they are going to work less hard, not strive for better service.

In any other place there would be such a hue and cry over the move by Comfort. As it is, cab rides here are not all that cheap - often more expensive than in Hong Kong. The flagdown here is significantly higher; in Hong Kong it is HK$18 (less than S$3) for the first two kilometres to our 1km.

Oh yes, Comfort will reduce the peak hour charges from 35 per cent of the metered fare to 25 per cent, and the holiday surcharge of S$1 will go. Some booking charges will be reduced slightly.

But the overall effect will be commuters having to pay more for their trips from next week. The flagdown will cost at least 20 cents more, while the peaks hours will be extended and the evening peak-period will be applied to Sundays and public holidays too.

Comfort is doing the revision, which comes into effect next week, on the basis that "strong" population growth and an increase in tourists have led to a substantial rise in demand.

So with more commuters in the market, wouldn't taxi drivers be earning more from the increased volume of demand for their service? Or is Comfort perversely attempting to dampen demand by making taxi rides unpalatable?

On one hand the Government discourages people from owning cars - but at the same time, public transport is costing us more because of the resulting greater demand. Does this not seem weird?

National Taxi Association (NTA) president Wee Boon Kim was quoted as saying: "It has been more than four years (since the last fare adjustment) and like most Singaporeans, our drivers too look forward to annual improvements in their take-home income so as to provide a better life for their families."

I am all for a better life for all here. But the very fact that cabbies pick and choose their passengers is an indication that the present fare structure is more than adequate.

Our cab drivers appear not hungry enough, unlike in Hong Kong where most taxi drivers own their vehicles and have to bid huge amounts for their licences. This is because our cab drivers are mollycoddled with all kinds of surcharges.

Just last Monday, I waited for 45 minutes along North Bridge Road near Arab Street to get a cab. I finally decided to take a bus to my destination in Somerset Road - not because there were no empty taxis but because they refused to stop for me or others trying to hail one.

In fact, more than two dozen cabs passed by with their green or blue lights on.

And to add to my angst, the same thing happened on the same night on Penang Road, with scores of frustrated commuters left flailing their arms in vain.

Did Comfort consider reducing taxi rentals to put more money in the pockets of its drivers? It can well afford to do so as it reported recently that revenue for the third quarter to end-September from its local business rose S$11 million to S$191.7 million, thanks to the larger operating fleet and higher cashless transactions. Operating profit was S$1.4 million higher at S$23.3 million.

Perhaps the Competition Commission should take a look at the call by the NTA for other cab companies to follow Comfort's move, which sounds suspiciously like a cartel at work.

Comfort, with its 15,700 taxis here, should be looking to giving the commuter a comfortable ride, not discomfort with price hikes. Or is this a prelude to a hike in taxi rentals?

From Today, "Higher fares, but no better service?".

The very people who are expected to benefit from the latest taxi fare revision - announced by transport operator ComfortDelGro on Monday - are apprehensive about the move.

All six ComfortDelGro taxi drivers this reporter interviewed said they were worried about a potential backlash from commuters. They made reference to the previous revision in December 2007 - also during the festive period - when the number of passengers dropped after the fare increases were announced. A reduction in taxi rental fees or concessions for diesel would be a better long-term solution to increase their earnings, they added.

"People may now think twice before taking cabs," said a taxi driver who wished to be known only as Mr Han. Another taxi driver, Mr Fadal, reiterated that he would have preferred the fares to remain unchanged.

ComfortDelGro last adjusted taxi rentals in 2000. It had said that it currently has no plans to increase rental and it will continue to subsidise its taxi drivers' diesel costs.

It said yesterday that it did not impose a diesel surcharge - and adjusted its fare structure holistically - as "overall costs have gone up and not just rising fuel costs".

On Monday, the National Taxi Association (NTA) backed ComfortDelGro's fare revision and urged the other operators to adjust their taxi fares as soon as possible.

Yesterday, in response to Today's queries, the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) reiterated that "trade or industry associations should not become the vehicle to facilitate price collusion or price-fixing".

Adding that it does not comment on individual cases, the CCS nevertheless said it "advises businesses and associations to familiarise themselves with the Competition Act which sets out the types of behaviour that are prohibited because they are considered to be anti-competitive".

Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) executive director Seah Seng Choon stressed that price adjustments should be left to the individual operators.

He added that CASE is concerned about ComfortDelGro lengthening the peak period - which is subjected to a surcharge - on Mondays to Fridays from between 5pm and 8pm, to between 6pm and midnight. Noting that many workers head home before 6pm, Mr Seah said: "Considering there was the problem with getting cabs before midnight because of surcharges, we hope ComfortDelGro will put into place measures to address this."

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), there are 26,970 taxis in Singapore as at October and ComfortDelGro currently operates 15,700 of them.

Mr Johnny Harjantho, managing director of Smart Cab, which owns some 720 taxis, said the company would most likely align its hours of surcharges with those of ComfortDelGro "to make it less confusing" for commuters.

He would, however, consult the 1,000 drivers in his company over the next few days on whether to follow suit in revising its basic fares. "If the wrong decision is made, it may affect drivers and their livelihood," he said.

From Today, "ComfortDelGro fare revision: Cabbies worry about backlash".

Four out of five taxi operators are set to revise their fares after indicating that they are considering a fare change, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday.

These firms are Trans-Cab, SMRT, Premier and Smart. The move follows ComfortDelGro's announced fare revision next Monday.

Fares for most commuters will increase as a result of the changes, which will the peak-hour period and city-area surcharge, among other things.

The report said the fith company, Prime, is letting its drivers decide on whether to revise fares.

Most taxi operators are likely to modify their fares but they will seek their drivers' feedback first, the report said. A decision will be made in the next two weeks, the firms individually told the paper.

As for the fare revision. taxi operators have explained that as drivers' operating costs have risen since the last fare revamp in 2007, drivers need to have a higher level of income.

In a separate Straits Times report, cabbies from ComfortDelGro said the new fare structure will help them earn a little more each month.

But the drivers are also preparing themselves for a rental increase by their operator and for being shunned by some commuters who, for the moment, may not take taxis to protest agains the higher fares.

From Asiaone, "Four out of five taxi firms set to revise fares".

TAXI fares for many commuters are likely to go up from Monday after Singapore's largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, revises its fare structure.

The company said yesterday in a statement that its new fare structure will include reductions in the peak-hour surcharge. For example, the $1 public-holiday surcharge will be removed.

But, at the same time, peak periods will be extended, and will also include those during weekends and public holidays. For example, the evening city- area surcharge will be applied on Sundays and public holidays.

The last taxi-fare adjustment was done in December 2007.

"Since then, taxi drivers have had to cope with higher costs of living as a result of inflation," said the statement.

ComfortDelGro said the introduction of SMS and smartphone taxi-booking services in the past three years had greatly increased taxi-booking demand.

ComfortDelGro now handles 2.4 million bookings a month, up 47 per cent from 2007.

To cater for the high booking demand, the peak period will start at 6am and end at 9.30am on weekdays.

Current call-booking charges will be reduced by 20 cents - from $3.50 to $3.30 - during the peak period and from $2.50 to $2.30 at all other times.

ComfortDelGro's taxi companies, Comfort Transportation and CityCab, manage a fleet of about 15,700 taxis.

From Asiaone, "ComfortDelGro to revise cab fares".

The National Taxi Association (NTA) has urged the five other taxi operators in Singapore -- Trans-Cab, SMRT, Premier, Smart and Prime, to follow ComfortDelGro's fare revision, The Straits Times said on Tuesday.

The NTA represents taxi drivers here and currently has more than 11,000 members.

It said this would help to defray rising costs of operation, for example, higher diesel prices, and increase the annual income of taxi drivers.

NTA president Wee Boon Kim said drivers are expected to make about $6 or $7 more under the new fare structure.

Other firms say they have not decided whether to revise their fares, and will make a decision after seeking feedback from their drivers.

The report added that SMRT Taxis will consider a fare revision as drivers' operating costs have increased since the last fare revision in 2007.

ComfortDelGro explained the reason behind the revision by pointing to how "strong population growth and an increase in tourist arrivals" have led to a significant increase in demand for taxis throughout the day -- even during "off-peak" hours, The Straits Times said.

From Asiaone, "Association urges other taxi operators to follow fare revision".

ComfortDelGro is making a mixed bag of changes to its taxi fare structure that will kick in from 6am next Monday, and other taxi companies may soon follow suit.

While the peak period surcharge will be 10 percentage points lower at 25 per cent of the metered fare, passengers will be hit by the surcharge an hour earlier in the morning on weekdays, starting from 6am. At night, while the peak period will start an hour later at 6pm, it will end only at midnight, instead of at 8pm.

On top of that, Sundays and public holidays, previously free of peak period surcharges, will have the evening peak period surcharge kick in, also from 6pm to midnight.

'Weekends and public holidays, which used to be 'quieter', have also seen a sizeable jump in demand for taxi services in recent years,' ComfortDelGro said in a statement yesterday.

The largest taxi operator in Singapore, its taxi companies Comfort Transportation and CityCab together manage a fleet of 15,700 cabs, which represents 66 per cent of the estimated 23,800 total taxi strength in Singapore.

Its competitor, SMRT Taxis, 'will be considering a fare revision as well, as operating costs for our drivers have gone up since the last fare revision in 2007', Tony Heng, its deputy director, told BT.

