$126m will be spent on screen walls at MRT stations

Finally the MRT has succumbed to public pressure to do what people want it to do, erecting screen walls to show that it cares and it does not want people to jump onto the train tracks or falling onto the tracks accidentally. It sure looks good on the MRT, and the screens also look nice. At $126m, they better look nice. So we can look forward to lesser death. Now people will be smarter and find other venues to jump. HDB might have to wall up all the high rise flats when people go back to jump. Or we may even have screen walls along the roads. Then we can sleep in peace, that we have spent the money and done all we could to keep MRT, HDB and our roads safe from people who want to jump or who accidentally got knock down and die. Our conscience is now clear. We care to the amount of $126m and more akan datang. Who is going to pay for it? Money well spent?

Our simple formula to economic growth

Increase the population. Without population growth, we will decline. My question is, is this the only way to growth? This is simply quantitative growth. There are many great nations that keep growing qualitatively, with no demanding needs to increase their populations. There is a need to keep our population growing, at a control pace, but not at a pace, and with a growth formula that says no population growth means stagnation and decline. If this is the truth, then our population will not be capped at 8m, it needs to keep growing to sustain growth, 10m, 20m, 50m.... This will denounce countries that are able to grow in leaps and bounds without significant population injection. Why can they do it and we can't? I thought we simply pay our super talents more and they will come out with quality solutions to grow our economy. Can't we just pay our way through? Or is paying and paying a myth, that they can't do anything except to rely on population to grow? Looking ahead, I can only see ourselves starve to death for lack of air, breathing space or moving space when our population hits 8m. And going forward, we will be killing each other for a little space to wriggle around. It is a sure path to our own destruction if population growth is the only way forward.

Does Dark Pool violate the fundamental principles of transparency

Does Dark Pool violate the fundamental principles of transparency in stock trading? We used to read about the Stock Exchange querying companies on unusual movements of their stock prices and trading volumes and demanding to know why. Would these be a thing of the past when secrecy and non transparency are being advocated? Would the stock prices reflected in the stock exchange a real indication of demand and supply when real buying and selling are not done in the exchange? Would genuine small investors be trading on prices that are not a true reflection of real buying and selling interests? Are information being held against them while some organisations are privy to information that posed an unfair advantage similar to insider trading? Would transparency be a thing of the past? Level playing field?

The Dark Side beckons

That's the heading in the Today paper on the new trading system called the 'Dark Pool' to be introduced by the SGX. The system is to provide secrecy in trading so that big trades can be done without anyone knowing till they are done. Did we say transparency is good? Welcome to the darkside. It is better to do things in the dark than to be transparent. How many more things are done in the dark, or done without the knowledge of other players, giving those doing it an advantage over those kept in the dark? PS: More articles posted in Singapore Alternative News from Europe and America on the perils of Dark Pool. Related: SEC spotlight puts "dark pool" venues on defensive - Reuters 'Dark Pools' Threaten Wall Street - The New York Sun Europe to review ‘dark pool’ trading - Financial Times The rise of dark pools - attack of the clones - The Economist How Dark Pools Help Traders Cheat Transparency - Andymatic.com Singapore Exchange, Chi-X to form dark pool trade plat - Reuters Posted by singaporenewsalternative at 7:50 PM

The NDP was a security nightmare

I was there and experienced the crowd, 30 to 40 people deep, some areas more, all along the Esplanade from the floating platform to Collyer Quay, including the whole stretch of Benjamin Sheares Bridge. And the area in front of Asian Civilisation was also packed with families and merrymakers out for a good time, or just to soak in the atmosphere. It was a great feeling to see so many happy people enjoying themselves in comfort and with peace of mind. On the other hand, it was frightening should a bomb or two exploded in their midst. The carnage would be huge and ugly. Pray that it would never happen in such an event or anywhere here in paradise. The security people must have done a great job, and at the same time keeping their fingers crossed that thing would turn out alright, that everyone, adult and child, could go home contented, after an evening outings. But no matter how good the security people are, there are going to be some misfits, misled, misinformed and stupid people among and around us that will do the unspeakable and cause injury, pain and anguish to the innocents. How could we, as a people, stay together as one harmonious family, and prevent those who would want to do harm our friends and families to give up their evil and wicked designs? Only the people acting as one can avoid such a painful happening, only when the people are prepared to stand up and tell on those who want to do us harm, to turn them in instead of harbouring them. Without the cooperation and involvement of the people, the ordinary citizens, the evil ones will have found friends to hide and conceal them, to swim among them and waiting to strike at the next opportunity. We cannot afford to alienate our people and push them to the other side. We need to really be an inclusive country and count on every citizen as a member of a bigger family, to live and play and enjoy a peaceful lifestyle, free from dangers and harm. 300 to 400 thousand people were out there enjoying themselves and without a care about their own safety. We have taken these for granted. It is progress in a way. A kind of achievements. But we cannot depend on being lucky all the time.