Japan is accusing China of not playing by international law and becoming
more aggressive in its actions in the Diaoyu Islands dispute. The
Japanese Defence Ministry said, ‘China has attempted to change the
status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible
with the existing order of international law.’ The Japanese are also
infuriating the Koreans by blaming them for heighten tension in the
Korean Peninsula.
How far from the truth is this Japanese lie? In the first place China
has not resorted to force to retake the islands seized by Japan in
violation of international law in the late 19th Century. They took the
islands from China by force. China could retake the islands by force too
but refused to do so and sought to settle the issue by diplomatic
means. It is the Japanese that have been resorting to the use of force,
ramming Chinese civilian ships, arresting Chinese fishing boats and
scrambling fighter aircraft against Chinese surveillance ships and
aircraft in the area. More than 300 such missions were flown against 41
times when Chinese surveillance ships were in the area, including
Chinese aircraft. Such acts of provocation could easily lead to a
breakout of warfare.
The Japanese even mocked the Chinese by enacting a bogus sale of the
islands from one Japanese to another when the the islands are Chinese
territory. The provocations and aggressive show of force by the Japanese
were hostile in all counts and they are blaming the Chinese for raising
tension in the area.
Did the Japanese obey international law and international norms when it
aggressively took advantage of Korea and China in the 19th and 20th
Centuries leading to its seizure of the Chinese islands? After it has
violated Chinese territories, taken Chinese islands, it is demanding
that the Chinese must accept the fait accompli and observe international
norms.
And it is rattling its sabre daily, even siding with the Philippines in
the latter’s dispute with China, promising military assistance against
China. It is rearming itself by increasing its military expenditure
using the Chinese as the strawman.
Who is the aggressive country and who is not following international
laws and norms in international relations? The Japanese under PM Abe is
on a war path, raising tensions and provoking the Chinese to retaliate
militarily.
Japan is following the path of the Americans. After seizing the North
American continent from the Red Indians and committing the biggest
genocide in the history of human kind, it preaches human rights and rule
of law. Not forgetting the scale of slavery against the African blacks,
it called itself the protector of human rights.
Japan had violated all the international laws and human rights against
Asians and Southeast Asians but is accusing the Chinese and Koreans for
not observing international law. Why should they when their territories
are still in the hands of the Japanese. But the Japanese and the
Americans will keep shouting China is bad, Korea is bad. And you have
unthinking media willingly printing such news on the front page, to
support the claim, to make the unthinking readers to believe a white
lie.
7/11/2013
Hawker centre cleaning – The mysterious quotation
In Parliament, Vivian referred to a quotation by the AHPETC’s contractor, ATL Maintenance Pte Ltd to the market association as evidence that the Town Council is asking for double payment for the cleaning of the ceiling of the hawker centre.
“The first irregular event is ATL’s quotation delivered by hand on the 19th of February 2013… the hawkers have never asked for a quotation. Mr Low (WP’s chief, Low Thia Kiang) has met with the hawkers. They have told him the same thing. Secondly ATL is your own private contractor. When your own contractor issues a quotation for $7,200 to the hawkers asking for payment for work which you say is already covered by your contract – that amounts to a demand for double payment for the same quantity of work.,” Balakrishnan said, adding that he also had witnesses from meetings who could verify events. Quoted from YahooNews Online
Sylvia Lim said the quotation was requested by the market association:
“This quotation was requested by the market association and does not coincide with their annual obligation to clean the high areas under the town council contract.” Quoted from YahooNews Online.
What is the main issue here? A quotation by AHPETC’s contractor, ATL Maintenance Pte Ltd delivered by hand to the market association. Why did ATL send a quotation to the market association? Was it a request for quotes by the association or ATL voluntarily sent them a quotation? Sylvia Lim said the quotation was requested by the market association.
What is the truth? Is this so difficult to prove? Did or did not the market association asked for the quotation? If yes, why? If not, why should ATL send them a quotation? Who instructed the ATL to send an unsolicited quotation?
Could someone provide the answers to solve the mystery of this red hot quotation? Who asked for it or who instructed for it to be sent to the market association?