The last time ComfortDelGro tinkered with its fare structure in 2007, fares went up between 10 and 49 per cent. Soon after that, other taxi operators raised their fares as well, their own fare structures revamped to resemble ComfortDelGro's.

This time around, based on calculations by ComfortDelGro, a commuter who takes a taxi between 5pm and 6pm will see a 21 per cent - or $2.60 - reduction in taxi fare for a 10-kilometre trip. Someone taking a taxi during the extended peak hours, however, will see an increase of 33 per cent - or $3.00 - for the same trip.

The $3 city area surcharge will also extend to Sundays and public holidays, from 5pm to midnight, under the new fee structure. The $1 public holiday surcharge that is currently levied, however, will be done away with.

Passengers will feel the pinch from the time they hail the cab, with flagdown rates 20 cents higher for the first km. For limousines, the flagdown rate will go up 70 cents, to $3.90.

Once in the cab, distance fares will be two cents higher, but 'the meter will move slower', ComfortDelGro said.

Currently, it subsequently costs 20 cents for every 385 metres up to a distance of 10km. Under the new structure, it will cost 22 cents every 400m. Beyond 10km, the rates will go from 20 cents for every 330m to 22 cents for every 350m. On a per-metre basis, it will cost more.

For every 45 seconds of waiting time, passengers will pay 22 cents - an increase of two cents.

'Like most Singaporeans, our drivers too look forward to annual improvements in their take-home income so as to provide a better life for their families. Unfortunately, most of our drivers' income has remained flat over the last two years due to rising costs. This adjustment is therefore timely and fair to help our drivers improve their earnings,' said Wee Boon Kim, president of the Comfort Taxi Operators' Association.

On the upside, current booking fees will be reduced by 20 cents to $3.30 during peak periods and $2.30 during non-peak hours.

The advance booking fee, however, will leap from $5.20 to $8 to 'encourage more drivers to accept such bookings', ComfortDelGro said.

From Business Times, "ComfortDelGro revises taxi fare structure".

Night Safari Halloween (Real) Horrors: A Teacher Dies

2011-12-07T20:21:00.000+08:00

Sorry. I cannot resist not to use the above insensitive title of this post. My only excuse is that I am annoyed at how the media includes a somewhat irrelevant piece of fact to the news of how Ms Jacqueline Ho passed away due to heart attack.

Rest in peace, Ms Jacqueline Ho.

A Singapore Polytechnic lecturer died on Monday, after suffering a heart attack and collapsing on campus, reported the New Paper and citizen journalism site, Stomp.

Ms Jacqueline Ho - reported to be in her 40s, was found unconscious outside her office at around 11am.

Ms Ho was the teacher of students who were involved in the Night Safari "Halloween Horrors" project that was abruptly cancelled.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers received a call at about 11.06am, and an ambulance arrived within nine minutes.

An automated external defibrillator was used on her and she was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the way to the National University Hospital (NUH).

But she died at the hospital soon after.

Ms Ho was teaching at the polytechnic for over a year, at the School of Architecture & the Built Environment, and was described by her students as "approachable", "inspiring", "bubbly" and "optimistic".

She was in charge of the students who had spent months on their "Halloween Horrors" final year project for their diploma in Integrated Events and Project Management, before it was cancelled.

Ms Ho leaves behind a husband, a son, 16, and a daughter, 14.

From Asiaone, "Polytechnic lecturer dies after collapsing on campus".

Blogging: We're Going to Need More Monkeys

2011-12-06T19:12:00.000+08:00

LOL. Anyone can advise me where the artwork above is originated from? Heh. Ought to give proper credit to the artist! Grin.

Short rap on Hosehbo(Girl who slapped Mom) Incident

2011-12-05T21:58:00.001+08:00

This 14-year-old singapore rapper really can rap!!

She may have scolded you, ordered you around,
But she moulded you, brought you up herself and you slapped her, how cold are you?
So know that you are no better than a worm,
I can confirm she would've done herself a favour by aborting you,
But before I go on, what I wrote on this topic's not an insult to you, I'm just trying to get you to drop it,
And say sorry before things explode and get catastrophic, cos when you do, the whole of this tropic island will stop it,
And before you forget, next you'll time be a mom, would you like your kid to slap you, then post it up on stomp?
So seriously, take time to reflect what you did wrong, I hope you'll understand why I even wrote this song,
It's not to flame you or blame you, it's just to remind you to mind your words, and mind your actions, they sustain you,
And I'm not trying to judge you, that's not what I do,
cos I know its never too late for you to change and start anew.

Rose Chan, Wing Chun 'Master' Sin Kwok Lam & the importance of 'lying low' when triads issue a 'license to kill' against you...

2011-12-05T19:56:00.000+08:00

The sexual harassment scandal featuring Rose Chan is now further dramatized with the the triads coming to the picture. It's said that the triads had issued a "license to kill" against her Wing Chun sifu Master Sin Kwok Lam. Alas, the Master chose to "lie low" instead of fighting his way against the triads.

Real life is such a disappointment.

Rose Chan herself was actually a martial artist - she bagged the silver medal at the 2009 national wushu championships in Hong Kong. And yet, she was 'defeated' by two drunken assholes? What, Wing Chun is inferior against Drunken Fist???

Rose Chan & Wing Chun practitioners - Photo Source

Sin Chew Daily reported that the sexual harassment scandal involving Hong Kong actress Rose Chan and two senior actors had escalated.

It was reported that the triads had issued a "licence to kill" against the star's Wing Chun sifu-cum-manager Master Sin Kwok Lam, who acted as her spokesman after she complained of being sexually harassed.

Police, who got wind of the assassination attempt, arrested four people and seized three toy guns.

Since then, Master Sin had started "lying low", declining to speak to reporters and would only reply to text messages.

The Legend is Born Ip Man actress, 19, was forcefully kissed and molested by Hong Kong actors Joe Ma and Benny Chan during a supper gathering in China last month.

Separate police reports have been lodged in Hong Kong and China over the incident.

From Asiaone, "Triads get involved in Rose Chan's sexual harassment scandal".

Shame on you STOMPer SCMS2011...

2011-12-04T12:23:00.000+08:00

Yes, the food is indeed technically expired. But it's only 1 hour since it's expiry date, for goodness' sake!! This STOMPer SCMS2011 must be so delicate that she can succumb to food poisoning as the 1 hour is enough for rapid transformation of a perfectly alright food to a complete poison.

Grow up! And stop volunteering if you're expecting a princess treatment!!

STOMPer SCMS2011 was upset when she and her friends were served food that had apparently expired at the Standard Chartered Marathon this morning (Dec 4).

Said the STOMPer:

"We went to volunteer at the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2011 and got this food pack at 1.30am today, when the sticker on the container clearly stated that the food had expired an hour before that, at 12.30am.

"They distribute expired food with hair in them and expect us to eat them!

"My classmates and I dare not take the risk because we don't want to suffer from food poisoning.

"There have been news about food poisoning on TV and newspapers nowadays and yet they still don't take it seriously!

"Are they going to wait till people are admitted to hospital before they take serious actions with regard to expired and unhygienic food?

"When my classmates asked the leader, who was wearing a Standard Chartered shirt, he said it was OK. Just sit on the floor and eat. Horrible. This us just horrible!"

From STOMP, "Volunteers given expired food at marathon, but event official says it's OK".

Johor Premium Outlets Grand Opening ... soon (11 December!)

2011-12-04T11:57:00.004+08:00

Johor Premium Outlets or JPO will open from 10am to 10 pm 7 days a week. It's in its soft launch stage (opened yesterday)--but it's grand opening will only be on 11 December.

Be prepared for more discounts, you cheapskates. Hur hur.

Anyway, these are ways to go there--quoted from Iskandar Project website?

If you are coming from the north and travelling through the Plus North-South Highway towards Johor Bahru:-

Alternative route A:-

Go into the Kulaijaya/Kotatinggi toll and proceed beyond Kulai until you see the Kulaijaya/Indrapura signboard. Move up the bypass and turn right to Indrapura. Go straight until you meet the second roundabout. Take the 9 o'clock turn on your left. proceed until you pass the Foon Yew High School. You will then see the Johor Premium Outlet signboard.

Alternative route B:-

After passing the Kulaijaya/Kotatinggi signboard, you will next meet the Senai/Nusajaya/Tuas/Pontian signboard. Go pass the Senai Utara toll house and a short distance from there, you will see the Johor Premium Outlet signboard. This is the fastest way though.

Alternative route C:-

Go south and pass the Senai toll(selatan) house and you will see the Senai Airport signboard. Take the left turn and you will proceed until you see the Kulaijaya signboard. Follow the route until you pass Saleng and then the Macdonald signboard on your left. You will then see the Kulaijaya/Indrapura signboard. Take a left turn and proceed straight passing a second roundabout. take the 9 o'clock turn and proceed until you see Foon Yew High School on your left. Proceed a bit further and you will see the Johor Premium Outlet signboard.

If you are coming from the Singapore Second link at Tuas, proceed until you pass the Lima Kedai toll house. proceed further until you see the Senai Airport intersection. Take this route and in a short distance, you will see the Johor Premium Outlet signboard. This is the quickest route from Singapore.

