Sleepyland: News and politics

Things in the news - 12 -19 June 2008 & Firefox 3

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:59:41 GMT

Military funeral for pilot cadet Clifton Lam. Haiz another case...sometimes people in the SAF needs to know their own limits

Japan earthquake

Happen to hear them talk about this movie on oprah and I think the guy was too stupid and thinks he is smart : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_the_Wild

18 June 2008 Wednesday : Firefox 3 download counter for world record

Apple Type Services for Unicode Imaging (ATSUI)

Color Profile support in Firefox 3

Firefox 3: Color profile support

New version of live writer in beta.

Recently working night shift and not following the news

Myanmar Hurricane and China Earthquake

Wed, 14 May 2008 15:59:19 GMT

Both are becoming major disasters

Both affects some people at work

But the rescue efforts and the response by the government is totally different.

China is going all out but Myanmar still refuses international aid.

There is so much media coverage for the china rescue efforts and but for Myanmar is the rescue groups complaining about the military blocking their efforts.

I say just invade Myanmar and kick that fucking useless junta out.

More Stuff Interesting to me, 我们的饭店, Wine 1.0, Journeyman, Director 11 and Sim Park

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 15:58:16 GMT

我们的饭店, Our Rice House ending was nice. Why english production companies can make so much better drama - Pics Talk

15 years in the making, Wine 1.0 is in sight

Even happier ending for "cleaned" Xbox 360 owner: Gates-signed console arrives

And stupid Malaysian crazy drivers should not get a Nissan GT-R. FLD said one just crashed in Malaysia...

LOL US send Taiwan some nuclear stuff by mistake

Resident Evil: Degeneration Trailer

Remember Sim Park?

The Journeyman Project Re-make in the Works?

Adobe Director 11 was released on 25 March 2008

Singapore should just shut up and not support China on the Tibet Issue...

Interesting things I found

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:25:34 GMT

Our Rice House 我们的饭店 is a nice show

Word of the day : milquetoast - a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, esp. one who is easily dominated or intimidated

And Lorem ipsum dolor is not a word

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/under-apples-watchful-eye-games-and-business-applications/ - Singapore is like Apple

http://sometimesifart.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-last-post-as-nsf.html - Sad Story of a NSF

http://alvinology.wordpress.com/2008/03/11/at-what-cost-stardom/ - People nowadays just wanna be famous...

http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080305-52896.html - NUS sex survey: 64 per cent of undergraduates have sex more than once a week

Just watched a Mythbusters show about water rockets and steel caps in safety boots.

The current record for greatest height achieved by a water and air propelled rocket is 2044 feet, (623 meters), held by U.S. Water Rockets on June 14, 2007. This altitude was calculated by averaging two flights. The first flight achieved 2068 feet, (630 meters) and the second 2020 feet, (615.7 meters). The rocket also carried an onboard video camera on both flights.

From : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_rocket

http://www.n82storytelling.com/

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/03/03/microsoft-s-interoperability-principles-and-ie8.aspx

http://acid3.acidtests.org/ - Kill the browsers!

http://journalism.sg/2008/03/02/the-other-casualty-of-the-great-escape-mainstream-media-credibility/

P.S = Postscript

bunker mentality = An attitude of extreme defensiveness and self-justification based on an often exaggerated sense of being under persistent attack from others.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0783124/ - same birthday

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0295640/ - The movie is called Suck My Dick

Singapore : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

Ken Gushi - Drift Driver

http://www.paradox.com/Products/CAT_MOTIONDETECTORS/Description.asp?CATID=7

Nappa leather

Where is Monaco?

http://www.expodisc.com/ - Interesting but expensive white balance solution.

Catherine Lim - Leap Years writer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavor_Graveyard - Ben and Jerry's discontinued flavours

http://xkcd.com/390/ - Nightmares

Spicy chicken basket? where did I eat it?

Edison Chen is gone! And USA shoot satellite

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:36:08 GMT

Watched the Edison Chen Press Conference and he is sorry and getting out of HK showbiz. The Taiwan translator was bad...

And the US satellite shootdown is making China scare lol

Caveat emptor : "Let the buyer beware." The buyer must examine the goods or property and buy at his own risk.

