The Singapore Daily

“..we have to understand that identities exist before policies; no amount of coercion or social engineering can remodel that, but only subvert and suppress it..”
Howard Lee

“Globally, property prices have sunk, in part due to the greatest recession since the great depression and in part due to shrinking lines of credit. This property price paralysis is happening everywhere else in the world.. Except Singapore.”
Percevale

“..the concept of childlike faith (if it is even scriptural) should not apply to man.”
Terence

“Perhaps it is time to question whether excessive government intervention in the economy is the true killer of productivity growth..”
Ng E-Jay

This week’s roundup and recommended reads after the break.
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February 27th, 2010 | Category: Weekly Roundup | Leave a comment

Budget 2010
- Sgpolitics.net: What is missing from the productivity debate
- TOC: Raising foreign worker levy will not solve problems, say critics
- TOC: A complacent budget
- The Kent Ridge Common: Critical Response to Budget 2010
- The Temasek Review: Uniquely Singapore: PAP ministers raising their own pay by a hefty 8.8% ahead of the next election
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: MIT prof confirms what Chee has been saying all these years
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Simplify taxation
- mrbrown: Ministers got early angpow?

Countdown to Elections
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: U-Turn or Election Sweetening….?
- The Temasek Review: Why Singapore’s future in the next ten years is a bleak one
- Transitioning.org: Ten Reasons Why PAP May Lose Some More Seats In The Next Election

We are against Capital Punishment
- ambiguity: MDP And Its Uncanny Resemblance To Religion
- la nausée: The Mandatory Death Penalty and Democracy
- TOC: The legal canon of death

Sorry Rony Recants
- The Temasek Review: Clarification to misleading remarks Pastor Rony Tan made on Buddhism
- Kennethism: Christian Post’s report of the Rony Tan ex-gay service in March 2009 [Thanks Kenneth]

Sin City
- The Temasek Review: Marina Bay IR have recruited 1,500 “Singaporeans and PRs” as card dealers
- Macau Daily Times: Sands uncertain about Singapore’s performance

Re education
- Balderdash: International Skip School Day planned
- Musings From the Lion City: Wrong Audience
- Singapore in General: A Creative Future? [Thanks Soojenn]

Housig Singaporeans
- Who Moved My Singapore Cheese: Housing woes for a PR

Daily Discourse
- Readings From A Political Duo-ble: Foreign Corruption and Money Laundering – A comparision of US & Singapore
- Wild Shores of Singapore: Dredging near Kusu Island continues until Aug 10
- EcoWalkthetalk: Can Electric Vehicles change the world? Part 1/3 A Third Comeback [1][2][3]

Life, the universe and everything
- The Long and Winding Road: The far side of the hill
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Renting and owning a property
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: How to skip the trailers on an original DVD?

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Reuters: Something fishy? Eco-guide lists seafood to avoid
- Business Insider: Here’s The Real Reason Korea Is Winning So Many Olympic Medals
- DailyFinance: Is the All-ETF Portfolio a Good Idea? What Investors Should Know
- Guardian: When animals turn on their trainers
- Reuters: Job insecurity linked to risk of poor health
- LA Times: No radiation danger from airport body scanners

February 26th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

Daily ChioBu: Rina Chinen

Rina Chinen (知念里奈 born 9 Feb 1981) is a singer, model and TV actress. The native Okinawan was trained in dance and song at the Okinawa Actors School, whose graduates include J-pop queen Namie Amuro. Debuting in 1996 with the Single “Do-Do for Me”, Rina’s career transitioned through bouncy pop songs and ballads to rock and then R&B. Her last album “Breath” was released in 2001. In 2002 Rina appeared in the Japanese TV Drama California Dreaming (夢のカリフォルニア Yume no California). This was followed by Central Ikegami Police (こちら本池上署 Kochira Hon Ikegami Sho) which ran successfully for five seasons. In 2007, she appeared in the Tokyo Production of Les Miserables.

Pictures after the break. [NSFW]
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February 26th, 2010 | Category: Daily ChioBu | Leave a comment

Budget 2010
- Sgpolitics: Opposition parties and alternative media respond to Budget 2010
- The Temasek Review: Majority Of Singaporeans Disappointed With 2010 Singapore Budget
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Economic growth and government salaries
- Tong Seng’s Blog: Dialogue on Budget 2010
- P116: Creating high value jobs: Malaysia budget vs S’pore budget
- e27: Singapore Budget 2010 – What’s In It For Startups and Investors?
- Cooler Insights: Free Ideas to Boost Productivity?
- Singaporean Says Political Cartoon: Feasible Budget 2010

Sorry Rony Recants
- Kennethism: The churches are silent, Ctd [Thanks Kenneth]
- Irreligious: City Harvesters, it’s time to question
- The Temasek Review: Pastor Rony Tan and the great homosexuality debate

