Another Nuggets from Daddy

The Great Repricing

2009-04-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

A great speech by Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo, delivered at the Cambridge University on 27 March 2009. The Great Repricing.

Bush's greatest moments

2009-03-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about Obama now, and the economy. Let's not forget the good old days, when we had George Bush entertaining the world.
Here are some funny ones:

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." --Washington, D.C. June 18, 2002

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." --Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

"We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories ... And we'll find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." --Washington, D.C., May 30, 2003
"Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be somewhere!" --joking about his administration's failure to find WMDs in Iraq as he narrated a comic slideshow during the Radio & TV Correspondents' Association dinner, Washington, D.C., March 24, 2004

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000

"I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." --Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." --Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

"They misunderestimated me." --Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

"For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it." --Philadelphia, Penn., May 14, 2001

"I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe -- I believe what I believe is right." --Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001

"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." --Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2001
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." --Washington, D.C., March 13, 2002

And.... one of his last words,

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." --in parting words to world leaders at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as those present looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008

Obama Outraged at AIG bonus payments (again!)

2009-03-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

President Barack Obama is outraged, and rightly so. After AIG is being kept alive on a government bailout of up to $180 billion, they are intending now to pay out $165 million in bonuses to their talented executives.

"This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," Obama said. "Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay," he said at the White House.

This is ridiculous. AIG played around with the public money, lost billions, brought down the whole whole, come to the taxpayers to ask for bailout, and now reward themselves with more millions? What talents are there if they lose billions? What rewards should there be for risking and losing people money? How can the taxpayers pay them bonus again?

The Credit Crisis

2009-03-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

The Credit Crisis - Animatic from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

I first saw this from Mr Brown's blog, and must say this is a very good and simple explanation of the the current crisis. My question is: Is Money a Zero sum game? How is it the world has so much money the last few years? And now where have all the money gone to?

Japan Holiday – Mt Fuji

2009-03-12T07:26:00.001-07:00

We went to the famous Mt Fuji, and we love it! Its beautiful! It is so well-shaped. They said every Japanese must climb at least once in a lifetime. But if one go a second time, he is crazy. Hee hee. You have to go, absolutely no regret!

Mid point tourist rest point in Mt Fuji.

However, may I suggest you should also go to Mt Hakone, a mountain just beside Mt Fuji. To get there, you have to travel on a nice cruise boat on a mountain lake. See picture below. Then you take a cable car up to the peak. From this peak, you can have a great view of Fuji at the side.

Here is a sunset view of Mt Fuji from Mt Hakone.
There is also many nice spa resorts on the foot of Mt Hakone, very nice. Too bad I didn't book the resorts here. Maybe next time.

How was Mt Fuji formed?
They said Fuji is the last the three mountains to emerge from the volcanic eruptions, and it is certainly the most awesome. The earlier two erupted furiously and quickly, and as such, their shapes were not so symmetrical and well-formed. Mt Fuji volcano lava burst in two phases, the first is quick and tall, while the second phase of volcanic lava was slow and gradual. As such, the lava flow down slowly and nicely, creating a nice, symmetrical, majestic looking mountain. Lessons for us, if we want to create something beautifully, sometime we have to do it slowly, patiently, and over a couple of phases.

Singapore Government and Election

2009-03-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

In Singapore, the people are talking about when is the next General Election again. Given that the recession is beginning to hit here, and its expected to long and hard, I think this is a good time for an election for the ruling party. It's strange that when the economy is down, then it's a very good time to call election. Many Singaporeans are pragmatic people, and their first worry is bread and butter issues like the economy, jobs, etc. And ruling party PAP has proven itself to be the best economic architect for Singapore, and many people would voted for the safest choice party. This was what happened during last Sept11 recession where PAP got one of their best mandate so far. Of course, some people would voted for the opposition because recession is hitting the pocket, and they would then started to blame the government. However, the current recession is unique and unprecedented where it hit the whole world. No one in Singapore would be able to completely defend itself. Given Singapore's small size and lack of natural resources, what has been achieved thus far is already remarkable. However, if recession hit many people very long and hard, ground resentment could grow so strong that the people vote for the opposition no matter who they are. It will become simply a vote of protest, rather than a choice based on merit.

Ironically sometime when the economy is good and everyone is well taken care, then it may be a bad time for election for the ruling party. When the basic needs are there, then people will start to demand more freedom, more alternative voices, more autonomy, more checks on the party, and risk-taking in choice of party leadership. As such, a myriad issue would be raised in the election speeches.