The Price is Right guy

And full metal jacket is a kind of bullet

Lydia Sum (沈殿霞) Passed Away

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:40:58 GMT

Lydia Sum (沈殿霞) has passed away

Singapore Government has some major problems...

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:39:04 GMT

The unjust death sentence of Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi

And did not know Ong Teng Cheong was such a rebel :

ASIAWEEK March 10, 2000.

BY ROGER MITTON Singapore

PUBLIC protests are rare in Singapore. Official ones, rarer yet. But 12 years ago, the then deputy prime minister, Ong Teng Cheong, led a noisy demo against American interference in Singapore's affairs. Some local lawyers had been detained without trial and a US diplomat (later expelled) had suggested other Singaporean lawyers should stand as candidates against the ruling People's Action Party in coming elections.

While PM Lee Kuan Yew and his designated successor Goh Chok Tong spoke out, it was the deceptively unassuming Ong who marshaled 2000 trade unionists to stand in approved areas with anti-Uncle Sam banners. "Don't smile," said the DPM. "This is serious business." Unfortunately, a cameraman caught Ong doing just that.

The incident encapsulates his character: fiercely committed and doggedly law-abiding, but with an irrepressible human streak and a ready chuckle. The anti-US protest was not the first time Ong had made waves. Two years earlier, he had sanctioned a strike without telling his fellow cabinet members - and they were pretty peeved. Before that, he revamped Singapore's then moribund arts and culture scene, only to be scolded for spending too much. But on these and other matters, Ong never backtracked when he believed the interests of Singaporeans were at stake.

This stubborn determination to do right by his country became starkly evident when Ong defeated little-known former accountant-general Chua Kim Yeoh to win the presidency in 1993. Ong was the republic's first elected president (his predecessors had all been appointed). Many thought that the PAP loyalist, who had been inducted into the party by Lee and who was a close friend of Goh, would continue to toe the party line and agree to everything the government sent to him for approval. They thought wrong. He decided from the start that he would be an activist president, not a lackey of anyone. At times, this caused him to be at odds with the government. This less than cordial relationship still generates vigorous debate among Singaporeans, even though Ong's term ended six months ago. Now, speaking for the first time with an international publication since he stepped down, the 64-year-old Ong says: "I had to do [my] job whether the government - or anyone else - liked it or not" (see interview).

What exactly did the job entail? In 1991, when Goh was already PM and Lee senior minister, the Constitution was amended to allow for an elected president with the power to veto key appointments and to act as guardian of the republic's prodigious financial reserves. The idea was that the president could prevent the reserves being frittered away by a "rogue government" taking over from the PAP. (Lee recently pegged the reserves at "over S$150 billion" - US$87.7 billion.)

But even within the PAP hierarchy there were divergent views. Goh said the president would act as a check and balance, and that his government was "in fact, clipping its own wings" with this measure. Lee strongly disagreed, saying: "I would not have used those words because 'clipping one's wings' would evoke in my mind the swans we have at the Botanic Gardens. They are there because they cannot fly away." Lee viewed the president's custodial role as excluding the capacity to hobble the government. In a parliamentary session last August to discuss the differences between Ong and the government, Lee stressed that while the president would have "a certain blocking power," he would have no executive authority. Opposition MP J.B. Jeyaretnam growled: "Isn't his decision to say 'no' to the government's proposal to use the reserves not an exercise of executive power?"

Actually, that was the one thing Ong never got to do during his six-year term, so it was never tested.

What the PAP's leaders were united over was that candidates must meet stringent conditions. Besides being "a person of integrity, good character and reputation," a candidate has to have occupied high public office or headed a company

with paid-up capital of at least S$100 million (about US$58.5 million). The criteria are stringent enough that Ong's successor, S.R. Nathan (a former ambassador and head of the secret service), had a walkover last September when no suitably qualified opponent came forward. This irked Jeyaretnam: "There is a feeling among a great many Singaporeans that they have been completely left out, cheated, of their chance to choose the president."

In choosing Ong as its first candidate back in 1993, the government appeared to have forgotten his independent streak and his activist past. As one of them, they thought there was no need to worry. That was a mistake. As president, Ong promptly set about actively doing the job as it was laid down in the Constitution. Almost immediately there were problems over how much power he should have and how much information he should get. In rapid succession, there were four constitutional amendments to try to plug these holes. Mostly, they entailed grabbing back some of the powers that had been vested in the elected president, like his right to veto both defense spending and laws that curtailed his own authority.

