Tokkok Oni

Power of the People is Much Stronger Than People in Power

2011-07-09T18:18:00.000+08:00

Wael Ghonim: Inside the Egyptian revolution

Arise !

2011-07-09T03:00:00.001+08:00

Battle music for those rallying at Merdeka Stadium later. Salute!

Fat government, poor people...

2011-02-23T23:33:00.003+08:00

Long time ago, God put two flocks of sheep on grassland: one group at north and one group at south. God also gave them two types of native predator: Lion and wolf.

God told the sheep: "If you choose wolf, I shall give you one, and it's allowed to bite you at its will. If you choose lion, I shall give you two, and you are allowed to choose anyone from the two of them to stay on the grassland, and you can replace it at any time.”

So, the question is: If you are one of the sheep, what will you choose? A wolf or two lions?

It's easy to make your choice, right? Remember your choice, and continue with our story.

The sheep at the south thought that lions are more fiercely than wolf, so they picked a wolf.

The sheep at the north thought that although lions are more fiercely than wolf, but they have the option to choose, so they took two lions.

The wolf started eating the sheep once it entered the herd at the south. The wolf was smaller and it had smaller appetite. One sheep is enough to appease its hunger for days. So the sheep only were hunted once a few days.

The sheep at the north chose a lion and leave another one with God. The lion started eating sheep once it entered the herd at the north. The lion was more fiercely than the wolf and it had much larger appetite. It needed to eat a sheep each day to keep its stomach full. So the sheep is hunted everyday, and they were very afraid.

They asked God to replace the lion. But the lion that stayed with the God has not been eaten anything and it was very hungry. It pounced on the sheep and bite like crazy. The sheep had to run for their life everyday until they didn't have time to eat.

The sheep at the south were grateful that they made the right choice, and they laughed at the sheep at the north for being stupid and chose the wrong predator.

The sheep at the north repented for their choice. They complained to God, and asked God to change their native predator to a wolf. But God said: “No. Once the native predator was chosen, it cannot be changed anymore. You must live with it forever. Your only option is to choose between the two lions.” The sheep at the north have to keep rotating the two lions.

But both lions were the same. Both of them showed no mercy. No matter how they rotate the lions, their situation was always much more miserable than the sheep at the south. At last, they stop rotating. They kept a lion full all the time while letting another one suffered in hunger. They only replaced the lions when the suffering lion was dying.

After a long time of hunger, the suffering lion realized that: Even they are much stronger than the sheep, but its fate is controlled by the sheep. The sheep can send him back to God anytime, and let him suffer and die in hunger.

So it treated the sheep very nice, it only ate the dead and the old sheep and it wouldn't eat the healthy sheep. The sheep felt very surprise and happy. Some of the younger sheep even suggested letting the suffering lion to stay forever. But one of the elder reminded them: “The lion treats us good because it is afraid that we’ll send it back to the God. If we let another lion die, we'll left with no choice and the suffering lion will return to its nature and starts hunting us again.” The sheep agreed with the elder. To prevent another lion starve to death, they replaced it after a few weeks.

And the lion also realized that its fate is controlled by the sheep. In order to stay longer on the grassland, the lion tried its best to please the sheep. Another lion felt so sad that it had to suffer hunger again.

After experiencing such a hard time, the sheep at the north finally can enjoy themselves.

At the mean time, the situation of the sheep at the south became worse and worse because the wolf had no competitor and the sheep couldn't replace it. It started to act wildly. It had to kill ten sheep everyday. It didn't eat sheep anymore. It only drank their blood. The sheep were not allowed to make a sound because they would be killed by the wolf if they do so.

In the end, the sheep at the south could only bemoan: “We should choose the lions in the first place......”

Animal Farm (George Orwell)

2010-09-11T14:47:00.007+08:00

We are All Created Equal but Some are "more Equal" than Others!

New UMNO vs Old UMNO. New PIGS vs Old PIGS.

Government, people, constitution, justice, equality, national vision, elites, Peasant, dogs (who are they?) ...

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A BAS LE TYRAN!

2010-02-11T08:33:00.002+08:00

Obama Fan

2009-11-18T22:20:00.001+08:00

Stock Investment 101

2009-11-15T11:28:00.001+08:00

Is It Time?

2009-09-03T23:18:00.007+08:00

'

WHEN TYRANNY BECOMES LAW,

REBELLION BECOMES DUTY!

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?
Expediency asks the question - is it politic?
Vanity asks the question - is it popular?
But conscience asks the question - is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tyranny

2009-07-20T00:07:00.002+08:00

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"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." — James Madison (Federalist Papers)

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First they came...

2009-07-19T12:01:00.000+08:00

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When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me

"First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

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Mysterious death at MACC

2009-07-18T23:15:00.001+08:00

歐陽捍華 Ean Yong’s political secretary dead at MACC HQ

Look closely at the photos from the scene of 赵明福 Teoh Beng Hock's death.

Some of Oni's observation:

Left shoe sits up neatly about 8 feet from the head right within the border. Appears to be clean and properly laced-up.

Right shoe looks beaten-up. Surface of the sole shows sign of heavy scraping.

Slash wound on the right wrist. Bleeding seems fresh (color relatively red and bright). Right fist is clenched. Not wearing a wrist watch.

Pants ripped at the buttock revealing underwear. Some fabric in the torn area appears to be missing from the trousers. No sign of wallet, mobile phone or keys in the back and left pockets.
Underwear appears to be torn in the middle.

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Ghost Town California

2009-05-15T08:44:00.001+08:00

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1Malaysia... Yeah!

2009-05-08T01:36:00.005+08:00

1Black day in Malaysia

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Real estate market recovery...

2009-04-17T08:27:00.003+08:00

... has some way to go.

Here's what's real and what's not.
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Your Personal Stimulus Package

2009-03-31T00:32:00.004+08:00

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Need help in managing your finance? Have trouble making car payments?...

No problem! Here's how many Americans revive their financial situation. All you need is a plan and a match.

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Signs of Stress, Fraud on Roadside
Thursday, March 26, 2009

More Vehicles Burned, Ditched in Apparent Schemes by Owners to Get Insurance Payout

Police detective Mark Menzie drove 55 miles into the desert Sunday to inspect the charred remains of a formerly silver Ford Expedition.

Later, he sat in a kitchen on the city's south side where a 19-year-old man confessed to torching his girlfriend's Chrysler PT Cruiser

At noon Monday, Mr. Menzie was picking through the smashed windshield of a 2008 Land Rover in a desert canyon. His police radio crackled as he worked; another car was spotted burning southwest of the city.

Years of no-money-down car loans followed by sinking home values and rising unemployment has made many people desperate over car payments they can no longer afford. For some, the answer is to ditch the car, report it stolen and collect the insurance money to pay it off without hurting their credit.

Authorities report a growing number of cars dumped in the Great Lakes, burned along remote New Jersey roadsides and driven into canals in California. The phenomenon is acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed and broke.

Mr. Menzie, a burly 38-year-old detective wearing jeans, dusty work boots and a two-day stubble, toted up a day's work. Four cars burned or wrecked in 24 hours: "Insurance fraud," he concluded. "Lots of desperate people out there."

As a member of the Las Vegas department's auto-theft unit, Mr. Menzie is on the front lines of a phenomenon that police departments and insurance companies worry could be burning out of control.

"The economy is stretching people to the breaking point and some of them are willing to risk criminal conviction," said James Quiggle, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an industry-backed group. "They look at this as their own personal stimulus package."... (continue reading here)

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The Worst is Over!

2009-03-30T08:22:00.002+08:00

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New Home Sale Up 4.7%. No bullshit?

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not so mini Mini-Budget

2009-03-12T01:11:00.004+08:00

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March 11, 2009
Scepticism to M'sia stimulus

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S massive US$16.2 billion (S$25 billion) stimulus package met with scepticism on Wednesday, as analysts questioned if it will avert recession and how cleanly it will be implemented.

Deputy premier Najib Razak announced the package on Tuesday, saying the much bigger than anticipated spending plan would 'contribute towards mitigating the impact of the global contraction on the domestic economy'.

But despite the measure, and a US$1.9 billion stimulus package announced last year, he said the economy could still contract by up to 1.0 per cent in 2009, dumping the earlier forecast of 3.5 per cent growth.

Standard Chartered said despite the size of the plan, 'its ability to keep 2009 growth in positive territory remains in question' and that the deficit, which will jump to 7.6 per cent this year, could threaten credit ratings.

ING was unimpressed by the big-spending initiative, saying it expected the economy to contract by 2.2 per cent this year, and that the government's political woes raised the risk of inappropriate spending.

'The political situation makes us think a lot of the spending will be politically-directed,' it said.

The spending plan is an important test for Mr Najib, who is due to be appointed premier at the end of the month and inherits the task of clawing back support for the ruling coalition after a battering in elections last year.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was finance minister before being ejected from the coalition in 1998, said there was a grave risk of 'leakage' as the huge amount of funds was disbursed.

'As far as the package is concerned, there is no sign of reforms,' he said.

'Our fundamentals are cracking, we are facing a major crisis. Will Najib stop the practices of awarding contracts to cronies through direct negotiation?'

Analysts at Citibank also said the market would be disappointed with the package after 'the hype created over the past few weeks'. 'Execution is the key, and it is still too early to quantify and build in the benefits,' it said. -- AFP

(The Straits Times)

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Land of Broken Dreams

2009-03-05T08:45:00.003+08:00

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California Wasteland

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Hedge Fund AIG

2009-03-04T11:16:00.000+08:00

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Bernanke Says Insurer AIG Operated Like a Hedge Fund

March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said American International Group Inc. operated like a hedge fund and having to rescue the insurer made him “more angry” than any other episode during the financial crisis.

“If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can’t think of one other than AIG,” Bernanke told lawmakers today. “AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system, there was no oversight of the financial- products division, this was a hedge fund basically that was attached to a large and stable insurance company.”

Bernanke’s comments foreshadow tougher oversight of systemically important financial firms, and come as President Barack Obama seeks legislative proposals within weeks for a regulatory overhaul. The U.S. government has had to deepen its commitment to prevent AIG’s collapse three times since September as the company accumulated the worst losses of any U.S. company.

The company “made huge numbers of irresponsible bets, took huge losses, there was no regulatory oversight because there was a gap in the system,” Bernanke said. At the same time, officials “had no choice but to try and stabilize the system” by aiding the firm... (full story at Bloomberg)

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You Are Powerful

2009-03-04T04:35:00.004+08:00

Amnesty International: "You are powerful"

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Viva La France!

2009-02-25T22:28:00.006+08:00

How to make USD100k/year without working... a la Francaise!

Here's how...

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Fallen high-flyers exploit French loophole...

THEY were denounced as traitors when they left France for lucrative jobs in London, and as irresponsible fools when crisis overtook the global economy.

Now French traders dismissed by banks in London are at the centre of a new furore after it emerged that many of them were exploiting France's generous welfare system to claim unemployment benefit of more than E75,000 (USD96,000) a year.

"I find it very shocking," Alain Vidalies, an opposition Socialist MP who raised the issue in parliament last week, said. "These people went to London to earn lots of money when the economy was booming there, and as soon as the wind turned they have come back to France and they are using a trick to ensure a very high revenue.

"It's not acceptable."

The controversy has further dented the reputation of a profession accused by President Nicolas Sarkozy of plunging the world into "catastrophe" through ill-judged speculation.

But it has also served to highlight flaws in a French social security system seen by its supporters as a safety net in times of turbulence and by its detractors as an unsustainable burden for the national economy.

Under French rules, the jobless are entitled to unemployment benefit equivalent to 57.4 per cent of their salary if they earned more than E1845.88 a month in their last job and up to 75 per cent if they earned less than that. Payments are made for 23 months and there is a ceiling of E6366.80 a month.

In most circumstances, it is impossible for workers to receive French unemployment benefit if they have been employed in another country, but they need to do only one day of work in France to be able to make a claim there. And if they have worked fewer than 28 days, that claim will be based upon their previous salary.

In other words, traders earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in London need to do a few days' work in a fast-food restaurant or a shop in Paris to ensure a revenue of E76,401.60 a year for almost two years.

Some do a shift in McDonald's. Mathieu, a trader sacked by a London bank, told the weekly magazine Le Point that he would do a day's babysitting to obtain French unemployment benefit on the basis of his British salary. "It'll be enough to cover my airplane tickets and my telephone bills," he said, adding that he was planning to look for a new job in Hong Kong.

Officials at the Pole Emploi, the French unemployment office, said that 24 claimants were receiving the maximum of E6366.80 a month after a job overseas. That figure dates from the northern autumn and Mr Vidalies said that the number had climbed steeply since then. "I think there must be several hundred, and they're getting the sort of revenue from unemployment benefit that most people cannot dream about even when they have a full-time job," he said.

About 300,000 French people moved to Britain before the crisis.

(The Australian)

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Great Drivers

2009-02-25T01:17:00.002+08:00

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Watch out! Crazy drivers on the road!

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Hilmi Baby

2009-02-19T08:14:00.006+08:00

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Is this the famous upskirt photographer?

Wah! Quite handsome wor! Add as a friend?

Selamat Datang!

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Ugly Pic

2009-02-16T16:10:00.001+08:00

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Will it turn out to be a "V", "U" or "L"?

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Obama Porks America?

2009-02-16T02:06:00.004+08:00

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Congressmen voted for the 800 billion Dollar stimulus bill without even reading it.

Why so rush?