We are against Capital Punishment
- TOC: A call to suspend all executions
- TOC: The long drop and the hangman’s ritual

Sin City
- The Kent Ridge Commen: Rise of self-exclusion applications: Is it enough?
- Chemical Generation Singapore: Sands on the Way
- Reuters: UPDATE 2-Sands boost coming with Singapore casino opening [Thanks Gerald]

Strangers in a Strange Land
- TOC: Foreigners give back to Singapore society

Welfare is a dirty word in Stingypore
- The Secret Political Blog: Trying to help a homeless Part III

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- NYT: Hedge Fund Moves on Stuyvesant Town [Thanks Gerald]

Re education
- The boy who knew too much: A creative future

Daily Discourse
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Singapore media and Alexa rankings
- utopia8787: speech at 21 Feb 2010

Life, the universe and everything
- JustinLee.sg: Fight Obesity – Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize Wish [Thanks DK]
- The Lycan Times: Anti-Social Media – Facebook Friend Lists

Infoblogaramous
- utopia8787: weekly Sunday Speech – Singapore Budget 2010

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- NYT: South Koreans Struggle With Race [via Singaporean Skeptic ]
- Reuters: Virus experiment reminds that flu surprises await
- BBC: Why bankers are still making millions
- Dealbook NYT: Details Out on Bank C.D.O.’s That Sank A.I.G.
- NYT: Fashion Week 2010 featured collections
- Bits NYT: Tech Talk Podcast: The Future of Cellphones

February 25th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

Budget 2010
- TOC: Budget does little to address main issues faced by S’poreans
- Sgpolitics: Just how progressive is Budget 2010?
- The Temasek Review: $7 billion dollar plan to make Singaporeans work “smarter”
- The Temasek Review: Why the hike in Foreign Worker Levy will benefit the govt more than ordinary workers
- Yaw Shin Leong: Thoughts on Budget Speech 2010
- Singapore Alternatives: NSP’s response to Budget 2010
- Singabloodypore: Singapore’s Budget 2010 exposed
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Defence spending 25%, education 21%
- Recruit Ong: Preserving the status quo
- My Little Corner: New CPI Basket for 2010
- My sketchbook: After budget day
- Bloomberg: Singapore Withdraws Red Carpet for Foreigners With Eye on Vote [Thanks Gerald]
- WSJ: Singapore Moves to Curtail Immigration [Thanks Gerald]

Sorry Rony Recants
- TOC: The Rony Tan in each of us
- Tan Tarn How: Comments to media on allegedly racist Facebook and Rony Tan cases Part [1] [2]
- Kennethism: Tan Tarn How: The churches are silent [Thanks Kenneth]
- Kennethism: Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong of Cornerstone Community Church agrees with Rony Tan that gays are paedophiles and zoophiles [Thanks Kenneth]
- The Sketch Times: To Err is Human, To Say Sorry is Divine

Countdown to Election
- Singapore Alternatives: A call for Clarity from Mah Bow Tan and HDB

Housing Singaporeans
- Tantalizine: What SGD490,000 Buys You Elsewhere

Re education
- The Asia File: Singapore government dodges Malay education issue again [Thanks Ben]

Pink Issues
- Mathia Lee: Straight/LGBT: how do you pick your label?

Daily Discourse
- The Temasek Review: S-League Insight: FAS fails to learn from past mistakes
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Economy : Where we are headed..
- Yours Truly Singapore: Tailoring political systems to fit
- Rachel Zeng: Is fulfilling the role of our gender a necessity?
- Small steps for Social PR: Daily average SPH newspapers circulation for August 2006, August 2007, August 2008 and August 2009

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Bloomberg: Singapore’s Consumer Prices Rose on Transportation, Healthcare
- NYT: Asia’s Boom Conceals Some Darker Prospects
- Sydney Morning Herald: Outdated political thuggery embarrasses Malaysia [via Seelan Palay]
- Reuters: How will the judges rule on Thaksin’s billions?
- Slate: Basically, It’s Over [via Diary of A Singaporean Mind]
- NYT: Q & A: Clinical Trials for Cancer
- Education-Portal: 20 of the Best Search Engines for Students
- Reuters: Her Facebook status changed to “single?” Ur dumped
- Guardian: Winter Olympics: day 11

February 24th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

Budget 2010
- TOC: Dissecting Budget 2010
- My Little Corner: Direct Benefits for Households in Budget 2010
- The Sun Shines on Singapore: Election Budget?
- Loves all, trust a few, do wrong to none: Singapore Budget 2010
- Asia Military World: Singapore increasing their military budget
- Bloomberg: Singapore to Spend S$5.5 Billion to Spur Productivity [Thansk Gerald]

Housing Singaporeans
- SilentAssassin’s Archive: Property ERP
- TOC: HDB: 95 per cent happy with their flats – Really, or just half the story?