If you are coming from Johor Bahru using the Plus Highway, proceed until you see the Tuas/Pontian intersection. Proceed until you see the Lima Kedai toll house. Do not enter the toll but take a U-Turn back from where you came from. Take the left turn when you see the Senai(utara) Airport signboard and proceed a little bit further and you will see the Johor Premium Outlet.

Or alternatively, use the old road to Kulai town, proceed until you see the Macdonald outlet. Take the left turn to IOI Mall/Indrapura and proceed to Indrapura town. Go straight and when you meet the second roundabout, take the 9 o'clock turn. Go straight and when you pass Foon Yew High School, you will see the Johor Premium Outlet.

Seems promising, huh?

Rows of brand-name retailers among arches, miniature fountains, palm trees and small garden patches greet shoppers as they enter Johor Premium Outlets (JPO).

JPO, located along the highway in Kulaijaya, is only in its soft launch phase but this has not stopped large crowds of Singaporeans from streaming in to "shop till they drop" when it opened yesterday

Legal secretary Suzana Sadip, 43, who was awestruck by the outlets, said she found it a delight to spend time roaming around the area.

"The branded outlets are a major attraction but I also love the general outlook of the place. The architecture and the landscaping are very different from conventional shopping malls.

"The only problem I faced was trying to get here and I hope the authorities will place more signboards along the highway to make it easier to locate the place," she said, promising to bring along her friends from Singapore on her next trip.

JPO, a joint venture between Genting Bhd and Simon Property Group, is scheduled to be officially launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Dec 11.

The stores include those selling top brands like Salvatore Ferragamo, Zegna, Charles & Keith, Armani Exchange, Burberry, DKNY and Oroton.

Another Singaporean, Rosnah Aziz, 41, said she was excited to be one of the first to visit the outlets.

"It's wonderful to have labels such as Michael Kors and Coach next to each other," said the nurse, adding that she took a taxi from Singapore with her friends at 10am just for the occasion.

Housewife Chen Pow Chee said she was impressed with the outlets.

"The place is very pleasant, clean and attractive to shoppers like me," she said, but called for more signboards to be put up.

JPO general manager Jean Marie Pin Harry said the outlets were expected to attract thousands of shoppers even before the official opening.

"We would like to urge shoppers to bear with our minor hiccups during the soft launch and just enjoy shopping for the different brands which are going for 25 per cent to 65 per cent discount," he said.

He said there were also special buses available for shoppers from Johor Baru Central, Kota Raya and the Second Link.

Discounts not as attractive, say some shoppers: report

Singaporean shoppers interviewed by The Straits Times (ST) said that JPO’s discounts were not as attractive, compared to outlet stores in US and Europe.

A 36-year-old teacher told ST that prices at JPO are about the same when there are sales in Singapore, while another shopper said that American brands like Coach are still much cheaper if bought in the US.

Prices of luxury goods were slashed by up to 70 per cent during the opening yesterday.

Salvatore Ferragamo high heels, which cost $790 in Singapore, were being sold at RM1,040 (S$427), while Zenga ties, which cost $290 here, were going for RM315 (S$129), ST reported today.

From Relax, "JPO attracting large crowds of Singaporeans".

Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), a shopping haven joint-venture project between Genting Bhd and Simon Property Group, is scheduled for a grand opening on December 11.

The project, located in Kulai, Johor, is 95 per cent complete, said Datuk Seri Idris Jala, chief executive officer of Pemandu, the government unit that oversees the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

JPO, a project earmarked under the ETP to boost the economy via tourism, is expected to create more than 3,000 jobs.

"It is currently 95 per cent completed. More than 80 designer and brand names have confirmed their presence," Idris said at a briefing here yesterday that marked one year since the ETP was launched.

It was previously reported that the 330,000 sq ft centre will offer savings of 25 per cent to 65 per cent on brands that include Burberry, Coach, Tumi, DKNY, Giorgio Armani, Gap Outlet and Levi's.

On another matter, Idris said Strand Aerospace Malaysia Sdn Bhd (SAM), an Airbus-approved engineering services company, had sealed contracts with European companies, including Germany's Ferchau Engineering and the UK's Spirit Aerosystems. No details were provided.

Strand Aerospace is spearheading an initiative to develop and position Malaysia as a hub for high value engineering services. It is also a project under the ETP.

In Penang, QAV Technologies Sdn Bhd has completed and started operating a light emitting diode and solid state lighting centre, with an expansion plan in the pipeline, Idris said.

This is the first American National Standards Institute-certified facility outside of the US.

The government's Small Retailer Transformation programme, or TUKAR, has benefited 315 shops across the nation, he said.

The programme, aimed at modernising small-time retailers to increase their level of competitiveness, is targeting 500 shops this year.

From Business Times Malaysia, "Johor Premium Outlets grand opening on Dec 11".

Stick Ninja

2011-12-02T21:34:00.001+08:00

One word; COOL!!

Anand, Don Tan, and the importance of not getting into a staring incident

2011-12-02T18:59:00.000+08:00

Especially so if you're outnumbered. Especially so if you're unarmed. Heh. The folly of youth.

A staring incident sparked off an attack on two 17-year-old secondary students by a gang of youths yesterday. One teen suffered a bruised eye and the other was seriously injured with a stab wound in the back

The New Paper reported that the two boys, Anand from Raffles Institution (RI) and Don Tan from St Andrew's Secondary School, got into a staring incident with two other boys at a McDonald's outlet around the Potong Pasir area at around 1pm yesterday.

Don told the paper they left without eating as they felt uncomfortable, but the youths followed them back to their block of flats and behaved in an aggressive manner.

Don called his father, who came downstairs and asked the boys to "give him some face". The boys agreed and left.

A resident of Potong Pasir Avenue 1, who gave his name as Mr Chan, said he was at a coffee shop at Block 137 when he heard four teenagers at the next table talking about organising a fight.

Mr Chan said he was shocked later when he was walking back to his flat and saw Anand shouting for help and limping towards a nearby clinic while bleeding profusely and leaving a trail of blood.

He recognised Anand as one of the boys from the coffeeshop. He also recognised Don when he saw Don being interviewed by the police.

When asked about this, Don said after his father confronted the boys and they left, he and Anand went to the coffeeshop to have lunch. The two boys later followed them there to ask them to go to a nearby block to "settle this once and for all".

Don and Anand refused at first, but later agreed.

When they reached Block 122, Don said he was shocked to see a group of youths with knives waiting for them. The gang attacked them and Don escaped with a bruised eye.

He shouted at Anand to run away, but Anand reportedly "stood his ground" and was stabbed in the back by one of the youths.

Anand left a trail of bloody footprints as he limped towards the nearby Parkson Medical Clinic and Surgery at Block 137, where he collapsed.

Madam Eileen Ng, 37, who works at a nearby dessert shop and was attracted to the scene by Anand's shouts for help, said she saw a doctor trying to stop the bleeding by applying pressure to the wound while Anand groaned in pain.

She also said she saw Don call the police.

The police received a call at 4pm and arrived at the scene to find Anand conscious. He was later taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

A block 122 resident, who gave her name as Madam Poon, 45, said she heard that a group of about six youngsters were seen leaving the scene in a taxi and a bus soon after the stabbing.

From Asiaone, "RI boy stabbed after staring incident".

The Simpsons in Singapore eat "Hang Here Kway Chap"

2011-11-30T21:02:00.003+08:00

LOL. Do we really have such a cuisine here? "Hang Here Kway Chap". Hur hur. The clip above is titled, "THE SIMPSONS - Preview #3 from "The Food Wife" airing SUN 11/13". Well done for featuring Singapore! (albeit with a fictional food...)

Chinese Communist Version: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance Music Video

2011-11-30T20:49:00.001+08:00

Haha. No, seriously. HAHA!!

Congratz to the pregnant 15-year-old girl!! Celebrate a new life...and not to condemn her, please...

2011-11-30T20:34:00.000+08:00

Give the young mother a break! She is contributing successfully to the higher Total Fertility Rate of Singapore! (And check out this article, "Singtel "Amateur Housewives" ... the solution to Singapore's declining birthrate?!" as well. Heh.)

Now one Stomper--who I bet must have been jealous--is whining to Stomp and in the end, he/she is just making the situation worse. I hope you proud of yourself, Stomper "Hello There"!!

A 15-year-old girl has allegedly bragged about being pregnant and getting married on social networking site Facebook.

A contributor to citizen journalism website said the 15-year-old girl has been posting status updates on Facebook about her pregnancy.

The contributor, who went by the name of "Hello There" said there wasn't a need for the 15-year-old girl to brag about being pregnant.

"Firstly, she does not think that it's disgraceful. Secondly she is just a minor, and is she proving that she had sexual intercourse with a guy at age 15?

"Well I don't really assume she starting have sexual activities at age 15, maybe younger than that, what has become of Singaporean teenage girls? Being boastful about their indecent acts?" the contributor said.

In Singapore, it is against the law for anyone to have sex with those under the age of 16. If a girl under the age of 14 is involved, the crime is treated as statutory rape.

The contributor also criticised the girl's friends and parents for encouraging her to take care of the baby and herself.

"Teenagers and her friends are encouraging her to take care of the baby herself and her husband. I don't think that this good, what she really needs is a wake-up call to stop being so childish and mature up."

"What are parents thinking nowadays? Allowing their daughter marry at age 15? The law should step in for this," she said.

From Asiaone, "Girl, 15, talks about pregnancy and marriage on Facebook".

