Re: Wikileaks' Leaks Vis-A-Vis Stolen Personal Diary.

I cannot help comparing the Wikileaks' leaks to a person having his personal diary being stolen  by someone else.  If this is so the victim has the right to file criminal charges against the culprit for theft and unlawful use of personal data and information from the diary. Even among family members a personal diary is a very precious and higly-guarded personal documentation of one's thinking, feelings, musings and reminiscences.  You know what it is like if your so-called personal identity has been stolen by someone! Furthermore how will you feel if you know the thief has a history of convictions of criminal acts like breaking into homes, attempting rapes, etc.  Of course such acts cannot be condoned!  The full force of the Laws should be enforced! Full stop!

Year 2011 - God Watches Over You.

I fully agreed with Joe Stowell's meditation in the  Daily Bread on 31 Dec 2010 in which he said that you could see best the hand of God in the rear-view mirror.  Looking back at the more than 60 years of my life that had zipped past I can indeed see the hand of God in my childhood, schooling days, my working and adult years and my senior life. He had carefully and meticulously put me  in situations and environment that He Himself knew best; of course there were joys, blessings, pain and sufferings all rolled in one.  He knows best and He reigns! He is Immanuel - God with Us! He is faithful to me and my family! In Matt.28:20 He said: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  God has a plan for everyone; in Jer.29:11 He says: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." With God watching over us and his fatherly help ever present we can walk ever confidently into the New Year 2011. Never believe the soothsayers or the stars; God is our Guiding Light!

A Son Praising His Father

I had an interesting conversation with a male teenager of about 19 years old.  He workships and adores his father.  He said his father is a successful businessman with assets of about S$600 million dollars.  He said his father originally owned 4 bungalows in the luxurious Sentosa Cove - he subsequently sold 3 and kept 1 for his own residential use.  He admires his father for his humility, charitable and clannish traits to his family, friends and relatives.  He said his father lavishly provided for his family - he bought 2 of his siblings and mother each a luxurious car worth hundred of thousands of dollars each.  He himself drives a Lambourghini. He said his fuel cost for his car can total up to 3 to 4 hundred dollars per weekend. His father  believes in doing charitable work for disaster victims in the region - he has contributed to disaster relief work in Indonesia, Burma, etc. His father also believes in helping friends and relatives who are in debts.  He said he had on occasions delivered cash amounting to $90,000 to $100,000 to friends and relatives who are in dire straits.  I have no way of verifying what he told me.  Or is this "the cock and bull story of the year".  You judge for yourself.

Time Velocity

In a twinkle of the eyes we are apporaching the tail end of the year 2010.  If you are aged 50 years and above time seems to accelerate and the years seem to collapse into months.  Not too long ago many years back I was listening to a BBC Radio programe trying to make sense of the phenomenon. For the Seniors everyday is no different from yesterday.  Their lives are more or less set on routine. As such time seems to fly away! The teenagers and young adults look forward with great expectation to their dates and appointments in the days and weeks ahead.  The waiting gives them the sense that time passes slowly.  The important thing is to cherish every moment of everyday!  Have a happy holiday season!

Asset Bubbles In Singapore?

I fear and can sense the asset bubbles that are forming in our equities and real estate markets.  As at to date the stock market is at 29-month high and the mortgage growth has grown by 23% - 10-year high.  With the latest Federal Reserve's US$600 Billion QE2 accompanied by  the low interest rate environment cheap money is flowing into our shores.The latest slew of IPOs (with a few mega ones) and bond offerings by listed entities has heated up the market. On the real estate front the Government has released many building sites for developers' bidding not forgetting the build-to-order (BTO) projects offered by the HDB.  The whole exercise gives one the feeling of bubbles frothing and buiding!  The Government has subsequently introducted the latest cooling measures to arrest the euphoria and madness!   We must not forget the lesssons of the economic bubbles in Japan from 1986 to 1991. This led to the "lost decade" of the Japanese economy!   In 2003/2004 the Japanese Stock Market and the Real Estate Market crashed - a unit in the financial district nose-dived to less than 1% of its peak value whilst a residential unit fetched less than one tenth. It is in Singapore's interest to be careful and mindful! 

Curbing Triad & Secret Society Activities in Singapore

I refer to the recent reports of senseless killing and maiming of bodies by members of such Societies in the local Sinagpore media. I think such wanton, cruel and merciless conduct  should be put to a stop immediately. Full stop! In Singapore in the 1950s and 1960s ganglands' rioting and fightings were not uncommon.  Almost daily you could  read of such accounts of ganglands' tussels over protection rackets and territorial rights. At that the time the Government of the day acted firmly and resolutely by invoking Section 55 of the Criminal Law Act by rounding up members of such Societies.  Section 55 allowed the Police to detain the secret society members without trial up to 12 months in the first instance.  I wonder whether Section 55 is still in our Law Statues or it has changed into another legal term.  When you mentioned Section 55 most secret society members at that time would twitched their ears and showed more restrain and respect before they embarked onto any wrongdoings.  The Police should spare no effort to enforce such a law on such persons.  We do not want to see Singapore living under a "cloud of fear" wielded by members of such Societies!  Any persons with inkling of links with such Societies should be rounded up and be incacerated!

Uncle Sam's Role

Uncle Sam's global banks' greed and financial engineering created the worst financial crisis of 2008/2009 since the Great Depression.  Subsequently the whole world was plunged into recession and many people were unemployed. With massive bailouts and stimulus packages, Uncle Sam managed to put the world's largest economy back on track.  It lowered its interest rate to almost zero and also instituted "Quantitative Easing 1" - printing money!  As a result the US dollars devalued and "cheap money" caused the world's commodities' prices, stock exchanges, real estates to escalate - my food prices,petrol, my cup of coffee, the gold jewellery that I buy, the property prices that are transacted are unimaginable!  Now there is talk of "Quantitative Easing 2" (printing more money) -  more cheap money looking for better yield creating bubbles in the world's stock exchanges, commodities, properties and prompting talk of currency wars. Uncle Sam must be mindful of what action it takes or does not take because it has implications and consequences for the whole world!  We all hope and trust its action will always be appropriate, measured and most important of all responsible!!!!!