Welfare is a dirty word in Stingypore
- TOC: Many helping hands – How can hands best help?
- The Secret Political Blog: Trying to help a homeless Part II

Countdown to Election
- The Temasek Review: PAP Model : Starting Ahead and Finishing Last

Productive Singapore: Cheaper, Better, Faster
- guanyinmiao’s musings: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: Is A Finishing Line Ever In Sight?

Strangers in a Strange Land
- The Temasek Review: The PAP’s “one-night stand” immigration policy and its disastrous repercussions on Singaporeans

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- Blowin’ In The Wind: GIC’s UBS losses could amount to 3.9% of GDP

Healthcare & Healthcare Providers
- Mathia Lee: Cord blood banks: Scam, Science, or matter of faith?

The Gospel of Harry
- The Temasek Review: Which Lee is the Prime Minister of Singapore?
- Yours Truly Singapore: My job is really as a long-range radar

Pink Issues
- Matha Lee: How can we have a good LGBT-Faith group dialogue : Your views please?

Daily Discourse
- catherinelim.sg: Is Singapore A Humorless Society?
- Chill Out: The Possibility of Failure
- The Asia File: Singapore casino crimes may be a taste of things to come [Thanks Ben]
- The Kent Ridge Common: Should foreign workers be allowed free entry?

Life, the universe and everything
- The Long and Winding Road: Beautiful buildings and a tale of buried treasure under a bridge: Memories of Stamford Road
- Brad’s Blog: Voice of the MRT on Accents and Singlish
- Wild Shores of Singapore: Crocodile at Sungei Buloh!

Infoblogaramous
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Dee Kay Dot As Gee Giveaway: $40 OverEasy Voucher

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- NST: Improving ties with Singapore through visits
- Rolling Stone: Wall Street’s Bailout Hustle [via Temasek Hedge ]
- Reuters: FACTBOX-Thai ex-PM Thaksin’s assets seizure case
- Reuters: African gene trawl may provide secrets to long life
- AP: Hong Kong rejoices over Berlin film prize
- Reuters: How to decline Facebook friends without offence
- BBC: A History of the World in 100 objects

February 23rd, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

Countdown to Elections
- On Nation and State: Do you know how your MP votes?
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Dr. Lim Hock Siew’s Dream & Our Dream..
- The Temasek Review: Chorus of Change for Singaporean: Survival Guide to Sustainable Nationhood
- The Temasek Review: Pitching the case for genuine democracy in Singapore

Sorry Rony Recants
- The Magic Within: Going Beyond Faith and Harmony
- The Kent Ridge Common: New police reports lodged against Pastor Rony
- The Lycan Times: Rony Tan (II)
- Kennethism: Pastor Rony Tan: “I’ve said nothing wrong, you know.” [Thanks Kenneth]
- Gwee Li Sui Facebook: Christian to Christian: Collective Repentance [Thanks Gwee]

Productive Singapore: Cheaper, Better, Faster
- TOC: Recession over: Really? Time to increase fees?
- My Little Corner: Reducing Foreign Workers to Increase Productivity?

Welfare is a dirty word in Stingypore
- Gerald Giam’s Blog: Comments to Wanbao about Singapore’s social welfare system
- The Secret Political Blog: Trying to help a homeless – Part I

Housing Singaporeans
- Chemical Generation Singapore: Stamping Down Rising Private Property Prices

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- ST Forum: Raising the stakes risky

Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!
- The Temasek Review: Standard Chartered economist predicts GST will be raised to 10 per cent by 2012

Singapore Coloring
- TOC: It is involvement that creates identity

Healthcare & Healthcare Providers
- The Sun Shines on Singapore: A Booster Jab for Medisave

Religion
- ambiguity: Why Is Inconsistency Consistent With Religion?

Daily Discourse
- I’m getting personal: Witnessing democracy in action at EU
- Transitioning: World’s Richest and Best Paid [Thanks lary]

Life, the universe and everything
- ReviewGuru: Universals Studios Singapore: Sentosa – Review [Thanks DK]
- Stevie Wonders: Accident in Sembawang [Thanks DK]
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: If you think PDF files are safe, think again

Infoblogaramous
- SGEntrepreneurs: Events For The Week – 20-27 Feb

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- The Star: Blurring state and party lines [Thanks Seelan]
- Reuters: Mughal jeweled arts mesmerize in Asia exhibit
- NYT: Global Crisis Leads I.M.F. Experts to Rethink Long-Held Ideas
- Guardian: Yes we can: Labour election campaign to adapt Barack Obama’s blueprint
- NYT: Coded to Obey Law, Lights Become Marlboro Gold
- The Daily Beast: Four Exes on Tiger
- Guardian: Mobile World Congress 2010 photo wrap-up