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Glenn Beck, "Why you should be outraged at rush to pass the stimulus bill"

Obama Porks America

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Ghost Town Dubai

2009-02-12T13:52:00.004+08:00

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February 12, 2009

Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down

By ROBERT F. WORTH

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai’s fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.

Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to leave this Persian Gulf city — or worse.

“I’m really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here,” said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. “If I can’t pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors’ prison.”

With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.

Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.

Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai’s Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher.

“At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst,” said Simon Williams, HSBC bank’s chief economist in Dubai. “And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors.”

Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai’s six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody’s Investor’s Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai’s most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai’s roads, usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.

Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has... (continue reading here)

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GreatEST Depression Ever?

2009-02-11T23:29:00.005+08:00

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The outlook looks really really bleak according to Trend Forecaster, Gerald Celente.

Take cover! More crap to come!

' Worst economic collapse ever'

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New Hope for the People

2009-02-10T01:08:00.001+08:00

Obama Ma mak

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All Hail the King of Kings!

2009-02-09T19:25:00.000+08:00

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All Hail the King!

2009-02-07T22:14:00.007+08:00

Truly a PEOPLE's King... Sure!

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Betrayal?

2009-02-06T14:00:00.005+08:00

Some people in Perak feels they're being robbed.

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RIP

2009-02-06T08:28:00.002+08:00

Yup!... You've Got It!

2009-02-05T01:21:00.006+08:00

(thestar)

(: Going Nuts Over Numbers )

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Go Figure!

2009-02-03T02:01:00.004+08:00

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February 2, 2009
Big Risks for U.S. in Trying to Value Bad Bank Assets

As the Obama administration prepares its strategy to rescue the nation’s banks by buying or guaranteeing troubled assets on their books, it confronts one central problem: How should they be valued?

Not just billions, but hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are at stake.

The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, is expected to announce details of the new plan within weeks. Administration and Congressional officials say it will give the government flexibility to buy some bad assets and guarantee others in an effort to have a broad impact but still tailor the aid for different institutions.

But getting this right will not be easy. The wild variations on the value of many bad bank assets can be seen by looking at one mortgage-backed bond recently analyzed by a division of Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency.

The financial institution that owns the bond calculates the value at 97 cents on the dollar, or a mere 3 percent loss. But S.& P. estimates it is worth 87 cents, based on the current loan-default rate, and could be worth 53 cents under a bleaker situation that contemplates a doubling of defaults. But even that might be optimistic, because the bond traded recently for just 38 cents on the dollar, reflecting the even gloomier outlook of investors.

The bond analyzed by S.& P. is just one of thousands that the government might buy or guarantee should it go forward with setting up a “bad bank” that would acquire $1 trillion or more of toxic assets from banks.

The idea is that, free from the burden of carrying these bad assets, banks would start lending again and bolster the faltering economy. The bad bank set up by the government would, over time, sell the assets and recover some or most of what it had paid.

While the government is considering several approaches to helping the banks, including more capital injections, buying or insuring toxic assets is likely to be a centerpiece. Determining the right price for these assets is crucial to success. Placing too low a value would force institutions selling and others holding similar investments to register crushing losses that could deplete their capital and make it harder for them to increase lending.

But inflated values would bail out the companies, their shareholders and executives at the expense of taxpayers, who...

(full story at nytimes.com)

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No One Will be Left Behind

2009-01-31T00:57:00.003+08:00

Lehman Brothers, eat your heart out!

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US porn industry seeks multi-billion dollar bailout
Porn baron Larry Flynt is seeking a $5 billion bailout from Washington to rejuvenate the industry, which he says is suffering because of the economic downturn.

08 Jan 2009

The Hustler magazine founder has teamed up with fellow adult entertainment mogul Joe Francis, creator of the Girls Gone Wild video series, to approach Congress for the same kind of financial assistance recently approved for car manufacturers.

The pair have asked the 111th Congress, which convened on Tuesday with the economy at the top of its agenda, "to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America" with a bailout.

"Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses, (and) we feel we deserve the same consideration," Francis said in a statement.

"In difficult economic times, Americans turn to entertainment for relief. More and more, the kind of entertainment they turn to is adult entertainment."

"The take here is that everyone and their mother want to be bailed out from the banks to the big three," Owen Moogan, a spokesman for Flynt, told CNN.

"The porn industry has been hurt by the downturn like everyone else and they are going to ask for the $5 billion. Is it the most serious thing in the world? Is it going to make the lives of Americans better if it happens? It is not for them to determine."

In an interview with entertainment news website TMZ, Francis admitted the move was more of a "precautionary measure" than an emergency rescue, "but as long as the government is handing out money, we want to be there to take it."

The pair acknowledge that although DVD sales and rentals have dropped 22 per cent over the past year, online traffic has continued to grow.

"The 13-billion-dollar industry is in no fear of collapse," they say. "But why take chances?" Francis, who was last year freed from almost a year in jail after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges in a plea deal, told CNN they planned to deliver the request "to our congressmen and (Secretary of the Treasury Henry) Paulson" by the end of Wednesday.

"With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt said in a statement. People were "too depressed to be sexually active", which was "very unhealthy as a nation. Americans can do without cars and such, but they cannot do without sex." He said the only way Congress could "rejuvenate" America's sexual appetite was "by supporting the adult industry and doing it quickly." There was no response from Congress to the request.

(Telegraph.co.uk)

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Not All Pets Are Created Equal

2009-01-15T08:08:00.005+08:00

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In this country, even dogs get discriminated.

Restrictive rules only apply to dogs. Why not cats too? Or chicken, ducks? or goats? or...... WTF!

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Thursday January 15, 2009
Dog owners in Nilai must now get neighbour’s permission

SEREMBAN: Dog owners in Nilai must now get written permission from their neighbours to keep the animals in their homes.

This is the first time such a ruling has been introduced in Negri Sembilan following recent amendments to the Dog Licensing Bylaws 2008. The municipal council issues annual dog licences at RM20 each.

Council president Datuk Abd Halim Abd Latif said the ruling covers dogs which were three months old and above.

“For those who want to rear more than two dogs, their premises must be at least 1,000 sq metres.

“You are allowed to keep more than four dogs if the area is larger than 1,000 sq metres,” he said.

The affected areas are Nilai, Rasah, Ampangan, Mantin, Lenggeng, Pantai, Rantau, Labu and Senawang.

Abd Halim said the owners were duty-bound to ensure that their pets were not a nuisance to their neighbours such as the animals defecating in public places.

“The pets cannot be allowed to roam freely outside their compound,” he said, adding that officers would take away unlicensed pets.

Those caught without a licence could be fined up to RM1,000 or jailed not more than six months, or both.

The Seremban Municipal Council issues dog licences for RM10 each but has not asked owners to get their neighbours’ permission. Applicants are required to attach a vaccination card for their pets.

The state Veterinary Services Department issues licences for RM5 for those living in other areas.

Resident Melissa Wong asked why was there a need to get her neighbour’s permission to keep a dog.

“My neighbour’s cats defecate in my compound almost every day. Why doesn’t the council make it a requirement for cat owners to get their neighbour’s consent?” she asked.

P. Manimaran, who lives in Rasah Kemayan, said he may have to give up his dog because he was not on talking terms with his neighbour.

Those with queries can call the Nilai Municipal Council at 06-798 9099/9077.

(thestar Online)

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Need More Bullets

2009-01-14T07:48:00.005+08:00

January 14, 2009
Stimulus Alone Won’t End Crisis, Bernanke Says

LONDON — The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, warned Tuesday that the highly unpopular job of using taxpayer money to bail out financial institutions in the United States and other countries was far from over.

One day after President Bush, at the request of President-elect Barack Obama, asked Congress to free up the second half of the money for the Treasury Department’s $700 billion financial rescue program, Mr. Bernanke cautioned that banks and other lending institutions were still not functioning properly and would probably need additional money.

“More capital injections and guarantees may become necessary to ensure stability and the normalization of credit markets,” Mr. Bernanke said during a speech at the London School of Economics.

Though the Fed chairman acknowledged that people in many countries were “understandably concerned” about pumping government money into the financial industry while often turning a cold shoulder to other sectors, he defended the effort as unpleasant but necessary.

“This disparate treatment, unappealing as it is, appears unavoidable,” he said. “Our economic system is critically dependent on the free flow of credit, and the consequences for the broader economy of financial instability are thus powerful and quickly felt.”

Indeed, Mr. Bernanke suggested that Mr. Obama might want to revive the original idea of the rescue plan to buy unsellable mortgage-backed securities and other illiquid assets. That idea was originally the centerpiece of the program as it was first promoted by the current Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr. Mr. Paulson abandoned the idea before getting started, arguing that it would be faster and more efficient to inject capital directly into the biggest banks and investment firms.

In a separate appearance on Tuesday in Washington, the Fed’s vice chairman, Donald L. Kohn, said that financial institutions were still “clogged” by hard-to-sell assets and still needed help.

Mr. Bernanke supported the efforts by Congress and President-elect Obama to put together a fiscal stimulus program worth roughly $800 billion over two years that would be weighted heavily toward big new spending on infrastructure projects, like bridges and schools, “green” energy projects, and expanded safety-net programs like unemployment benefits.

(Full story at nytimes.com)

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Last Shoe Dropping?

2009-01-13T01:10:00.003+08:00

January 12, 2009

Adding to Recession’s Pain, Thousands to Lose Jobless Benefits

Just as the recession is throwing people out of work at an alarming rate, the unemployment insurance system in New York and many other states will start cutting off benefits this week for thousands of people who have been unable to find jobs since early last year.

About 50,000 New Yorkers who had been collecting unemployment checks for 11 months — the longest stretch that benefits have been available since the last recession eight years ago — will stop receiving weekly payments this week, according to the State Labor Department.

In normal circumstances, people laid off from full-time jobs can collect benefits for up to 26 weeks, after which they fall off the rolls. But some of the people who will lose benefits this week have been on unemployment for 46 weeks because Congress approved extensions of jobless benefits twice last year.

This will be the first time since the early 1990s that workers are exhausting benefits that have been extended twice because of an economic downturn. The inability of those people to find work after so many months provides a stark reminder of the weakness of the job market, officials and experts say.

For many of those facing the loss of that lifeline, the next step may be welfare, experts say.

Julio Ponce, a 55-year-old chef, has been using his weekly $352 unemployment check to pay the rent on his apartment in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn since he lost his job at a center for the elderly more than a year ago. But he said he did not know how he would cover the $800 monthly rent after his unemployment benefits lapsed this week.

“No one is helping me,” said Mr. Ponce, who was faxing his résumé to hotels and restaurants from an employment office in Downtown Brooklyn on Thursday. “I’ve applied for public assistance, but I don’t think I’m going to get it.”

Extended benefits are also about to expire over the next week or two in Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and at least 20 other states, according to the National Employment Law Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for lower-wage workers. No official estimates exist for how many people would lose their benefits in those states, but experts said it was likely to exceed 200,000.

In Philadelphia, Tony Green, 38, said he was due to collect the last of his checks by Jan. 25. His twice-extended benefits have amounted to $470 a month after taxes, forcing him to give up a rented house in the Fox Chase section of the city and move with his two teenage children to a place in North Philadelphia that he described as “drug-infested and dirty.”

Mr. Green said he had sold his car and borrowed more than $10,000, mostly on “maxed-out” credit cards. He has been taking construction jobs to supplement his benefits, but said he feared the extra income would dry up as the economy contracted.

“People are really tapped out,” he said.

Unemployment insurance, a federal system that is administered by the states, was intended as a stopgap, half-year source of relief, not a long-term source of income. But last year, as the economy slumped and the unemployment rate rose, Congress approved two extensions of jobless benefits, one for 13 weeks and the second for up to 20 additional weeks. The national unemployment rate rose again in December to 7.2 percent, a 16-year high, the government reported Friday.

However,...

(full story at nytimes.com)

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You're The Man

2009-01-07T23:36:00.003+08:00

Mohd Abdul Wahid, Wan Ahmad Farid, Azharuddin

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Thank You America

2009-01-07T08:43:00.002+08:00

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Thank y'all for lettin us rape you! Y'all were great! We really appreciate it.

Y'all keep 'em commin, we'll keep dishin out crap. Tengkiu! Tengkiu! Tengkiu!

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Replies from Chrysler's Victims

2009-01-07T08:24:00.005+08:00

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Here are some.