SlutWalk Singapore: We have the permit, but we fight NOT to use the permit...Hear us roar!!

2011-11-30T15:09:00.000+08:00

Yahoo! SlutWalk Singapore is so sexy?! Heh.

What a way to make a buzz! See, Singapore's SlutWalk organizers have been given a police permit. Oh yes, no hassle at all to get this permit. But now, they're fighting NOT to have to use it.

D'oh.

Then why the hell did they bother to apply it?

So that they can later on create a publicity by refusing NOT to use the police permit?!?!

SlutWalk Singapore, you are so complicated...

They may have been given a police permit, but Singapore’s SlutWalk organisers are now fighting to not have to use it.

Their reason: it’s unnecessary for their event and they don’t want to set a precedent for future events.

“No one (who has organised similar events in the past) has had to apply for a police permit before, and we feel it’s important to not set a precedent for other events in the future to do this as well,” one of the organizers Cher Tan, 24, told Yahoo! Singapore on Tuesday evening.

The freelance graphic designer is one of seven women aged between 21 and 55 who came together to advance the SlutWalk cause in Singapore.

The event, which will be held on Sunday at Hong Lim Park, seeks to raise awareness about sexual assault, victim-blaming and slut-shaming. With its beginnings in Toronto, Canada, it has been held in numerous countries over this year, including Peru, South Africa, South Korea, India and Indonesia.

Explaining the situation, Tan said that the group had been given approval by NParks in August to hold their event at Hong Lim Park and under the terms and conditions, they need not apply for a police permit.

On 8 November, however, the organisers were told by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) that they needed a separate permit. Unaware of the exemption clause, one of the group's members then went ahead to apply for the permit.

When organisers sought clarification from the SPF, the SPF said that the presence of foreigners would require a police permit, according to Tan, who showed the correspondence between SPF and the organisers.

Organisers then reiterated in their response that their version of SlutWalk will not be conducted as a protest or demonstration.

Sunday’s event will be “carnival-style” with performances, speeches and informational booths, without protests or formations, unlike those done in events such as Pink Dot, explained Tan.

“How do you define ‘participation’ (by foreigners in the event) in this respect? The definition of the term in the Public Order Act doesn’t refer to (them) being bystanders,” she argued, adding that organisers remain puzzled over the need for a permit.

When the event draws closer, Tan said organisers will remind participants that SlutWalk Singapore is meant to be a gathering and not a protest or demonstration.

“We have already in all our publicity materials stated very clearly that it’s a gathering, so I believe the attendees will adhere,” she said.

Tan also told Yahoo! Singapore that organisers, on Monday, wrote to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean, Law Minister K Shanmugam and the Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Sports to seek help in waiving the need for a permit. They have yet to hear from any of them.

If there is no resolution to the matter, Tan said organisers will have to accept the police permit and proceed so that the event carries on as planned.

SlutWalk Singapore will be held this Sunday at the Speakers’ Corner of Hong Lim Park, alongside SlutWalk events happening in Hong Kong, Bangalore and Mumbai. Click here for more information, or visit their website at http://slutwalksg.com.

From Yahoo! News, "SlutWalk organisers fight against need for police permit".

Hsu Wei Hua a honorable murderer?!

2011-11-28T19:20:00.000+08:00

Nah. Ignore the rhetorical question above. I'm not subscribing to the concept of 'honor killing'.

Hsu Wei Hua, the man who murdered his Thai wife's lover, is still a murderer.

A Singaporean man who murdered his Thai wife's lover in Bangkok on Thursday afternoon is currently on the run and wanted by police in Thailand.

The stabbing took place in a unit on the sixth floor of the Regent Home Condominium located in the Chatuchak area, reports said. The man had reportedly purchased the unit for his wife.

The murderer, identified as 38-year-old Hsu Wei Hua, was caught on the building's security camera as he fought with and stabbed his wife's lover outside the apartment.

The camera captured images of him eavesdropping outside the apartment door for half an hour before forcing entry into the room by kicking the door in.

Upon entering, he found his 25-year-old wife, Ms Siriwan Yaemsi, in bed with a naked 26-year-old drift-racing driver Ittiphan Kuwakorn, who is also known as Wat Kumho.

Mr Ittiphan is a car drifter familiar with the community in Singapore and Malaysia.

According to the camera footage, both men started fighting outside the apartment. Mr Ittiphan was still naked.

The suspect then re-entered the apartment and emerged with a knife which he used to stab his wife's lover.

The footage also revealed that Mr Ittiphan had staggered back to the apartment unit before dying in the bedroom.

According to Thai media reports, Mr Ittiphan was stabbed in nine places including his chest, heart, back, and right hand.

Ms Siriwan called the police after Mr Kuwakorn died, and upon their arrival, they discovered the Singaporean man's passport at the scene.

The Singaporean allegedly fled the crime scene in a BMW 325i that he had bought for his wife. He had previously also bought her luxury gifts and is believed to have given her an allowance of 70,000 baht ($2,900) every month, The New Paper reported.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, Hsu married Ms Siriwan on Sept 25, 2009. His first marriage was to a Singaporean woman in 1997.

He reportedly owns a plastic moulding factory in Kallang and was a director at another company in the same industry from 1998 to 2001.

According to The New Paper, Hsu registered for a sole proprietorship of Evo Technology, which he cancelled in 2006.

He left behind his passport and Singapore driving licence after stabbing Mr Ittiphan, and has not been seen or heard from since the incident.

Lover believed to be wife's chauffer

A report in The New Paper states that Hsu had hired Mr Ittiphan as a chauffeur for Ms Siriwan.

Reporters from the paper visited Hsu's last known address in Singapore - an HDB flat on Yishun Ave 11 - on Sunday, but were turned away by a man who answered the door.

He refused to say whether he was related to Hsu.

There are also conflicting local news reports about the relationship between Hsu and the residents of the Yishun unit.

One report stated that Hsu is related to the residents in the unit but were unaware of the stabbing case, whereas another said that Hsu had rented the unit and did not own it.

Victim known among car drifting community

Mr Ittiphan is known to some of the drifters in Singapore and Malaysia, who expressed shock when news broke about his death.

Local drifter Benjamin Cheah, 20, told The New Paper: "I was shocked to hear the news. It's sad to know that he passed away in such circumstances."

Mr Ittiphan is often seen at drifting events in Thailand and while he wasn't one of Thailand's top-ranked drifters, he had been in the Thailand drifting scene for many years.

Mr Cheah said that the two knew each other as casual acquaintances and would exchange greetings whenever they saw each other during events at the track.

He also said that Mr Ittiphan had a purple Nissan Cefiro which he used in drift events in Bangkok.

Mr Cheah told The New Paper that his Thai friends had not seen Ms Siriwan and Mr Ittiphan together.

However, a Thai friend revealed to Mr Cheah that Ms Siriwan had told Mr Ittiphan that she wanted to end their relationship just the day before the fatal stabbing took place.

From Asiaone, "S'porean on the run after killing wife's lover in Bangkok".

PM Lee: Remember the Aljunied!

2011-11-28T19:10:00.002+08:00

(Okay, I admit PM Lee Hsien Loong was not quoted in the article to declare 'Remember the Aljunied!')

However, I still strongly believe that will make a good battle cry. Remember the Aljunied!

Okay, so I'm inspired by the Battle of Alamo & its subsequent resultant cries of "Remember the Alamo!". Hur hur.

Seriously speaking, though, it will be a great motivational challenge for PAP to reclaim Aljunied in the next General Election.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told party activists at the People's Action Party at its annual convention yesterday that they will fight to win back Aljunied GRC.

He said that party leaders have been talking to branch chairmen and key activists on how the party can win back ground support there.

The five-member PAP team helmed by then foreign minister George Yeo was ousted by the Workers' Party (WP) with 54.7 per cent of the valid votes.

The Straits Times reported that Mr Lee noted that while PAP candidates and party activists worked hard during the May General Election, the mood was against them.

Mr Lee also commended Mr Sitoh Yih Pin for his efforts in winning Potong Pasir. He was successful on his third try.

He added that this 'never say die' attitude which saw PAP winning Potong Pasir will be the way to gain ground in Hougang as well, a single-seat constituency that has seen Workers' Party chief Low Thia Khiang hold onto this SMC for the last 20 years. It is now helmed by current WP MP Yaw Shin Leong.

From Asiaone, "PAP will win back Aljunied: PM Lee".

The Bigg Boss feat. Sunny Leone the charming porn star...

2011-11-28T18:55:00.001+08:00

Yes, being a porn star notwithstanding, Sunny Leone is still truly charming. She made a special appearance in India's biggest reality TV show & performed a sexy pole dance (See the video below--in Mirror.co.uk article attached).

A Canadian porn star appearing in India's biggest reality TV show is causing a stir in the mostly conservative country where sex is taboo and open displays of affection are still frowned upon.

The busty Sunny Leone, best known for her roles in films as Not Charlie's Angels XXX and The Virginity Hit, made her entry this week in the Bigg Boss, India's version of the show Big Brother.

"Hi I am Sunny from California," Leone introduced herself to her fellow inmates at the plush Bigg Boss house in heavily-accented Hindi after showing off a few Bollywood-style dance moves.

Leone, a 30-year-old Canadian of Indian origin, said she decided to join the Bigg Boss programme not because of the money on offer but because she was addicted to the show.

