"Singaporeans are not coming. It is worrying. An apartment unit that cost 400,000 ringgit (111,000 dollars) 10 years ago is now going for 300,000 ringgit but yet there are no takers,"

"A lack of clarity and consistency in government policies was another major factor in deterring foreign capital"

"It is not just for Malaysians… I don't think there is enough (local) market to pick it up,"

"It took a lot of effort by Singapore and Hong Kong to be what it is today. For south Johor to reach that level, the private sector has to take the lead,"

"Singapore has adopted a liberal environment, allowing a casino. I think for now, Singaporeans will prefer to invest in the republic rather than in Johor."

TODAY

So are the "elitist" Singaporeans just poo-pooing our dreams of thinking big OR merely being analytical, down to earth and focussing on the bottomline like they always do, even at times at the expense of their powerless public? I would think it's abit of the first and more of the latter.

And I certainly hope the govt's gonna be quick about it and the task force will be staffed by capable men and women and not those who are gaji buta only and thinks everything can wait. Meanwhile, what we'll probably see first are the relocation of the remaining factories in Singapore to Malaysia, and probably Singaporean families adopting a small city home in S'pore and a weekend home in M'sia's FAZ.

1. Scariest Face: "The Face of Kepala Batas" - A miracle or is it a warning from God that Hell has descended upon M'sia? Funny that it originated at the place where our PM's born =P

2. Scariest Cop: The Religious Police - Thinking they are acting upon god's will and have greater powers than the Interpol, they raid your house at 2am, on the suspicion of khalwat and although an elderly mat salleh opens the door, they still request to see the wife?

3. Scariest Cop II: RELA - Can't afford not to include this. Again another group who thinks they are above the law, they break into your house from the frontgate in full view of the residents and when asked why they crashed into their homes, they were told “we are the law!”

4. Scariest Road User: Mat Rempits - I would have said KL & Penang drivers but these group of men/ladies/whatnots are scarier! Not only do these illegal street racers destroy the peace and quiet of the night, they smash windscreens like killing cockroaches, do stunts on the road at the expense of the safety of other road users, created trouble in a mosque, almost banged into a Sultan's car and even threw stones at a police station! All this done and still there's support from a very honourable political party out there who thinks that they are "Mat Cemerlangs"!

5. Scariest Weapon: the "Keris" - A symbol of the supremacy of a certain race, it strikes fear in the hearts of our yellow-skinned friends. Occasionally used when questions on social policies whereby the minority are discriminated against, this weapon is more powerful than the atom bomb, scud missile, kungfu sword combined!

6. Scariest Monster: One-Eyed Politicians/Enforcement Officers - Well, we do not have cyclopses in our parliament but despite promises by a certain political party on creating a transparent and fair government, we do have people who practise the "close one eye-lah" policy, which obviously affected their judgements in alot of matters of the country =P Funnily, some one-eyed politicians will demand for "open both eyes" policies when they want a certain Mercedes model they want from the customs.

7. Scariest Exam: CLP - If 10% passes only per year does not sound scary for you what does? Poor foreign grads, their universities must not be as great as ours who rank very "high" in the THES University rankings.

8. Scariest House: Klang's "Istana Idaman" - According to the nation's leading English newspaper, its feng shui is not right. According to theSun, it was built without planning permissions. According to the real estate agent, land bought at RM180,000 estimated to be worth RM1.3 million is not only a steal but a daylight robbery. According to the accountant, RM8 million is alot to build a mansion to house for 11 children, 7 daughters- and-sons-in-law as well as 11 grandchildren. According to the man nobody knew much about on the streets, this is very scary…

9. Scariest Politician: Alot of candidates here but I managed to narrow it down to just 2. This is a tough one between the father in law (FIL) and son in law (SIL), but a search through SARAsearch seems to point the finger to SIL. With so many allegations linking him to so many scandals, his meteoric rise to become a political heavyweight although without a ministerial appointment and him being able to say things in public as if he controls the govt, the SIL has to be the scariest of them all!

Well, I'm afraid there's only 9, too tired to write the rest… =P

Asian science is advancing so fast that U.S President George W. Bush warned in this year's State of the Union speech that innovations in Asia could come at America's expense. Even South Korea remains one of the epicenters of stem-cell research, despite a loss of morale (and some funding) following Hwang's downfall. Of the 78 stem-cell lines registered at NIH, six come courtesy of South Korean labs. Lavish spending has helped Seoul's climb up the technology ladder, but Korean researchers also credit good ol' Asian values of hard work, hard work and more hard work.

"People used to say that stem-cell research was on scientists' 'avoid list' because it was labor intensive and demanded long hours," says Chung Hyung Min, head of Cha Biotech in Seoul, which registered one of the Korean stem-cell lines at NIH. Chung's last vacation was five years ago. "At the end of the day," he says, "it's about who is more willing to spend longer hours at the lab!

China, Korea, Singapore, India….and where exactly does Malaysia fit in?