(Source Chrysler Blog)

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Comments

Hey Crysler! You're not welcome. You took my hard earned tax dollars without congressional approval. This is not the time for a "thank you." This would be a good time for a refund...and an apology. http://rightklik.net
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:19 PM by RightKlik.net

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Mr. Nardelli,It takes a man with a whole lotta chutzpah to thank a person for investing in a company when they had zero voice in the matter.My elected representatives decided 'no'. The executive branch decided 'yes' through means that might be legal but frankly smell like rotten fish.You may certainly get my money this way, but you will never see a dime of my money voluntarily spent on any of your products.Brian DunbarNeenah, Wisconsin
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by bdunbar

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Mr Nardelli, Fire your PR and advertising teams and execs immediately. We the People did not want to see any more ads and money wasted on ads, be it from Chrysler, et al, or from your own pocket. You should have put up a website thanking the people and just submitted it to various online news aggregators for free. Once again, I am pained to see you are demonstrating a lack of common sense and fiscal responsibility. We supported the bailout of the car companies, even in the face of the horrendously mismanaged and secretive bailout of banks, and you stlil throw money away in the name of your company. Time to wake up. Sincerely, Matt and the rest of the Internet.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by dezmd

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I have to say this ad disappointed me. First of all, do you need to spend your precious dollars on expenisve newspaper space? Second of all, it's hard to say "America" is really responsible for granting the bridge loans. One survey said that 61% of Americans were against it. Congress was working against the will of the voters. Let me go through each of the three points: "Providing cars and trucks you want to buy, enjoy driving, and will want to buy again." Well, I wanted to buy a Stratus in 2004. I bought it and enjoy driving it. However, I would not buy a Chrysler again beacuse the new products are lower quality and less visually appealing than their predecessors. "Delivering products with the best quality and value in our Company's history." Based on what I've seen and heard, Chrysler vehicle quality is lower than it was a few years ago. "Improving fuel economy to support Americas energy security and environmental sustainability." Chrysler's current full-size and compact vehicles are LESS fuel efficient than they were in 2003. Chrysler built the cars of my dreams in the 1990s but the latest models are a real let down. Chrysler does not deserve aid until it can present compelling new-generation vehicles. Putting battery packs in the current models dosen't count.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by Mwhite

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Your resignation and the resignations of senior executives who have mismanaged the business would have been much more appropriate.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by California Initiative

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Dear Mr. Nardelli and the "over one million people who depend on Chrysler" - You've got some nerve to thank us for our forced "investment" when we didn't want it to happen in the first place. Isn't forced or coerced investment akin to robbery? Taking one's money against one's will? Hmmm . . . . The very thought that MY money is going to go to some union lackey's pockets just makes me queasy. You should've filed for bankruptcy just like any other business in your position would have to. And that would've given you the opportunity to unshackle yourselves from the ridiculous union contracts that you signed on to. You've got two major issues to fix: Unions and quality products. If you'd listen to your customers and NOT the media and marketing types, you'd fix your product issues. And the unions . . . sheesh, get out of that racket! Notice the plants in the South where unions aren't that prominent don't have the same issues as the ones up North? Let's see what happens when MY business tanks. Will YOU throw cash at me? I don't think so. So, in conclusion - to hell with you and your company. Any business that would go begging to the government for a handout has no shame, and deserves to fail. File for Bankruptcy, or crumble!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by Richard S.

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Mr. Home Depot has now shown that he can take extravagance to another extreme high. Why in the world are you thanking people that didn't want this. You need to spend the money you spent on this ad to bailout one of your line workers whose house is about to go into default. Pay it forward Nardelli we don't need to your hypocrisy!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by loco4obx

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I'm speechless. And I'm saddened that a corporate management team is so inept at understanding public opinion. Some advice: issue a press release stating that you regret that you made a mistake using taxpayers' money in this manner.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by beachwriter

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Bob Nardelli - thanking Americans for stealing their money is NOT something to boast about on your website. The American public DID speak when we choose to NOT buy your cars. Why not spend the money by showing us something compelling that people would "want" to buy. I have NEVER hear anyone excited about "buying a chrysler." You have no brand strength and this current "Thank You" ad will further your branding problems.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Alvin P. Sams

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My response to being forced to bail Chrysler out was to immediately purchase a FORD Focus and I will NEVER buy any car that Chrysler has anything to do with. This ad you ran "thanking" us was an example of you wasting OUR money.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by redwood tree

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Dear Chrysler, I'd like to thank you. You have now completely converted me to a 100% foreign car owner from this point forward. I was, emphasis on was, a proud owner of a 2006 Dodge Ram Quad-Cab 4X4 with a Hemi. As you are well aware it is among the more expensive models of vehicles you sell. After seeing the parent comapny of Dodge falter and beg for money from the US Tax payers, I am no longer proud to own this vehicle. In fact, I will finish paying off my loan and proceed to my nearest Mini Dealership or Nissan Dealership and buy my next car there when it comes time. Why? Not because I don't like the truck. I do not approve of the money that was given to you by our President. I do not approve of the slap in the face I felt when I read your ad. Why did you need to take a bail out? Poor management. This ad just goes to show that you and your company has not learned anything, and like the rest of the US I am upset. This opportunity was squandered, by you and your incompetance. For the sake of my tax dollars I hope you succeed with a restructure like the late 70s early 80s when you received your first bail-out. However, with the poor decisions of this ad I forsee a bad investment on the horizon by the US Government.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Jasen Hicks

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Obviously nothing has changed. Chrysler is still making stupid decisions by wasting its stolen taxpayer money on useless ads. I will never, ever even consider buying a Chrysler. Chrysler makes nothing but JUNK, and has rightfully earned its poor reputation. Mr. Nardelli, do yourself and Chrysler a favor and resign.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by BuyJapanese

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Thank You? Kiss mine you looters. I had ZERO choice in the matter. The money was taken from me by FORCE of GOVERNMENT and given to you. Ads like this reaffirm my decesion to buy a Honda last year. Bottom line Chrysler- I WILL NEVER BUY FROM A COMPANY THAT POINTS A GUN TO MY HEAD AND THEN SAYS THANKS. This ad infuraties me. Rot in hell scumbags.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 8:03 PM by Lede Agenda

(Read more comments from Chrysler Blog)

God Fearing People?

2009-01-02T05:34:00.011+08:00

January 2, 2009
For Afghans, a Price for Everything, and Anything for a Price
By DEXTER FILKINS

KABUL — When it comes to governing this violent, fractious land, everything, it seems, has its price.

Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000.

Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban.

Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge.

“It is very shameful, but probably I will pay the bribe,” Mohammed Naim, a young English teacher, said as he stood in front of the Secondary Courthouse in Kabul. His brother had been arrested a week before, and the police were demanding $4,000 for his release. “Everything is possible in this country now. Everything.”

Kept afloat by billions of dollars in American and other foreign aid, the government of Afghanistan is shot through with corruption and graft. From the lowliest traffic cop to the family of President Hamid Karzai himself, the state built on the ruins of the Taliban regime seven years ago now often seems to exist for little more than the enrichment of those who run it.

A raft of investigations has concluded that people at the highest levels of the Karzai administration, including President Karzai’s own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, are cooperating in the country’s opium trade, now the world’s largest. In the streets and government offices, hardly a public transaction seems to unfold here that does not carry with it the requirement of a bribe, a gift, or, in case you are a beggar, “harchee” — whatever you have in your pocket.

The corruption, publicly acknowledged by President Karzai, is contributing to the collapse of public confidence in his government and to the dramatic resurgence of the Taliban, whose fighters have moved to the outskirts of the capital.

“All the politicians in this country have acquired everything — money, lots of money,” President Karzai said in a speech at a rural development conference here last month. “God knows, it is beyond the limit. The banks of the world are full of the money of our statesmen.”

The decay of the Afghan government presents President-elect...

(Full story at nytimes.com)

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Twenty O' Nine !

2009-01-01T07:28:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year!!!

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Sarong Party?

2008-12-30T00:02:00.006+08:00

(news from thestar online. Picture from Wikipedia)

America Hooked on Drugs

2008-12-27T00:10:00.006+08:00

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December 26, 2008

Chinese Savings Helped Inflate American Bubble
By MARK LANDLER

“Usually it’s the rich country lending to the poor. This time, it’s the poor country lending to the rich.”

— Niall Ferguson

WASHINGTON — In March 2005, a low-key Princeton economist who had become a Federal Reserve governor coined a novel theory to explain the growing tendency of Americans to borrow from foreigners, particularly the Chinese, to finance their heavy spending.

The problem, he said, was not that Americans spend too much, but that foreigners save too much. The Chinese have piled up so much excess savings that they lend money to the United States at low rates, underwriting American consumption.

This colossal credit cycle could not last forever, he said. But in a global economy, the transfer of Chinese money to America was a market phenomenon that would take years, even a decade, to work itself out. For now, he said, “we probably have little choice except to be patient.”

Today, the dependence of the United States on Chinese money looks less benign. And the economist who proposed the theory, Ben S. Bernanke, is dealing with the consequences, having been promoted to chairman of the Fed in 2006, as these cross-border money flows were reaching stratospheric levels.

In the past decade, China has invested upward of $1 trillion, mostly earnings from manufacturing exports, into American government bonds and government-backed mortgage debt. That has lowered interest rates and helped fuel a historic consumption binge and housing bubble in the United States.

China, some economists say, lulled American consumers, and their leaders, into complacency about their spendthrift ways.

“This was a blinking red light,” said Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics at Harvard and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “We should have reacted to it.”

In hindsight, many economists say, the United States should have recognized that borrowing from abroad for consumption and deficit spending at home was not a formula for economic success. Even as that weakness is becoming more widely recognized, however, the United States is likely to be more addicted than ever to foreign creditors to finance record government spending to revive the broken economy.

To be sure, there were few ready remedies. Some critics argue that the United States could have pushed Beijing harder to abandon its policy of keeping the value of its currency weak — a policy that made its exports less expensive and helped turn it into the world’s leading manufacturing power. If China had allowed its currency to float according to market demand in the past decade, its export growth probably would have moderated. And it would not have acquired the same vast hoard of dollars to invest abroad.

Others say the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department should have seen the Chinese lending for what it was: a giant stimulus to the American economy, not unlike interest rate cuts by the Fed. These critics say the Fed under Alan Greenspan contributed to the creation of the housing bubble by leaving interest rates too low for too long, even as Chinese investment further stoked an easy-money economy. The Fed should have cut interest rates less in the middle of this decade, they say, and started raising them sooner, to help reduce speculation in real estate.

Today, with the wreckage around him, Mr. Bernanke said he regretted that more was not done to regulate financial institutions and mortgage providers, which might have prevented the flood of investment, including that from China, from being so badly used. But the Fed’s role in regulation is limited to banks. And stricter regulation by itself would not have been enough, he insisted.

“Achieving a better balance of international capital flows early on could have significantly reduced the risks to the financial system,” Mr. Bernanke said in an interview in his office overlooking the Washington Mall.

“However,” he continued, “this could only have been done through international cooperation, not by the United States alone. The problem was recognized, but sufficient international cooperation was not forthcoming.”

The inaction was because of a range of factors, political and economic. By the yardsticks that appeared to matter most — prosperity and growth — the relationship between China and the United States also seemed to be paying off for both countries. Neither had a strong incentive to break an addiction: China to strong export growth and financial stability; the United States to cheap imports and low-cost foreign loans.

In Washington, China was treated as a threat by some people, but mostly because it lured away manufacturing jobs. Others argued that China’s heavy lending to this country was risky because Chinese leaders could decide to withdraw money at a moment’s notice, creating a panicky run on the dollar.

Mr. Bernanke viewed such international investment flows through a different lens. He argued that Chinese invested savings abroad because consumers in China did not have enough confidence to spend. Changing that situation would take years, and did not amount to a pressing problem for the Americans.

“The global savings glut story did us a collective disservice,” said Edwin M. Truman, a former Fed and Treasury official. “It created the idea that the world was doing it to us and we couldn’t do anything about it.”

But Mr. Bernanke’s theory fit the prevailing hands-off, pro-market ideology of recent years. Mr. Greenspan and the Bush administration treated the record American trade deficit and heavy foreign borrowing as an abstract threat, not an urgent problem.

Mr. Bernanke, after he took charge of the Fed, warned that the imbalances between the countries were growing more serious. By then, however, it was too late to do much about them. And the White House still regarded imbalances as an arcane subject best left to economists.

By itself, money from China is not a bad thing. As American officials like to note, it speaks to the attractiveness of the United States as a destination for foreign investment. In the 19th century, the United States built its railroads with capital borrowed from the British.

In the past decade, China arguably enabled an American boom. Low-cost Chinese goods helped keep a lid on inflation, while the flood of Chinese investment helped the government finance mortgages and a public debt of close to $11 trillion.

But Americans did not use the lower-cost money afforded by Chinese investment to build a 21st-century equivalent of the railroads. Instead, the government engaged in a costly war in Iraq, and consumers used loose credit to buy sport utility vehicles and larger homes. Banks and investors, eagerly seeking higher interest rates in this easy-money environment, created risky new securities like collateralized debt obligations.

“Nobody wanted to get off this drug,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who pushed legislation to punish China by imposing stiff tariffs. “Their drug was an endless line of customers for made-in-China products. Our drug was the Chinese products and cash.”

Mr. Graham said he understood the addiction: he was speaking by phone from a Wal-Mart store in Anderson, S.C., where he was Christmas shopping in aisles lined with items from China.

A New Economic Dance

The United States has been here before. In the 1980s, it ran heavy trade deficits with Japan, which...

...

An Embrace That Won’t Let Go

For China, too, this crisis has been a time of reckoning. Americans are buying fewer Chinese DVD players and microwave ovens. Trade is collapsing, and thousands of workers are losing their jobs. Chinese leaders are terrified of social unrest.

Having allowed the renminbi to rise a little after 2005, the Chinese government is now under intense pressure domestically to reverse course and depreciate it. China’s fortunes remain tethered to those of the United States. And the reverse is equally true.

In a glassed-in room in a nondescript office building in Washington, the Treasury conducts nearly daily auctions of billions of dollars’ worth of government bonds. An old Army helmet sits on a shelf: as a lark, Treasury officials have been known to strap it on while they monitor incoming bids.

For the past five years, China has been one of the most prolific bidders. It holds $652 billion in Treasury debt, up from $459 billion a year ago. Add in its Fannie Mae bonds and other holdings, and analysts figure China owns $1 of every $10 of America’s public debt.