One possibility, ATL sent it under instruction from AHPETC which could lead to the assumption that AHPETC is expecting the hawkers to pay for it. And this is likely to be Vivian’s position.
The second possibility is that the market association asked for it. This will mean that ATL just responded to a request for quotes and this has nothing to do with the AHPETC’s intent to demand for payment unless they have already told the market association and this gave them the reason so ask for a quote. One point to ponder, the market association can ask for quotes from other maintenance company as well. Is this the only quote they asked for and received?
A third possibility, nobody asked or instructed ATL to send the quotation to the market association. They just sent the quotation without knowing why? And they know who to send the quotation to. This will be another mystery to solve.
The above questions would be an interesting puzzle for Sherlock Holmes to solve. Let’s see who is the first to come up with the full answers to complete the puzzle.
Another job offer – Sales Manager
[Company – European but told not to reveal name.
Salary – 18k to 20K rmb + sales commission
To setup new sales department
Accommodation + home trips given
Requirements
Must have solid sales track record (preference given to those with China sales experience)
Technical and Product training will be provided.
Future potential – to handle Asia Pacific sales (means more money)
Anybody interested – ask them to write to me at:-
steven.sum@hotmail.com) and I’ll provide the link.
This post is open to Taiwanese, Malaysians and Singaporeans. (Expat position).
I know the Taiwanese won’t be interested because usually they get 4 home trips and they like to work for Taiwanese company.
Singaporeans and Malaysians will be able to compete on equal terms.
The company is looking for someone who has solid selling skills + China experience rather than looking for a cheap salesman.]
The above is put up by the same Steven that offered a job of Lab Assistant in his company. He said that job was given to a Malaysian whose qualifications are more suited for the job. Only one Singaporean applied but not only qualifications do not matched, the applicant already had a job paying much more in Sin. He has to reject him.
It seems that Steven must be talking to his contacts to help Singaporeans and is offering any job from another company. Overseas Singaporeans helping Singaporeans here. If only more Singaporeans can do that then things can be better for the PMETs here. The drawback is that more FTs will keep coming in to replace Singaporeans who have to find greener pastures overseas.
Salary – 18k to 20K rmb + sales commission
To setup new sales department
Accommodation + home trips given
Requirements
Must have solid sales track record (preference given to those with China sales experience)
Technical and Product training will be provided.
Future potential – to handle Asia Pacific sales (means more money)
Anybody interested – ask them to write to me at:-
steven.sum@hotmail.com) and I’ll provide the link.
This post is open to Taiwanese, Malaysians and Singaporeans. (Expat position).
I know the Taiwanese won’t be interested because usually they get 4 home trips and they like to work for Taiwanese company.
Singaporeans and Malaysians will be able to compete on equal terms.
The company is looking for someone who has solid selling skills + China experience rather than looking for a cheap salesman.]
The above is put up by the same Steven that offered a job of Lab Assistant in his company. He said that job was given to a Malaysian whose qualifications are more suited for the job. Only one Singaporean applied but not only qualifications do not matched, the applicant already had a job paying much more in Sin. He has to reject him.
It seems that Steven must be talking to his contacts to help Singaporeans and is offering any job from another company. Overseas Singaporeans helping Singaporeans here. If only more Singaporeans can do that then things can be better for the PMETs here. The drawback is that more FTs will keep coming in to replace Singaporeans who have to find greener pastures overseas.
The stock market – from a child to a Frankenstein
Not too long ago, there was this official wisdom floating in the air.
Invest your money in stocks, in the long term, do not speculate, and
your money will grow faster than any kind of investments. It will
definitely be better than keeping it under the pillow or in the banks
earning a small interest.
Stock market volatility is scorned upon. So were syndicates ramming the market up and down. Stock market was not meant to be traded in that way, in a frenzy. Investors are there for the long term. Syndicates were seen as robbers and criminals and were watched under the microscope for any wrong doings. In double quick time they were got rid off, or many were gotten rid off for creating too much volatility in the market.
