Sat, Feb 4, 2012
Many of the other four-fifths of voters, who gave their trust to it in the election last May, are disappointed. Some have gone online to give the offending opposition members a dose of their own medicine.
This shows that the new media is not as one-sidedly pro-opposition as the government made it out to be.
天下乌鸦一般黑？
大众书局位于世界城的Harris英文书店经过六年的苦撑后，最终不敌天价的租金，即将在2月19日结束营业。
大众书局前日发新闻稿说，经过六年的辛苦经营、应付亏损，世界城的Harris换来的竟是业主超过100％的租金涨幅，字里行间流露出对业主漫天开价的不满。
Physical bookstore need to offer a better experience than shopping online for physical books, digital books, and audiobooks.
Fri, Feb 3, 2012
The Government will go through with the building of a controversial road across Bukit Brown Cemetery, suggested Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin in a Facebook post on Friday.
While residents in Woodlands are petitioning for a proposed eldercare centre in their neighbourhood to be moved elsewhere, others living near one in Ang Mo Kio feel differently.
The security challenges facing Singapore encompass both traditional and non-traditional threats, according to Singapore's Minister of Defence, Dr Ng Eng Hen. "In terms of traditional threats," he said, "the world is increasingly interconnected and even events that take place far away affect Singapore.
"If someone suggested 10 to 15 years ago that Singapore would send assets and troops to Afghanistan it would have been dubbed a fantasy, but here we are with a number of rotations to Afghanistan [and the] Gulf of Aden, as many other countries are."
Analysts say the growth in the foreign share suggests traffic from Singaporeans–a political hot potato in the city-state–is at least stabilizing.
That would be welcome news to lawmakers, who have anxiously watched local patronage at Singapore’s two casinos since they opened in early 2010, and to Marina Bay Sands, which is betting on a greater contribution from Asia’s more lucrative VIP gaming market for earnings momentum.
While Mr Tharman waxed eloquent on the need to boost productivity by reducing our dependence on foreign workers, two years later, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin tells us that the number of foreign workers has, in fact, increased.
Mr Tharman can come up with grandiose announcements but the truth is that the PAP is bankrupt of ideas. It does not know how to take our economy forward without relying on cheap foreign labour. Just two years into its existence, the ESC's economic strategy is in disarray.
I wonder if our prime minister has set workers' productivity as a KPI for the manpower minister.
We heard more shouts from the coordinator and his assistants - obviously intended to intimidate us into boarding the limousine cab as directed - but we ignored the commotion.
Even though the LTA has de-regulated the taxi fare structure for many years already, the physical infrastructure hasn't catch up.
First World Singapore's largely affluent population should not be short-changed by journalists and editors who are afraid of their own shadows: fearing to exercise their professional freedom.
The six stressed that their "differences in opinion over leadership style have never ever been with Mr Chiam".
Kinderis’ trademark protection argument in favour of TLD’s is also one of the key concerns surrounding the programme – that it is simply a money-making exercise, with brands feeling compelled to buy the TLD for fear of cybersquatters.
The fact that talented people would rather walk away and consider their options than acquiesce to a structure or system that they don’t relate to is highly laudable.
But, on the other hand, to win elections, to govern well, to achieve your vision, you will have to work with others who will not exactly share your visions, and who will have different priorities. Singapore politicians -- both PAP and oppositions -- will need to learn to work with others that hold different ideas and ideals.
This week it naturally suited the Burmese delegation to accept this argument and to thank Singapore for continuing to trade with and invest in Myanmar even when its generals were shunned by the West. Yet an equally convincing case can be made that the real impetus behind reform was the desire to see Western sanctions lifted.
Thu, Feb 2, 2012
If we look at the other countries mentioned in the report, Singapore stands with very few modern developed countries, in not setting aside or relaxing the mandatory death penalty.
The inescapable conclusion is that we do not need this absurd over dependence on foreign labour to create prosperity for Singaporeans. We should not give up on manufacturing either, just ensure that we move up the value chain.
After considering 47 names for appointment as Nominated Members of Parliament across sectors, the Special Select Committee has revealed the nine who made the cut.
Primary school students can now look forward to reading stories written by Singapore teachers in class from 2013. Twelve stories, selected from 200 entries in the first story-writing competition, Stories Teachers Tell, will be available in two compilations (for 7-9 year olds and 10-14 year olds) and will be launched by Minister for Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat today.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) recommends that cooked food placed between 5°C and 60°C be consumed within four hours, as bacteria may multiply rapidly and produce sufficient toxins to cause food poisoning when food is stored at these temperatures.
From Feb 15, caterers will be required to display the time-stamp sign prominently, and the NEA will take action against those who do not time-stamp their food, or who falsify or provide misleading information. The time-stamp should indicate when the food is cooked or ready to be eaten, and when to consume it by.
One reason for the dearth of cyclists is that Singapore’s hot and humid climate makes pedaling a sweaty pursuit. Cyclists also complain of a lack of secure parking spaces, high rates of bicycle theft and restrictions on taking foldable bikes onto buses and trains.
However, proponents of cycling point to another set of problems they believe can and should be addressed: The overall lack of infrastructure for cyclists on Singapore’s roads, and the bad attitudes of other road users, many of whom don’t acknowledge cyclists’ right to be there in the first place.
Our society believes in getting it right the first time, and since it was already done right once by someone else, let's just keep doing the same thing over and over again, 'cause then we can't go wrong. Yes, I'm looking at you with a baleful eye, so-called "Best Practices".
Coasting on past success? Justifying your current salary based on your past success, and not what you are going to achieve?
Before kicking up a fuss about such statements, i would direct the people to think about how they’ve exhibited enough stupidity for their leaders to not shy from making such statements.
The acid test (or rather, my test) to evaluate our political leadership is two-fold: (1) Can they exhibit some out of the box thinking and perspective, instead of simplify old issues at face value? (2) Is your rhetoric congruent with the policies that you impose? Talk is cheap. Exhibit some real leadership by demonstrating concrete action.
So far, everything that the PAP government has done since the General Election are reactions. We haven't seen any real leadership yet.
Unless transport operators can attract more recruits, they may not be able to put enough buses on the roads, said PTC chairman Gerard Ee. 'Finding enough bus captains is a challenge,' he added.
Maybe we need to benchmark bus driver salaries to the top 1000 taxi driver's earnings?
So the next time you receive your SP Services bill, take a good look at it and see how much you are contributing in taxes – and to the welfare of your Minister.
Singapore's manufacturing sector contracted for a seventh straight month in January as demand for the country's exports weakened amid a sputtering global economy.
The authorities should give more thought to pedestrians. I still can't understand the logic of making pedestrians give up their walkway for the sake of cyclists.
But the baton should only be passed when the right leaders are in place. To be sure of the capability and aptitude of the next leader, they have to work with our grassroots and volunteers. They have to show commitment to attending our walkabouts and other party activities. They have to showcase their policymaking capabilities through the policy working group.
As with the Serangoon Gardens episode, the government should stand firm and not be held to ransom by residents whose only consideration is how much they will be able to make out of their flats.
First, we price the job at top 1,000 salaries because we say we want top 1,000 people. Once we employ someone into that position, we then say that since he has the top 1,000 job, he deserves top 1,000 salaries. It’s a circular argument. Salary justifies salary which is no justification at all.