The Treasury is conducting more auctions than ever to finance its $700 billion bailout of the banks. Still more will be needed to pay for the incoming Obama administration’s stimulus package. The United States, economists say, will depend on the Chinese to keep buying that debt, perpetuating the American habit.

Even so, Mr. Paulson said he viewed the debate over global imbalances as hopelessly academic. He expressed doubt that Mr. Bernanke or anyone else could have solved the problem as it was germinating.

“One lesson that I have clearly learned,” said Mr. Paulson, sitting beneath his Chinese watercolor. “You don’t get dramatic change, or reform, or action unless there is a crisis.”

(complete story at nytimes.com)

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One Cock Color

2008-12-21T23:13:00.002+08:00

IS there any difference between Madoff's 50 Billion Dollar Ponzi scheme and the Trillion Dollar Wall Steet Robbery ? This Nobel Laureate thinks they are pretty much "One Cock Color"!

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December 19, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist

The Madoff Economy
By PAUL KRUGMAN

The revelation that Bernard Madoff — brilliant investor (or so almost everyone thought), philanthropist, pillar of the community — was a phony has shocked the world, and understandably so. The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.

Yet surely I’m not the only person to ask the obvious question: How different, really, is Mr. Madoff’s tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?

The financial services industry has claimed an ever-growing share of the nation’s income over the past generation, making the people who run the industry incredibly rich. Yet, at this point, it looks as if much of the industry has been destroying value, not creating it. And it’s not just a matter of money: the vast riches achieved by those who managed other people’s money have had a corrupting effect on our society as a whole.

Let’s start with those paychecks. Last year, the average salary of employees in “securities, commodity contracts, and investments” was more than four times the average salary in the rest of the economy. Earning a million dollars was nothing special, and even incomes of $20 million or more were fairly common. The incomes of the richest Americans have exploded over the past generation, even as wages of ordinary workers have stagnated; high pay on Wall Street was a major cause of that divergence.

But surely those financial superstars must have been earning their millions, right? No, not necessarily. The pay system on Wall Street lavishly rewards the appearance of profit, even if that appearance later turns out to have been an illusion.

Consider the hypothetical example of a money manager who leverages up his clients’ money with lots of debt, then invests the bulked-up total in high-yielding but risky assets, such as dubious mortgage-backed securities. For a while — say, as long as a housing bubble continues to inflate — he (it’s almost always a he) will make big profits and receive big bonuses. Then, when the bubble bursts and his investments turn into toxic waste, his investors will lose big — but he’ll keep those bonuses.

O.K., maybe my example wasn’t hypothetical after all.

So, how different is what Wall Street in general did from the Madoff affair? Well, Mr. Madoff allegedly skipped a few steps, simply stealing his clients’ money rather than collecting big fees while exposing investors to risks they didn’t understand. And while Mr. Madoff was apparently a self-conscious fraud, many people on Wall Street believed their own hype. Still, the end result was the same (except for the house arrest): the money managers got rich; the investors saw their money disappear.

We’re talking about a lot of money here. In recent years the finance sector accounted for 8 percent of America’s G.D.P., up from less than 5 percent a generation earlier. If that extra 3 percent was money for nothing — and it probably was — we’re talking about $400 billion a year in waste, fraud and abuse.

But the costs of America’s Ponzi era surely went beyond the direct waste of dollars and cents.

At the crudest level, Wall Street’s ill-gotten gains corrupted and continue to corrupt politics, in a nicely bipartisan way. From Bush administration officials like Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who looked the other way as evidence of financial fraud mounted, to Democrats who still haven’t closed the outrageous tax loophole that benefits executives at hedge funds and private equity firms (hello, Senator Schumer), politicians have walked when money talked.

Meanwhile, how much has our nation’s future been damaged by the magnetic pull of quick personal wealth, which for years has drawn many of our best and brightest young people into investment banking, at the expense of science, public service and just about everything else?

Most of all, the vast riches being earned — or maybe that should be “earned” — in our bloated financial industry undermined our sense of reality and degraded our judgment.

Think of the way almost everyone important missed the warning signs of an impending crisis. How was that possible? How, for example, could Alan Greenspan have declared, just a few years ago, that “the financial system as a whole has become more resilient” — thanks to derivatives, no less? The answer, I believe, is that there’s an innate tendency on the part of even the elite to idolize men who are making a lot of money, and assume that they know what they’re doing.

After all, that’s why so many people trusted Mr. Madoff.

Now, as we survey the wreckage and try to understand how things can have gone so wrong, so fast, the answer is actually quite simple: What we’re looking at now are the consequences of a world gone Madoff.

(Source: nytimes.com)

==================================

Recession Hits Sinkapor

2008-12-19T09:27:00.004+08:00

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Rolex appeal fades as recession blues hit Singapore
By Melanie Lee Melanie Lee
Tue Dec 16, 2:05 am ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) – Suffering from recession blues and looking to offload that new Rolex watch?

Don't turn to us, say second-hand luxury stores in Singapore, who are being swamped with requests from people desperate to sell their luxury goods.

Traditionally resilient during times of economic downturn, more than 70 second hand shops in the city-state are feeling the chill of recession, as the appetite for expensive goods has fallen sharply despite big discounts.

"Rolex prices have been like a reliable currency in the past, but there are signs that even Rolex is hit by this recession wave," said Ngo Han, an avid watch collector.

"New Rolexes are selling at much lower prices than before and that has trickled down to the second-hand market," Ngo said.

Home to the highest density of millionaires in the world, Singapore is a wealth management center and a shopping destination for the region's wealthy.

UNAFFORDABLE LUXURIES

Second-hand stores that stock luxury goods, such as brand name bags and flatscreen televisions, experienced a boom in the past few years, as rising incomes and the need to upgrade to keep up with fast-changing fashions created a fertile secondary market for designer wares.

But with the city-state becoming the first Asian country to slip into recession this year, customers are changing their habits.

Where once they would have bought Rolexes or Patek Philippes that can cost over S$10,000, (about $6,775), they now opt for models that cost under S$5,000, (about $3,390), shop owners said.

"Business has gone down about 20 to 30 percent. The interest to buy watches is still there, but whether people can afford to buy is another thing," said Alvin Lye of Monster-Time.

His online store, http://www.monster-time.com, carries second hand watches from Breitling, Audemars Piguet, Cartier and Longines.

During lunch hour in Singapore's financial district, people fill up May Fong's second-hand luxury bag store, but few are buying, even with many of the bags going at a 50 percent discount.

"There is definitely a drop in business. People are more conscious (of their) spending, even if it's a bargain," Fong said.

TEMPORARY SETBACKS?

Shops that rent, rather than sell, designer goods, are however reporting a spike in rentals despite the recession, suggesting some locals are still keen to get glamorous goods, albeit temporarily.

"New bags are leased out within seconds (of being) posted on the website," ex-policeman Tan Ho Ching, who rents out designer bags for about S$125 a week via his online store http://www.thatbagiwant.com, told local press on Sunday.

The recession's impact on workers whose salaries are commission-based, such as property agents, could be a likely explanation for the drop-off in sales.

"These people tend to earn much more during the boom times, and they are also likely to make up a significant portion of the consumers for these luxury goods," said Alvin Liew, an economist with Standard Chartered in Singapore.

However, some watch enthusiasts said they were holding onto their horological investments, keen to turn a profit once the recession lifts.

A recent Reuters poll said Singapore would be the worst performing emerging Asian economy next year, but would see a recovery together with the rest of the region in 2010 [ID:nHKG10473].

"Watches are better to keep and are better than cash in a recession. They won't drop in value, and after a recession, the value is still there or more," said collector Yeo on online watch forum http://www.swx.com.sg.

(source: yahoo! news)

tOXIC sTORY mADE eASY

2008-12-17T00:01:00.000+08:00

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A couple of simplified visual presentations of the toxic debt story.

The Mortgage Banking Meltdown

Understanding the financial crisis

Stock Trader Tokking Kok

2008-12-16T16:01:00.002+08:00

"Trading For A Living"

Bush Eat Shoes

2008-12-16T02:01:00.006+08:00

Bush received a farewell gift from the Iraqi people.

nytimes.com

"the American Dream"

2008-12-15T01:09:00.002+08:00

George Carlin on "the American Dream"

==============================================

Mysterious Symbols - Denver International Airport

2008-12-10T03:44:00.006+08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Right to Humour

2008-12-03T04:50:00.007+08:00

Sarkozy voodoo doll wins 'right to humor' in court

Friday, November 28, 2008
PARIS: Amid deepening economic gloom, the tale of the voodoo doll of Nicolas Sarkozy has provided some needed light relief for the French.

Twice, the French president asked the courts to ban the sale of a figurine made in his image. On Friday, an appeals court dealt him the latest rebuff: not only can the doll remain on sale, but the judges ordered that it be sold with a bright-red banner on the packaging entitled "Judicial Injunction" and a warning that sticking needles into the doll affronts Sarkozy's dignity.

So far, Sarkozy's actions in court have had the apparently unintended consequence of turning the voodoo doll into something of a cult item. The actions Friday may give another boost to its popularity.

The doll's light-blue body, which comes with a set of 12 needles and a manual explaining how to put a curse on the president, also features some of Sarkozy's best-known quotes and gaffes: "Work more to earn more" reads one quote, a slogan from Sarkozy's presidential campaign. "Get lost, you poor jerk," reads another, a swipe Sarkozy took at a bystander at a farm fair who refused to shake his hand.

In keeping with the often meticulous nature of French officialdom, the ruling Friday was very specific. The distributor of the dolls, K&B Editions, was ordered to write the notice that will be distributed with the doll in black block-lettering and it must say exactly this: "It was ruled that the encouragement of the reader to poke the doll that comes with the needles in the kit, an activity whose subtext is physical harm, even if it is symbolic, constitutes an attack on the dignity of the person of Mr. Sarkozy."

The court also awarded the president a symbolic euro in damages and ordered K&B Editions to pay the equivalent of about $2,000 in legal costs.

But the court also stuck to the initial ruling by a lower court last month: "The demanded ban is disproportionate," the judges ruled, "in that it is a measure that would compromise freedom of expression." The earlier ruling had already argued that the case fell under what it dubbed "the right to humor."

Thierry Herzog, a lawyer for Sarkozy, appeared to indicate on Friday that the president was satisfied with the ruling and that he would not appeal a second time. "The important thing is that consistent principles and jurisprudence should be applied," Herzog said.

In asking for a ban, Herzog had argued that the president owns the right to his image and that the doll could provoke violence against him. It was Sarkozy's sixth lawsuit this year, and the first time that a sitting French president has lost a court case dealing with the country's strict privacy laws.

Sarkozy is not the only public person whose voodoo doll is on sale. K&B Editions has sold similar figurines in the image of Ségolène Royal, Sarkozy's Socialist rival for the presidency last year. Other dolls represent President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton.

According to K&B Editions, the initial 20,000 Sarkozy dolls that went on sale on Oct. 9 sold out by Oct. 28. Another 20,000 will be delivered to newsagents from mid-December, this time with the court-ordered label.

iht.com

Black Friday

2008-11-28T15:05:00.000+08:00

November 28, 2008
Retailers Offer Big Discounts, and Then Pray

Black Friday, long the Super Bowl of shopping, is at hand, but it may have become nearly irrelevant. Check out the deals that were already on offer earlier this week:

Diamond earrings at Macy’s were chopped to $249 from $700. A Marc Jacobs bag at Saks, originally $995, fell to $248.45. And for men, a Ted Baker suit at Lord & Taylor was selling not for the usual $895, but for $399.99.

Such crazy prices are a sign of the times, and analysts expect many more such deals during one of the toughest holiday seasons in decades.

Laden with excess inventory, hungry for sales and worried because of five fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, the nation’s retailers went into a price-cutting frenzy long before the day after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season. For weeks, they have been trying to outdo one another to capture the attention of consumers who have become numb to run-of-the-mill discounts. As the latest T. J. Maxx slogan goes: “Every day is Black Friday.”

In fact, retailers have had so many early “doorbusters” — jaw-dropping deals usually reserved for Black Friday — that “it’s almost not necessary to get up at 5 in the morning,” said Bill Dreher, a senior retailing analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities.

But the retailers are just getting warmed up.

The Toys “R” Us chain is planning the deepest discounts in its history on Friday, with 50 percent more doorbusters than last year. Other retailers are promising that their deals will be even more striking than the sales they have already unveiled — with Wal-Mart, for instance, promising large flat-panel televisions for less than $400.

Such bargains are likely to set the tone for the shopping season to come.

“There’s no reason to suspect this will end,” said Dan de Grandpre, editor in chief of Dealnews.com, which has been tracking Black Friday deals for about a decade. “This kind of heavy discounting will continue until we see some retailers start to fail, until they start to go out of business.”

Indeed, the intense competition could erode profits at many chains. Some retailing analysts even fear it could condition consumers to shop only when merchandise is deeply discounted.

Still, stores plan to pull out all the stops on Friday and through the weekend. After all, November and December sales make up 25 to 40 percent of many retailers’ annual sales, according to the National Retail Federation, an industry group. (The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because it was, historically, the day that many retailers moved into the black, or became profitable for the year.)

The deals were laid out in circulars tucked into newspapers on Thanksgiving Day, on retailers’ Web sites and on sites dedicated to sales and shopping strategies, like bfads.net and gottadeal.com. Many stores planned to open just after midnight Friday morning, and others — including Wal-Mart, Sears, Macy’s, Best Buy, Circuit City, Toys “R” Us and Old Navy — set their openings for 5 a.m. Target will open at 6 a.m. and BJ’s Wholesale Club at 7 a.m.

