the fortune and misfortune of thaksin

Here in the Paris temple, (King)Philip became aware, perhaps for the first time of the true wealth of the Knights Templar. It was here in the protecting arms of the order that he first manifested the idea of stealing their vast wealth for his political agenda. As the Templars were free of all authority save for that of the Papal Throne, the only way Philip could lawfully seize Templar assets was to accuse them of magic and heresy, which he did through his right hand man, …. On Friday the 13th of October 1307 (the real reason the day carries bad luck) all the Templars in France were arrested on a variety of charges and accusations. The trials of the Templars lasted from that date through until March 19th, 1314 when Jacques de Molay the last (known) Grand Master of the order was burned at the stake. …. There is no doubt that the fortune and power amassed since their(Knight Templars) humble beginnings two centuries earlier, had made many monarchs and citizens jealous. It was this jealousy, combined with greed and a nearly bankrupt nation, that prompted Phillip to make his move on October 13th, 1307 - arresting all the Templars in France. Under the inquisitor's torture methods, all sorts of confessions were extracted. Clement using these confessions to his own ends was able to suppress the order of the Templars in 1312. What follows are the Papal Bulls that crushed the Knights Templar. The above is copied from the site of the Knights Templar. The Knight Templars were wiped out by the collusion of King Philip and Pope Clement whose real aim was their wealth and growing popularity and power. It seems that Thaksin's fortune could have done him in. His $3 billion fortune and business empire are now going to change hands. Who is going to benefit from his misfortune and his wealth?

angry on a saturday morn

30 years ago I screamed that we should have season tickets for public transport to lower the cost of travelling and to revitalise the economy and socialisation of the people. The benefits of a cheaper season ticket are enormous. Just close the eyes and think about them, what such a scheme would do to the health of the country. It is like freeing all the arteries and let the blood flow smoothly to circulate all the organs. And this is nothing new. The whole of Europe is practising this for the benefits of the commuters and travellers. Today, our super talents suddenly came out with this idea of season tickets as if they have discovered a wonder drug. And they even talked cock and bull about the advantages of season tickets as if no one knew about them. And they even said they got the idea from feedbacks from the people. Now that they have such a precious product, they are not going to give it away easily. You need to apply for it and only some people or members of some organisations are privileged to have it. And it takes 14 days to process and approve your application. What the shit! I wanted to use 4 letter words. And the cost of a season ticket is not really cheap. It is priced in a way that not many people will benefit from it except heavy users or those who travelled very long distances. When are they going to reward regular users? Have they heard of the marketing concept of bulk discount or free mileage for frequent travellers? The most disgusting thing about this is that it is a monopoly given to them by the govt. And they are using it to maximise every cent of profit they can get from the poor commuters. They only think profit. Yeah, cost of living can only go up. Where is the sense of doing National Service to serve the people and country? Where is the responsibility to provide a cheap and efficient transport service as a public service? Oh, it is a private enterprise, profit oriented. They are answerable to their shareholders. Should public transport be returned to the govt and run as a public service to serve the people? Haven't the public been suffering from such kinds of crap reasoning for too long? $80 or $98 to be paid in advance and for 3 months. 1 million commuters at $300 per head means $300 million in the coffer safely and earn additional interest. No cash flow or liquidity problem. When can't the additional advantage be shared with the commuters? Why can't profits be trimmed and season tickets be at a slight discount, say $60 and available to all CITIZENS? When are the citizens going to have a little privilege against the non citizens? Oh, sorry, maybe only 2000 people qualify or think it worthwhile to apply for a season ticket.

myth 66

'PAP gahmen should have policies which will make people want to stay back in Singapore and not policies that will make citizens run away to another country... Because if a policy can chase away Singaporeans, sooner or later the same policy will also chase away these foreign quitters' This is a quote from Zap posted in YPAP forum on the foreign talent policy. What Zap fails to see is that this policy obeys the cardinal rules of nature, a perpetual cycle. This policy is self sustaining and people will come because of this policy, and people will go also because of this policy. This is how it works. As a foreigner, one is attracted to be a citizen by all the privileges of citizenship, especially if they came from a less well managed country. So they will all come. But after becoming citizens, they realised that it was a foolish thing to do as the responsibilities and liabilities do not justify the privileges which they are entitled to as a PR. The differences are minimal. So they will go. And the cycle will be repeated continuously just like the cycles of nature. No beginining and never ending. And complying with the laws of nature is a guarantee for eternity. It is a great policy formulated to encompass all the principles of Tao.

'Wanted: Pro non bumiputra policies'

'Wanted: Pro non bumiputra policies' BANGI (SELANGOR) - DEPUTY Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has described Singapore Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's recent comments that Malaysian Chinese were being systemically marginalised as naughty. 'It is a comment that we can do without. It is not appreciated at all,' the Bernama news agency quoted Datuk Seri Najib as saying. He said the comments were inaccurate as there was no effort to marginalise the non-bumiputeras in the country, Bernama reported yesterday. On the contrary, efforts were focused towards striking a balance between bumiputeras and non-bumiputeras to ensure the bumiputeras were not left behind as the nation developed. I copied the above from Sammyboy. At the rate the pro bumiputra policies are being implemented, it is high time that the Malaysian Govt starts to introduce some pro non bumiputra policies so that non bumiputras are not marginalised further.

let's get into the first world league

Our politicians have no problem standing shoulder to shoulder with other world leaders. They are the envy of others and everyone will look up to them as they are worth every ounce in gold. Can't say this of our corporate hotshots. Our corporate leaders are very under paid compare to the Americans and other MNCs. The top notch Americans are all in the hundreds of millions league. That may be the reason why we can't find one to fill the shoe in Singtel. For the salary we are paying the Singtel top man or woman, we can at best find one probably considered fourth or fifth grade in the American corporate world. What Singapore should do is to pay all our corporate honchos as high as the Americans. Then we can boast to the world that our corporate top notch executives are in the same class as the Americans. Then also we will be able to pay for top grade Americans to head our local companies. That is the way to go in a globalised world. We cannot compete with the world if our corporate leaders are being paid pittance. They will not be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the real American hotshots as their pay will tell that they are not good enough. We want to be in the first league we have to pay the way there.