3/31/2015

Singaporeans taught the foreigners a good lesson in social behavior


Last week as Singaporeans mourned the lost of LKY, hundreds of thousands were on the move to the many sites to pay their respects. The Padang in particular was where many congregated, forming long queues and waiting for hours, 8 to 10 hours, under the hot sun, in orderly manner, no rush, no impatience, and no litters. Yes no litters!
 

The behavior of Singaporeans was at their best in a difficult time, was exemplary, the foreigners have a lot to learn from us on how to keep a place clean after used. Now who is going to tell the foreigners that we are a very bad bunch in social etiquette, prone to disorderly behavior and littering everywhere? On record, there were no rowdy behavior, no rudeness, a lot of patience and good manners that in many places tempers would have flared. Singaporeans are a graceful and discipline lot.
 

Singaporeans have shown to the foreigners what good behavior meant, from the young children to the grandpas and grandmas, we were a very discipline people befitting of our good upbringings, our education system and our status as people from the first world.
 

No one should be allowed to go on spreading misleading myths about how bad Singaporeans are and putting the blame on Singaporeans for all the shit on the streets. Last week was an excellent example of what true blue Singaporeans were and they should be very proud of themselves for being Singaporeans.
 

Singaporeans must not allow silly people to slap them for the wrongs and misbehavior of foreigners.

3/30/2015

How HFT Destroys Markets: 50 Pages Of Evidence


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/20/2015 20:09 -0400

Back in 2009, when aside from a few insiders, nobody had heard of HFT, Zero Hedge launched its crusade to expose the algorithmic scourge that has since then caused an equity, treasury and now US Dollar flash crash, and has been the subject of a Michael Lewis bestseller and resulted in countless market halts and failures.
 

More importantly, there is now roughly 50 pages of just bibliography citing the evidence-based, academic research that has shown just how pervasively, maliciously and premeditatedly HFTs manipulate, destabilize, impair and otherwise destroy every single market in which they participate, and what's worse: result in incremental costs to investors, debunking the biggest lie HFTs spread about themselves - that they, being the gregarious humanist vacuum tubes they are, make trading cheaper and more accessible for the small investor.
 

And the biggest paradox: despite all this proof - which we urge every readers to sent to their favorite SEC regulator - America's corrupt enforcers of securities laws continue to turn a blind eye to all the crime that takes place every single day. Why? Because they collect a portion of the proceeds, of course, and because they need a scapegoat to blame once the market crashes.
 

We are grateful to "R. T. Leuchtkafer" who put it all together.
 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-20/how-hft-destroys-markets-50-pages-evidence
 

Above are all the evidence needed to kill of HFT but no, the corrupted powers in govt would not do so. The Congressmen and Senators would not do so as their pockets are lined by the HFT operators. They would find all the excuses and lie to keep the HFT operations going.
 

MAS and the MOF must look at the operations of HFT in our system and get rid of it quickly before it does more damage to the dying market. It is getting worse everyday.There is no time to wait.

Holocaust and 731


When Shinzo Abe posed in a fighter aircraft with the marking 731 boldly printed on its side, China and South Korea were furious. It was the most insulting and offensive that a rascal Japanese Prime Minister could do to insult its neighbours and as good as showing his middle finger to China and South Korea, and with a hidden message that he would do it again. The South Korean govt lambasted him as being vile. It was not provocative, it was outrageously provocative.
 

What Abe had done in 2013 was like a German Chancellor sitting in a German tank with the marking ‘Holocaust’ boldly printed on its side so that no one can miss what he is trying to say. And to add insult to injury, he put up his thumb to mean good and smiling like crazy.
 

What would the Jews feel if indeed a similar act is done and flashed across the media? This is how low Abe had gone and China must be ready to take on this beast and Japan. Abe and his Japan are preparing for a rerun of a 731 in China and Korea.
 

It is unforgiveable for this asshole to do that as a Prime Minister of a country. And they expect the Chinese and Koreans to take it lying down? There is nothing more provocative than this act, rubbing salt into an old wound. Let’s hope Abe has the gut to do another Marco Polo Incident in China. Oops, there is no such chance today. But he could try something similar in Diaoyu Island or the islands in the South China Sea and see what would happen to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe and all the major cities in Japan in the aftermath. And China could build a few 731 experimental stations to show the Japanese what 731 means to them.