Consumers have been resisting the stores’ entreaties. In the first two weeks of November, retail categories like apparel, luxury goods and electronics and appliances all had double-digit sales declines, according to SpendingPulse sales reports from MasterCard. Grocers are just about the only stores doing well in this economy, as people hole up and eat at home instead of going to restaurants.

“If you’re in a sector that doesn’t sell food, you’re under a lot of pressure,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of SpendingPulse.

Projections vary about the likely success of this year’s Black Friday and the days following. A National Retail Federation survey said fewer people planned to shop this weekend — as many as 128 million, down from about 135 million who said they planned to shop Thanksgiving weekend sales last year. But a survey from the International Council of Shopping Centers found the opposite, that more people plan to shop this year.

Retailers are hoping for the best.

“This year I expect it to be bigger than ever,” said Gerald L. Storch, chairman and chief executive of Toys “R” Us. Citing the down economy, he explained: “I believe it will be huge because Black Friday is all about bargains.” ...

(Full story at nytimes.com)

Stop whining, make whoopee!

2008-11-27T01:38:00.007+08:00

Pastor’s Advice for Better Marriage: More Sex

GRAPEVINE, Tex. — And on the seventh day, there was no rest for married couples. A week after the Rev. Ed Young challenged husbands and wives among his flock of 20,000 to strengthen their unions through Seven Days of Sex, his advice was — keep it going.

Mr. Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.

“Today we’re beginning this sexperiment, seven days of sex,” he said, with his characteristic mix of humor, showmanship and Scripture. “How to move from whining about the economy to whoopee!”

On Sunday parishioners at the Grapevine branch watched a prerecorded sermon from Mr. Young and his wife, Lisa, on jumbo screens over a candlelit stage. “I know there’s been a lot of love going around this week, among the married couples,” one of the church musicians said, strumming on a guitar before a crowd of about 3,000.

Mrs. Young, dressed in knee-high black boots and jeans, said that after a week of having sex every day, or close to it, “some of us are smiling.” For others grappling with infidelities, addictions to pornography or other bitter hurts, “there’s been some pain; hopefully there’s been some forgiveness, too.”

Mr. Young advised the couples to “keep on doing what you’ve been doing this week. We should try to double up the amount of intimacy we have in marriage. And when I say intimacy, I don’t mean holding hands in the park or a back rub.”...

(Full story at nytimes.com)

===============================================

Let's Get Physical...

2008-11-26T00:56:00.004+08:00

... to win back our man from China Mei Mei!

Photo borrowed from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images

==============================

This could be the next craze after Yoga

2008-11-25T02:54:00.013+08:00

http://theyogainstructordiaries.blogspot.com/

As a result of the recent Fatwa, livelihood of many people in the Yoga business will be affected. One of them is Ninie Ahmad, a prominent Yoga instructor in Malaysia. She will now have to either change job or teach Yoga in another country.

Oni thinks Ninie should change job. Ninie might want to consider teaching i-Yoyo from now on instead of Yoga. i-Yoyo is originated from Obamaland and it has no historical link to Hinduism. There is currently no Fatwa against i-Yoyo.

=====================================

Fatwa2U

2008-11-24T01:15:00.007+08:00

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/22/malaysia.yoga.banned.ap/index.html

http://www.ppis-ywma.com/

==========================================

Bad Old Days

2008-11-20T23:38:00.007+08:00

In the bad old days, doctors, dentists, ... and even Santa endorse cigarette smoking.

What's "professional ethics" by-the-way?

These ads are from the 40's and 50's

Bad Time

2008-11-20T01:08:00.002+08:00

November 19, 2008
A Sea of Unwanted Imports
By MATT RICHTEL

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Gleaming new Mercedes cars roll one by one out of a huge container ship here and onto a pier. Ordinarily the cars would be loaded on trucks within hours, destined for dealerships around the country. But these are not ordinary times.

For now, the port itself is the destination. Unwelcome by dealers and buyers, thousands of cars worth tens of millions of dollars are being warehoused on increasingly crowded port property.

And for the first time, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, and Nissan have each asked to lease space from the port for these orphan vehicles. They are turning dozens of acres of the nation’s second-largest container port into a parking lot, creating a vivid picture of a paralyzed auto business and an economy in peril.

“This is one way to look at the economy,” Art Wong, a spokesman for the port, said of the cars. “And it scares you to death.”

The backlog at the port is just part of a broader rise in the nation’s inventories, which were up 5.5 percent in September from a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department. The car industry has been hurt particularly, with sales down nearly 15 percent this year. General Motors has said it would run out of operating cash by the end of the year if it does not receive a government bailout.

But the inventory glut in Long Beach is not limited to imported cars. There has also been a sharp drop in demand for the port’s single largest export: recycled cardboard and paper products.

This material typically goes to China, where it is used to make boxes for new electronics and other products that are sent back to the United States. But Chinese factories reacting to sharply falling demand are slowing production, so they need less cardboard. Tons of paper are piling up recycling businesses around the port, the detritus of economies on hold.

Long Beach is an important port, particularly for the West. It is where imported products arrive and...

(full story at nytimes.com)

Confusing Signals

2008-11-17T22:19:00.003+08:00

This is damn confusing. Really "catch no balls"!

=================================

Immelt’s GE Purchases Signal Sell as Insiders Buy
By Eric Martin and Michael Tsang

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt and Citigroup Inc.‘s Vikram Pandit are back to buying their own companies’ shares. That means there may be more stock declines to come. (Oni: Huh!?? WTF does this mean?)

CEOs, directors and other senior officers at New York Stock Exchange-listed companies purchased $1.37 billion worth of equities in October, according to Bethesda, Maryland-based research firm Washington Service. They snapped them up as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 17 percent, the most since 1987.

Insider buying, a bullish signal for two decades, lost its prescience this year and now may be a harbinger of a retreat in shares because it signals overconfidence, (Oni: sometimes it signals bullishness, sometimes it's just sign of overconfidence. It's fcuking confusing!?). according to Ben Silverman, director of research at InsiderScore.com, a stock tracking firm in Princeton, New Jersey. The last time officers bought as much was in March 2008, preceding a drop in the S&P 500 a month later, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“Everyone’s drinking the Kool-Aid,” said Michael Levine, a money manager at New York-based OppenheimerFunds Inc., which oversees $160 billion. “These guys know their companies better than the market, so they think they’ll be right. But the economic slowdown has happened much more quickly and has been much deeper than people expected.”

Insiders stepped up purchases in the past four months, buying $57 worth of shares for every $100 sold in October, from a low of $21 bought in June. The last time the amount of buying increased as much was in March, when executives bought $62 of shares for every $100 they sold.

False Starts

Futures on the S&P 500 lost 0.6 percent today. The gauge gained 7.9 percent from the end of March to 1,426.63 on May 19, before giving up the entire advance the next month. The index has dropped 44 percent since reaching a record in October 2007 as signs of a recession increased and banks lost almost $1 trillion on mortgage-related investments.

Insiders scooped up $2.15 billion of stock in August 2007 as S&P 500 companies reported record quarterly profits. Executives at financial firms such as Wachovia Corp. Chairman Lanty Smith and Washington Mutual Inc. director Michael Murphy accounted for a third of purchases after industry profits reached an all-time high. The S&P 500 rose 6.2 percent from the end of the month until the start of the bear market in October.

“Recent history isn’t on their side,” said Silverman, whose firm tracks insider transactions for more than 325 institutional investors. “We saw in financials last year people fooled by their own imagination. Whether it was hubris or being too close, not being able to see the forest for the trees.”

Best Buy

The S&P 500 lost 6.2 percent last week, dragged down in part by a 14 percent plunge in Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics retailer. The Richfield, Minnesota-based company said last week that profit and sales will fall more than analysts forecast. Founder Richard Schulze bought 1.76 million shares three weeks before the announcement. The purchases were his first in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

A phone message left for Best Buy spokeswoman Susan Busch wasn’t returned.

GE’s Immelt purchased 50,000 shares at prices from $16.41 to $16.45 on Nov. 13, the same day the stock dipped below $15 for the first time since 1996.

Immelt, who took over on Sept. 7, 2001, bought GE stock after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington four days later. The 52-year-old executive works without a contract and has always exceeded a requirement that he hold shares valued at least six times his salary. With his most recent purchase, Immelt now owns more than 1.62 million GE shares, based on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Immelt’s Confidence

Immelt’s purchase “reflects his confidence in the company,” said Gary Sheffer, a spokesman for the Fairfield, Connecticut- based company.

Pandit, 51, bought 750,000 common shares on Nov. 13, paying an average of about $9.25 apiece, New York-based Citigroup said in a filing with the SEC. He also bought 100,000 preferred shares. In all, he spent about $8.4 million. Citigroup closed last week at $9.52.

“The purchases reflect the belief in the long-term strength and growth opportunities of the company,” said Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta.

Nine officers and two directors at Consolidated Edison Inc., including Chief Financial Officer Robert Hoglund, bought the stock at $42.79 on Oct. 3. One month later, the owner of New York City’s biggest utility said third-quarter profit fell 42 percent, more than analysts estimated, on higher operating costs and taxes. The stock dropped 9.2 percent since their purchases.

The Consolidated Edison executives weren’t available to comment, a spokesman for the New York-based company said.

Buy Signals

In the past, insider purchases were a reliable indicator for investors looking to buy. Between 1988 and 2007, executives at NYSE-listed companies were net buyers on eight occasions, monthly data compiled by Washington Service show. In every case, the S&P 500 rallied in the following 12 months, posting an average advance of 21 percent.

Penn Capital Management’s Eric Green still considers buying by company executives to be bullish, especially when U.S. stocks are trading at historic lows relative to profits.

The S&P 500 fetches 9.96 times next year’s estimated earnings from continuing operations, compared with the weekly average of 21.1 times historical operating profit over the past decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“It’s always bullish when the insiders are buying because they believe in the fundamentals of the company and think the valuations make no sense,” said Green, director of research at Penn Capital Management in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which oversees $3 billion. “This market could go up very, very quickly, and if you’re not in it you’ll miss it.”

Worsening Fundamentals

So far, fundamentals such as earnings have dropped along with stocks. Profits at S&P 500 companies declined for five straight quarters, the most since 2001. One-third of companies, including Burbank, California-based Walt Disney Co. and Seattle- based Starbucks Corp., missed analysts’ estimates for third- quarter earnings -- the biggest shortfall since 1997, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

“If you’re a company insider, you may not fully appreciate the economic wreckage going on worldwide,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago, who helps manage about $60 billion. “From the inside out, the company looks a lot more solid than from the outside in.”

(Source: Bloomberg)

Enter The Dragon

2008-11-10T09:04:00.003+08:00

China has just announced a HUGH fiscal stimulus plan. $586 Billion is to be spent between now and 2010 on infrastructure and social development. The size of this stimulus plan is about one fifth of China's GDP. Wow!

November 10, 2008
China Unveils $586 Billion Economic Stimulus Plan
By DAVID BARBOZA

SHANGHAI — China on Sunday announced a huge economic stimulus package aimed at bolstering its weakening economy and perhaps helping fight the effects of a global economic slowdown.

In a sweeping move at a time when major projects are being put off around the world, Beijing said it would spend an estimated $586 billion by 2010 on wide array of national infrastructure and social welfare projects, including constructing new railways, subways, airports and rebuilding communities devastated by an earthquake in southwest China in May.

The package, announced by the State Council Sunday evening, is the largest economic stimulus effort ever undertaken by the Chinese government and would amount to about 7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product during each of the next two years.

Beijing also said it was loosening credit and encouraging lending as part of a more “pro-active fiscal policy.”

“Over the past two months, the global financial crisis has been intensifying daily,” the State Council said in its statement. “In expanding investment, we must be fast and heavy-handed.”

The stimulus plan would be enormous for any country, let alone one whose gross domestic product is lower than most other major industrialized countries, at around $3.5 trillion this year. Earlier this year, the United States Congress passed a $700 billion bailout package in a country with an economy whose size is close to $14 trillion.

The announcement came less than a week before President Hu Jintao is scheduled to travel to Washington for a global economic summit meeting that will be attended by world leaders and hosted by President Bush. There, China is expected to be pressed by world leaders to do its part to help strengthen the global economy in the face of what some economists say is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

But Beijing has already indicated that it intends to help stabilize the global economy by looking inward, and helping keep the world¡¯s fastest-growing economy on track.

At a weekend meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers in Sao Paolo, Brazil, the head of China’s Central Bank, Zhou Xiaochuan, said China can help stabilize international markets by encouraging consumption at home.

And on Saturday, Chinese President Hu spoke by telephone with President-elect Barack Obama about a range of issues, including the global financial crisis and how the two countries might cooperate to help resolve economic problems, according to China’s state-run news media.

Beijing is already struggling to cope with a rapidly slowing economy at home.

After five years of growth in excess of 10 percent, China’s economy is beginning to weaken because of slowing export and investment growth, waning consumer confidence and severely depressed stock and property markets.

The downturn in investment and exports has led to factory closures in southern China, triggering mass layoffs and even sporadic protests by workers who have complained that owners disappeared without paying them their wages.

With many economists in China now projecting that growth in the fourth quarter of this year could be as low as 5.8 percent, and worries that China’s economic miracle could be walloped by the global financial crisis, Beijing is moving aggressively.