Thanks Yy Lee

February 22nd, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

“Strong communities aren’t built on strong prisons.”
Choo Zheng Xi

“..Singaporeans would try and get rid of that which they do not understand. Instead of seeing the need for civil discussions, intellectual debates and exchange of ideas..”
Alvin Phoon

“Space Constraints? ..What of the dilution of our culture, of second class citizenship, of sports medals won but lost forever, of the implied superiority of foreign talents, of a lost sense of entitlement, of pink ICs doled out freely, of the insulting depiction of the new hard-working migrant pitted against now-lazy Singaporeans with their thick hides un-spurred?”
Liau Chuan Yi and Norvin Chan

“..while Singapore achieved self-rule only in 1959, the history of Singapore stretches back to the time of its founding in 1819. That’s 191 years of contiguous history which is close to two hundred years already. Yet we are still not a nation?”
trulysingapore

This week’s roundup and recommended reads after the break.
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February 20th, 2010 | Category: Weekly Roundup | Leave a comment

Road to Election
- TOC: On the beat to the hustings?
- The Temasek Review: Electoral rolls updated again to include more new citizens in the register
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: Who will the new citizens of Singapore vote for?
- The Temasek Review: Altered electoral boundaries for GRCs and SMCs released

Sorry Rony Recants
- TOC: Bigotry of one – faith of another
- Mathia Lee: Sex. Religion. Politics
- ambiguity: Refuting Rony’s Regrets

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- ST Forum: Beware of ‘too big to fail’ situation [Thanks Gerald]

Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!
- TOC: Singapore ranked 70 in Quality of Life Index

Strangers in a Strange Land
- The Temasek Review: Even CNA is questioning the percentage of Singaporeans employed by Resorts World Sentosa

Welfare is a dirty word in Stingypore
- TOC: More poor people helped with less money?

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- The Temasek Review: Temasek Holdings – Transparency a Perception ?

Daily Discourse
- The F Word Jolene Tan blog: Race to the bottom
- Chee Wai’s Random Musing: Of hyperboles and reactions to them

Life, the universe and everything
- Zach’s Thought Blot: On Technology – Technology and Personality
- The Long and Winding Road: Schools, churches and a candlelight procession: Memories of Queen Street
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Did you google for “Facebook login”?

Infoblogaramous
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Blog a trend and win a PC

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- BBC: Why does the West love the Dalai Lama?
- NYT: Toyota Owners Complain, This Time About the RAV4
- Reuters: FACTBOX-The golf career of Tiger Woods
- The Daily Beast: How the iPad Could Kill Newspapers

The Singapore Daily was recently interviewed by Aaron Koh, the author of Small steps for Social PR. Aaron is a social media marketer who advises on building brand awareness in social media and the digital space. He began his career as a journalist with PC World SG, HardwareMag and CNET ASIA. He is currently a contributing senior journalist at the Financial Service Technology based in Australia and a social media consultant for vr-zone.com.

Blogger interview with Singaporedaily.net

Social PR chats with the team at Singaporedaily.net to find out more about their blog.

Who are you? Ie what is your blog name and your real name. Why did you come up with the blog title?
The Singapore Daily is a site that highlights articles on current affairs published by local bloggers.

What are you? In ten (or so) words, you would describe your blog as: …
to better understand and make informed decisions about current affairs

Why do we need you? Why is your blog different? What makes it stand out from the crowd? Why is it special?
We are one of the few local sites that can help publicise alternative opinions and viewpoints on local current affairs. If you chose the red pill, give us a visit.

Editorial Deadline? Ie when should PRs NOT call?
Contact us any time through our email.

Features list? Do you have one, and if so, where can we get it, and can PRs still pitch to you ideas that aren’t on the list?
We are not running any ads on the site at the moment. But we would be happy to help publicise charity or any not-for-profit events that are of public interest.

Perfect story? First, what kind of stories does your blog run? Second, what kind of PR-generated or PR-related stories have a chance of getting a run in your blog?
We prefer to highlight and link to published articles. We would be happy to help publicise charity or not-for-profit events that are of public interest.

Contact? What’s the best way for PR to contact you, email or phone best?
Email is the best way to contact us.

What kind of stories make a great blog post?
We like articles that are current, critical, honest and informative.

If your blog was an animal, it would be a …?
Not the Merlion.

Do you do lunch/dinner/junkets? Why or why not?
DK might be interested :)

Complete this sentence: You wish that PR would…
do more to bring awareness to the less fortunate in our society.

What stories will your blog be watching closely this year?
The next General Elections.

If you were a great novel, you would be…
something written by either Dan Simmons, Stephen Donaldson or Umberto Eco.

