Unwelcomed Scrutiny
The mysterious death of Shane Todd has drawn the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Also from America, another entity may be interested in the goings on in Singapore too. The...
View ArticleGarbage In Garbage Out
How did Joseph Stiglitz (born February 9, 1943) get it so wrong? In "Singapore’s Lessons for an Unequal America" he risks having to return his Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences of 2011.He may...
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The Exposé On Foreign Talent
"We have the advantage of quality control of the people who come in," boasted Lee Kuan Yew. "So we have bright Indians, bright Chinese, bright Caucasians..."Former UBS Executive Director Juerg Buergin...
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The French Also Has Tax Problems
Singapore is safe, they saidMediapart is a French news website founded in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, a former managing editor of Le Monde. In January Mediapart claimed to have evidence that the Budget...
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A Policeman's Code Of Conduct
Why on earth is the Commissioner of Police blowing his own trumpet in nearly two full pages of the Sunday Times? Has it to do with global brand consultant FutureBrand that was appointed last August for...
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Damsels In Distress
Class 95 FM plays old songs like "Papa Don't Preach" and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". Whether you listen to Madonna or Cyndi Lauper, you can get into trouble with the law. Even if you wear a...
View ArticleA Question Of Morals
Horikoshi (not his real name) liked to complain that he was dumped in Singapore, robbed of the opportunities to hob-nob with the corporate elites at head quarters in Tokyo. His cardinal sin, as he...
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Bright Ideas From A New Citizen
This has to be one foreign talent with a capital "T". Billionaire Bhupendra Kumar Modi, a new citizen who ranks 23rd in the Forbes list of Singapore’s richest, is recommending that singles as young as...
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Catch Them If You Can
Similar to the Sarawak-Taib sting, investigative website Cobrapost had a camera equipped journalist walking into banks, pretending to be a unnamed politician whose house could no longer contain his...
View ArticleLesson From The Good Book
In his Peking University HSBC Business School lecture on Monday 25 March 2013 Tan Jee Say makes use of this verse from the bible: “In the multitude of people is the king’s honour, but in the want of...
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Flexing Muscles II
It is often said that if you enter a courtroom without an experienced defense attorney by your side and attempt to represent yourself, you are starting with a serious disadvantage. Some of the...
View ArticleNo Laughing Matter
According to an Associated Press report from Washington, Singapore is well-known for its efficiency and order, but the city state's prime minister displayed a less advertised attribute - humour.The...
View ArticleJust For Laffs
You may have heard this one before, in Singapore or in Washington.A new guy arrives in prison, is introduced to his cellmate, and tries to settle in. At mealtime, the two take their places at the mess...
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Sensitive Topics
During 1968–1969 John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge of a Swift Boat and was awarded combat medals that...
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More Waste Of Time
In the above scene from "Zero Dark Thirty" CIA agent Maya (Jessica Chastain) wrote on the glass partition the number of days elapsed since the Osama hide-away in Abbottabad was found. She's hopping mad...
View ArticleIt's Still A Debt
Someone tried to explain why Singapore has a public debt equivalent to 105 percent of its GDP, the 14th highest in the world.(2012 estimates: 111.40 percent, 13th highest, CIA World Factbook)The...
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A Tragic Send Off
Having watched Meryl Streep's Oscar deserving “uncanny impersonation” of the woman who was elected to 3 terms as Britain’s first female prime minister, it was natural to want to read the book of the...
View ArticleThe Joys Of Public Service
Why are the salaries of public servants not made more public? That must be the question on every body's mind when Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, concurrently the the Minister in charge of the...
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Emptying The Showrooms
In retrospect, it was so easy to bring car prices down.All the Minister had to do was change the rules for car financing and make some adjustment in taxes in February, and the Certificate of...
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Perils Of Staying On State Land
Presumably not a candidate for World Heritage SiteWhen residents living on idyllic Pulau Ubin received a letter informing them that their homes are slated for "clearance", what else could they think of...
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