I am not necessarily a 100% pro ruling party supporter. But honestly, given what Singapore has achieved from our humble past as a tiny nation as British colony and independence in 1965, to now a city state with first world living standard and per capita GDP, I have to say our government has done well. Many countries which are bigger, older, and richer (in natural resources) than us did not done as well. Of course, not everything is nice here. There are indeed many concerns in the ways the party runs the Republic. I have lived through many elections in Singapore, over three places, but yet I have not been able to vote. My three different constituencies have always been walked over, meaning no Opposition contestion. As such, I have never been able to exercise my right as a democratic citizens to vote. But does it matter? I have learned to view Singapore as Singapore Inc company. The country is run like an enterprise. The board decide and pick the management, and staffs do not vote their management.

Given the current structure, I think it is extremely hard for Singapore to grow a strong and viable two parties system like USA or UK. Neither will a system of many small and weak opposition parties be a path. There are many reasons for this, perhaps we can talk about another day. Unless there are severe crisises, I think Singapore will continue to be ruled by one dominant ruling party, with a few small oppositions as a token alternative voices on the government.

So long as everyone is happy, got a good job with reasonable pay, we do our work and move on in life. Let the leaders do their work in continung the good work. Until such a day when the party has degenerated into a corrupt party, we will kick it out. Pray that day will never come.

We cannot expect a perfect government. Every party has its strength and flaws. Judged on it's whole, it has done well. If there are flaws, raise it as a constructive feedback and we solve it together. Just dont get into childish complaints and protest without offering a good solution.

Japan: Sleeping Japanese Ladies from Different Eras

2009-03-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

These two Japanese ladies from two different era and sub-culture were sitting side by side and sleeping in a Tokyo train. The traditional lady is sitting up straight, prim and proper. The modern lady was in a not-so-elegant posture, and couldn't care less.

Interesting evolution of tradition culture.

Japan: The cleanest place on earth

2009-03-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Japan is probably the neatest and cleanest place in the world. The people, the streets, and yea.... the toilets. It is a place you can literally say you won't see shit. Every toilets in the city I go to, be it the hotels, malls, or public toilets, there is always this machine called the Japanese Washlet which, at a press of a button, will spray water into your private area and washes it clean. Then you can flush the shit down. Once flushed, you can then wipe yourself dry, and voila, everything is nice and clean, and you don't need to see any shit at all. Its so good I thought of buying one for myself back home.

There is also an extremely high tech, wireless toilet control panel which comes with a mind-boggling 38 buttons to everything like water clean, blow dry, seat heating, massage, automatic lid opening, flush, aircon, etc etc. It's only in Japan where there is such an invention...... and demand.

Slumdog Millionaire: Fact or Fiction?

2009-03-01T07:10:00.000-08:00

Slumdog Millionaire was a great Oscar winner, but it was also a movie with many controversy. It was an Indian movie made by a Westerner, on how a few kids who grew up in Mumbai slums grew up and one of them became a millionaire through a game show.

While many Indians rejoiced at how an Indian film swept eight Oscars and gained world recognition, many Indians also condemned the show for how the West portrayed India's slum. The most notable condemnation came from old iconic Boolywood king, Amitabh Bachchan, who was ironically featured in the film as a superstar. He said in his blog, "If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as a third-world, dirty, underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations".

I am a Chinese Asian, and neither Western nor Indian. As such, I am trying to speak from a non-bias view. I think it's alright to depict the horrors of Indian slums. They are there, and there is no denying that. While every first world countries have their "underbelly" slums, it is indeed a fact that India's slum is very extensive by proportion. The West is thus not making fun of India's poor.

On the other hand, what disturbed me more in the show was the fact there not a single good person in the show. There's corrupt and cruel policemen, ruthless and crazy gangsters, exploiters, rioters, thieves, killers, etc etc. Extreme cruelty like digging out kid's eye to make them better beggars. The game show presenter is slimy. The good buddy Salim betrayed his friend Jamal. Latika forsaked Jamal for Salim when he was in power. And even the hero Jamal was not in any way a hero or a model. He was simply living for his (selfish) dreams. There was a scene where young Jamal was kicked by an Indian adult for stealing, and he shouted "This is the real India" to a American couple to gain sympathy. The only one who show sympathy was the American couple, who replied "Let us show you the real America" and gave the kid some good money. In sense, I get a little depressed watching this movie as I couldn't find a Indian hero to identify with. Everyone is selfish. Everyone is for his own. Everyone couldn't care less about his fellow neighbour.

But perhaps this is reality?

In real life, a day after the boy Azharuddin returned from Oscar Hollywood, he was beaten by his dad for refusing to do a press interview because he was too tired from the jetlag. His day slapped and kicked him badly. The girl Rubina's return home was not good either. The child, who plays the younger version of Jamal's love interest, Latika, came back to a warring family with both her biological mother, Khushi, and her stepmother, Munni, claiming custody of her. These slum kids still live in the kind of slums that are home to half of Mumbai's population.

I really wished for more love, compassion, and mercy in humanity. If everyone is only caring for his own, then we would be slumdogs even though we may be millionaires.

Barry Schwartz on our loss of wisdom

2009-03-01T02:39:00.000-08:00

TED Talks Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for "practical wisdom" as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html

Yes, this is an excellent speech. Yes, what we need is real wisdom, moral, and character. Not more rules, and mere incentives for motivations.

Human Right, Lootings... It's all Hypocrisy

2009-02-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

The French Christie recently auctioned off two of China's Qing Dynasty animal heads for 14million euro each. China demanded it back as these are national treasures, for the French had looted them from the Summer Palace 150 years ago.

Mr Pierre Berge was convinced of his legal right to the bronzes. He defended the interests of museums worldwide which hold "many other looted pieces". He even justified his greed with "human rights" noble values, telling the French media that he is "ready to give these Chinese heads to China if they are ready to recognize human rights".

While I may not agree with everything China is doing in Tibet, I think the French Christie group is full of greed and hypocrisy. What human rights is there to talk about? What the French and Europeans did to China back in the Opium War was far worse than what China is doing today. The European looted, ransacked, burnt, dissecrate, sold opium, kill the Chinese people all for the sake of selfish money and power. These two animals heads were the result of looting against humanity. So what "human rights" is there to talk about?

Give the looting back to China. Give China some time to stablise the human rights issues. The Europeans took thousands of years to achieve its current standard. China is only just recovering from feudalism and communism.

Japan Holiday 1 – Colors

2009-02-24T05:40:00.000-08:00

1 Blue

There is so much blue sky.

2 Orange

Sunrise, Sunset…… this is lovely.

3 Orange Brown

Autumn maples leaves in Sendai….. charming.

4 Green

Greenery everywhere

5 White

Yea, coming from Singapore…. The sight of pure white snow is fascinating!

6 Multi-Colour

DIsneyland, Helllo Kitty Land, etc etc.

7 Transparent

Huh? Transparent, no color? Yes, Japan is known for the hot spring Onsen water. Oooo, I can relax here forever!

8 Dazzle

Tokyo, the city of neon light.

Dubai - When coming again?

2009-02-24T03:47:00.001-08:00

Yes, indeed it is challenging time in Dubai. This is a city with no oil, but it engineered its phenomenal growth through massive investment. As such, when the credit crunch hit, many developers are in trouble. While 60% of the Dubai real estate projects are stalled, the remaining 40% is still a very big market compared to Singapore. The reaction on the ground is loud, but I see that is because they have started from a stratosphere level of activities in the first place. So when things are coming back to “normal” in Dubai, the fall seems great. But even this “normal” is still a lot of building activities compared to Singapore!

Abu Dhabi and Qatar are cities with real oil and money, and I believe they are waiting at the side to see when they can come and buy Dubai at a cheap price. Yes indeed. Today paper reported that Abu Dhabi Central Bank has issued a US$20B bond to finance Dubai government, and this has lifted the market close to 8%. More funds may be needed.

Moving ahead, the world is seeing an unprecedented economic recession. Every market is hit. More bad news is expected. The Middle East IB market is no longer an easy gold mine. We just have to work harder and smarter. There are little alternatives.

Predictions that missed the mark

2009-02-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

I found the following article, and it really tells us something. Think beyond, and out of the box. Don't be caged in by our old prejudices.

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In 1894, the president of the Royal Society, William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, predicted that radio had no future. The first radio factory was opened five years later. Today, there are more than one billion radio sets in the world, tuned to more than 33 000 radio stations around the world. He also predicted that heavier-than-air flying machines were impossible. The Wright Brother's first flight covered a distance equal to only half the length of the wingspan of a Boeing 747. He also said, "X-rays will prove to be a hoax."

In the 6th century BC Greek mathematician Pythagoras said that earth is round - but few agreed with him. Greek astronomer Aristarchos said in the 3rd century BC that earth revolves around the sun - but the idea was not accepted. In the 2nd century BC Greek astronomer Erastosthenes accurately measured the distance around the earth at about 40,000 km (24,860 miles) - but nobody believed him. In the 2nd century AD Greek astronomer Ptolemy stated that earth was the centre of the universe - most people believed him for the next 1,400 years.

In the early 20th century a world market for only 4 million automobiles was made because "the world would run out of chauffeurs." Shortly after the end of World War II (1945), the whole of Volkswagen, factory and patents, was offered free to Henry Ford II. He dismissed the Volkswagen Beetle as a bad design. Today, more than 70 million motorcars are produced every year. The Beetle became one of the best-selling vehicles of all time.

The telephone was not widely appreciated for the first 15 years because people did not see a use for it. In fact, in the British parliament it was mentioned there was no need for telephones because "we have enough messengers here." Western Union believed that it could never replace the telegraph. In 1876, an internal memo read: "This telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." Even Mark Twain, upon being invited by Alexander Graham Bell to invest $5 000 in the new invention, could not see a future in the telephone.

Irish scientist, Dr. Dionysius Lardner (1793 - 1859) didn't believe that trains could contribute much in speedy transport. He wrote: "Rail travel at high speed is not possible, because passengers ' would die of asphyxia' [suffocation]." Today, trains reach speeds of 500 km/h.

In 1927, H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, asked, "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" In 1936, Radio Times editor Rex Lambert thought "Television won't matter in your lifetime or mine."

In 1943, Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM forecast a world market for "maybe only five computers." Years before IBM launched the personal computer in 1981, Xerox had already successfully designed and used PCs internally... but decided to concentrate on the production of photocopiers. Even Ken Olson, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, said in 1977, "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

After the invention of the transistor in 1947, several US electronics companies rejected the idea of a portable radio. Apparently it was thought nobody would want to carry a radio around. When Bell put the transistor on the market in 1952 they had few takers apart from a small japanese start-up called Sony. They introduced the transistor radio in 1954.

In 1894, A.A. Michelson, who with E.W. Morley seven years earlier experimentally demonstrated the constancy of the speed of light, said that the future of science would consist of "adding a few decimal places to the results already obtained."

In 1954, a concert manager fired Elvis Presley, saying, "You ought to go back to driving a truck." In 1962, Decca Records rejected the Beatles, "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."

In 1966, Time Magazine predicted, "By 2000, the machines will be producing so much that everyone in the U.S. will, in effect, be independently wealthy." In that year too CoCo Chanel said about miniskirts: "It's a bad joke that won't last. Not with winter coming."

Sometimes a few decimal places make a massive difference. Library House explains that investment banks rely on computer models to direct trading activity; in August 2007, Goldman Sachs’ hedge funds and other quant funds were left exposed by a series of market swings, each of which their software predicted would occur only once every 100,000 years. Goldman Sachs required a $3 billion (€1.9 billion) bailout, with other banks joining the hand-out queue.

Perhaps the guy who got it wrong most was the commissioner of the US Office of Patents: in 1899, Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, assured President McKinley that "everything that can be invented has been invented."

To prophesy is extremely difficult - especially with regard to the future. - Chinese proverb

Abandon the Hummer

2009-02-23T03:17:00.000-08:00

Why do people have to drive a Hummer in the city? Its like a heavy weight tank, and how big must the car be to boast the driver's ego? Look at the picture, its so much bigger than an ordinary sedan. Typically, it drinks about 24litres per 100 km, or 5km per litre. On the other hand, a Toyota Camry only needs 7litres per 100km, or 14km per litre.

Be considerate, and conserve Earth resources.

Fantastic Road Website

2009-02-19T06:22:00.001-08:00

If you want a website that can tell you how to go from one place to another in Singapore.....
by Taxi, Car, or Public Transport....
and if on public transport, choose between by Bus-only, or Bus-and-Train.....
how much is the ERP....
how long is the travel time.....
what buses are there on which road....
and see the Google earth pic from....
and even 360' pictures taken from the road itself.....(!)......

Come to http://www.gothere.sg/
Fantastic website!

US 'keen to strengthen Asia ties'

2009-02-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Among other things, the Obama administration is getting things right when Hillary Clinton made Asia her first overseas trip as Secretary of State. She also stressed that the US was keen to work more collaboratively with China. Read more in BBC.

Avoid the "Double Hit"

2009-02-11T19:14:00.000-08:00

Oftentimes, I have seen a lot of people punishing themselves after they suffered a setup. As a result, they got hit by the setback - first time by the setback, and second time by themselves. What do I mean? Let see some example.

You found that you left an expensive tonic or chocolate on the shelve for too long, and it's past the expiry date. You got hit once. Feeling guilty, you couldn't let it go to waste, and so eat it. As a result, you risk a tummy problem. Double hit. Why not just throw it away and be done with it?
You lost money in shares. Hit once. As a result, you feel very moody for weeks, months, or years. Double hit. Why not just leave the loss out of your mind, and get on with life?
You have a problem with a friend. Perhaps it was a quarrel, or you felt cheated by him. Instead of solving the problem or simply avoiding the person, many people brood for a long time over the issues, causing them sleepless nights, and high blood pressure.

There are countless more examples we can list. We have to learn to mentally divorce ourselves from the first setup, and instead focus on what we can do to move forward.

Quote of the Day

2009-02-10T01:53:00.001-08:00

"Wise man talk because they have something to say,
Fools because they have to say something."

Immoral Executives

2009-02-01T05:06:00.000-08:00

It is now very obvious that many of the American top CEO has little morals and consideration for the people below them. They created subprime crisis, and brought whole world into a unprecedented recession. While the companies were in severe trouble, they were still spending billions in bonus and benefits on themselves. When the money run dry, they cried for government bailout. With the new taxpayers' money, the mega-bonus continue.

AIG spent on lavish parties in St Regis, Ford and GM came in private jets, and were slammed. Somehow, the remainding CEO dont learnt their lessons, and continue to buy private jets like Citibank, Merrill Lynch on a US$1.2M office, even more lavish parties, and more million dollar bonus.

How to justify these high pay? They said you need to pay to retain talent. Talent? What talents? These immoral morons just brought the whole world into a recession!

Now, Obama ruled that companies on bailout will have a salary limit of US$500k for their staffs. Hmmm, looking at how most CEO have put their personal interest before company's or country's interest, what would they do? A CEO with a $50M salary will probably siphon a dying company dry, and then let it died, rather than opt for government bailout and get "punished" with a severe paycut.

GREED

2009-02-01T04:24:00.000-08:00

The world is now in an unprecedented economic crisis. May I list what I see as the basic reasons for how it started.....

The number reason is simple - GREED. The Bible said "The love of money is the root of all evil", and indeed it is the root of all the mess happening to us today.

Some years back, the Wall Street executives found that it was very lucrative to sell mortgages to the sub-prime market, people who couldn't really afford to buy houses. It was making so much money for the banks that they started to resell these loans to other banks to raise more funds. Everyone knew this was a bubble, but who cares? Make money while you can. Greed.

Since everyone was making so much money then, the world is flushed with cash. And these money is looking for somewhere to invest to make even more money. So the banks hired army of managers to sell all sort of financial products to the people. Many structured products surfaced. Greed.

Companies begin to build new buildings and cities. People spent and buy like crazy. Factories rolled out products. Prices of raw material like oil, steel and corn, began to increase. Greedy companies then bought more raw materials to hoard them so as to sell them at higher prices. This created even more supply shortage. Speculators attacked the commodities, and the prices skyrocketed. The rising prices encouraged even more people to invest in new properties and infrastructures. So people borrowed more money to invest more. Leverage is the order of the day. Greed.

However, when American housing prices finally collapsed, many people cannot service their loans. Foreclosures were then the natural consequence. The subprime mortages then becomes toxic assets. Banks with subprime collapsed. Banks which lent to banks with subprime also collapsed. Stocks prices dived.

American consumers are losing their homes, so who can afford to spend on other things like car, clothes, toys, etc? Suddenly consumer demand went into free-fall. Companies who have been ramping up productions suddenly finds that their stockpile were stuck. Manufacturing companies are into trouble. Layoffs striked. The trouble cascaded to other sectors like transportation, services, and one by one, everyone is grabbing with falling credit and demand.

Don't the American ever learn? It was only less than 10 years ago while they created the Dotcom bubble. And now they created bigger one which brought the whole world down with them. Greed.

What were Washington and the Fed doing? Those fellas believed in letting free markets run, and minimal intervention. I think the truth is, the Bush Republican government probably have some vested interest in the game, and thus let Wall Street run it course. The bubble is now so apparent, and yet how the smartest people in Washington and Wall Street now see it then? Greed.

Why some civilisations grow more than others? A Geographic explaination.

2009-01-23T23:17:00.000-08:00

I was watching a National Geographic documentary “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. It asked the question why some civilizations prospered and grow into might nations, while other remained in rural livings. Is it because one is smarter than the other? Professor Jared Diamond explore and explain what he sees as the reasons, and here are some points which I remembered from the show:

Early civilization grow largely because of Geography (is he saying this because the show is sponsored by National Geographic? haha).
The people have to move from mere hunting to farming so that food can be produced in large quantities. With this, men can have a lot more time to spend to develop higher level innovation
Provision of nutritional crops is important to feeding the people well.

There are thousands of animal species today, but only a selected few are useful for human domestication and farming. Cows, sheep, goats, horses, chicken, ducks, etc provided muscle power, meat, milk, skin, for men. The early days of cattle powered plough helps to increase farmer productivity greatly. These animals first appeared in Middle East and Asia, and thus help the civilization to grow. It is only when these animals are exported to Europe, America, other parts of Asia, etc, that these places can grow too.
In the early days, it is easier to trade in East-West route than North-South because crossing latitude means crossing climatic zones as well. Thus, Asia and Middle East and Europe can trade, while North and South America didn’t.
The development and use of guns and steel in swords helped the Europeans to conquer much of the New World (America) and Asia.
The Europeans unknowingly brought germs like smallpox into New World, which killed most of the natives South American. The Europeans were somehow immured to these diseases because they have seen similar pandemic, and has grown some forms of immunity. On the other hand, Euporeans failed to colonize Africa because they fell under the local diseases like Malaria, which which plague of Africa till this day.
Does this means that people living in the Equator is damned to curse of diseases like Malaria? Not so, countries like Singapore and Malaysia started as rural third-world countries just 50 years ago, but have spend great efforts to clean their environment to free themselves. Today, Singapore living condition and GDP is in the first world league.

However, may I also add a few points to this. Let's start on the factors which shaped our civilization in the ancient history. We also need to know that in this modern age of technology and connectivity, much of these advantages and disadvantages are normalized, although certain key factors will remain unchanged.

Yes, the latitude does played a great part, because it affects the climate, animals, and human habits. The climate is important in shaping our advancement. We can clearly see that much the technology progress lied in the temperate countries rather than the hot topical or the cold arctic zones. Why so? In the hot topical climate, the temperature can rise to a hot and humid 35C in the afternoon, and this is extremely uncomfortable. As such, the people will then gets into a lazy, lethargic mood, and will probably wasted their time away sleeping in the afternoon. On the other hand, the extreme cold of arctic will get the people to hunker down in their houses. However, in the temperate climate, the people of the past will work on most of the day, thus increasing their productivity greatly. In modern days of airconditioning and heaters, these factors are clearly not as important.
The four seasons of the temperate zones also means that the people then have months of good weathers and good crops, and months of harsh winter with no crops. As such, they were forced to plan for the future, to work hard, gathered and stored food for winter. These made the people forward-looking, hardworking, and smarter. On the other hand, people in the topics had food all year round, and the other difference in climate were the hot and wet seasons. There is no need to plan for winter. As such, their mindsets were to take thing easy.
Natural resources like oil, gold, livestock, timber, water, rubber, etc have all helped many nations leapfrog their economic growth.

All said, I still believe there are some intrinsic differences in races which also led to civilizations rise and fall. Different mindsets, talents, culture, behaviors, religion, political systems, etc shaped the growth of different civilizations. I hope I don't sound racist, or advocating that one race is superior to another, but simply stating that there are differences in each's strength and weakness. We shall talk about this another day.

Obama, the US President

2009-01-19T22:56:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama, will become the 44th President of the United States of America. This is an extraordinary man for the extraordinary period. Against the worst American's public reputation and standing in the world, we are finally seeing a man of talent for the top job. Amercia have created or oversaw much of the world's woes in the world's economy, financial market, war, energy, food prices and environment. Now is the time for repair and rebuild.

We are seeing...
probably one of the best US president in modern history,
coming to replace the worst US president,
in one of the worst period in recent US history,
to perform a job under the most expectation and anticipation from the world.

This is Change, a Black Man in the White House. From the old days of America's black slavery, we are seeing a black man presiding over country. Less than a hundred years ago, the black did not even have basic human rights.

Obama seemed to have the right quality to be the president. He is focus and clear-minded. This can be seen in his steady approach throughout the election rallies. He is extremely hardworking and dedicate. Look at how fast he assemble the team after he was elected. He has the charisma and eloquence to inspire a downcast nation. He has the intelligence to navigate through the complex issues bombarding him. Some even compare him to Abraham Lincolon.

McCain team used to call Obama a terrorist. But today, Obama showed heart and wisdom by asking McCain partisan politics and work together for the restoration of America and the world.

But only time will tell if Obama is truly a great President.
We will see.

Dubai Property Shakeup?

2009-01-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Between 1997 and 2008, the Middle East, particularly Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudis are going through a massive economic boom, particularly in the real estate. Following Sept11 2001, a lot of the Arabs funds flows back to the Middle East from the West. These oil moeny were looking for a place to invest, and Dubai looked like a perfect place. Boom created more boom. Then the oil price started going north from below US$50 to a crazy US$147. During these times, the property sector in MiddleEast (ME) grew at a super crazy pace. The tallest, biggest, brighest, priciest, the latest and the greatest are all here.

But recently, the credit crunch hits ME badly. The banks would not lend or invest. The developers got into a crunch. About 60% of the projects are suspended. Many expats were laid off. And that happened when the oil project was still US$60++. Now it dropped to around US$35 today. If this the end of the bubble? Perhaps not so. The market is still huge. There is still 40% of the project in progress for now, and this is still many many times the size of many other markets. The current situation is caused also in part by the emotional reaction of the markets. Once the crisis subside, the rush to build will probably come again.

Thank You, President Bush!

2008-12-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

Two women in President Bush's White House — first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — are strongly defending the president's legacy against critics who are calling his administration one of the worst in history. Rice said that claims that the Bush administration has been one of the worst ever are "ridiculous." She added, "I think generations pretty soon are going to start to thank this president for what he's done. This generation will," Rice said. More on Yahoo News

Haha.... Let's do a quick check on Bush's accomplishment in his 8 years office.

Nothing significant was done prior to Sept11, 2001. But after that disaster, Bush became the War President.
Then Bush attacked Afghanistan. Yes, he dethroned the Teleban, but Osama-bin-Laden and Al-Qaeda remain alive and kicking.
Out of no direct connection to terror on US, Bush attacked Iraq, claiming massive "weapons of mass destruction". The UN did not approve of this war, and so this war is technically an aggression and illegal. No weapons were found, Iraq descended in complete chaos, American troops got stuck inside, and many Iraqi were any happier too. By the way, what is the real reasons for invading Iraq?
Perhaps the objective for Iraq is oil? Maybe, but then oil prices rose from US$30++ to US$147.
During this time, because of the US's tough stand and non-sensitive with the Muslim, there was a growing anti-US and anti-West feeling. As such, many of the Arab world grew more extremist. Lebanon falls into the hand of Hezbollah.
And... Palestine falls into Hamas.
And... Iran voted into a radical president Ahmadinejad.
North Korea's dear leader Kim was quietly enjoying himself until he was called Axis of Evil, and they thought they might try to be one then.
Hurriance Katrina is a natural disaster, but the Bush's rescue effort to save the people is an even bigger disaster. Thousands were left stranded while the government is wondering what to do. Compare this to how swiftly China did the rescue mission in Sichuan earthquake.
Did nothing for the environment and refused to sign the Kyoto deal. But under him, oil price skyrocketed, and everyone is now more environmentally conscious.
And finally, Bush and his gang presided over the worst financial recession in history the Great Depression. The USA dragged everyone else, ie Europe, China, Asia, India, Middle East, Russian, etc down with them.

Ten Mad Days in 2008

2008-12-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

As a villain in James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies once declared, "Let the Mayhem Begins!", so the mayhem did ravage economy in 2008. We list here 10 days of madness in 2008.

1) Jan 2, 2008
The year had a bad start. The Asia stock markets plunged at the begining, and Singapore lost 6% in one day, something unheard of in 20 years. How did this come? Many blamed it on hedge funds. This is only the beginning........

2) March 16, 2008
Bear Stearns, the world's 5th largest investment bank almost collapsed. They were later sold to JP Morgan. With Bear as their name, I wonder how else could the stock price moved.

3) July 3, 2008
Oil price hit US$147 a barrel. Inflation was the terror of the day. It was so bad that many economists thought that it was a greater threat then subprime. Of course, now we know that while inflation was tracking real demand-and-supply, and speculation boasted the extreme wild swings. Later in December, oil dropped to US$34. While the Western speculators pushed up the oil prices, the Arabs and the Russians grew very rich, and come buy over many Westerns iconic companies. Now because the no one buys cars, and Americans dumped their SUV and Hummers, oil are sitting idle in storage tanks.

4) Sept 7, 2008
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailed out. The govt pumped in US$200B to save the mortgage giants. These guys handled almost half of the US US$12T mortgage debt. If they die, many would be homeless. If you are too big to fail, dont worry. Uncle Sam will save you! I think USA has to bite the bullet and admit that sometime, Free Market Economy need bailout by Socialism.

5) Sept 15, 2008
Over a weekend, Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy, and hours later Merrill Lynch was sold to bank of America. These guys were the 4th and 3rd largest investment banks respectively. Osama bin Laden must be very happy. On the anniversary of Spet11, he needs not bomb another twin towers. Corporate America blasted their own twin banks, and brought the world down with it.

6) Sept 17, 2008
AIG almost goes belly up, but the govt stepped in with US$85B. The execuitives were so happy that they celebrated by spending US$440,000 on the retreat, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings in top end St Regis. Yea these guys are smart! Champagne on the house, brought to you by Fred.

7) Oct 27, 2008
Bloody October. The massive carnage hits. The world probably saw its worst month in history as an estimated US$5.79T was lost in the exchanges. Just before that, McCain declared "the fundamentals of this economy are strong." Yea, didn't he know it's strongly resting not on concrete but on bubbles?

8) Dec 1, 2008
US officially in recession.... finally. After screwing up the rest of the world into recession, US finally admit it. When all your major banks are downed, the days of lying are no over.

9) Dec 11, 2008
Madoff's madness. Just as we thought we done with coprorate American's greed and stupidity, Bernard Madoff's Ponzi pyramid stunned the world with US$50B loss. One trader even committed suicide over grief, while's billion is still hidden somewhere. Greed is getting sky-high...

10) Dec 16, 2008
Almost free loans! Fred cuts interest rate to 0.25%. When the rates are almost zero, this game is over... what else to do?

Paul Krugman's Views

2008-12-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

Paul Krugman wrote a very good but short analysis on the The Madoff Economy. These are courtesy of the New York Times.

In it, he talked about disproportionate share of the economy the financial industry have, the greed, the paychecks, and how the whole Wall Street is so similar to Madoff.

A New Asia?

2008-12-19T13:15:00.000-08:00

Western powers has long dominated the world. Europeans dictated and harvested much of the world's resources for centuries. London is the centre of the world in the 1800s. Then USA, with their vast size and innovation, overtook London to dominate the world in economy, culture and military in the 1900s.

What about the 2000s and beyond? Asia is very possible rising star. Japan is the No.2 economy of the world, after the USA. China is the biggest country in population, and the fastest growing. They are often perceived as the next superpower should the US declined. Korea is one of the growing Asia tigers. Traditionally, these countries were not on good speaking terms because of the past conflicts during World War 2. But recently, driven by the need to survive this economic crisis created by the West, they band together to collaborate. What if Asia were to put aside their old differences and start to work together? A combined China and Japan, being largest and fasting growing population with the 2nd largest economy, would be quite a force to be reckon with. Singapore has also long been a very strong ally of China. Hong Kong's general public is becoming more pro-China, and the people are voting for the pro-Beijing party. Taiwan wasted many years politicking for independence, but the current government and people are also working towards closer ties with China. China is no longer viewed as the dreadful communist state of the old era, but is increasing open, humane, and definitely prosperous. With this trends where Asia comes together, I see the rise of the New Asia, which can lead the world in economy, culture, and world direction.

Wars Dynamics

2008-12-18T21:14:00.002-08:00

These are some very interesting depiction of war history.

Courtesy of

Civilizations come and go

2008-12-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

Civilizations come and go. What were once mighty and feared by all, are today in third world countries. Power cores shift all the time.

The Egyptians were once a mighty nations. They built the pyramids, and rule over many. Now they are a poor nations. The Babylons were legendary, but modern Iraq is living no where leading the world. Then came the Persians, and Iran today is well.... The Greeks were the cradle of Europeans civilisation and culture. In fact, they were so advanced they invented modern democracy. The Romans empire once spanned over the whole known world. Today, Greece and Italy are the poorer countries in Europe. The Mongolians occupied the largest parcel of land in all history, but today they remain little more than subsistence living.

The Europeans kingdoms rise and wane. The French, Austrian, Spain, and Portugal were once super power. Spain were conquered much of South America and some part of Asia. They cleaned out the South American culture, and replace them with Latin. Till this date, the whole of South America only speaks Latin. England was the last of the great empire in Europe, and they once ruled over much of the Europe, India, Asia, and proudly claimed the sun never set on their flag.

Nuggets: Your success yesterday is not a guarantee for success tomorrow. Don't be complacent.

World Driven by Human Greed

2008-12-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

The recent financial crisis demonstrate what happens when human greed is left unchecked. With high sight, the subprime is so obvious as a stupid bubble, and yet every American were rushing into it, and dragging the world down with it. Lehmen Brothers CEO walked away with US$500M in salary, while he caused world to lose trillions. The agents were getting people to take loans to buy house, knowing that they can ill afford it. Banks were financing these scheme, because they can report huge profits. Now all of us are suffering from it.

Oil prices shot from US$30 to US$450 to US$147, and now to less than US$50 within a year. Did demand and supply in the same way? When it was $140++, many becomes super rich, while the millions staved because they cannot afford rice. The Arabs and Russians become flush with cash, and they in turn buy over Western companies who created this high oil price. Now that the oil price is plunging, I am worried no one will be interested to invest in renewable and alternative energy anymore, and the green movement will become nothing more than a special interest groups movement. USA may present themselves as the world leader, as they are the biggest polluters and they refused to sign Kyoto. Hmmm....while we may blame the big guns in killing the earth, we ourselves are to blame too. How many of us are willing to pay $10,000 more to buy a green car?

Nuggets: While greed can bring in wealth, it will hit everyone of us.... eventually.

Phuket Holiday

2008-12-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Went to Phuket week when the Bangkok airport was closed due to demonstrations. Many people were asking me if its safe. Aiyo.... its ok lah. In fact, Phuket is quieter because less people can come if they have to transit via Bangkok. This is good for us :) I even wish Phuket airport can be closed while I was there so that my holiday can be extended!
Nugget: Don't easily panic like the mass.

My last trip was back in April 2000, and Phuket has indeed developed a lot more since then. The island rebuild herself after the tsumani, and now there is so many new shops, malls, hotels, etc than ever. More are under construction. The islands and beaches are fantastic! It's a paradise God created on earth. Water is so clear, beaches so nice, fishes swiming around you, blue sky, lime stone rocks, etc. The Europeans really love this place. They flew 14 hours to stay here for weeks or months, and there is so many direct flights between the cities there and here. Hotels are everywhere. This is amazing that so much money is poured into these islands, and hundred of thousands of Thais are fed. In fact, business is so good that even the Indians, etc are coming here to setup shops to tap the tourist dollar.
Nugget: When you have real value, customer will come.

However, this has made the people there very mercenary. And this I dont like, cos everywhere you go, you get the sense that people are trying to rip you of your money whenever they can. The tuk-tuk, hotel staffs, shops, etc etc.... and they do not offer the same singature Thai hospitality which one expects. Where is the smile in the Land of Smile?
Nugget: Don't be complacent when you get successful, else you may soon lose your charm.