Only regarding the reserves did he continue to hold sole discretionary power; he could decide whether to approve or reject requests to draw on the funds. In order to make such decisions, Ong wanted to know how much the reserves were worth. He hit a roadblock. Those who had the information stalled over okaying its release. There was no urgency since none of the budgets presented to him for approval included a request to draw on the reserves. Still, three years into his presidency, Ong wrote to the government complaining that he had not got the figures. With a general election looming later that year, he felt it was procedurally important that he should know the dollar-and-cents details. Finance Minister Richard Hu says Ong got a response on Aug. 14 - "less than two months later." Ong says it was "a few months." The rancor was undisguised and it continued unabated. The government said it would take "56 man-years" to provide the information Ong wanted. The president said tersely: "Never mind. Go ahead." Later, he agreed to accept just a list of the government's immovable assets rather than a dollar-and-cents valuation. When he finally got it, he says it was incomplete. He complained that he still learned of vital information from the newspapers, instead of being informed first. And he chafed under the minimal staff he was allotted.

Many of these problems may just have been - as the government has argued - teething pains associated with the civil service dealing with a new, untested institution. But they added up to the unusual image of top officials publicly squabbling, a sight not seen since the 1980s when Lee lambasted the former president and PAP stalwart, Devan Nair.

Later, personal problems intervened for Ong. His wife had colon cancer and died in July, and his own lymphoma had flared into a high-grade form in 1998. Given all this, he says he told Goh he was disinclined to stand for re-election. But the PM recalls it differently, telling Parliament that Ong told him last February that he was thinking of standing again. Ong insists: "I have not told anybody that I wanted to stand again."

Whatever, Goh says he advised Ong to get a medical report first. In March, Ong went to the US to see the world authority on lymphoma, Stanford University's Dr. Saul Rosenberg. Ong recalls: "He checked that I was in complete remission. So I was fine after my treatment." His Singapore physician, Dr. John Wong, concurred with Rosenberg, but apparently harbored enough reservations that when the cabinet considered this matter, they decided not to support Ong if he decided to run again. Said Goh: "The cabinet concluded that there was a strong likelihood that the president's health would affect the discharge of his official duties in the next few years."

Goh said Ong was ruled out solely on health grounds. Not everyone bought that. Says Jeyaretnam: "Because he was being a bit of a difficult boy they decided they wouldn't have him for a second term." Ong was hurt. When he next met the PM, he told Goh that if he wanted to run for president again it would be his own decision. The response caught Goh's men by surprise. They knew that if Ong ran, he would almost certainly trounce Nathan, which would be hugely embarrassing. A month before the polls Ong finally told Goh that he would not stand. But he had one last bite: when he made the announcement, he also revealed all the problems he had endured over the past six years.

Many Singaporeans feel the ex-president's experiences confirm their perception of a bureaucracy that is more often curt than not. "Civil servants aren't supposed to talk to you," says nominated MP and constitutional lawyer Simon Tay, "and that really has to change." The Ong episode also suggests that the precise role of the elected president remains unclear. Even PAP men defend the new institution with less than wholehearted conviction. Admits Lee: "It is an open secret that some of my colleagues think I am attempting something which is futile." As to the disputes at the top, there are those who see these in a positive light. "The issue here is not a lack of debate, but the robustness of the debate," says Industry & Trade Minister George Yeo. "When Ong Teng Cheong took the job he knew he was testing new ground. The PM knew it, [Ong] knew it, there would have to be tension. [Otherwise], the problems would not surface. It was a necessary tension for it to work." But did it?

Published in the ASIAWEEK March 10, 2000.