"I'm really excited to be a part of it. I think Iâ€™d look great cooking... and doing the house chores in pencil heels and sexy clothes that I'm comfortable in," she told the Hindustan Times before joining the show.

In an article headlined "The XXX Factor" on Thursday, the Mail Today tabloid asked "Is porn slowly mainstreaming into our society through Sunny Leone on TV and PETA's adult site?"

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is to launch a porn website this year that will also show animal mistreatment.

The site peta.xxx will present visitors with "tantalizing images", followed by graphic ones of cruelty to animals.

"Who will check children from voting for Sunny Leone... and surfing the net to get tutored about her?" asked writer Sangeeth Sebastian. "These are pertinent points because sex is still taboo in India."

On microblogging site Twitter, reactions ranged from the lascivious to the outraged.

"It is shameful that TV shows are now bringing in porn stars to boost their viewer ratings," college student Payal Saxena wrote. "I will not watch this show anymore and will urge my other friends to do so."

Indian cinema and television shows refrain from showing anything that is deemed to be indecent, largely out of fear of running foul of strict obscenity laws and the powerful state censor.

The Bollywood film industry is famous for its "air kissing" -- kissing on the lips is still rare -- and sex is only ever hinted at by suggestive scenes.

Past guests on Bigg Boss include former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and the late British reality TV star Jade Goody.

From Yahoo! News, "Porn star causes a stir in India".

The Indian Big Brother house got a saucy treat yesterday as porn star Sunny Leone performed a “seductive as possible” pole dance.

The 30-year-old, who hasn’t revealed her x-rated profession to her housemates, left the men open-mouthed while the girls giggled and clapped along.

The busty beauty was sent into the house on Day 48 to spice things up and it seems she is doing just that.

Partially quoted from Mirror.co.uk, "Porn star Sunny Leone performs sexy pole dance in Indian Big Brother house".

The Noose - Christmas Song 2011

2011-11-27T17:28:00.001+08:00

LOL. Check out the cute clip. Michelle Chong--especially in her various roles in The Noose--sure looks happy. Or at least, acts happy...especially if one is to relate to her real life (read: Diva, "Michelle Chong: Famous but unhappy").

of PAP, Nokia, and The Importance of Connecting (with) People

2011-11-27T14:28:00.003+08:00

PAP shall expect tougher fights in future elections; therefore PAP must connect with people...with Nokia...because Nokia connecting people? Hur hur. Sorry. I simply cannot resist.

The People's Action Party (PAP) was less effective in its campaign coordination and strategy during the general election (GE) in May 2011.

Party Chairman Khaw Boon Wan said that in some branches, campaign strategies on physical developments "did not gain good traction with voters".

He said that at the national level, despite steering the economy out of the country's deepest recession since independence, the party was less effective in getting political mileage out of it.

These were issues identified by a review committee, which he is heading to analyse the results of the election.

Mr Khaw, who shared the findings at the PAP Convention on Sunday said there was also a perceived disconnect with the people.

He highlighted four underlying trends from the results of the GE that'll serve as useful lessons for members.

They are: a stronger mood for more opposition voices, a strengthening of the opposition, a shift in demographics where more young voters are influenced not just by what they read on the Internet but also by a certain mood for political change, and the era of the digital age.

Mr Khaw, who's also Minister for National Development, stressed that the PAP must evolve to meet the intense competition that lies ahead.

He said it must ensure that it remains constructive and continues to put Singaporeans first.

Partially quoted from Channel NewsAsia, "PAP must connect with people: Khaw".

The ruling People's Action Party (PAP) can expect future general elections to be tougher contests and should not expect any more clean sweeps and safe wards.

This was the message from PAP Secretary-General and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the party's convention on Sunday.

Mr Lee said in every constituency, the "PAP must fight, and fight to win".

He urged party activists to prepare early.

He reminded them that preparations must not just start when the elections are approaching, but continue throughout the five-year term.

He stressed that whatever the overall strategy and national issues, ground work in each constituency still makes a great difference.

This applies to constituencies that the PAP lost, such as Hougang and Aljunied GRC, as well as wards that it won comfortably or narrowly.

Mr Lee said one conclusion from the party's review of the general election is the need to identify and deploy potential candidates earlier.

He said the PAP must "avoid parachuting people in at the last minute" and pointed out that it's already looking for potential candidates for the next round.

Mustafa Centre charges ONLY $5 for use of their PA system

2011-11-27T14:05:00.000+08:00

Wow! That's cheap!! Imagine the possibilities: with a mere $5, you can use the PA system of Mustafa Centre to propose to your loved one, or you can use it to air your grievance (why go to Speaker's Corner?!), or you can use it to sing your song and gain instant fame.

Yeah. Wonderful, huh?

Well done, Mustafa Centre for being so darn creative with its PA system. Heh.

THE father panicked when he lost track of his 12-year-old boy while they were shopping at Mustafa Centre.

Fearing that his son might have been kidnapped, Mr Joe Tan, 61, a retiree, rushed to the centre's security office and pleaded with them to make an announcement on their public address (PA) system. What the security officer told Mr Tan shocked him - the announcement would be made only if he paid $5.

No reason was given for the fee.

Said Mr Tan: "I was outraged at first.

"I thought that making such an announcement should be a free service for shoppers."

But he eventually relented and paid the fee. And he found his son soon after the announcement was made.

Mr Tan had taken his wife and son to the shopping centre in Little India on Monday afternoon.

"We were buying some clothes for our upcoming trip overseas," he said.

"My son got bored, so I told him to go to the fourth floor to entertain himself."

But when Mr Tan, who had been shopping with his wife on the third floor, went to look for his son, the boy was nowhere to be found. And he was uncontactable because he had left his handphone at home.

"I'd heard of some cases of children simply disappearing and never being heard from again," he said. "I didn't dare to think too much about that possibility."

For 45 minutes, Mr Tan and his wife frantically searched all six floors of Mustafa Centre, with no luck.

He said: "I thought to myself, 'This is serious'."

With no idea where his son might have gone, Mr Tan finally approached the security office on the third floor for help.

No window shopper
That was when he was told about the $5 fee.

Said the man: "I told the security officer, I spent nearly $300 here. I'm not a mere window shopper."

But the security officer was unmoved, he said.

Mr Tan said that after he paid the fee, a Mustafa employee made the announcement over the PA system, telling his son to meet him at the computer section of the second basement level.

"When I went down to the second basement level, I saw my son running toward me almost immediately," he said.

"I was so relieved."

Mr Tan later found out that his son had been on the fourth floor all along, but he had been hidden behind a bookshelf.

When The New Paper called Mustafa Centre asking to speak to the management about the $5 fee, we were directed to the security office. They declined to comment.

So we sent a reporter to the store to pose as a customer who wanted to make an announcement on the PA system.

True enough, the security officer said that it would cost $5 to make the announcement.

He added that the fee was for a one-time announcement, and that additional payment would be required for subsequent announcements.

Management personnel at two other malls said that the PA system in their mall is used only in certain circumstances.

These include instances of illegal parking and when people lose their children or the elderly in the mall.

They do not charge for making these public service announcements.

To discourage any potential abuse of the PA system, the customer service officers said they would also use their discretion in distinguishing between genuine requests for help and pranks.

As for Mr Tan, he said that he is just relieved that nothing happened to his son.

"Of course, I'll make sure my son carries his handphone with him at all times from now on," he said.

From Asiaone, "Pay $5 to make announcement".

of Dog skips eating to stay by owner's grave

2011-11-27T13:54:00.000+08:00

"Properly trained, a man can be dog's best friend." That's what one American humorist, Corey Ford once rightly asserted.

I strongly agree.

We always hear how a dog is a man's best friend.

But is it vice versa?

The latest news has a sorrowful tale of how a dog skips eating to stay by his owner's grave. Inspiring. Yet it will be more so if the news is about a man/woman who skips eating to stay by his/her dog's grave.

Oh well...

Mr Lao Pan was unmarried and had no known relatives.

But the 68-year-old loner, who lived modestly in Panjiatun village near Qingdao city in China's Shandong province, had a loyal friend in his dog.

Early this month, Mr Lao died.

And in a touching scene of loyalty, the dog has refused to leave its master's grave, BBC News reported.

The report said that the pooch even went without food for seven days, lying next to the grave as if waiting for Mr Lao to return.

The villagers have been desperately trying to lure the animal away from the grave, but have been met with stubborn resistance so far.

Sky News reported that since noticing the pooch, villagers have been bringing food and water to the gravesite, and are even planning to build a kennel there.

A concerned local tried to take the animal home with him, but to no avail.

"I saw the dog when I was working in the field, and I called him, and wanted to take him back home because I also have a dog," the man told the BBC.

"I gave him a steamed bun when it came to my home. The dog took the bun and ran back. "I tried to catch it, but it ran even faster back to the tomb and stayed there."

Other loyal pooches

This canine's loyalty draws parallels to other famously loyal pooches, such as Hachiko, Japan's most faithful dog.

In 1924, Hachiko was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Professor Hidesaburo Ueno of the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo.

For many months, the pooch saw his master off to work at the front door and found his way to the nearby Shibuya Station to greet the man at the end of the day.

The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn't return one evening.

The Professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day.

He died and never returned to the train station where his dog was waiting for him.

Hachiko, not realising that its beloved master was dead, kept returning to the train station for more than 10 years, hoping that the man would eventually show up at the spot where they last met.