February 19th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Comments (2)

Rina Akiyama (秋山莉奈, born 26 Sep 1985) is a Japanese actress and gravure idol. Her most notable appearances are in the Kamen Rider Series, Kamen Rider Agito and Kamen Rider Den-O. She also has a cameo appearance in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in which she is featured in a poster on one of the levels. In 2007, Rina was named “Japan’s Best Butt” 日本一の美尻だ, which earned her the nickname “Oshirina” オシリーナ, a portmanteau of the words “oshiri” (butt) and “Rina”.

Pictures from the photobook Paradise Lost after the break. [PNSFW]

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February 19th, 2010 | Category: Daily ChioBu | Comments (3)

Road to Election
- Sylvia Lim’s Blog: why the vote is not `daft’
- The Temasek Review: Is the opposition giving the new media a miss?

Strangers in a Strange Land
- Chee Wai’s Random Musing: Looking foward to the day this becomes non-news in Singapore.
- The Temasek Review: William Jansen: Quality of life in Singapore is hard to beat

Sorry Rony Recants
- guanyinmiao’s musings: Is There Room For Intellectual Discourse Over Religions?

The Year of the Tiger
- Insane Polygins: Funny Guy

We are against capital punishment
- magnezium: Do you support the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking?

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- The Temasek Review: What is PAP’s long term economic vision?

The Gospel of Harry
- Yours Truly Singapore: Singapore is a nation in the making

Religion
- Reflections and Ruminations: Are there terms when we love? [Thanks lary]

Daily Discourse
- Wild Shores of Singapore: Will there be dolphins at Resorts World Sentosa? Part 2 [Thanks DK]
- Webs@Work: An Offshore Journalism Haven?

Life, the universe and everything
- Empty Vessel: The Age of Too Much Info
- The Long and Winding Road: From driving around beautiful circles to driving under monstrous gantries.

Infoblogaramous
- Cat Welfare Society: Singapore’s first Tiger Show [Facebook]

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Variety: Singapore pushing films
- The Star: S’pore Marina Bay Sands to open in late April
- Reuters: Morgan Stanley may hand creditors $2.4 billion hotels
- Business Insider: Goldman Is About To Be Blacklisted And Possibly Banned In Europe
- Asia Pacific Voices: Female activists jailed as UN envoy enters Myanmar
- AP: Happiness helps when it comes to the heart
- NYT: Woods to Address His Past And His Future on Friday
- NYT: World Press Photo Contest – The Best in the World
- Guardian: 25 years of the mobile phones – Photos
- Rolling Stone: MTV Removes “Music Television” From Iconic Logo

February 18th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Leave a comment

It’s Mobile World Congress! Lots of new phones being announced while we are busy celebrating Lunar New Year. Perhaps the biggest announcement is the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series. Looks pretty promising. Hey! There is no more Start button.

Besides MWC2010, Google launched Google Buzz which is something like Twitter and Facebook Status. Lots of users complaint about privacy issues which prompted Google to apologise and make it easier for users to edit their privacy settings.

Oh, if you are using foursquare with Twitter updates, you might want to think again.

Mobile World Congress 2010
- Engadget: Windows Phone 7 Series: everything you ever wanted to know
- LesterChan.net: Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Series
- JustinLee.sg: Windows Phone 7 Series Videos
- Beta News: Windows Phone 7 Series: The good, the bad and the ugly
- Techgoondu: Mobile World Congress 2010 – battle of the OS
- Techgoondu: Phone of the show – HTC Legend
- Engadget: HTC HD mini launched at MWC
- Engadget: HTC Desire: your Nexus One with Sense and Flash has arrived
- PC World: Intel and Nokia’s MeeGo Join a Brewing OS War
- IntoMobileQualcomm: “There will be a Nokia Symbian phone this year with Snapdragon”
- Engadget: Sony Ericsson outs Xperia X10 mini and Xperia X10 mini pro

News
- Techgoondu: Buzz vs Facebook, and my seduction by Google
- Empty Vessel: The Age of Too Much Info
- NYTimesAnger Leads to Apology From Google About Buzz
- BBC: Google admits Buzz social network testing flaws
- Techgoondu: Auto login for Wireless@SG – at last
- JustinLee.sg: Color Theory for Designers
- Techgoondu: Microsoft vs Google: Fight!
- Cnet: Slight dip in Google’s January search market share
- Gizmodo: Byteside: “For All Of You Who Are Planning To Buy A 3DTV: For God’s Sake Don’t…”
- MacWorld: Macworld Expo 2010 Best of Show winners
- Cnet: The dark side of geo: PleaseRobMe.com

Reviews | Guides
- Empty Vessel: Final thoughts on the Kindle 2
- Tech65: Samsung Wave / Bada Exclusive First Look

February 18th, 2010 | Category: Daily Tech | Comments (2)

