Ex NUS prof resume fraud

In the ST today, former asst professor of NUS ‘who landed a prestigious position at a United States university is now at the centre of a sensational fraud investigation’. Anoop Shankar’s resume includes ‘a doctorate in epidemiology, graduated from India’s top medical school when he was 21, was a member of the prestigious Royal College of Physicians and had been awarded a “genius” visa to America’.
 
I must say that was impressive. And more impressive, he was at the Duke NUS Graduate Medical School and his 3 papers with Associate Professor Koh Woon Puay must be so good that she had no reason to doubt his talent and is standing by the joint papers.
 
Now that this professor Anoop Shankar has lost all his positions in the US, maybe he can come back to this talentless island to resume his position here. When a person is good he is good. Just like when a person is good, without a degree doesn’t matter. Singapore has made a quantum leap forward by looking at real talent and performance and not about a piece of paper.
 
The Americans were not impressed and have regarded this as ‘among the most serious of its kind, has now also sparked scrutiny into the larger issue of fraud that goes unchecked at some institutes of higher education’.
 
Singapore has no such worry and has no need to go on a witch hunt. All the talents landed in Singapore are genuine talents with real certificates and degrees. Even got no degree never mind, can be promoted also if they are found to be good. And best if they can impress their fellow professors that they are really good.
Shall Singapore extend another welcome to this “genius? Give him a pink IC and we will have a good catch, another talented new citizen.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Our stock market is in the pink of health

I learnt something yesterday. Had this discussion with some very well versed businessmen on how to clinch a deal and was told that in many cases there were vested interests at stake. It is not a matter of how good is your service or product. They just would not give you the deal as that would mean losing their own stake. The best way is to go around it. One way is to include their share. Another is not to ruffle their feathers. A third way is to tell them their service or product is good but they can use your product or service and be more rewarding.
 
I have been singing the song that the stock market is dying. That is obviously wrong. It is better to sing songs of praise, that the stock market is in the pink of health, the best. That way everyone will be happy. Now that they are feeling elated, maybe I would like to suggest to them that the market can even be better if they restructure, revitalize, remodel the market to make it better. One way is to remove computers from being linked to the SGX computer system. This way would make the funds to trade more without the aid of computers. The volume will increase definitely as everyone will then be trading on a level playing field.
In addition, raise the bid value, minimum lot size go back to 1,000 shares. This way the computer traders would have to pay more and the exchange and brokers will stand to make more fees and commissions. London is more expensive than us, and we should aim to be like London at least in terms of trading fees or commissions.
 
And because everyone will be trading furiously, they need to have a break. Computers no need to take breaks, human beans need to. It will be healthy, kind and humane to reintroduce the lunch break. The traders can take a break, the punters can take a break, and the restaurants and foodcourts would be doing roaring business. Everyone will be happier and healthier and be very grateful to the SGX for such a great move.
And when everyone is happy, they will trade more and a positive cycle will result. And the stock market will become more active and trading volume will increase. The management of the stock market will be rewarded with bigger bonuses too.
 
See the contrasting approaches? Now everything is sounding so good and looking so positive. I am sure these suggestions will sound more palatable and can be implemented. One caveat, if things have not rotted to a state of beyond redemption.
 
Other suggestions to make the stock market more active: Follow the casinos, let each punter have $200 free to trade. Set up trading halls with a lot of TV screens like before for the punters to gather and chat, and better still, free kopi for them. This will replace the lack of stock price info removed from the TV. There are many more incentives to bring the crowd in.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Japan never fired a shot in anger – Another Japanese lie

A REUTER report in an article in the Today paper on 10 Sep on the discussion between Japan and the USA on how to arm Japan with offensive weapons had this quote from a Japanese official, ‘ …a country that has not fired a short in anger since its defeat in World War II.’ Now why is this a lie? Actually it is a misleading statement. The Japanese has never fired a shot in anger since the First World War. Every shot fired was for conquest and aggression. The Japanese fought the Chinese, Russians and invaded Korea and China, never in anger but with colonial and imperial intent. It bombed Pearl Harbour in perfect serenity of mind. No anger, pure ambition to destroy the American fleet in the way of its conquest of Asia and the world. Every shot the Japanese fired is premeditated, calculated, planned coolly to achieve a military objective.
 
Today, the two most belligerent countries are negotiating on how much offensive weapons Japan should be allowed to have to conduct wars of aggression again. And again it was all done in quiet civility, no anger, business like. It was all about world domination, about controlling the world. The Americans and the Japanese are plotting to control China and East Asia today, two willing partners of war.
Which is more dangerous, a country going to war in anger over some wrong done to his country and people, or one going to war in all civility, with no anger, but only the desire and ambition to conquer and rule over other nations?
 
There are very serious enmity between the Americans and the Japanese. The sinking of their Pacific Fleet and the destruction of the Japanese dream of controlling China and becoming a world super power were clipped by the Americans. And the anger and deep hatred for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the colonizing of Japan, a high humiliation of the Japanese pride were all etched deeply in the Japanese psychic. And the Americans are thinking that for immediate political expediency, they could afford to rearm the Japanese to the teeth. They believe the Japanese have changed and have forgotten the defeat by the Americans.
 
Americans, just you wait. The samurais have not forgotten, and playing good boys for now. Letting out the Arab genie from the bottle was bad. Wait till they release the Japanese samurais armed to the teeth with WMD.

Kopi Level - Yellow

A little degree problem

One company worked up one day to find that all its top management and senior staff did not have degrees. The degrees they declared in their CVs were all fakes. They only found this out when the govt started to check on their qualifications.
 
So how to solve this problem? They went to the ministry and told them that their staff were all competent, very good workers and knew their jobs very well. They didn’t need to have any degrees. And they were very happy with all the staff in their employ. They would have to close down their business if they could not keep their no degree staff.
 
The ministry panic. How, the company would have to relocate and there would be one company less and many jobs would be lost. And horrors of all horrors, many companies are also in the same situation, with many staff with fake degrees.
 
What is the solution?
 
PS. This story is fictional.

Kopi Level - Green

Candle Light Vigil on 17th September at Hong Lim Park

Pl note change of date to 17 Sep. My article posted on 7 Sep said the event would by held on 13 Sep. The organisers have confirmed the date is Wed  17 Sep 14. The venue is Hong Lim Park at 7 pm to midnight.

Bring a candle to light to a dark place.

Kopi Level - Green