Sky News reported a similar story of Edinburgh's Greyfriars Bobby - a dog from the 19th century who returned to its master's grave every day for 14 years.

The dog now has a bronze statue erected in honour of its loyalty.

It also has its own website.

Bobby belonged to Mr John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police.

It was two years old when Gray died of tuberculosis in 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

The dog apparently spent the rest of its life sitting on its master's grave, cared for by well-wishers.

Many books and films have been based on its story.

From Asiaone, "Dog skips eating to stay by owner's grave".

Striptease Waitress

2011-11-26T19:05:00.001+08:00

Sexy...but hilarious too!

of Hui Sai Mun getting kinky along HDB flat corridor

2011-11-26T18:44:00.002+08:00

I wish the article also reveals what the occupation of this sick guy by name of Hui Sai Mun. I suspect he was really thinking to get a free accommodation for 1 month in jail. A good break, huh, Hui Sai Mun?!?!

A man wore lacy black underwear and and stood in the corridor of a flat in Ang Mo Kio.

Hui Sai Mun, 45, then masturbated and smiled at a woman who was walking towards her flat.

The woman, 48, avoided him and took a different route to go home. She then called a neighbour to complain about Hui's behaviour.

When the neighbour's wife went up to check, Hui was still wearing the lacy black top and panties.

He also masturbated in full view of her.

Hui was sentenced to a month's jail after he pleaded guilty to committing an obscene act and insulting the modesty of his neighbours.

District Judge Roy Neighbour took into consideration a third charge when sentencing Hui. He committed an obscene act on November 3 by wearing a brassiere and panties cut in a way that exposed his nipples and private parts while lying on a bench.

From Asiaone, "Man engages in kinky behaviour along HDB flat corridor".

Cammie Tse ... abortion?!?!

2011-11-26T15:04:00.001+08:00

What the hell? Cammi Tse, who is only 16 years old, is reported to have had an abortion some time early this year. And the father is said to be Vincent Wong?

Ouch. So young and she's already a killer.

And this Vincent Wong?! This guy was just got married two weeks ago. I wonder how his wife, Yoyo Chen, reacted...

16-year-old model Cammi Tse has been a hot topic ever since the recent scandal with Edison Chen, but it is now reported that she had an abortion earlier this year and the father was actor Vincent Wong, who just got married two weeks ago to actress Yoyo Chen, according to the May Daily website.

Despite being young at age, Cammi is believed to have dated up to five celebrities, including Edison Chen, Shen Chi-ming, Jing Boran and Steven Cheung of Hong Kong pop group Boy'z.

The Hong Kong based Entertainment Weekly claimed that Cammi demanded HK $200,000 (SG $33,650) from Vincent to keep mum about the abortion.

However, Yoyo is no saint herself, she was reported to have been previously embroiled in a prostitution scandal.

As reported by Hong Kong's Face magazine two years ago, she received considerable amount of money from a lawyer and in exchange, she became his mistress.

From Yahoo! News, "Cammi Tse aborted Vincent Wong's child".

Cammi Tse (谢芷蕙) had “a thing” with actor Vincent Wong (王浩信), who is set to marry fellow actress YoYo Chen (陳自瑤) on Friday.

Hong Kong’s Next Magazine claimed the 28-year-old Vincent sent romantic text messages to Cammi after meeting her at a party.

Soon after the 16-year-old model went to Vincent’s place and stayed there alone with him for five hours — while YoYo was working on the mainland.

Cammi was dating playboy Edison Chen (陈冠希) at the time.

Cammi and Vincent met up several times, until YoYo demanded they “broke up.”

To salvage their relationship, Vincent proposed to YoYo.

Vincent, however, has angrily refuted the report, saying Cammi only went to his place because he was throwing a party and they never had “a thing.”

He further claimed Cammi had revealed their hookup just to get publicity.

From May Daily, "Cammi and Vincent Wong had “a thing”". (10/11/11)

Sung-bong Choi the Homeless Boy Who Steals The Talent Show

2011-11-25T21:39:00.001+08:00

One cannot help but be moved to tears by this amazing young man; Sung-bong Choi.

When Sung-bong decided to sing on the Talent Show "Korea's Got Talent" he had no idea that he would win the hearts of millions all over the world!

His story of his childhood is so moving that even the judges had a hard time keeping their composure.

He told the judges that even though he didn't think he could sing very well, he sang because it made him happy.

They couldn't have been more surprised.

And here's the clip:

Batam riots!! (Video clips)

2011-11-25T21:24:00.001+08:00

Surely there are other ways better than simply rioting?!?!

Clashes between police and workers demanding higher pay continued on Friday on the Indonesian island of Batam.

Tear gas and rubber bullets were used to disperse union workers and prevent them from staging a third day of demonstrations.

Local reports said close to a thousand workers descended on Batam's Mayor office.

Dozens of protestors were arrested, but labour unions have vowed to continue demonstrations until their demands are met.

The Batam municipal authority had proposed that the minimum wage be raised to 1.3 million rupiah from the current 1.2 million, agreed to by the local tripartite wage council.

However, labour unions are insisting that the minimum wage be raised to 1.76 million rupiah. (US$195).

Police have cordoned off Batam Centre, the island's administrative centre.

Most manufacturing plants, offices, and shops in the area remained closed on Friday for fear of more violence.

On Wednesday, several cars were torched and office windows smashed.

Dozens of people were injured.

Batam Island is Indonesia's first free-trade zone.

It offers incentives to foreign investors to establish their manufacturing plants there, many of which are labour-intensive.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Dozens of Batam protesters arrested".

As many as 20,000 laborers in Batam continued their demonstration yesterday demanding the city increase minimum wages. The police were forced to use tear gas to contain the crowd.

The workers ignored the police’s call to disperse. Instead, they threw stones at the personnel and damaged the Batam Municipality Office’s security post as well as a police booth at Simpang Panbil. The billboard at the Batam Center was also dismantled and tires were set on fire. At least 40 motorcycles owned by demonstrators were broken as the police turned them upside down.

The presence of Riau Police chief, Brig. Gen. Raden Budi, and deputy governor Soerya Respationo, did not make them stop. They spoke for 10 minutes and decided that the workers’ representatives would negotiate with the Batam Municipality.

However, the negotiation was not successful. The municipality was willing to raise the minimum wage to Rp1.320,000, but workers insisted on Rp1.7 million.

Rally coordinator Muhammad Nasir threatened to deploy thousands of workers if the government did not meet their demand.

From Tempo Interactive, "Laborers Go Wild at Batam Demonstration".

Indonesian National Police said on Friday that 27 people have been arrested in connection with two days of violent wage demonstrations that rocked the industrial zone of Batam, Riau Islands.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said two of the men had already been named suspects, namely A, 32, who had been charged with allegedly instigating the riots, and A.M., who was caught read handed throwing rocks at the mayor office.

Authorities in Batam, agreed on Thursday to a more substantial increase in the city’s minimum wage for next year, following the demonstrations.

Sahat Sinurat, the Manpower and Transmigration Ministry’s director of industrial disputes, said that after lengthy negotiations, all sides had agreed to peg the minimum wage to the Reasonable Living Cost Index (KHL).

As a result, the minimum wage will be Rp 1.32 million ($147) a month, less than what workers had been demanding.

“Initially, there was disagreement about the monthly minimum wage,” Sahat said. “Apindo [the Indonesian Employers Association] wanted it set at Rp 1.26 million, but the workers wanted Rp 1.72 million. This is what caused the rioting.”

The minimum wage this year is Rp 1.18 million a month.

Workers had taken to the streets since Wednesday to demand that the local wage council immediately decide on the minimum wage for next year, following a lengthy deadlock between employers and the workers’ union. Under a Manpower Ministry decision, the minimum wage should be set 40 days before it goes into force, or last Monday.

Protesting workers clashed with police, who fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the crowds.

Records from municipal clinics on Wednesday showed 15 people were treated for injuries sustained in the clashes, while five were taken to Kamatya Sahidah Hospital and Awal Bros Batam Hospital.

The Batam branch of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union (FSPM) said at least four workers were injured by rubber bullets.

The violence resumed on Thursday morning when workers and police officers hurled rocks at each other outside the mayor’s office. Police once again fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Shortly before noon, the governor of Riau Islands, Soerya Respationo, and the provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Budi Winarso, met with demonstrators.

Soerya called on the workers’ representatives to meet once again with Batam Mayor Ahmad Dahlan for negotiations on the minimum wage.

Budi told the crowd there was no need to resort to violence because “we all are brothers.”

About 40 minutes later, the workers’ representatives got their chance to meet with Dahlan. The governor, however, left not long after the meeting started, saying the issue was no longer within his authority to oversee.

The Jakarta-based Committee for Living Wage Action (KAUL) had earlier called for the Batam wage council to set the 2012 minimum wage at Rp 1.76 million and Rp 1.848 million for jobs in certain sectors.

It also demanded that Dahlan step down over the violence.

Also on Thursday, thousands of workers in Bekasi, another largely industrial area, took to the streets in a peaceful demonstration to demand a higher minimum wage than the level set by the local wage council.

Earlier this week, a threatened massive strike in Jakarta was averted after the wage council here agreed to peg next year’s minimum wage to the current KHL for the city.

From Jakarta Globe, "27 Arrests After Batam Riot Violence".