While it is unclear how much of the stimulus money is additional government spending, on top of what the government normally earmarks for its infrastructure projects, the government made clear it was aimed at propelling growth for the next two and a quarter years.

Analysts were expecting China to announce a big stimulus package but say they were surprised at the size of it.

“That is much more aggressive than I expected,” said Frank Gong, a Hong Kong based economist at J.P. Morgan. “That’s a lot of money to spend.”

Mr. Gong said that after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Beijing undertook a similar, but much smaller, stimulus package, earmarking huge sums to build the country’s massive highway and toll road system, which helped keep the economy growing.

Arthur Kroeber, managing director at Dragonomics, a Beijing-based economic research firm, said the government is concerned because people in China have suddenly pulled back on spending as a precautionary move because of worries about China suffering with the global economy.

“The government is sending a signal saying: ‘We’re going to spend in a big way,’ ” Mr. Kroeber said late Sunday in a telephone interview. “This is designed to say to the market that people should not panic.”

(nytimes.com)

I, too, sing America

2008-11-06T01:12:00.008+08:00

"I, too"

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes.
But I laugh
And eat well
And grow strong.

Tomorrow
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody ‘ll dare
Say to me
“Eat in the Kitchen,”
Then.

Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed -

I, too, am America.

- Langston Hughes

An Historic Election

2008-11-06T01:10:00.002+08:00

Subprime Hit Vatican

2008-11-05T03:34:00.003+08:00

Vatican, Hit By Crisis, Leads Crackdown on `Slackers'

By Flavia Krause-Jackson

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time in almost half a century, Vatican administration staff will clock in for work as part of a clampdown on slackers, a sign that the global financial crisis has also spread to the world's smallest state.

Timekeeping was scrapped in 1960 under Pope John XXIII. Starting Jan. 1, the practice returns. All Holy See employees will be given magnetic badges and forced to clock in and out in an effort to track their movements and ensure they're working a full day, said a Vatican spokesman who declined to be named.

``We can't afford any waste,'' Bishop Renato Boccardo, secretary of the Governatorate of Vatican City State, told La Stampa newspaper. ``There is a lot of work that needs doing, and the financial situation doesn't allow us to hire more staff.'' A spokesman confirmed the comments today.

The Vatican, located across Rome's Tiber River and home to Pope Benedict XVI, relies on earnings from $1 billion in stocks, bonds and real estate to top up donations from Catholics around the world. While the Holy See benefited in the 1990s from booming stock markets and a strong dollar, it plunged into the red in 2003 and again in 2007 because of the U.S. currency's tumble. The financial turmoil is now taking its toll as well.

`Worrying' Results

``The results from the first part of 2008 are worrying and don't inspire optimism,'' according to a Vatican document published on Sept. 26 by U.K. Catholic weekly ``The Tablet.'' Vincenzo Di Mauro, secretary of the Prefecture of Economic Affairs for the Holy See, declined to comment on the current state of the Vatican's finances.

The Holy See, the central administration for the Roman Catholic Church, swung into a deficit in 2007 because of ``brusque and accentuated inversion of the currency markets, above all the American dollar,'' according to a statement posted on the Vatican Web site on July 9. The combined surplus in the past three years was 15.2 million euros ($19.4 million).

The push for greater efficiency comes from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which oversees the property owned by the Holy See. The source of the Vatican's wealth invested in the global markets dates to the 1929 Lateran Treaties, when Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini compensated the pope for the loss of the Papal States in 1870 with the reunification of Italy.

The Holy See, which according to its annual financial statement has 2,748 employees including priests and lay people, has also devised an evaluation system to reward hard workers and punish slackers, the spokesman said. According to the new measures, prolonged absences will result in pay cuts while virtuous employees can benefit from bonuses.

Vatican workers earn between 1,300 euros and 2,300 euros a month, according to La Stampa newspaper. In addition to their salaries, they also enjoy perks such as duty-free gas and subsidized housing.

(bloomberg.com)

================================

Paris for President

2008-11-01T00:49:00.004+08:00

Scoot over, Obama.., McCain!

===========================================

Am I Not Pretty?

2008-10-30T09:02:00.005+08:00

Wei!! Wat about Malaysia? Isn't it IMPORTANT ?

The bosses in this country say it's the center of the universe. It is the most attractive country in the world. To do business here, one would have to compromise. Have to comply to this policy, that contract and 1001 other things.

You can't afford to take it off your radar screen . You're gonna lose out Ben!

--------------------------------------
Fed Opens Swaps With South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore

By Steve Matthews and William Sim

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve agreed to provide $30 billion each to the central banks of Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore, expanding its effort to unfreeze money markets to emerging nations for the first time.

The Fed set up ``liquidity swap facilities with the central banks of these four large systemically important economies'' effective until April 30, the central bank said yesterday in a statement. The arrangements aim ``to mitigate the spread of difficulties in obtaining U.S. dollar funding.''

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is trying to prevent the global credit crisis from upending the financial markets and economies of developing countries, where currencies have plunged and government bond premiums have soared. The Fed yesterday cut its benchmark interest rate, followed by Hong Kong and Taiwan today.

``We can't leave these other important countries out in the cold,'' said Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington and former chief of the Fed's international-finance division. ``A global recession is being caused by the effects of seizing up of the financial system around the world.'' ...

(full story at bloomberg.com)

==========================

Yee-Hah !

2008-10-29T08:38:00.002+08:00

=> nytimes.com

===============================

Confidence Lowest

2008-10-29T08:35:00.002+08:00

October 29, 2008
Rattled by Housing Slide, Consumers See Worse to Come
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Falling home prices and steep declines in the stock market are taking a sharp toll on Americans’ faith in the economy, a fact driven home by a pessimistic reading on consumer confidence released on Tuesday.

A widely watched survey by the private Conference Board, which dates back decades, plunged to its lowest point on record in October as Americans complained about fewer jobs and smaller incomes and ratcheted back plans for major purchases like cars and appliances.

Americans also say they believe the economy will worsen before it improves — a sign of deep pessimism that reflects a year of painful declines in stocks, jobs and home values. Some have lost thousands in retirement money. Others are fearful of losing their source of income, and a record number of outstanding mortgages are in foreclosure.

“A consumer-led recession is upon us, and it promises to be a serious one,” Joshua Shapiro, chief domestic economist at MFR, a research firm, wrote Tuesday in a note.

Despite the report, Wall Street was sharply higher as trading came to a close Tuesday, with both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index almost 8 percent higher.

The survey’s confidence index fell to 38 in October, down from 61.4 in September, on a scale where a reading of 100 represents the consumer outlook on the economy in 1985. Expectations for the future also reached a record low. The survey dates to 1967.

“Looking ahead, consumers are extremely pessimistic, and a significantly larger proportion than last month foresees business and labor market conditions worsening,” Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center, said in a statement.

Nearly half of the 5,000 surveyed households said they expected the job market to deteriorate further, and many appeared worried about their ability to make purchases over the next few months. The report did not bode well for retailers who are anxiously eying the December shopping season.

The Commerce Department said last week that retail sales sank 1.2 percent in September, and many large retailers have reported double-digit declines.

“These moves are likely to have at least partially been driven by the worrying news flow on the U.S. financial system, but it appears to be the labor market that is the source of the bulk of the worries,” James Knightley, an economist at ING Bank, wrote in a research note of the consumer confidence numbers.

The American economy lost 159,000 jobs in September, the worst month of retrenchment in five years. Over the nine months ending in September, employment has diminished for nine consecutive months, eliminating 760,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported earlier this month.

Economists said they expected sentiment to improve as cheaper gas prices eased the strains on consumers’ pocketbooks. But housing troubles will probably weigh on Americans for many more months, eroding home equity lines and possibly creating another wave of foreclosures.

The beleaguered housing market found little relief in August as home prices across the country dropped at yet another record pace, according to a closely watched survey released Tuesday.

Home prices in 20 cities fell 16.6 percent in August compared with a year ago, the biggest annual drop in the history of the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, released by Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency.

Every city included in the survey experienced a drop in prices from a year earlier, a trend that has so far lasted five months. Phoenix and Las Vegas were hit hardest, with prices down 31 percent in both cities. Prices declined more than 25 percent in Los Angeles, Miami, San Diego and San Francisco.

Prices dropped a percentage point between August and July, an indication that the pace of the decline may be slowing slightly. Only two cities — Cleveland and Boston — had price increases for the month, compared with six in July. Prices were unchanged in Chicago and Denver.

“The downturn in residential real estate prices continued, with very few bright spots in the data,” David M. Blitzer, who oversees the survey, said in a statement.

A 10-city index fell 17.7 percent year-over-year.

The housing slump has continued unabated for months, and its consequences can be felt throughout the nation’s economy. It has led to the erosion of jobs, pain in a number of housing-related industries, and, in part, the credit crisis that caused the collapse of several Wall Street banks. Whirlpool, the appliance maker, announced more layoffs and additional plants closings on Tuesday, citing the housing slowdown. Household home equity lines have also deteriorated.

Lower prices, however, are in some sense the key to recovery, economists said, although prices may need to fall further to lure buyers back into a market sagging with unsold inventory.

Sales also appeared to pick up slightly in September, according to reports from the Commerce Department and the private National Association of Realtors. Sales of both previously owned and newly reconstructed homes rose. But inventories remained elevated.

(=> nytimes.com)

============================================

Vee-Dub

2008-10-29T08:30:00.004+08:00

short-sellers get slaughtered!

October 29, 2008
Panicked Traders Take VW Shares on a Wild Ride

By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED and CARTER DOUGHERTY

German regulators are analyzing a torrent of panicky trading in Volkswagen shares that at one point Tuesday turned VW into the world’s most valuable company while wreaking havoc with several big banks and hedge funds.

Shares in the German automaker rose as high as 1,005 euros, or $1,258 Tuesday after surging 146 percent to 471 euros Monday, the day after Porsche, a rival seeking to build up one of Europe’s great automotive dynasties, said it had effectively gained 75 percent of VW’s voting shares. On the Friday before the announcement, Volkswagen’s shares had closed at 210 euros.

Porsche has waged a series of bitter legal and political battles in the last three years to gain control of Volkswagen, a company whose foundations were laid by Porsche’s own founder, Ferdinand Porsche. On Sunday, Porsche appeared to have closed in on its target, announcing it had raised its stake in Volkswagen to 42.6 percent from 35 percent, and that it had options for another 31.5 percent.

Porsche said it issued its statement partly to give investors who bet that Volkswagen’s stock would weaken after a takeover “the opportunity to close their positions unhurriedly and without bigger risk.”

But that offer turned to dross when trading opened Monday, as investors known as short-sellers who had been betting that Volkswagen shares would lose value if Porsche took control were blindsided by the announcement. Earlier this year, Porsche had said it would not raise its then-31 percent holding, largely to calm a long-running conflict with the German state of Lower Saxony, which owns a 20.2 percent stake in VW that it uses to protect thousands of VW’s unionized autoworkers.

But when Porsche hinted that, at long last, it might be poised to bring Volkswagen under its thumb, it short-circuited several strategies that had been used by hedge funds and trading desks in New York and London.

One was to exploit the difference in value between two classes of Volkswagen stock by betting against a decline in one of them. Another was to buy into Porsche while betting that Volkswagen shares would fall, in a bid to profit from Porsche’s expected success.

Many short-sellers had borrowed the VW shares that Porsche is entitled to through its options contracts in order to speculate on Volkswagen stock, analysts said. But Porsche’s statement appeared to have prompted the banks that wrote the options contracts to demand those shares back, so as to have them ready for Porsche.

As of last week, roughly 12.9 percent of Volkswagen shares were lent out, according to Data Explorers, a London research firm. It was an unusually high number and the most for any member of the DAX in Germany.

With Porsche already owning so much of Volkswagen, and more shares tied up in stock funds linked to Germany’s DAX stock market index, the number of VW shares that were readily available for sale, known as the “free float,” was relatively small. That amplified the effect of the dash to buy Volkswagen shares, as demand vastly outstripped supply and drove the price higher when speculators betting against VW sought to cover their losses by buying.

“There is no other explanation than Porsche’s counterparties are lending out the shares,” said Arndt Ellinghorst, head of European automotive research at Credit Suisse in London. “That means heavy losses for funds who shorted them.”

Shares in Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale of France all tumbled on Tuesday on concern the banks might be caught on the wrong side of trades involving Volkswagen. Morgan Stanley said it had no exposure to the automaker.

It is not the first time Volkswagen shares have fallen prey to speculative gyrations. It lost a quarter of its value on Oct. 20 as short-selling seemed to gain traction amid a sense that Volkswagen would lose value if Porsche could steer decisions at the larger company to its advantage.

In a broader sense, the losses that Porsche has inflicted on short-sellers are collateral damage inflicted during its campaign to bring Volkswagen firmly under its thumb.

Although the two companies are linked by one powerful individual, Ferdinand Piëch, who heads Volkswagen’s board and also sits on Porsche’s, VW employees and their union have fought against a full takeover by Porsche, largely through their alliance with Lower Saxony, whose “golden share” lets it block major decisions about Volkswagen.

But the European Union is closing in on a ruling — the second since Porsche bought into Volkswagen — that would force Germany to alter the law underpinning the state’s share. That has created an opening for Porsche, which is based in Stuttgart, to assert control.

(=> nytimes.com)

=======================================

Berkshire Hathaway

2008-10-21T08:02:00.007+08:00

If you had bought just one share of Berkshire Hathaway in 1990 for around $6,000 a share, that same share would be worth around $120,000 today. 10 shares would bring you up to $1.2 million.