From : http://www.singapore-window.org/sw00/000310a3.htm

Censorship is useless

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 22:38:30 GMT

Info on censorship in Singapore

And Complaints Choir of Singapore

Lyrics :

We get fined for almost everything
Drivers won’t ‘give chance’ when you want to ‘change lane’
The indoors are cold, the outdoors are hot;
And the humid air, it wrecks my hair
Those answering machines always make you hold
Only to hang up on you
When a pregnant lady gets on the train
Everyone pretends to be asleep
I’m stuck with my parents till I’m 35
Cause I can’t apply for HDB
We don’t recycle any plastic bags
But we purify our pee
*chorus:
What’s wrong with Singapore?
Losing always makes me feel so sore
Cause if you’re not the best
Then you’re just one of the rest
My oh my Singapore
What exactly are we voting for?
What’s not expressly permitted
is prohibited
“Ooh”
When I’m hungry at the food court, I see
People ‘chope’ seats with their tissue paper
To the aunty staying upstairs:
Your laundry’s dripping on my bed sheets
Please don’t squat on the toilet seats
And don’t clip your nails on MRT
Stray cats get into noisy affairs
At night my neighbor makes weird animal sounds
People put on fake accents to sound posh
And queue up 3 hours for donuts
Will I ever live till eighty five
to collect my CPF?
*chorus
Singaporeans too kiasu! (so scared to lose)
Singaporeans too kiasi! (so scared o die)
Singaporeans too kiabor!(scared of their wives)
Maybe we’re just too stressed out! (even the kids)
“Ooh”
Old National Library was replaced by an ugly tunnel
Singaporean men can’t take independent women
People blow their nose into the swimming pool
And fall asleep on my shoulder in the train
Singapore’s national bird is the crane (the one with yellow steel girders)
Real estate agents’ leaflets clogging up my mailbox (en bloc, en bloc; en bloc, en bloc)
Why can’t we be buried when we die?
No one wants to climb Bukit Timah with me
*chorus
“Ooh”
There are not enough public holidays
My neighbor sings KTV all night
Wedding dinners never start on time
My hair is always cut shorter than I want
Channel 5 commercials are way too long
Why do men turn bad?
*At first it was to speak more mandarin
Then it was to speak proper English
What’s wrong with my powderful Singlish?
People sit down during rock concerts
We have to pay for tap water at restaurants
ERP gantries are everywhere
But I can still see traffic jams on the road
All the bus stops have tilted benches to keep you off balance
*chorus

Interesting Shit

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:29:04 GMT

North Korea Embassy in Singapore

Bluetooth Legs

LOL Microsoft forgot to renew Hotmail Domain

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/default.htm?job=auction_summary&id=73 - Bid!

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/25/apple_scroll_wheel_light_patent/ - Interesting patent by Apple

http://www.postpet.so-net.ne.jp/ - Remembered about this email pet thing last time. Remember Tamagotchi?

Talking about Talking about HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:22:50 GMT

Found the blog of MC King who recently died.

Quote

Talking about HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Taiwan Media

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:47:53 GMT

Too tired to blog about my life this week but I was watching TV and my mom was watching the Taiwan news channel.

Watching their news is kinda a joke to me. My mom watches more Taiwan news than our own Singapore news. I thought we should be more concerned about our local news... Taiwan news is really fun of interesting bits and interpretations added by the reporter and feels more like entertainment than providing objective information.

But it attracts viewers to pay attention to whats going on in the country. But will they filter out the crap and keep the information. Sometimes he feels as if the political figures are having a word of war with the media. And those "leaders" really like to make a lot of "noise" for the media to see and in turn making use of them But the media also keeps them in check by criticizing them. The media circle over there is really much more "active" than ours.

So should news be objective or should integrate with our lives and be more interesting so we will pay attention?

I prefer the former though. I dont need clever reporters to mess with my mind. And anyway I hardly have time to watch the local news anymore becoz of work, feeling tired or prefer my "international" IT news lol. Youtube?

Singapore Wins Asean Soccer Championship

Sun, 04 Feb 2007 15:18:33 GMT

1-1 draw in second leg and we won although the first leg penalty is hotly debated.

Steve Irwin Dies

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 07:22:10 GMT

The guy was pretty crazy but I kinda did not believe it when I saw the forum post title on Neowin. Thought it was a prank but turns out that it was true. But then I also thought that considering he's always doing those dangerous stuff. This was gonna happen one day...

He got stung in the chest by a stingray barb and died.

The sad thing is that his wife and children are now left behind... According to the reports, his wife was not with him at that time.

He was a really devoted environmentalist. Crazy but entertaining guy with a good heart. RIP

News Source

Discovery Is Safe at ISS

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 04:18:19 GMT

Just glad that the shuttle guys still look ok.

They better build the new one fast.

Space Shuttle Discovery Reaches ISS Safely