Sorry Rony Recants
- The Art Of Dumbspeak: A Word About Intolerant Christian Views
- TOC: Take a stand for moderation, liberty, and genuine understanding
- Chemical Generation Singapore: Crime and Appropriate Punishment
- TOC: Aftermath of the Rony Tan incident: it has only just begun
- The Kent Ridge Common: A sensible move, finally
- Sgpolitics.net: What the Religious Harmony Debate has missed out thus far
- face/palming: beyond the bashing [Thanks A. Noni-Mity]
- Singapore Life and Times: Flogging a dead horse
- Kennethism: Pastor Rony Tan of Lighthouse Evangelism needs to apologise to gays and lesbians too [Thanks Kenneth]
- The Temasek Review: Aftermath of Rony Tan fiasco: ISD shouldn’t be policing racial and inter-faith relations
- Sze Zeng: Singaporeans have a low view of Internal Security Department?
- dhamma musings: The Pastor Tan Fallout

The Year of the Tiger
- The Secret Political Blog: De-constructing PM Lee Chinese New Year Message 2010
- Singapore Dino: PM Lee should increase his government’s productivity first before lecturing Singaporeans
- TOC: The “hongbao” dilemma: No place for divorcees during Chinese New Year?
- ALVINOLOGY: This CNY, Mr Mah Bow Tan is here to spread wealth
- sixdegrees.asia: Better Than Ang Pows [Thanks Gwee]
- Anonymous_X: Singapore River Hongbao 2010: Photos Galore [Thanks wacky_artz]

Road to Election
- utopia8787: speech at 15 Feb 2010 [Pics @Temasek Review]
- Chee Wai’s Random Musing: Making Pluralism work in Singapore
- Singapore Alternatives: The Role of Opposition – Putting Spurs into PAP’s thick hides
- The Temasek Review: Beyond the PAP: Thinking aloud

Welfare is a dirty word in Stingypore
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: The Economist : Welfare in Singapore The Stingy Nanny
- Gerald Giam’s Blog: The Economist calls Singapore a ’stingy nanny’
- The Economist: Welfare in Singapore – The stingy nanny [via Diary of A Singaporean Mind]

Cheaper, Better, Faster
- Diary of A Singaporean Mind: Dampening the volatility in our economy..
- guanyinmiao’s musings: Do “Productivity” Courses Necessarily Heighten Employability?

Housing Singaporeans
- TOC: Homeless people are “defective”, needs “rehabilitation”?

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- Sgpolitics.net: Economic Strategies Committee: Real Change or Just Words?

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- Blowin’ In The Wind: GIC pick Travelport IPO shelved for poor demand
- The Temasek Review: Chief Strategist behind Shin Corp debacle now head of Temasek’s Seatown Holdings

Healthcare & Healthcare Providers
- nofearSingapore: Singaporeans’ Medisave Money for Malaysian hospitals

Re edcuation
- Kelvin Teo Writes: Increased focus on recruiting matured applicants into civil service in a move away from a scholarship focus?

Daily Discourse
- Readings From A Political Duo-ble: Questioning Singapore’s foray into military robotics
- The Temasek Review: Interview with Kenneth Lin, 15 year old Singaporean who started a petition against Lee Kuan Yew
- SilentAssassin’s Archive: Hitting and Running
- Alamak: The State of Broadband in Singapore
- TOC: Cultural Revolutions, Wilting Flowers
- The Grand Moofti Speaks: The Lion City: quietly opening the door for Chinese Triads?
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: Free Burma Campaign Singapore statement on the 2010 Burma elections
- Proto Magazine: Biopolis: The Science Factory [via Balderdash]

Life, the universe and everything
- Dee Kay Dot As Gee: Who is Tai Sui (太岁)?
- Small steps for Social PR: Viewers’ Choice 2009 prediction

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Telegraph: Singapore accused of launching ‘Sand Wars’
- The Age: Singapore accused of stealing beaches
- The Jakarta Post: Place your bets
- AP: Singapore tries luring foreigners as casino opens
- The Star: Big brother to drive away cars
- Bangkok Post: The not so beautiful game
- FT.com: A ‘stall crawl’ of Singapore
- Reuters: Lender’s agent forecloses on Stuyvesant Town
- Reuters: Temasek cuts stake in ICICI Bank to 5.9 pct from 8.3 pct
- Reuters: Five world markets themes next week
- NYT: Year of the Tiger: Potentially Exciting and Turbulent
- Reuters: New media can help fight repression: watchdog group
- Foreign Affairs: The End of the Beijing Consensus [Thanks CR]

February 17th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Comments (7)

“Surely the integrity of our journalists and our scholars are much more important than the need to tell one single version of what has always been a contested story.”
Anak Kancil

“..how would I deal with people who put down other religions without really finding out more about them? Follow Buddha’s teachings of calming the mind and looking at the true nature of things.. Whatever it is, I wish that they are well and happy.”
smile

“Forget Wee Shu Min. Forget Mrs Goh Chok Tong. Forget Ris Low. Rony Tan is the next person who is going to be cyber-lynched. That’s what disempowered Singaporeans with internet connection do any way. Nothing new.”
Sam

“..but what does our anger mean to them?”
Choo Zheng Xi

This week’s roundup and recommended reads after the break.
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February 13th, 2010 | Category: Weekly Roundup | Comments (4)

Here’s wishing everyone a happy and healthy Year of the Tiger. Have a good CNY weekend!