That's why he is known as the greatest investor in the world!

Back to Square One

2008-10-16T08:41:00.003+08:00

Looks like it ain't bottom yet. Lower low again!

Enjoy the ride!

(source: nytimes.com)

====================================

"Abolish the Federal Reserve"

2008-10-15T09:32:00.014+08:00

A reader left a comment in "The History of Federal Reserve Bank" announcing an on-going petition to "Abolish the Federal Reserve". Many people from around the world feels that the Fed must be held responsible for the financial meltdown of 2008. Everyone, from active investors in the financial markets to retirees and common citizens has been screwed.

It's a mamoth task going up against Godzilla like those Monster Bankers... but as Arnold Schwarzenegger said in "Predator": "if it bleeds, it can be killed". Remember Battle at Kruger?

Sign the petition if you agree with it. Voice out if you think that the continue existance of the Federal Reserve will only cause more damage to you and future generations. http://www.petitiononline.com/fed/petition.html

-------------------------------
Anonymous said...

The Federal Reserve is Guilty of Helping Create the Global Financial Meltdown

Many investors and concerned citizens around the world are showing their outrage at what the Federal Reserve has done to the American economy with their easy money policies which caused the credit & real estate bubble and subsequent global financial meltdown.

Join the thousands who are signing & commenting on the Abolish the Federal Reserve Petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/fed/petition.html

October 14, 2008 4:48 PM

======================================

Dead Cat Bounce?

2008-10-14T10:06:00.005+08:00

.

Yoohoo!!! Stocks are sky rocketing!!!

Could this be just a technical rebound or dead cat bouncing? Caution!

(Full story at nytimes.com)

=====================================

The History of Federal Reserve Bank

2008-10-14T00:01:00.002+08:00

.
Version conspiracy theory.

"The Invisible Hands"

Zeitgeist - The Movie: Federal Reserve (Part 1 of 5)

Zeitgeist - The Movie: Federal Reserve (Part 2 of 5)

Zeitgeist - The Movie: Federal Reserve (Part 3 of 5)

Zeitgeist - The Movie: Federal Reserve (Part 4 of 5)

Zeitgeist - The Movie: Federal Reserve (Part 5 of 5)

"None are more hopelessly enslaved

than those who falsely believe they are free."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe -

1749 - 1832

====================================

Shit Load of Debt

2008-10-13T15:30:00.002+08:00

Two Added Digits Needed By U.S. National Debt Clock At Times Square

New York, NY (AHN) - Two extra digits are needed by the National Debt Clock on Times Square in New York City as the U.S.' borrowings reached $10.2 trillion.

With the ongoing credit crunch, it would not be surprising that the national debt would further balloon, which would make it impossible to reflect the accurate figure unless the two additional digits are in place soon.

As a result, the Durst Organization which owns the clock, bumped off the dollar sign and put in its place the number "1" of the $10 trillion figures. The organization promised to update the sign in 2009.

The clock was put up by Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst in1989 to remind America of its fast growing national debt, which stood 19 years ago at $2.7 trillion.

(source: AHN)

==========================================

Okay! Let's Print Some Money

2008-10-10T13:24:00.014+08:00

Financial wizards print money and creat it out of debt. "Investors" (especially Asian countries) give up their sweat-money to lend to them for pieces of homemade IOU Notes that promise interest payments.

To pay interest and repay those loans later, Financial wizards simply create and print more new money. This goes on and on until the value of money becomes like "Hell Bank Notes", or the magicians suddently disappear or runaway with money they borrowed. How 'bout it?

=========================================

Bailout Passed!... So What?

2008-10-10T12:38:00.015+08:00

(Chart courtecy of Yahoo Finance)

The New York Times
October 4, 2008

Bailout Bill Fails to Reassure Investors
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Wall Street finally got what it had been demanding all week, a financial rescue package, but by the time the gavel fell in Washington on Friday, investors had turned their attention to other problems in the economy.

On Monday, the House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion bailout plan for the nation’s financial system, causing the Dow Jones industrial average to fall 777 points. On Friday, after round-the-clock negotiations, the House passed the plan, sending the Dow down 157 points.

It was a disappointing end to a cantankerous session. The Dow gained nearly 300 points in the morning in anticipation the bill would go through; when it passed, those gains were erased. But the afternoon swoon was less a judgment on the merits of the bailout than proof of a broader truth about the market: investors are always looking ahead.

“We’re dealing with the next situation,” said Howard Silverblatt, the senior index analyst at Standard & Poor’s.

Investors were already pivoting their focus to growing evidence that the nation is embroiled in a recession. A report on Friday from the Labor Department said the economy lost 159,000 jobs in September, far more than economists had expected. Other reports this week revealed sudden collapses in the manufacturing sector. Some economists also are predicting the economy will contract in the months ahead.

Those developments did not bode well for the corporate earnings that investors watch closely, creating a dour outlook that helped send stocks lower late in the day.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 15.05 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 1,099.23, ending under 1,100 for the first time in four years — a fitting end to the index’s fourth-worst week in half a century.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 157.47 points, or 1.5 percent, to 10,325.38. The Nasdaq composite index fell 29.33 points, or 1.45 percent, to 1,947.39.

“Investors still have to face some significant challenges in the broad economy that can’t be magically removed by a group of our Congressional leaders,” said Marc D. Stern, the chief investment officer at Bessemer Trust. “Investors have to confront a series of unknowns in the weeks ahead that can be disconcerting.”

Also weighing on investors were the strains on the flow of credit, which the bailout bill was intended to relieve.

Analysts said it might take several days before the effect of the bill’s approval could be seen on the credit markets. On Friday afternoon, the signals were mixed: high-yield bonds and junk bonds eased slightly, but Treasury bills moved against expectations, becoming more expensive as investors remained nervous about emerging from the safety of government notes.

It was too soon to tell whether interest rates that banks charge each other for overnight loans — a crucial measure of the flow of credit to businesses and consumers — would fall.

Investors and analysts interviewed Friday said they were glad to see the bailout package approved, but they warned that credit would not immediately loosen.

“It is not a panacea,” said Douglas M. Peta, a market strategist at J.& W. Seligman. “Credit is the lifeblood of the economy. Until the short-term funding markets start behaving regularly, and until banks are willing to play their role in the system, the direction in stocks is going to be down.”

Mr. Peta said Friday’s stock sell-off “was a rational response when the credit markets are almost practically not functioning.”

A few other factors may have been at play. On Friday morning, Wells Fargo, the San Francisco-based bank, said it had made a $15.1 billion bid for the Wachovia Corporation, scuttling a rival deal with Citigroup that had been struck under government pressure. The move helped raise confidence among investors that companies were still willing to take on major acquisitions amid the current crisis. Still, financial stocks as a group ended lower for the day.

The sell-off after the vote on Capitol Hill may have been the result of investors’ tendency to buy on expectations — in this case, that the House would ultimately pass the bill — and sell when the event actually occurs.

And Mr. Stern, of Bessemer Trust, noted that Fridays were becoming popular days for investors to sell their stock holdings. “There are two more days that used to be called the weekend, and now are simply two more business days, where important news may develop,” Mr. Stern said, referring to recent developments — the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers; the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America — all of which have occurred on the weekend.

“There’s no way to trade on that news until Monday. Therefore you need to position your portfolio on Friday to be ready for what happens over the weekend.”

Mr. Stern chuckled. “In 2008, you have to stay close to your BlackBerry on the weekend.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury bill rose 6/32, to 103 8/32. The yield, which moves in the opposite direction from the price, fell to 3.6 percent, from 3.63 percent late Thursday. Oil prices fell 9 cents, to settle at $93.88 a barrel.

In Europe, the markets closed ahead of the House vote. The major indexes all rose after stocks on Wall Street advanced. The FTSE 100 index in Britain ended up 2.3 percent, the CAC-40 in Paris rose 3 percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt gained 2.4 percent.

(story from: nytimes.com)

======================================

Bush: "It's good for you, but...

2008-10-10T12:35:00.004+08:00

...It's gonna take a while"

======================================

Congress: "Fuck off Paulson!"

2008-09-30T12:21:00.009+08:00

House rejects $700B bailout in stunning defeat House rejects $700B bailout in stunning defeat, driving stocks down; Treasury vows more work

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a vote that shook the government, Wall Street and markets around the world, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, leaving both parties' lawmakers and the Bush administration scrambling to pick up the pieces. Dismayed investors sent the Dow Jones industrials plunging 777 points, the most ever for a single day.

"We need to put something back together that works," a grim-faced Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said after he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke joined in an emergency strategy session at the White House. On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders said...

Full story > biz.yahoo.com

====================================

New Greenback!

2008-09-27T12:15:00.010+08:00

Inside scoop! New Dollar notes!

Rumour has it that printing machines at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has been running round the clock since the beginning of the month, printing new Federal Reserve Notes. The new notes are said to be a series of new currency designed to replace existing dollar notes.

Leaked image of the note below is said to replace existing $1 note. The conversion rate will be existing $1 = New 10,000. There will be new notes in denomination of 100,000, 1,000,000 and 1,000,000,000 in the series. Shillings like nickels, dimes and quarters will not be used in the future as they will be worthless after the new notes are introduced.

According to insiders, the new notes will start its circulation immediately after bailout plan is in action.

Wiki: Hell bank notes

======================================

"You Fcuked Up, Suck It Up!"

2008-09-27T11:50:00.003+08:00

People say NO to Bailout of financial institutions. No to Bush, Paulson, Bernanke and their Wall St. buddies. Let the shit hit the fan they say!

Seriously, it's kind of too late now. Americans are now in a Catch-22 position. Held by the balls by the Mafias. If the Mother of All Bailouts is passed, taxpayers will suffer later. If it's rejected, they will die faster.

Bail-out Protest. Wall St. 26-9-2008

Great Chant!

"you f$%ked up suck it up!"

=======================================

SEC Has Failed

2008-09-27T06:21:00.008+08:00

Looks like the US SEC has failed in its duties. The regulator has also contributed or assisted in building the toxic bubble to its current state. Do they have to pay for their "mistakes"? Eehh... I don't think so! Taxpayers will take care of it. It's only a Trillion Dollar or two.

You know you'll be screwed Big Time when the sharks from Wall St., bankers, rating agencies and regulators gangbang together.

NYTimes: S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse

==============================================

Privatising Gains and Socialising Losses

2008-09-25T00:50:00.003+08:00

Deep Shit!

Let's Play "WALLSTREET BAILOUT" The Rules Are... Rep Kapture

========================================

Nah !

2008-09-25T00:33:00.007+08:00

FCUK You!... Fascist Dictators!

Everyone hates you!

Wednesday September 24, 2008
Raja Petra sent to Kamunting, gets two-year detention

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin was sent to the Kamunting detention camp late on Monday night after the Home Minister signed a two-year detention order under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Under Section 8(1) of the Act, the minister can order a detention if he is satisfied that it is necessary to prevent that person from acting in a manner prejudicial to the country’s security.

Yesterday, DPP Abdul Wahab Mohamad used the new detention order as a preliminary objection to the blogger’s habeas corpus application in the High Court saying Raja Petra was no longer detained by the police under the Section 73(1) of the ISA.

DPP Abdul Wahab said the police no longer had authority over the applicant and that the burden had shifted to the Home Minister.

“Thus, any illegality in the prior arrest and detention cannot be the subject matter of an inquiry; any previous issues which transpired before the issuance of the detention order cannot be subject to judicial inquiry,” he told Justice Suraya Othman.

Raja Petra had filed a habeas corpus application on Sept 16 for his release. The blogger had named the Inspector-General of Police as respondent.

In a supporting document, Raja Petra’s wife, Mable @ Marina Lee Abdullah, said she believed that Raja Petra was detained under the ISA on Sept 12 to silence him as well as to extract information on his sources.

His lead counsel Malik Imtiaz Sarwar argued yesterday that the minister’s order was merely to defeat the wrongful detention application by his client and was unacceptable.

He submitted the minister’s order was inter-related to the detention order by the police, adding the applicant could still challenge its validity.

“It is a very urgent matter and there is no evidence to suggest that he (Raja Petra) is a threat to national security. He just put in his comments,” he said.

Justice Suraya asked both parties to file further written submissions before the hearing reconvened on Oct 28.

Speaking to reporters later, Malik said he would file a habeas corpus application for his client under Section 8 of the Act.

Marina and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok sat with former de facto Law Minister Senator Datuk Zaid Ibrahim in the public gallery and chatted with him.

Marina, 54, said her husband’s detention in Kamunting was politically motivated and that she would never give up fighting for him.

Also in court yesterday were Raja Petra’s two daughters, Suraya, 31, and Sarah, 19.

===============================

Exit... Stage Left

2008-09-20T16:06:00.006+08:00

Here’s a summerised version of an outrageous story written by controversial analyst Matthias Chang in futurefastforward.com. It’s totally ridiculous!

---------------------------------------------

Humpty Dumpty Sat On The Wall…

The announcement by Sleepyhead that he will be the Defence Minister and that Shithead will replace him as Finance Minister is the surest sign that the Sleepyhead regime is in its last throes.

The Trinity of Power – the Father, the Son and the Son-in-Law and their Singapore controlled advisers have revealed that they are now playing the final card.