Batam island faced its third anarchic labor strike since 2010 on Thursday. Workers ran amok in an attempt to force the local government to meet their demands for a much higher municipal minimum-wage. But the administration said it was unable to accommodate the aspirations of the island’s workers, one of the most favored foreign-investment destinations in the country.

More than 5,000 striking workers from the Muka Kuning, Kabil and Nongsa industrial zones took to the streets and vandalized several police posts. They protested against the shooting of two fellow demonstrators and the beating of 21 others in violent clashes with antiriot police on Wednesday.

They also thronged the municipal office demanding the mayor raise the monthly municipal minimum-wage to Rp 1.76 million (US$195.36) from the current Rp 1.2 million.

Most businesses, mainly labor-intensive manufacturing industries, suspended their operations as they did wish to become targets of the protesters’ anger.

The Batam mayor declined to meet striking workers and insisted he could only approve a wage hike to Rp 1.3 million as had been decided by the local tripartite wage council. He also called on labor unions that had sent their delegates to the tripartite wage council to disseminate the agreed wage hike in an attempt to end the rallies.

The workers were further outraged when Riau Islands Vice Governor Soeryo Respationo offered Rp 15 million to the demonstrators, accusing him of trying to bribe them.

Unionists from the Confederation of All-Indonesian Workers Union (KSPSI), Indonesian Metal Workers Union (SPMI) and Confederation of Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (KSBSI) rejected the municipal tripartite wage council’s agreement on the wage hike and insisted Rp 1.76 million was the most reasonable rate of pay on the island.

The two-day anarchic rallies have drawn mixed reactions from many sides. Unionists and lawmakers condemned the use of violence in handling the rallies and criticized the implementation of the free-trade zone that had failed to improve the social welfare of workers and their families.

“The government has given investors various facilities, including tax-free imports and investment permits, but none of this brings social justice to locals, including our workers,” said Rieke Diah Pita-loka, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), in Batam.

Although living costs in Batam are high, the minimum wage in the island is lower than that of Jakarta, Bekasi, Surabaya and many other municipalities.

The violent strike was the third to have rocked the island in the past two years. The first happened in April 2010 when thousands of people took to the streets and clashed with security personnel in their solidarity with workers of PT Drydocks World Graha. They were protesting against alleged racist behavior by foreign staff in the company.

In September 2011, five people were injured when rioting broke out at the PT Nexus Engineering Indonesia dockyard.

Batam, now a home to 26 industrial estates and more than 4,000 companies employing almost 300,000 workers from Java and Sumatra, is expected to receive billion-dollar investment packages from numerous countries.

Yayan Achyar, foreign-investment promotion executive at the Batam Free Trade Zone, regretted the violent industrial rallies.

“This foreign direct investment could be wiped out if the labor rallies continue and disturb the investment climate on the island,” he said.

From Jakarta Post, "Labor violence erupts in investor haven Batam".

FULL 30 MIN EP 1 - Gabriel Iglesias "Stand-up Revolution" Alfred Robles, Rick Gutierrez, & Ozomatli

2011-11-24T23:48:00.002+08:00

Seeing is believing...watching is laughing. Watch this, "FULL 30 MIN EP 1 - Gabriel Iglesias "Stand-up Revolution" Alfred Robles, Rick Gutierrez, & Ozomatli".

Aiko Sarwosri: Sexy photos? No problem! Hurtful words? Yes problem!

2011-11-24T23:09:00.008+08:00

Referring to Google Translate of this lihatberita.com article, "Foto Sexynya Beredar, Aiko Dimarahi Orangtua" (or as per Google Translate, "Circulating Sexynya photos, Aiko scolded by parents".)

Well, I'd just have to use this movie quote from American Beauty to describe the Indonesian beautiful chef/actress, Aiko Sarwosri: "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in."

Civil servants' year-end bonus

2011-11-24T22:56:00.002+08:00

Yeah. The news is out: civil servants will enjoy a 0.75-month of year end bonus--add to it is the 13th-month payment. Hmmm....

Singapore's 76,000 civil servants will get a 0.75-month of year-end Annual Variable Component (AVC) in December.

Together with the one-month Non-Pensionable Annual Allowance (NPAA), also commonly referred to as the 13th-month payment, the total year-end payment is 1.75 months, says the Public Service Division (PSD).

But there will be no Special Variable Payment, or what's known as the Growth Bonus, this year. The Growth Bonus is given out only when the Singapore economy does exceptionally well.

Last year, civil servants received one to 1.6 months of Growth Bonus, which was paid out in March this year.

On top of the year-end payment this year, civil servants received a mid-year AVC of 0.5-month and a one-off dollar quantum of S$250 in July.

Last year, civil servants received a mid-year AVC of 0.5-month and a one-off cash payment of S$300.

The Singapore National Employers' Federation (SNEF) described this year's year-end payment as a "good" one.

Meanwhile the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and its eight affiliated civil service unions said the year-end payment is "fair".

The labour movement added that the amount was concluded after close consultation and negotiations between the Public Service Division and representatives from NTUC and the civil service unions.

The NTUC said the amount rewards civil servants for their hard work and contributions and also takes into account Singapore's projected slower economic growth this year compared to 2010 as well as the higher costs of living.

Singapore's economy expanded 5.4 percent for the first three quarters of this year, and the forecast for the whole of 2011 is growth of around 5 percent, down from the 14.5 percent pace in 2010.

The Public Service Division said the year-end bonus is decided against the backdrop of heightened economic and financial uncertainties ahead.

Union leaders from the Daily Rated Workers Union are already advising their workers to start to save up more so that they can weather the upcoming storm.

Ma Wei Cheng, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, said: "There is always the training, the upgrading and how their income can be supplemented, how their conditions can be improved, and we will continue to do that for low-wage workers."

Channel NewsAsia understands that a dollar quantum was also proposed during discussions.

NTUC deputy secretary-general, Heng Chee How, said: "There was a dollar quantum in the mid-year instalment and so if you take as a whole then there is a dollar quantum within this AVC payment, and there is also the 13th-month (payment). So I would say the government has taken into account, in terms of AVC as a whole, the advantage the dollar quantum would give to the low-income."

As for the private sector, the Singapore National Employers Federation said it expects bonuses to vary with a company's and individual's performance.

It added that Singapore's economic growth in the fourth quarter could be around 3.5 percent and this may have a dampening effect on year-end bonus payments in the private sector.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Year-end bonus for civil servants".

Coupling - A Babble Fish Translation

2011-11-24T22:34:00.004+08:00

LOL. You've got to see this clip, "Coupling - A Babble Fish Translation".

The original clip when the gorgeous lady is speaking in Hebrew:

I like how in the latter part of the video, the lady speaks in English while Jeff in Hebrew. Haha.

Four lesbian Justin Bieber lookalikes are set to take the world of pop and barbershop by storm.

2011-11-24T22:15:00.001+08:00

Check out this hot video clip, "Bieber Barber Shop"!

Jason Neo, Christian Eliab Ratnam, Donaldson Tan: An Open Letter by muzlimbuzz.sg

2011-11-24T01:09:00.001+08:00

A very well-written and sincere open letter addressed to Jason Neo, Christian Eliab Ratnam and Donaldson Tan (or in short the Terrible--and possibly/allegedly Racist--Trio).

Well done, muzlimbuzz.sg.

In mid-November, the spotlight came onto Mr Jason Neo who had posted a picture of a school bus with Muslim students from Huda Kindergarten with the caption “Bus filled with young terrorist trainees”.

A few days later, Mr Christian Eliab Ratnam posted a picture of text claiming that Islam is not a religion but ‘an authoritarian, political doctrine which imposes itself by force’, among other inflammatory things.

Shortly after, Mr Donaldson Tan reposted a picture of a pig superimposed on the Kaabah – only the most controversial animal in Islam on the most sacred site in Islam.

To the three men, I pray you are well as you read this, if you ever do.

Your actions have not angered me as much as it has saddened me. Having lived alongside and studied with neighbours and classmates of different faiths in Singapore all my life, I grew up believing that my friends accepted my Muslim identity and faith as part of me. With the recent postings, I wonder, do my friends secretly harbour thoughts that I’m an adherent to a violent religion? Do they worry if I may one day harm them, or my country?

In the past five to ten years, as I read articles about the discrimination that Western Muslims had to face by their countrymen post-911, I always counted my blessings that being a Muslim in Singapore had never been an issue. I am now starting to wonder if I had been naive all these while.

To Mr Jason Neo, in your defence you said that the boys were standing in a manner that looked as if they were pointing guns at each other. Perhaps you thought that it was a funny coincidence that these Muslim kids reminded you of Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban or Mas Selamat even. I guess I cannot really blame you since the media loves to show angry Muslims burning flags and buildings, and not the regular, smiling Muslims that eat at McDonald’s and take the same trains and buses as you do.

It is sad to know that when you saw the Muslim kids, you didn’t think “That may be my neighbour’s kids” or “How cute those boys are with their tiny headgear” but instead, your initial thought process was in flaming red warning letters: Terrorists. Well, I guess a caption such as “Muslim boys in their cute headgear” was just not inspiring or exciting enough for Facebook.

Muslims have had quite enough of being misrepresented in the media and you are just a walking example of how that has had an effect on your impression towards Muslims.

To Mr Christian Eliab Ratnam, contrary to what you believe, Islam is not “an authoritarian, political doctrine which imposes itself by force”. It’s a pity that you never saw Islam through my eyes. As I grew up and learnt to love my religion, these were the things that I was taught.