Eulogy to Lee Kuan Yew He Finished Well



Today’s the Funeral of Lee Kuan Yew,
Founder and Father of Singapore
And all Singaporeans;
Rains pour from the skies from the early morn,
Restrained for the past 6 days when he passed;
Washing the streets ahead of his procession
From Parliament House passing City Hall
Along the Padang to Trade Union House,
Through Bukit Merah, Queenstown, Commonweath
Before reaching University Concert Centre at Kent Ridge.
Along the streets his beloved Singaporeans in millions await,
For whom he loves and gives his life, wisdom and all.
Tears and raindrops merged before they hit the ground,
Heaven and people combined in united grief.
Many reached out to see him for the very last time;
Few know him face-to-face, mostly at a distance,
Many have seen him, heard his speeches,
In every general election, most have voted for him,
To lead us, our children and theirs into a better tomorrow;
We have not been disappointed.

Fifty years ago, Lee Kuan Yew wept for Singapore
When tossed out like a pariah and garbage from Malaysia;
Today, Singapore weeps for Lee Kuan Yew  
For the Metropolis that he promised then to build;
A better place than the one we left,
More prosperous, harmonious, peaceful and safe;
A Garden City by the sea,
A Nation par excellence,
A People rugged and resilience,
To continue his nation building vision
For the future of the world, and
For our generations to come.

Much are written on how he began,
How he define my future and us all,
How he fought, persuade, lead and organise,
For us to become his vision made real; 
Around us his handprints and footprints
Leaves no doubt LKY’s the Architect and Builder,
A Servant Leader by any measure,
A mortal human being,
Extraordinary by exceptional degree.

Heaven’s rains and our tears mixed,
Surge forth like a tidal wave
United in joyful celebrations,
To carry his remains to eternity
And preserve his immortality among the Greats;
We can choose to feel abandoned
By the loss of LKY in our midst;
Or to grasp the inheritance he left for us,
To continue his work to our very end.

Singapore is LKY’s dedication;
We are his pre-occupation.
He took us on a path of no return,
Promising a journey demanding
And worth the effort;
He made my life his endgame,
And Singapore his life;
He set his sights on Singapore made exceptional,
To achieve the things that really matter,
That we make a difference to the world
To make a difference in my life.

At every stage of his life,
LKY put forth his best effort
To the very end of his life,
He fought a good fight for Singapore;
We should now show the same diligence
To the very end of our lives;
Be involved and help others positively,
Never leave the weak, poor and sick
And leaving no Singaporean behind;
Do them with his enthusiasm,
To finish well like him.


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3/29/2015

LKY - A moment in history



As if he did not think the people know who he was, how powerful he was, he made the nation stood under heavy downpour for a solid one whole hour, to wait for him, even when he is dead. The area around the Padang was thronged with people to be with him on his last journey from this mortal world. The streets that his cortege would pass were lined with people to keep him company, to let him know he was not alone.

The man god of Singapore, where his name was not to be spoken freely, like YHWH, not to be spoken, was affectionately called LKY. And heaven opened up, wept for him with the people of a country he helped to found. They braved the tropical monsoon rain, all soaking wet, my two cameras ‘konked’ but not before taking a few shots for this post. I was prepared for shooting in the rain but not the kind of downpour this afternoon, as if by clockwork precision, on his command, it fell dogs and cats at 12 noon until his cortege went past City Hall, the very same spot he aroused a people to bring him into power for the last 50 years. He was the god of this island, have no doubt about this.

Singapore lost its most illustrious son, son, man or god, it is the holy trinity. The world lost an elder statesman they would miss for a long time to come. There would be no more Oracle to consult should any leader needs that badly needed words of wisdom. Yes, the Oracle is gone forever. But he would remain in the hearts of many Singaporeans. Today is history in the making, the final chapter of a man god who would not come again, maybe he would, if his words were to be believed.

Tomorrow Singaporeans would wake up in a Singapore without LKY.

The photos above were the last moments of this man god’s presence on this island, on earth. The photos were touched up to give a little brightness and colour. The originals were all dark and grey.  The sadness in the air was pervasive and a bit depressing. The people were there to witness this moment of a life time, to see the passing of an extraordinary man, a brief moment in history.

Captions of photos from top to bottom
1. Students and  spectators arriving at the Padang while the rain just started to fall
2. WW1 Cenotaph with umbrellas all up
3. City Hall and the former Supreme Court
4. Gunners preparing the gun in a flooded Padang
5. Water everywhere in the Padang while cortege passing in front of City Hall
6. Cortege passing St Andrew Catheral towards the Recreation Club
7. First salvo of the 21 gun salute
8. Spectators opposite the Durians
9. Spectators lining the whole of Benjamin Sheares Bridge