Just like the Americans boarding the helicopters from the rooftop of the US Embassy in the then Saigon for a quick exit, while the naval armada was on standby to provide fire-power to cover the humiliating retreat, Sleepyhead and his family have resorted to using the military, if the need arises, to provide protective cover while they and their cronies prepare to divest and transfer out of the country their ill-gotten gains.

It is equally obvious that they have realized that “a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush”. What is the use of having all the loot and the key to the treasure chest when there are no exits to enjoy the ill-gotten gains?

In exchange for the key to the treasure chest and the money-making machine, Shithead agreed to hand over control of the military to Sleepyhead so as to allow Sleepyhead and his entire band of looters to exit safely and to pre-empt a coup within the Party.

It is also apparent that in the coming weeks as the global financial crisis gets worse, resulting in a stock market crash and the sudden and irreparable fracture of the banking system, people who have lost their life-savings will demand retribution! The first target of the people’s wrath will be the Finance Minister. In such a situation, the Finance Minister will be overwhelmed by the scope and depth of the crisis.

If Sleepyhead remains as the Finance Minister, he will not have any opportunity to prepare an exit strategy. Better if some one carries the baggage. Who better than Shithead, to provide the cover for the secret getaway?

Given the circumstances, I believe that the Trinity of Power – Sleepyhead, his Son and his Son-in-Law will make their move before the end of the year....

... Shithead, in accepting the post of Finance Minister, has committed a strategic error. When the financial shits hit the ceiling fan, Shithead will be blamed not only for all the blunders committed by Sleepyhead, but also the failure to stabilize the economy. Events will unravel so fast that Shithead would not have the time to marshal the financial resources to fend off the challenge by Coolie. It will be a close call. And even if Shithead succeeds in defeating any challenger, he will not be able to rebuild the party in time to overcome the Opposition by 2012.

Notwithstanding the above, I believe that Sleepyhead has a Plan B.
This is what Sleepyhead said this afternoon:
"It depends on the progress of the role I am giving to Shithead. Let's see what he can do."
If Shithead fails miserably to manage the economy in the next few months, it will be too tempting for Sleepyhead not to use Shithead’s failure to oust him, and with the full might of the military behind him, to declare a state of emergency and reclaim unbridled power. Sleepyhead will then rule with an iron hand!

However, …

(Original story > futurefastforward.com: Humpty Dumpty... )

======================================

She's Free !

2008-09-19T23:34:00.007+08:00

Released after 7 days of detention under the ISA.

Teresa: "I was made a scapegoat..."

PETALING JAYA (Sept 19, 2008) : DAP's Seputeh MP and Selangor senior executive councilor Teresa Kok, who was released from a seven-day detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) today, has claimed that she was made scapegoat in the move to contain the outrage over the alleged racist remarks.

Seputeh MP Teresa Kok makes a gesture during her
press conference at the DAP office today.

"I see my detention as a ploy by Umno to try to cover up the embarassment and the outrage over the racist statements made by (Bukit Bendera Umno division chief) Ahmad Ismail in Penang," she told a press conference shortly after her release at the DAP headquarters here.

"I wonder why they chose an innocent person like me as I have never made any racist remarks or racist speeches in the past," she said, adding that she has instructed her lawyer to sue the government for her unlawful arrest and detention...

(Full story at the Sun)

====================================

Stinky Deal

2008-09-19T02:21:00.008+08:00

PM and Najib swap portfolios

============================

Lesson on Body Language

2008-09-19T02:21:00.007+08:00

'
3 and 4 are the ones that are easiest to spot.

-------------------------------------

Top 9 Giveaway - Body Language Gestures and Signals of a Liar

1 The Visual Expression Giveaway

2 The Doubtful Speech Giveaway

3 The Mouth Covering Giveaway
When a person is lying, he or she will normally cover the mouth with the hand. This gesture is actually triggered by the subconscious mind instructing itself to suppress the deceitful and untruthful words that are being said. There will be times when a closed fist or only several fingers that are placed over the mouth, but its meaning remains very much the same.
On the contrary, let's say should you see someone else doing this while you are the one talking, it will mean that the other person is having doubt and finding it difficult to believe in you.

4 The Nose Touching Giveaway
As the nose is very close to the mouth, rubbing, stroking or scratching of that area is also a common gesture performed by someone who is not telling the truth. Though occasionally there are times when it might just be an actual physical itch at the area that needs to be satisfied by scratching or rubbing.

However, there is a slight difference between a genuine scratching to relieve an itch and a doubtful nose rubbing. A real and actual itching feeling will result in a more obvious rubbing motion, while the self-doubting or deceitful rub will normally be just a light touch or stroke.
Similar to the mouth covering gesture, it can both be used by a person who is trying to conceal his or her own deception, and a person who is suspicious of what is being said by the other party.

5 The Eye Rubbing Giveaway

6 The Ear Twiddling Giveaway

7 The Arms and Legs Crossing Giveaway

8 The Postural Language Giveaway

9 The Nervous System Giveaway

Full article > here

Related articles > "How to spot a liar" , "Dead Giveaway"

==============================

The Fall of Hitler

2008-09-18T01:13:00.006+08:00

Hahaha....!!!

Bee En Downfall Parody

===============================

Going Nuts Over Numbers

2008-09-18T01:13:00.005+08:00

Anwar claims the numbers, PM says 'not'

=========================================

How Am I Doing?

2008-09-17T01:47:00.006+08:00

Najib had started a webpage called 1Malaysia to reach out to the peoople. From the introduction video, he gave the impression that he's trying to close rank with the people. Text of his speech is here.

He asked for comments and feedback so that he can improve himself. Judging from the language used, seems like he's targetting the campaign at Non-Malays. What's cooking dude?

=================================

Bring 'Em Home!

2008-09-17T01:44:00.003+08:00

===========================

How 'Bout Some Cat Food?

2008-09-17T01:27:00.005+08:00

Marina's Note On Her Visit

My two girls and I managed to see RPK at 11:00am this morning (16 September) at the Bukit Aman Police HQ.

He has been sleeping on a wooden platform without any pillow or bedding.

He looked drawn and drained but still alert…

He has lost weight and his sugar level has dived from 8 to 4. I urged him to eat and to drink a lot of water. In fact we brought him his favorites: a 6-pack coke, chocolates, fresh plums, shepherd’s pie and caramel custard. Raja Petra asked us to take them back. He said that those interrogating him would try to use these food items as inducements to get him to co-operate. RPK said he did not want to be beholden to them. They will use favours they grudgingly grant and use these as trade offs.

He complained that the food supplied is such that our two cats will not even eat. But I encouraged him that despite that, he has to eat. He replied that he has no appetite and that most of the time he is tired as they are interrogating him incessantly. They come to his cell (8X8 concrete box without windows) and harass him at all hours of the day and night taking hourly turns having a video camera at all times. One time they brought a prayer mat and the Koran to his cell and just said so you don’t want this and took it away recording all this.

Sometimes they just come to the cell every half hourly to peep into his cell with the loud clicking of the peep hole keeping him awake. They are interrogating him on all his articles and at this stage it is on his articles on Islam. They said he has no right to write about Islam because we (his family) don’t live like Muslims and they were not sure whether we prayed or not as how all good Muslims should…

(Full story > MalaysiaToday)

=====================================

Money Talks...

2008-09-16T01:14:00.004+08:00

Found this in Sassy MP's blog (teresakok.com)

Suing for RM30 Million if demands are not met. Let's see...

---------------------------------

Letter of demand to Utusan
September 15th, 2008 by frontbench

*The letter of Demand to Utusan was faxed to the editor at 4.40pm today.

Your Ref: please advise

Our Ref: SNN/YBT/ Civil/08

Date: 15-9-2008
THE EDITOR

Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad

46M, Jalan Lima Off Jalan Chan Sow Lin

55200 Kuala Lumpur

Sir,

RE: LIBELOUS ARTICLE

We act for YB Teresa Kok Suh Sim.

Our client refers you to the following article that was carried by your newspaper on 10 September 2008 under the captions “Azan, jawi, JAIS, UiTM dan ba-alif-ba-ya…” (hereinafter known as “the impugned article”)

The impugned article that you published, mean and were understood to mean that our client, inter alia:-

1. is a racist;
2. is a religious bigot;
3. is an untrustworthy person as well as an untrustworthy and a bad politician;
4. is intolerant and unprincipled; and
5. is a parochial politician who is anti Islam and anti Malay.

Our client contends the following:-

1. the impugned article as stated above of our client are and were grossly negligent, reckless, irresponsible, deliberate, malicious and aimed to lower our client’s esteem in the eye of the public and expose our client to public hatred, scorn, odium, contempt and ridicule;

2. the impugned article as stated above of our client are motivated or actuated by mala fides, distortion of facts suggesting moral and legal impropriety on the part of our client and are principally done in your pursuit of seeking cheap publicity, sensationalism;

3. the impugned article as stated above of our client are pre-mediated and calculated to tarnish, malign, defame and seriously injure the good name and character of our client;

We are further instructed that you have or caused to have republished the following impugned article.

The allegations and the comments in the impugned article against our client amount to a very serious libel on our client and have caused her considerable distress and embarrassment. These allegations made against her are false and your attack on her is wholly unjustified.

We are therefore instructed to demand, which we hereby do:

1. An immediate and unequivocal public retraction of the impugned article by your newspaper and the removal of all the offending and defamatory comments forthwith.

2. An apology in terms to be approved by us as solicitors to be published in newspapers of our client’s choice.

3. An undertaking by yourselves not to repeat the above words, allegations and comments contained in the impugned article.

Our client has also instructed us to demand damages from you for the injury caused to her reputation of RM30,000,000-00 (Ringgit Malaysia Thirty Million).

Our client has also requested us to demand payment of all legal costs that has been incurred with regard to this matter.

This letter is written in accordance with the pre-action protocol prior to the institution of a libel action. We look forward to hear from you without delay. If we do not receive a satisfactory reply within twenty four (24) hours of receipt of this letter, our instructions are to institute legal proceedings. In the meantime, our client reserves all her rights in this matter.

Kindly acknowledge receipt accordingly.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

S N NAIR & PARTNERS

c.c. client

==============================

"Caged Like a Dog"

2008-09-16T00:57:00.003+08:00

Teresa’s mum relates horror detention
September 15th, 2008 by frontbench

The following is a transcript of what Teresa’s mum said outside the police station after visiting her for 90 minutes.

“I hope she can regain her freedom and come out as soon as possible and continue to live an ordinary life instead of being detained in a cage like a dog. They locked her up once she walked into that room which is only 6′ x 8′. She is not allowed to read newspaper or any other reading material. She lost all her freedom!

“I feel so sad. Yes they gave her three meals a day, but the food is bad! She had diarrhea this morning and her blood pressure plunged!

“Her dad did not notice it but she was so pale when we met her. It pains me seeing her like that. I never expected that my daughter who spend 2/3 of her time a day servicing the people, fighting for the people’s interest and right, can end up like this.

“This Bahasa Malaysia newspaper purposely defamed her, twisted the facts just to get her into trouble, to victimise her.

“I can only encourage her. I told her we are people who believe in God. Bible told us those who are victimise because they fight for justice are the blessed people. Such people are children of God. I encourage her with these words. I told her not to give up but keep on praying.”

(Sassy MP)

Video from YouTube

Mum said it in Mandarin

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3 "Racially Sensitive" Offences

2008-09-16T00:48:00.004+08:00

Father: Teresa being probed on three offences

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15, 2008): Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, who was detained under the Internal Security Act on Friday, is being investigated for allegedly committing three offences deemed "racially sensitive", according to her parents who met her today at the Bukit Aman federal police headquarters.

Kok Kim Tong with his wife and their four year old
granddaughter accompanied by Lim Kit Siang,
Lim Guan Eng and other DAP members arriving at
Bukit Aman to visit Teresa.

Her father Kok Kim Tong, 74, told reporters that he was told by Teresa that she was being probed for alleged involvement in the "Azan" issue, road signages with Jawi script and another matter regarding the Selangor Religious Department (JAIS).

Kok and his wife, Poh Seh Kwan, 71, who brought along their four-year-old grandaughter Kok En Qi and accompanied by Teresa's personal assistant Mandy Ooi, stepped into Bukit Aman at 1.45pm today...

Full story at The Sun

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It's For Your Own Good

2008-09-16T00:32:00.006+08:00

Sunday September 14, 2008
Sin Chew reporter goes home a day after ISA arrest

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Reporter Tan Hoon Cheng was released after being arrested and held for 24 hours under the Internal Security Act 1960.
Tan, a reporter with Sin Chew Daily, returned to her Taman Permai home here at 4pm yesterday.

The other two people who were arrested under the ISA on Friday - Selangor senior executive councillor Teresa Kok and Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin - remained in detention.

Other developments yesterday were:

> Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Tan was arrested because her safety was under threat;

> Syed Hamid also said it was not his decision but that of the police to detain the three under the ISA; and

> The National Union of Journalists, Bar Council and even several Barisan Nasional component parties voiced their disagreement over the use of the ISA on reporters.

Source: The Star

>‘Reporter’s life was threatened’
>My 18 hours under the ISA

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Where is Teresa?

2008-09-14T16:52:00.005+08:00

Teresa's parents: "She has been kidnapped ?"

"Where is she ?"

"We don't know if she's still alive or not !"

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Mahathir Son Of Iskandar Kutty ?

2008-09-14T00:41:00.011+08:00

Found this video titled "Litle Secret of TunMamak" in YouTube. Horrible accent.

This cannot be real!

Litle Secret of TunMamak

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