Islam Does Not Impose Itself by Force

•” There is no compulsion in religion.” (Quran 2:256)

•In the Charter of Privileges sent by the Prophet Muhammad to the Christians of Najran, it states:”This is a message from [Prophet] Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion [in religion] is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them.”

Islam as a Religion of Mercy, Forgiveness and Honesty

•”But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs. ” ( The Quran 42:43 )

•“Repel evil with that which is best. ” (The Quran 23:96 )

•“Woe to those that deal in fraud ; those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demands full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account ? ” (The Quran 83:1-4)

•“The best of companions in the sight of Allah is the one who is best to his companions, and the best of neighbours in the sight of Allah is the one who is best to his neighbour.”( Hadith – Narrated by Imam Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad)

•“Worship Allah and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, the poor, the neighbour who is near, the neighbour who is far, the companion by your side…”[ The Quran 4 : 36]

According to the celebrated scholar of Islam, Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Qurthubi (1214-1273 AD ) in his exegesis of the Quran, Tafsir Al-Qurthubi, this verse is clear in its instructions to do good to one’s neighbours, to fulfil their rights, to protect their properties and lives, regardless whether that neighbour is a Muslim or not.

There are many things in Islam that are beautiful. You need only seek it to find it, and you will then see it the way I do.

To Mr Donaldson Tan, while you refuse to remove the offensive picture by saying that “Islam is not sacrosanct”, here’s what I’ll say:

Islam may not be sacrosanct to you, but religious harmony, love, tolerance and acceptance of other’s beliefs are. You cannot use the “my right to free speech” card and then cry foul when we use our “my right to be offended” card. I don’t need laws or a Sedition Act to chart my actions. I need only listen to my mother’s timeless advice: “If you’re not prepared to face the consequences of your actions, don’t do it.”

Why now? Why provoke when we have tirelessly built our nation to be one of love and acceptance? Everyone has a part to play to ensure that Singapore continues to be a place of peace and harmony. Just look at the unrest and racial/civil strife in other nations and tell me if you’re willing to let what we have go to waste only because of “free speech”.

I love my country and I love the peace that we have enjoyed thus far. And I definitely love my friends regardless of their faith or ethnic background, a thousand times more than I love my right to free speech.

I pray God fill your heart with much more love.

Together, we need to combat intolerance of any kind and put our nation’s peace above ourselves.

To the three of you, and anyone else who has any doubts or concerns about Islam and Muslims, please feel free to browse our website for the articles that we have, or to drop us an email so that we may address them.

From muzlimbuzz.sg, "An Open Letter to Mr Jason Neo, Christian Eliab Ratnam and Donaldson Tan".

Meanwhile in the news:
- Asiaone 20/11, "Former YPAP member apologises to kindergarten over offensive post" (Featuring Jason Neo)

- The Philippine Star 21/11, "Singapore probes soldier's anti-Islam web comments" (Featuring Christian Eliab Ratnam)

- Asiaone 23/11, "Blogger probed for offensive Facebook post" (Featuring Donaldson Tan)

Revisiting "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

2011-11-24T00:30:00.000+08:00

Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale

Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale (From "Live at the Union Chapel")

Ah. A Whiter Shade of Pale. Previously blogged about this fantastic song last time in 2009 (here) and in 2006 (here).

Yes. I just LOVE this song a lot!!!

So allow me to (again) present this song as performed by Procol Harum singer, Gary Brooker in the very old vs new version. Heh.

PS. You may also want to check out this post, Revisiting "House of the Rising Sun".

Careless Whisper - 2 versions

2011-11-23T23:11:00.003+08:00

So which version of 'Careless Whisper' do you prefer? That of George Michael's or Seether's? I like the latter...especially as the video music is totally 'no-sense'. LOL. Check it out & you know what I'm talking about. Heh.

George Michael - Careless Whisper

Seether - Careless Whisper

of SPH sues Yahoo for copyright infringement

2011-11-23T13:45:00.001+08:00

Will be very much curious to learn how the legal battle will end. Woo hoo...SPH vs Yahoo! However the result is going to be, SPH is not just reporting news, but it also creates news--and exciting one at that.

Well done, SPH!

Local broadsheet The Straits Times, which is published by SPH, reported on Wednesday that Yahoo's Southeast Asia editorial department has "substantially" reproduced articles from its newspapers without proper licensing or authorization. It has since filed the copyright lawsuit with the Singapore High Court last Friday, and the writ and statement of claim were served on Yahoo Southeast Asia on Monday.

The report noted that SPH cited 23 articles as examples of content that Yahoo Southeast Asia had allegedly reproduced on its Web sites. These included political and crime reports first published in its newspapers such as The Straits Times, The New Paper and My Paper during the period between Nov. 16, 2010 and Oct. 20, 2011, it stated.

The lawsuit could potentially be a landmark case as it is believed to be the first legal wrangle between a traditional media owner and a new media organization, the report noted. Ang Peng Hwa, director of the Singapore Internet Research Centre at Nanyang Technological University, agreed, said the case "could set some precedent, depending on what comes out".

Yahoo has since responded to SPH's claims, saying that it has filed a memorandum of appearance with the courts to defend itself against the copyright lawsuit, according to a separate news report.

"We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against this suit. Our editorial business model of acquired, commissioned and original content is proven," said Alan Soon, managing editor at Yahoo Southeast Asia, in the report.

Quizzed by ZDNet Asia, the Web company issued this statement: "We confirm that SPH has commenced litigation against Yahoo Southeast Asia for alleged copyright infringement. This matter has been referred to our legal advisors and as such we are unable to comment further at this time."

From ZDNet Asia News, "SPH sues Yahoo for copyright infringement".

Latest: CNN features Singlish!!

2011-11-23T00:07:00.000+08:00

Singslih is mentioned in this CNN video, "English: the language of money" as reported by Liz Neisloss.

Donaldson Tan of New Asia Republic & his racially offensive post on the Internet

2011-11-22T23:47:00.001+08:00

Donaldson Tan, the editor of commentary website, New Asia Republic is currently under investigation for allegedly publishing racially offensive posting on the Internet.

Donaldson Tan had reportedly re-posted a picture deemed offensive to Islam on his Facebook wall.

From the Facebook page of "New Asia Republic":

The Online Citizen (TOC) has this to say in "Racist posts on FB by blogger – police investigates": Singapore Police Force is investigating blogger and chief editor of New Asia Republic, Donaldson Tan for re-posting an extremely offensive picture to Muslims; one of a prohibited animal in Islam, superimposed on the Ka’ba – Islam’s most sacred site, on his Facebook. In his report to the police, the complainant, Amran Junid, also highlighted a Serena Lee for posting racist comments on that FB post by Donaldson Tan.

Mr Tan was also revealed as formerly an editor with TOC. He was asked to leave TOC in January 2010, and he subsequently set-up New Asia Republic – a commentary website.

A blogger is currently under investigation for allegedly publishing racially offensive posting on the Internet.

Blogger Donaldson Tan had reportedly re-posted a picture deemed offensive to Islam on his Facebook wall.

The picture is of an Islamic holy site (the Ka'ba) superimposed with an animal prohibited in Islam.

Tan is the editor of commentary website, New Asia Republic.

This is the third such case in a week.

The first was Jason Neo, a former member of the People's Action Party's youth wing.

He had posted an offensive caption on his Facebook for a picture depicting Malay children in a school bus.

A few days later, full-time National Serviceman Christian Eliab Ratnam came under investigation for posting a text critical of Islam on his Facebook page.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says police are investigating several complaints of offensive postings on religion on the Internet and has requested the public let investigations run its course.

MHA warns the public not to add any comments to offensive Internet postings on religion which may further inflame the situation.

It adds that the right to free speech does not extend to making remarks that incite racial and religious friction and conflict.

MHA says the authorities take a very serious view of all instances of racial and religious incitement.

Any person who re-posts or contributes offensive comments to the postings that are the subject of on-going investigations, and is also found to have committed an offence, will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

From Channel NewsAsia, "Blogger under investigation for racially offensive posting".

Twilight hilarious poster

2011-11-22T22:55:00.004+08:00

Somebody forwarded the above 'artwork'. LOL. Twilight: the story divided between zoophilia and necrophilia. How apt!! So anybody who to credit the above picture to?

While waiting for the reply (I bet, none), let's enjoy the trailer of the coming movie of "Twilight - Breaking Dawn".

Justice: "THE MORAL SIDE OF MURDER"

2011-11-22T21:23:00.001+08:00

If you had to choose between (1) killing one person to save the lives of five others and (2) doing nothing even though you knew that five people would die right before your eyes if you did nothing—what would you do? What would be the right thing to do? Thats the hypothetical scenario Professor Michael Sandel uses to launch his course on moral reasoning.

The second part of the video is titled, "THE CASE FOR CANNIBALISM". Quoted: Sandel introduces the principles of utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, with a famous nineteenth century legal case involving a shipwrecked crew of four. After nineteen days lost at sea, the captain decides to kill the weakest amongst them, the young cabin boy, so that the rest can feed on his blood and body to survive. The case sets up a classroom debate about the moral validity of utilitarianism—and its doctrine that the right thing to do is whatever produces "the greatest good for the greatest number."

Check out this interesting video--it's worth 54 minutes to see, really: