SGFRAG

It is easier to contract STDs and AIDS from sex with acquaintances than with prostitutes. This is because one tends to be mindful of the need to be careful and to use condoms with prostitutes unlike the carelessness and abandon one has during sex with an acquaintance.

Prostitutes provide an essential service ; often, it is not only sexual release but also the companionship that she offers. One famous writer has written that if not for a prostitute, he would have gone mad after his divorce.

And, once again I say that prostitutes have been driven underground by society’s holier than thou attitude. Prostitutes don’t cheat - unlike co_ck teasers. (They give what they promised). They don’t break up families - unlike girlfriends. In fact, they help hold families together, help keep sodomy and bestiality at bay, help prevent lechery and help prevent rapes.

Prostitutes are direct and more honest than most people. In this sense, lawyers are worse than prostitutes. Many categories of priestigious and highly paid professionals are worse than prostitutes. And everyone now knows that fat cat bankers are worse than prostitutes.

She walks towards the streets. Each face holds
Signs of death and marks of woe
Bored with life, sapped by regrets.
She must do it or she is dead.

She will promise, happiness her ware
Ward off remarks and piercing stares
Risk her life and hope for the best
Tonight she has no time for hypocrisy.

She knows someone who wanted to be rich.
But she wishes she need not do it.
Yet she cannot tell of her sacrifice
For those who will curse her and pretend they never met.

Don’t think of tomorrow, hold the dollars you need.
The happy faces and vibrant crowds are indeed
Drawn to the world you help create.
Who says she breaks up families?
http://forums.asiaone.com/showthread.php?t=15748

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Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu

SINGAPORE: Two out of 14 PAP-run town councils in Singapore have invested in Lehman-linked structured products.

Holland-Bukit Panjang and Pasir Ris-Punggol town councils have invested a total of S$12 million in DBS High Notes, Lehman Brothers’ Minibond Notes and Merrill Lynch’s Jubilee Series 3.

That’s about 0.6 per cent of the total funds available for investments.

Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu gave this update in Parliament on Monday.

Town councils can invest up to 35 per cent of their sinking funds in corporate bonds and equities.

Based on the financial statements submitted to the National Development Ministry for 2007, Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council invested about S$8 million or 6.7 per cent of its available funds while Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council invested some 2.6 per cent totalling S$4 million.

Other town councils such as Aljunied, Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang, Hong Kah, Marine Parade, Tampines and Tanjong Pagar also have exposure to Lehman Brothers.

The fund managers appointed by these town councils invested S$4 million in Lehman Brothers through their investment portfolio.

These account for less than one per cent of each town council’s funds available for investments. - CNA/vm

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/390407/1/.html

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Oh artists. You can get away with anything, can’t you?

Link [Possibly NSFW]

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TOKYO: Japan’s economy, the second largest in the world, has entered its first recession in seven years as the global financial crisis batters exports and business investment, official data showed Monday.

Japan joins Germany and Italy on the list of major economies that are officially in recession, despite emergency steps by world powers to try to shield the global economy from months of turmoil on financial markets.

The Japanese economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1 per cent in the three months to September, after shrinking 0.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year, according to figures from the Cabinet Office.

The data “showed that the economy is in a recession phase. There are risks it may worsen further,” said Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano.

It is the first time since the third quarter of 2001 that Japan has entered a recession, which is usually defined as two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted at an annualised rate of 0.4 per cent.

Analyst forecasts, on average, had been for modest growth of 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Tokyo’s Nikkei stock index fell 1.3 per cent in early trade.

Business investment slumped 1.7 per cent in the third quarter while exports were worse than expected, as the financial crisis triggered by a US housing slump squeezed other major economies.

“Japan was dragged down by the weakness in the global economy,” said Kyohei Morita, chief Japan economist at Barclays Capital, who expects the recession to last for four quarters in total.

Although Japan has not suffered financial turmoil on the same scale as the United States or Europe, its trade-dependent economy remains highly vulnerable to global downturns.

“Japan is as export-driven as ever. So as long as exports are slowing due the weakness of the global economy, we cannot escape,” said Morita.

After suffering a series of on-off recessions in the 1990s, Japan had been slowly recovering on the back of brisk exports and business investment.

Corporate profits, however, are now sliding as exports suffer from the global slowdown, prompting companies to slash investment in new equipment and factories, which had been a key driver of economic growth.

Consumer spending rose 0.3 per cent in the third quarter helped by a hot summer and demand for televisions ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

But analysts said Japanese consumers are likely to tighten the purse strings as the economy worsens and companies shed workers.

“We are already seeing the start of a vicious cycle in which a worsening labour market leads to slack consumption,” said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at the Monex brokerage firm.

Analysts see little prospect of a recovery any time soon. The Japanese economy is expected to contract 0.1 per cent in 2009, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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CHANGE must come to Singapore - but within the ruling People’s Action Party rather than in the form of having a two-party system.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday stressed that the PAP must constantly evolve to keep up with the times. This means renewing its membership and leadership ranks, and coming up with fresh ways to engage Singaporeans.

Mr Lee, who is secretary-general of the PAP, said: ‘Change has to take place in Singapore but change must take place not (between parties) but within the PAP.

‘As long as the PAP changes itself, and continues to provide clean and good government, and the lives of Singaporeans improve, the country is much better off with one dominant, strong, clean, good party.’

Addressing over 1,000 cadres at the annual PAP Conference at the Toa Payoh sports hub, Mr Lee acknowledged the desire for change among electorates across the world.

‘It has happened in Australia, it’s happened in New Zealand recently,’ he noted. And most notably, in the United States too, where Democratic candidate Barack Obama swept to victory on his campaign platform of change.

Observed Mr Lee: ‘So the country is set on a new direction. And if Obama succeeds, that’s good.

‘If he doesn’t succeed after four years or eight years, the Americans will try again with a new President, change party, the Republicans set a new direction.’

But while the US is a big country with a big pool from which to find political talent, there is no such guarantee in smaller countries, he said.

‘In Asia, it very seldom works because having two or more parties has not guaranteed good governance or progress,’ he added, citing Taiwan as an example.

In the last decade, its unhappy voters had swung from the Kuomintang (KMT), to the Democratic Progressive Party, and back to KMT again.

‘By Western definitions of democracy, Taiwan qualifies because it’s got two changes of government - in, out, in.

‘But it is not a political system which is working properly. And I don’t think you want that kind of political system in Singapore,’ he said.

He added however that this doesn’t mean that the PAP has a blank cheque: It has to account to voters at the polls every five years. New parties will emerge quickly to take it on if ’something goes wrong with the PAP’, he said.

Neither did it mean it was the job of the PAP to build up the opposition, he added. ‘It’s hard enough to find one team to look after the country. How can you find two? As a small country, we must have a first division team, an outstanding group of people who can make up for our many limitations,’ he said.

The PAP has managed to survive more than 50 years because it kept itself ‘vigorous, lean, relevant, able to win elections’, and adjusting its leadership styles to ’suit new generations of Singaporeans,’ he noted.

He cited initiatives such as the PAP Policy Forum in which younger party members discuss policy making issues, intra-party elections to district committees, and establishing a presence in the new media.

It is difficult for political parties to stay vigorous, he allowed.

In Japan for instance, the Liberal Democratic Party has been in power for half a century, but ‘has not sustained its vigour’. With no nurturing of younger talent, there is a loss of energy and fresh ideas, observed Mr Lee. ‘So for more than a decade Japan has had a series of weak governments.’

China’s Communist Party, on the other hand, is trying to keep itself strong, vigorous and tied to the ground. This was why it was very interested in Singapore’s political experience, and sent many study teams here.

Mr Lee cautioned however that this did not mean the PAP had found the magic formula to keep itself strong. ‘It is always difficult to carry out self-renewal, to respond creatively to new challenges, to reinvent ourselves. But it is vital for the PAP to make every attempt,’ he said.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_303018.html?vgnmr=1

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2-party system won’t work

A TWO-PARTY system will not work in Singapore, which is much better off with ‘one dominant, clean and good party,’ said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Sunday.

But he acknowledged that the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) ’should not have a carte blanche’.

Addressing the PAP conference at Toa Payoh sports hall, PM Lee who is the general secretary of the party, said just as changes are taking place in Singapore, so must PAP continue to evolve.

‘As long as the PAP changes itself, and continues to provide clean and good government, the country is much better off with one dominant, strong, clean and good party,’ he told cadres, stressing that the party has to account to voters at elections every five years.

‘If you’re given a renewed mandate, so long as it continues to evolve, then even if this generation of ministers doesn’t work, we will find a new generation of ministers who will be able to adapt our policies and make them work.’

‘If the party doesn’t work, if something goes wrong with the party, you can be sure new parties will come, new contests will come, people will split up to take on the government in no time.’

Mr Lee said the two-party system works in America because ‘it’s a superpower, a continent’.

But in smaller countries, there is no guarantee that a new player can turn up, who will bring positive results.

‘There’s no guarantee that if something has gone wrong, everything can be put right, and you can put Humpty Dumpty together again,’ he cautioned.

In Asia, a dual party system ‘very seldom works’ because it has been shown that having two or more parties would not guarantee good governance or progress, said Mr Lee, citing Taiwan as an example.

Taiwan’s economy stagnated under the opposition DPP and its politics were polarised because Taipei was always quarrelling with China. Corruption worsened and the voters booted out President Chen Shui-bian, and voted in Kuomingtan’s Ma Ying-jeou.

‘But it is not so easy to get the economy restarted. It’s also very difficult to restore good government,’ added PM Lee, pointing to the recent street protests over Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin’s historic visit to Taipei.

‘I don’t think you want that kind of political system in Singapore. I don’t think that a two-party system can work in Spore,’ said Mr Lee.

The Prime Minister said it not PAP’s job to build up the opposition or to split the party into two because ‘it’s hard enough to find one team’ to take charge of the country.

Elaborating, he told the conference: ‘If we split our Cabinet into two groups, you must end up with two second division teams and Singapore cannot afford a second division team.

‘As a small country we must have a first division team, an outstanding group of people who can make up for our many limitations and make sure that Singaporeans get the standard of life they want. We cannot compromise on this.

‘That’s why we must have leadership self-renewal… throughout our grassroots at all levels.’

On recent media reports about the Elections Department has started preparations for the general election, which is due at the latest by Feb 2, 2012, prompting political analysts and observers to speculate that a snap poll is imminent, PM Lee said this is not a political decision.

‘If you want to know whether elections are coming, you track our political renewal, whom we have, whom we have put on the ground, who are the new faces in the party, are they right to be fielded?’ he said.

‘And when they are, you can be sure we will put forward a strong team. That’s the critical factor to determine whether Singapore will continue to enjoy stability and good government in the long run.’

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Amazing sculptor who apparently cannot read or write can sculpt and paint objects the size of blood cells.

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- With the recent revamp of PAP’s website as well as the addition of PAP videos, Martyn See asks if they’ve sought the Board of Film Censors approval.

- Andrew Loh of TOC asks, “Where are all the politicians” in light of the mini-bond/credit-linked notes saga.

- PM Lee expects Singaporeans to embrace a one-party rule. In other news, Kim Jong Il tells people of North Korea that they’re living the good life and to continue ‘voting’ for them.

To be updated as more stuff gets posted. YO.

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From a couple of years back. still awesome though

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WORD.

Picture is not a photoshop and is available at whitehouse.gov (right-click image properties for verification)

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