I was going through my sister's Form 1 exam papers this morning and I find it really funny that there's a written test for Physical Education & Fitness (PJK). Is this the way so that the not so fit guys & girls can score an "A"…lol, or is it simply for those not so good in other subjects to catch up.

And looking through the textbook, I see potentially difficult questions even some PhD students can't answer on the spot e.g.

1. What is the diameter of a football (soccer ball for you Americans)?
2. Length of a football field?
3. Width?
4. List the steps/stretching exercises required for warm up sessions?
5. …and so on.

lol…of course the school didn't ask such questions, otherwise, PJK will be the toughest subject in the whole Malaysian secondary school syllabus.

And again, flipping through other subjects, I came upon Kemahiran Hidup (KH) [means Skills in Life] - ERT (Ekonomi Rumah Tangga - Home Economics), and I couldn't answer these questions (they are real questions btw):

1. Why aren't there steamed kuehs made of tapioca flour or something like that? [Answer has to do with some properties of the flour]
2. What kinda bananas can be used to make a dessert as a cure for constipation? [I think it's pisang rajali]

lol, kids must be finding it tough these days in school. =P

- a bank which has a graduate banking scheme but when I enquired about it, it seems that you'll need to apply for all the features separately.

- a lawyer who was late by 2.5 hours blaming the "traffic jam" and later charged you for transportation and miscellaneous costs.

- finding out you have something alive in your intestines when trying to be kaypoh and check out what ascaris lumbricoides in the medical report really meant on the internet

- a certain political party supports illegal racers but shoots down another political party of the same alliance.

- a certain group of backbenchers spouting nonsense
- murder cases every other day
- racial issues being raised, especially against a certain race
- more and more colleges/institutes given university status
- individuals who dare to speak up against errant builders/corruption get shot down.

As a Malaysian who's just returned home, it scares me that such things are happening, especially the racial issues part but a trip down to the pasar malam/wet market seems to assure me that all the races seem to get along. So, what is the real situation?

This article's quite funny - says that good-looking parents are 36% more likely to give birth to a girl than less-attractive couples according to evolutionary psychologist, Satoshi Kanazawa.

His previous research also showed that big & tall parents, scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and violent men tend to have sons!

Few conclusions can be made from this:

- Scientists, engineers, mathematicians, big & tall men and violent men are unattractive
- Chinese moms should pressure their sons to get ugly wives to have a grandson or encourage them to be engineers, scientists, mathematicians or violent men.
- I should be an engineer & be more violent…need to be taller as well =P

On another note, read his other article titled "Asians Aren't Capable Of Creative Thought":

Miller is correct to point out that East Asians have slightly higher mean IQs than Europeans (Lynn and Vanhanen, 2002). However, East Asians have not been able to make creative use of their intelligence. While they are very good at absorbing existing knowledge via rote memory (hence their high standardized test scores in math and science) or adapt or modify existing technology (hence their engineering achievements), they have not been able to make original contributions to basic science.

and Miller's counterpoint.

Seriously, and especially after the bombings in Qana, I was kinda amazed & shocked at how anyone would publish such a thing in a well-respected paper which is widely circulated all around the world. Certainly, a "durable" ceasefire sounds nice and pretty but if we look at it humanely, this is definitely not the way to go! At the rate the discussions are going, I wonder how many times we'll see another Qana again…

GBU-22 (based on the 500lb MK 82 bomb)

GBU-24 (based on the 2000lb Mk 84 bomb)

PB-500 (Israeli developed lightweight bunker-busting bomb)

They are supposed to be accurate up to 9m (in optimum conditions, only 1m!) and guess what, they "missed" and killed 4 UN peacekeepers! (2 confirmed at time of writing) For an idea of how powerful or accurate they can be, see this:

And now CNN reports that Israel might be using chemical weapons - phosphorous based:

and this is how they look like:

Sighz, what a sad world we're living in and the perpetrators tried to rub salt into the wounds with this:

Israel and the United States say their ultimate aim is to fundamentally reshape Lebanon to end Hezbollah's presence by the border, strengthen democracy in the country and ensure lasting peace with Israel. In the process, Lebanon has been ravaged, with hundreds killed, nearly a half-million driven from their homes and vast damage to roads and bridges.

Quoted from Newsvine. Strengthen democracy? What bullshit!

And then I found this article: 25 ways to supress the truth! [go here for the explanations] Read the bolded ones….

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
2. Become incredulous and indignant.
3. Create rumor mongers.
4. Use a straw man.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule.
6. Hit and Run.
7. Question motives.
8. Invoke authority
9. Play Dumb.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions.
12. Enigmas have no solution.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic.
14. Demand complete solutions.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses.
17. Change the subject.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs.
20. False evidence.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body.
22. Manufacture a new truth.
23. Create bigger distractions
24. Silence critics
25. Vanish.

Tell me if any of the above sounded familiar?