And their absence left a void to be filled by hedge funds and other bigger fund managers to trade the market in greater ferocity. The market mechanism was redesigned to allow the big boys to trade in greater volumes, to scalp the market, through mini bid size, for intraday trades, for fast trades by the minutes and by the seconds. High volatility is now welcomed because the snake oil sellers and conmen said it is good for the market. High turnovers, small bids, churning big volumes are good. Scrip lending facilities were created for the big boys to trade even more madly. What happens to the old wisdom of long term investment?
The health of the stock market today is as sick as a dying patient in the ICU. But no one wants to acknowledge this sad state of affair. Everyone is pretending that it is very healthy. Just encourage more retail investors to come in and trade. Create more products, more derivatives, cut the commissions to make it cheaper. Where got white elephant in the room. The stock market is so healthy!
The volumes are definitely much higher, always in the billions. There was a time when hitting a billion shares in a day was a rare phenomenon. Now hitting 3b, 5b is no problem. Anything less than 3b shares daily is bad, too small. And funny thing, where are the investors. No need investors. Just let the computers to do the trading and generate clearing fees for the exchange.
The brokerage are encouraged to under cut one another with lower and lower commissions to force the competitors out of business. In the meantime, in their childlike innocence, they are wiping themselves out of the business too when the commission is so low and unable to sustain the operation and pay for the overheads. And they are still scheming to reduce the commissions to even the bare minimum. Are they nuts?
But computer trading is not fast enough. The volumes are too small. The next big thing is to bring in High Frequency Trading where a trade can be executed in micro seconds without anyone knowing that millions of trade were done with the blink of an eye. And this is good.
What happens to long term investment? Long term investment is no longer about buy and hold for ten or twenty years. Long term is now measured by the seconds. Anything more than a second could be long term.
So what is going to happen to the stock market? If it survives in the long term, ie, more than 6 months, with HFT, it would have serve its purpose. Can anyone expect the market to be around in 3 years, 5 years or 10 years? Yes it will still be around, but no more retail investors.
Stock market volatility is scorned upon. So were syndicates ramming the market up and down. Stock market was not meant to be traded in that way, in a frenzy. Investors are there for the long term. Syndicates were seen as robbers and criminals and were watched under the microscope for any wrong doings. In double quick time they were got rid off, or many were gotten rid off for creating too much volatility in the market.
And their absence left a void to be filled by hedge funds and other bigger fund managers to trade the market in greater ferocity. The market mechanism was redesigned to allow the big boys to trade in greater volumes, to scalp the market, through mini bid size, for intraday trades, for fast trades by the minutes and by the seconds. High volatility is now welcomed because the snake oil sellers and conmen said it is good for the market. High turnovers, small bids, churning big volumes are good. Scrip lending facilities were created for the big boys to trade even more madly. What happens to the old wisdom of long term investment?
The health of the stock market today is as sick as a dying patient in the ICU. But no one wants to acknowledge this sad state of affair. Everyone is pretending that it is very healthy. Just encourage more retail investors to come in and trade. Create more products, more derivatives, cut the commissions to make it cheaper. Where got white elephant in the room. The stock market is so healthy!
The volumes are definitely much higher, always in the billions. There was a time when hitting a billion shares in a day was a rare phenomenon. Now hitting 3b, 5b is no problem. Anything less than 3b shares daily is bad, too small. And funny thing, where are the investors. No need investors. Just let the computers to do the trading and generate clearing fees for the exchange.
The brokerage are encouraged to under cut one another with lower and lower commissions to force the competitors out of business. In the meantime, in their childlike innocence, they are wiping themselves out of the business too when the commission is so low and unable to sustain the operation and pay for the overheads. And they are still scheming to reduce the commissions to even the bare minimum. Are they nuts?
But computer trading is not fast enough. The volumes are too small. The next big thing is to bring in High Frequency Trading where a trade can be executed in micro seconds without anyone knowing that millions of trade were done with the blink of an eye. And this is good.
What happens to long term investment? Long term investment is no longer about buy and hold for ten or twenty years. Long term is now measured by the seconds. Anything more than a second could be long term.
So what is going to happen to the stock market? If it survives in the long term, ie, more than 6 months, with HFT, it would have serve its purpose. Can anyone expect the market to be around in 3 years, 5 years or 10 years? Yes it will still be around, but no more retail investors.