Housing Singaporeans
- TOC: The final nail in the “HDB affordability” coffin?
- Yours Truly Singapore: HDB resale prices: Don’t just find a scapegoat
- The Temasek Review: Chua Mui Hoong: rising resale flat prices reflect genuine pent-up demand spurred by high levels of immigration
- lbkp’s Blog:Enuff!
- DE LEVIATHAN @ SG: How To Ensure Affordable Low Cost Housing?
- TOC: ST Forum letter on homeless situation and official reply

Sorry Rony Recants
- Blowin’ In The Wind: Kipling, race and religion
- Irreligious: Why so emotional?
- The Temasek Review: What the Buddha really said before he passed away
- The Kent Ridge Common: NUSBS clears Pastor Rony’s misconceptions

Road to Election
- Bryan Ti Facebook: Dearth of Quality Political Discussion (and Leadership)
- My Singapore News: My Money My Vote

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- Sellan Palay’s Blow: The SDP’s alternative economic programme Part 3: A comprehensive set of measures

Daily Discourse
- The Temasek Review: No updates about YPAP Eric How case from police after three weeks
- mrbrown: A supermarket loses trolleys: Why is this even freakin’ news?
- My sketchbook: The $100 deterrent

Life, the universe and everything
- The Useless Tree: More on Confucianism and Modernity
- The Long and Winding Road: 1974, a year of football madness
- Singaporean Skeptic: The power of imagination
- Asterpix Interactive Video: All Indian Food

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Reuters: UBS stake may be worth 70 percent less as GIC converts
- Viet Nam Net: Nine girls rescued from being sold to Singaporean brothels
- NZ Herald News: Singapore envies Kiwi lifestyle
- Asia Times Online: Singapore lets the dice roll
- Reuters: WHO to decide whether worst over in H1N1 pandemic
- BBC: Warning over sexy instant message called ‘Fembot’
- NYT: A Warning on Mixing Herbs and Medicine
- Reuters: There really is a formula for love

February 12th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Comments (5)

白歆惠 Bianca Bai Xin Hui, graduated from Taiwan’s Shih Hsin University and went into modeling. Nickname 天使面孔，魔鬼身段 (Angle’s face, Devil’s body), she quickly became one of Taiwan’s top 10 models, and has recently starred in 2 dramas and hosted a variety show on TV. Bai Xin Hui’s latest photobook after the break.

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February 12th, 2010 | Category: Daily ChioBu | Comments (2)

Sorry Rony Recants
- Yeap Chee Seng Weblog: Senior Pastor Rony Tan And Buddhism
- In the Panic Room: Rony Tan’s apology, and why it doesn’t really matter
- The Kent Ridge Common: Should Pastor Rony be punished?
- Gimme Some Truth!: Reactions to Pastor Rory’s Comments
- The Lycan Times: Rony Tan
- covered in his blood: Rony Tan saga and what it means for Christians
- Irreligious: Ignorance is the greatest enemy of Christianity
- Sze Zeng: What does ‘Rony’ show us? [Thanks YKWYA]
- ambiguity: Souls, Not People
- Feed Me To The Fish: Pastor, ChipMonk , Witch Doctor and Bigotry
- The Temasek Review: The Rony Tan fiasco and perceived double standards in the application of Sedition Act
- TOC: Not your ordinary chit-chat session

Housing: Homeless in Singapore
- The Temasek Review: HDB blames Singaporeans for not selecting flats when given the chance
- My Singapore News: High demand for HDB flats due to immigrants

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- The Temasek Review: Reforming Singapore’s political economy: The big miss by the Economic Strategies Committee

Singaporeans: A Dying Breed
- TOC: Many Singaporeans want to migrate – Why?

Singaporeans are fed, up with progress!
- TOC: The anger of displacement

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- The Temasek Review: U.S. Prof lambasts Singapore’s “Temasek model” for investing in failing individuals and products
- TradecoHoldco: Breaking News: Temasek sets up its own hedge fund

Strangers in a Strange Land
- Open Contours: Grit and Grime: The Migrant Worker in Singapore Cinema

Healthcare & Healthcare Providers
- The Temasek Review: Malaysian PRs likely the greatest beneficiaries of move to allow use Medisave in 12 Malaysian hospitals and medical centres

ERPains, Trains & Automobiles
- Singapore’s Land Transport: Another taxi location surcharge… and what we can do about it

Singapore Coloring
- My Very Own Glob: There’s that R-word again

Re education
- Singaporean Skeptic: A tale of two prodigies

Daily Discourse
- TOC: Making right choices in Singapore: From Adelman to Asian values
- The Temasek Review: Only 6.1 per cent of workers attending SPUR got a pay raise after undergoing skills upgrading

Life, the universe and everything
- Subba’s Serendipitous moments: Google puts Buzz in the Gmail
- My Little Corner: Hip Hop Lion Dance!

