#201 a roof over my head

I’m grateful to our Singapore’s first echelon of leaders under the leadership of the then prime minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew who concertedly provided housing for her citizens.
Not that the government provided cheap-rented housing but they were able to come up with a national scheme known as the central provident fund where we were forced to set aside [...]

#200 spend first pay later

‘Spend first, pay later’ – was the slogan to attract the use of credit cards.
Living on borrowed money was the vogue for the past 40 years conservatively. Instead of regarding this as debt, it was sugared as ‘credit’.
There was a time when it was regarded smart to travel first — to enjoy life first — then pay [...]

#199 domestic maids pregnant?

I read this interesting news today:
Maternity perks urged for maids
The proposed changes to the Employment Act may see more local workers coming under its umbrella, but two non—government organisations (NGOs) want the protection extended to domestic workers too — including the provision of the latest maternity benefits….
Domestic workers here, most of whom are women, number [...]

#198 bail-out plan?

What if there were no bail-out for those scoundrel and irresponsible investment banks? How will this financial quake affect the US and the world economy?
Why such jittery around the world?
According to some pundits, if there were no bail-out, this will filter every aspect of life and economy in the US! 
Was there no regulatory controls for these financial institutions?
It appears those investment [...]

#197 amazing children saved mothers’ lives

Amazing what a child understands and does in times of emergency!
In England, James Cooke reports
A three-year-old boy came to his mother’s rescue by dialling 999 after she had an epileptic fit.
Jack Thomson called the emergency services from his mum’s mobile phone. When the line went dead he found another phone and dialled again.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7627938.stm.
Another,
Jakob Seviour [...]

#196 a new financial world emerging?

It seems the global financial crisis we’re experiencing at the moment is deeper and more serious than anticipated.
The collapse of Lehman Brothers has caused domino effect on many financial institutions creating turmoil, tsunami, hurricane… Is this the true face of credit crunch?
Below a video clip of NY trader Arthur D Cashin Jr with almost 50 years of [...]

#195 dream fulfilled @ 16

Yip Pin Xiu, swimmer
Congratulations to Singapore’s first gold medalist swimmer, Yip Pin Xiu, 16 years old suffering muscular dystrophy and is a student at the Bendemeer Secondary School [unfortunately I couldn't find the newsbit I read yesterday to verify some information at the time of writing] at Beijing Paralympic 2008.
Muscular dystrophy is a rare inherited muscle [...]

#194 clutter

Can you consistently find what you need within a few seconds?

If you work with others, can they quickly find what they need when you’re not around the office or workplace?

Is your ‘in’ box constantly overflowing?

What is clutter?

compulsive hoarding
disorganized heaps of photographs or recipes; old magazines; outdated articles
things or spaces that are untidy and disorganized
too many [...]

#193 bloggers detained

Can bloggers be detained under the Internal Security Act? Is the ISA applicable to those blogging?
The latest in Malaysia: a blogger had been detained under the ISA. Was the blogger writing in official capacity…like a journalist? Sources given: he was warned by the authorities before.
Yikes…what is a blog? What is blogging? This has given a new [...]

#192 remembering…911

7 years flown yet…
it seemed surreal
when planes ran into the Twin Towers
pillars collapsed and thick black clouds emerged
on television screen!
I gasped and wondered – disbelieved.
 
3,000 civilians – brilliant and young – reduced
to ashes without warning
on that fateful day!
Dying in war zone is fair game
but those died that day…
they were not given
the chance to [...]