Giving a helping hand
How many Sinkies need a helping hand from the more successful Sinkies?
Count the Govt out as they don’t believe in a welfare state. So charity
to the less able Singaporeans should be left to the Singaporeans, to
NGOs and charitable organizations to do the necessary. And there are
many kind souls among the Sinkies who are willing to do their parts to
share with the other half of the Sinkies that find it tough to get by.
Some do it quietly, some with aplomb, some with great fanfare like on
TV. Nonetheless, the objective is commendable.
Over the weekend I was involved in one of these big hearted event to share a little of material needs with those who really needed them. The list for the recipients came to more than a hundred families. Everyone was so enthusiastic to help, to give and to share, including the primary school children. The intent is genuine. And everyone felt good too, to be able to do their little bit even for a small amount and a little relief for a few days.
The desire to give, especially for those who know that they have done well, or at least are more fortunate than others that are not doing well, is a common feeling among many Sinkies. And this has helped to keep many charitable events going and helped many in the process.
By the end of the programme over the weekend, we were saddled with a bigger task. More than half of the goodie bags were not claimed. More than half of the recipients did not turn up for their goodies. And it was not that they did not need them or did not want them. The programme for the morning were like a little neighbourhood party with performances from the school children to entertain the invited guests, live shows, for free, and with lunch provided.
Now we were humbled by our thoughtlessness, by our callousness. We thought by telling the needies to come and collect their little goodie bags they will come forward. There must be many more sensitive ways to help the people in need. In our eagerness and enthusiasm to share, we forgot to put ourselves in their shoes. We forgot what it would be like to be on the receiving end. Mind you, it is no fun for sure. We trampled through the different floors on a door to door delivery mission to distribute the lunch boxes to everyone willing to open the door. Not many did and even for some who did, they declined our gesture and our lunch boxes. We were left with a lot of lunch boxes, decent food, with no takers and a used by date.
There must be better ways to reach out to the other section of the community. There must be. While we want to reach out, and knowing that they needed a little assistance, a little kind gesture, we must find a way to bridge the wide gap between the two parties. We fail to see the elephant that was keeping us wide apart. Never shalt the Twains met.
Could this be the reason why Rebecca Loh and Gabriel were alone in their struggle to live a normal existence?
Over the weekend I was involved in one of these big hearted event to share a little of material needs with those who really needed them. The list for the recipients came to more than a hundred families. Everyone was so enthusiastic to help, to give and to share, including the primary school children. The intent is genuine. And everyone felt good too, to be able to do their little bit even for a small amount and a little relief for a few days.
The desire to give, especially for those who know that they have done well, or at least are more fortunate than others that are not doing well, is a common feeling among many Sinkies. And this has helped to keep many charitable events going and helped many in the process.
By the end of the programme over the weekend, we were saddled with a bigger task. More than half of the goodie bags were not claimed. More than half of the recipients did not turn up for their goodies. And it was not that they did not need them or did not want them. The programme for the morning were like a little neighbourhood party with performances from the school children to entertain the invited guests, live shows, for free, and with lunch provided.
Now we were humbled by our thoughtlessness, by our callousness. We thought by telling the needies to come and collect their little goodie bags they will come forward. There must be many more sensitive ways to help the people in need. In our eagerness and enthusiasm to share, we forgot to put ourselves in their shoes. We forgot what it would be like to be on the receiving end. Mind you, it is no fun for sure. We trampled through the different floors on a door to door delivery mission to distribute the lunch boxes to everyone willing to open the door. Not many did and even for some who did, they declined our gesture and our lunch boxes. We were left with a lot of lunch boxes, decent food, with no takers and a used by date.
There must be better ways to reach out to the other section of the community. There must be. While we want to reach out, and knowing that they needed a little assistance, a little kind gesture, we must find a way to bridge the wide gap between the two parties. We fail to see the elephant that was keeping us wide apart. Never shalt the Twains met.
Could this be the reason why Rebecca Loh and Gabriel were alone in their struggle to live a normal existence?
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