Why Aren't The Americans More Appreciative of Their President Barack Obama

According to the latest polls, the approval rating of President Barack Obama has fallen to 44%.  He has my full sympathy for holding on to the world's most powerful job but alas a "thankless" job nevertheless!  The irony is that he has just rescued America from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of 1929 by providing massive bailouts for the auto and banking sectors and stimulus packages.  With almost a decade of overspending and over-leverage the American economy has to drain itself of the excesses and to slowly de-leverage.  An economy is like a battleship, it slowly turns around.  With unemployment at 10% it is inevitable that the American public is losing patience and heart!  However, I see the American President as a person who has "the helicopter view" of the whole problem: he knows the options, trade-offs, solutions,etc. I gauge this from watching the many media interviews/telecasts and town-hall meetings that he hosted. I guess you just have to give him time. I hope that his race and family background has got nothing to do with this!  American politics is complex and has many moving parts.  I just wish President Obama the best of luck!!!

Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+ | Video on TED.com

Dan Buettner: How to live to be 100+ Video on TED.com

You may want to watch this video on longevity.  Just look out and learn the common denominators found in such communities. In this connection you may refer to my earlier post on 22 April 2010 where I listed broadly 3 main areas namely 1)Diet, 2)Activity, 3)Emotion which may account for their secret of their longevity.

SIA Bonds at 2.15% Coupon Rate

The SIA bonds at 2.15% coupon rate are not attractive.  You can buy better alternatives like the OCBC Preference Shares at the SGX (Singapore Stock Exchange).  Preference Shares have bond-like features like coupon rate (dividend payments) and tenure (5 years, etc.). The dividends payable range from 3.9% to 5.1% depending on which type of Preference Shares you buy.  At the moment you have to pay a high premium as the Shares are popular because of the low interest rate environment. Wait for the market to correct (expected to be next year & thereafter as the Federal Reserve will need to raise the interest rate sooner or later), then buy at the lower prices! Well, sometimes you just need to do some homework and research to look for better alternatives for your investments.  Happy Investing!

"Mum" and "Mom"

I always respect and love my Mom who passed away more than 30 yrs. ago. A village lady from a Kampong in Lorong Tai Seng area in Singapore, she was not fairly treated by her husband (my father). You see my father had a 2nd wife. Yes, in the 1950s & 1960s it was not uncommon for husbands to keep 2nd wives. Yet my mother did not harbour any animosity or rancour to the 2nd wife. In fact she cultivated good and friendly terms with her to the extent that when the 2nd wife invited her to make some investments in her (2nd wife) Indonesian business she happily did so. However, when President Sukarno announced his "Confrontation" Policy the business collapsed and failed. My mother did not blame the 2nd wife for the investment lost and kept "mum" on the matter in her own philosophical and quiet ways. In this connection I always wondered why an uncle (with his family in tow )from her village would always visit her without fail on the 1st day of the Chinese Lunar New Year! I never asked my mother but I guessed it was my uncle's way of showing and paying respect to a great lady! I will always cherish memory of my mother!!!

A New Creation

I take a deep breath
I feel my Presence.
My thoughts I forego
Consciousness brings my Being.
My emotions I control
Awareness takes over.
The world's woes before me
Acceptance is all I need.
What blessings are bestowed
I shall enjoy them fully.
God's spirit is my redemption
Enthusiasm fosters my new Creation.

...........by S L Koh

In View of the Coming Election

I always admire those residents who live in the only 2 Opposition Wards namely Potong Pasir & Hougang. The infrastructure & estate amenities in those wards are nothing to crow about compared to those in the PAP consituencies. As reported in the papers their legitimate requests for funds for estate improvements/upgrading, etc. were blocked/thwarted by rigmarole of regulations & rules. As a result the estates common areas like roads, playgrounds, etc. were left at best at their most functioning states possible. Consequently the prices of the flats are affected compared with other more endowed/constantly improved/upgraded estates like Tanjong Pagar, Ang Mo Kio/ Marine Parade. Yes, I give my applause, salute and admiration to those residents of Potong Pasir & Hougang!! You continually support your MPs though you suffer loss in the material kind!!! Yes, there is much all Singaporeans can learn from you!!!!!!!!!!! Bravo, Bravo!!!!!

What Is the Most Important Lesson We Can Learn From the Financial Crisis of 2008/2009

The most important lesson we can take away is to equip yourself with Financial Literacy. We heard of stories of investors who had been burned, swindled or conned into putting their hard-earned monies, nesteggs into investments or structured financial products which they had no idea of what they were all about. Investors who had bought Minobonds, Pinnacles Notes, DBS High Notes, etc. will know what I am talking about. In fact 2 of our PAP Town Councils invested $16 millions of our tax-payer monies into such failed products - a sad and bad relection of supposedly sane and superior minds behind such investments! So before you commit yourself to buying an insurance policy, car or mortgage loan, annuity, etc. understand what you have bought and if you do not understand the product, do not commit or buy it! Let's why understand terms like savings, interest rate, compound interest rates, inflation, etc (in other words Financial Literacy) will protect oneself against charlatans in the insurance companies, banks and financial institutions that are out there to take advantage or worse to cheat you of your hard-earned monies! I believe such Financial Literarcy classes/courses should start at our Secondary Schools/Polytechnics/Universities before our students venture out into the society to begin their careers.