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Reuters: Temasek’s new firm may give greater say to Singaporeans
- Reuters: Global debt defaults hit record $329 bln – Moody’s
- NYT: Chicago Auto Show: All Eyes (and Ears) on Toyota
- Reuters: Low IQ among top heart health risks, study finds
- Reuters: Rise in divorce evidence from social websites
- Reuters: Australia websites hacked over porn filter plan
- Reuters: Does “thinking outside the box” drive you mad?
- Guardian: Newly released images from 9/11

February 11th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Comments (5)

Sorry Rony Recants
- The Temasek Review: Pastor Rony Tan visited Phor Kar See temple today to apologize to head of Buddhist Federation Venerable Kwang Sheng
- Random Thoughts Of A Free Thinker: Now that he has apologised..
- Laïcité: Being “sensitive” enough to hide our intolerance
- Singapore Kopi Tok: Pastor Rony Tan
- Simply Gab: Being sensitive to our over-sensitivity
- Sam’s Thoughts: Pastor Rony Tan, religious harmony and capitalism
- Singapore Recalcitrant: The insensitive indiscretion of Senior Paster Rony Tan
- Just a passerby trying to enjoy his journey: Ignorance ignorance ignorance..
- SilentAssassin’s Archive: Rony and the Troll
- The Sun Shines on Singapore: Lighthouse Alight and the Intolerance of Religions
- Infinitely me: Brain Storm: Hamonious Singapore And Numbskulls
- Facebook group: The Moderates Stance [Thanks smokebreak]

Road to Election
- Yours Truly Singapore: Mandate assured … as long as PAP remains incorruptible
- Singaporean Skeptic: Religious demographics of our politicians (minus the cabinet Ministers)
- Seelan Palay’s Blog: SDP’s Chinese New Year Message 2010
- Tan Kin Lian’s Blog: Political Compass

Housing: Homeless in Singapore
- Who Moved My Singapore Cheese: Uproar against rental housing is a joke
- Singapore Alternatives: HDB 101

The Economic Strategies Committee Report
- The Temasek Review: A Review of recommendations made by the Economic Strategies Committee

Strangers in a Strange Land
- The Temasek Review: Increase in job ads, but are they for Singaporeans or foreigners?

GIC, Temasek State Fund Investments
- Tattooed Banker: Another bond offering for Temasek

Lee vs Chee
- Chee Siok Chin’s Blog: Prisoner 00001/2010 [Thanks Seelan]

Daily Discourse
- Barnyard Chorus: Degrees of information
- TOC: Statutory rape law – a paternalistic anachronism

Life, the universe and everything
- The Long and Winding Road: The roads less travelled..
- Open Contours: The Circus of the Fantastic

Now Showing
- Vinyarb: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Selected News Stories [Thanks Gerald Ho]
- Reuters: Singapore denounces pastor for ridiculing Buddhists
- BBC: Australia to focus immigration policy on skills
- NYT: New Inroads on Swiss Bank Secrecy
- AP: Is the US swine flu epidemic over?
- NYT: Honda Expands Air Bag Recall to 378,000 More Cars
- Reuters: There’s only love at new Beijing supermarket

Motorola Devour Ad during the Superbowl Ft. Megan Fox

February 10th, 2010 | Category: Daily Sg | Comments (2)

News
- Engadget: Nexus One gets a software update, enables multitouch
- Cnet: Twitter reveals torrent scam details
- NY Times: Google to Add Social Features to Gmail
- NY Times: Microsoft’s Creative Destruction
- Daily Tech: Windows 8 Dates Leaked, Windows 7 Hits 10 Percent Market Share, IE 8 Now Top Browser
- Cnet: Microsoft denies Windows 7 battery problem
- Tech65: Lenovo RapidDrive Technology
- Cnet: Survey: Majority of people don’t want an iPad
- Techgoondu: iNETS mobile: Would you use this?
- PC World: Apple Will Reject Apps Using GPS for Location-Aware Ads

Reviews | Guides
- Tech65: Dell Alienware M11x First Look
- LesterChan.net: Desk Genie Non-Slip Charging Desk Stand Review
- Empty Vessel: Kindle 2 first impressions
- Tech65: Dell Adamo XPS First Look
- Digital Trend: Hands On Review With Google Buzz

February 10th, 2010 | Category: Daily Tech | Leave a comment