博文

目前显示的是 九月, 2010的博文

Who's the Boss?

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Tale of two cities

That Penang helped Malaysia improve its rankings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, coupled with investments of over RM1 billion, seem to cement the fact that irrespective of your political leanings, this state government seems to be doing something right. Having set the bar high, Penang has become the benchmark that all Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states to live up to. Just like Shanghai is to China, Penang is a showcase state to PR. However, it may be a victim of its own success as the ordinary Joe finds it more difficult to own a home on the island. With development geared towards high-end residential property, developers are targeting the rich as well as expatriates. At the end of the day, the theme from the World Expo, "Better City, Better Life" should remind us that economic progress should also mean an improvement to one’s overall well-being. And this includes doing the necessary for us to live in harmony with the elements as well as one another. htt...

And We Lived Happily Ever After

... what is "happily ever after". It would certainly be an easier sell for the public – happily-ever-afters are so uncomplicated, while stories where the princess does not get the prince are much more difficult to explain to your child, because it would mean explaining about life, about different routes to happiness and about compromise. ... Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid has the capacity to teach us about sacrifice, and about choosing goodness and what is morally and ethically right over personal desires, even over one’s own life. ... Most of the time, there is just one category of people, who can alternate between "good" and "bad" according to the choices they make. ... The original story has far more to teach us about real life and the pursuit of happiness than Disney’s pretty tale. ... Have we, as a society or in different pockets of society, brought into being a myth of what the constitution says and does not say, until we do not recogni...

Playing Catch Up

I use the Web to save time, simply because time is money, and the older I get, the more important time becomes. People are now looking for the most efficient ways to access the information they need - apps - instead of spending hours searching for it for free. I love apps and content-rich web sites and will pay for the content because to me time is money, and I have more money than time. I'm not a researcher. I'm an entrepreneur. Just give me information I can use, and I'll pay you for it. The Web and the Net give all of us the power to overpower the COR. I'm playing a little catch up in the world of tech.

Dogs Dog Breeds (41-50)

50. French bulldog 49. American Bulldog 48. Borzoi dogs 47. Bloodhound puppies and dogs 46. Black Russian Terrier dogs 45. Boxer dogs 44. Border Collie dogs 43. Bouvier Des Flandres dogs 42. Border Terrier dogs 41. Belgian Sheepdog

Run for Your Life

NYT: "One of the phenomena of the last decades has been the rise of the individual investor." I say it was the change in the tax code, a change in the rules of retirement that began in 1974 and evolved into the 401(k) (or other retirement funds around the world). What caused this change? Employers saying that their employees' defined benefit (DB) retirement plans, paying a worker a paycheck for life, were too expensive and that they weren't going to pay any longer. The rich lobbied Congress, and like magic, employees were turned into investors - regardless if they wanted to be investors or had any financial training. Today, millions of investors have lost billions of dollars, and millions of workers won't be able to afford retirement. NYT:"For a lot of ordinary people, the economic recovery does not feel real." How can you feel good if you're out of a job or afraid of losing your job? How can you feel good if the price of your home - if you still own...

Dogs Dog Breeds (31-40)

40. Belgian Tervuren dogs 39. Bedlington Terrier dogs 38. Belgian Malinois dogs 37. Black and Tan Coonhound dogs 36. Bearded Collie dogs 35. What Should I Be Aware of When Buying A Boston Terrier 34. Boston Terrier dogs 33. Bernese Mountain Dog 32. Bichon Frise dogs 31. Miniature Australian Shepherd dogs

Is Your Money Safe?

The biggest investment market in the world is the bond market, not the stock market. The problem is that the Federal Reserve Bank is printing money, the US Treasury is borrowing money, and many US tax payers are going broke. How can we keep borrowing and printing money and have the world trust us to pay our bills? Who will lend money if the world stops trusting the US to manage its economy? In late July the premier Chinese bond rating agency, Dagong Global Credit Rating Company downgraded US sovereign debt to AA. For reference, Dagong rates Chinese debt at AA+ and Germany and Japan are AA-. The action wasn't mentioned in Western media. "This downgrade marks a new beginning for reforming the irrational international rating system. The essential reason for the global financial crisis and the Greek crisis is that the current international rating system cannot truly reflect repayment ability." ~Dagong's Chairman, Guan Jianzhong. In other words Jianzhong is politely saying...

More options for Asia’s shoppers...

"Cross-border shopping is on the rise, as consumers are increasingly exposed to international fashion, cultural and technology products.’’ It has been predicted that by 2012 China alone will have 200 million online shoppers, with a report just released by the China e-Business Research Centre also claiming e-commerce will account for turnover topping 4.38 trillion yuan (RM2 trillion) by the end of the year. More options for Asia’s shoppers... http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51406

True Wealth - Context (Bucky)

Commit "Ego Suicide". Work only for Everybody. Generalized Principle #1: The more people I work for, the more effective I become. Generalized Principle #2: The principles are disclosed by the decisions themselves... Generalized Principle #3: Unity is Plural and at minimum Two (2) The words UP and DOWN have absolutely NO meaning. If you use the words "up" and "down", you are completely hooked by the dark ages conspiracy! The proper words are IN & OUT. OUT is any direction, IN is always pointtoable, always specific. by using the words IN and OUT you come into a COMPLETELY NEW WORLD. You're going to "tune in" very much more than you've ever done before. "TUNABILITY" The six positive and negative degrees of freedom 1. Axial rotation 2. Orbital rotation 3. Expansion / Contraction 4. Torque (Twisting) 5. Inside-Out (Inside-outing) 6. Precession Generalized Principle #4: PRECESSION is the effect of bodies in motion on other bodies ...

Let's Get Our Facts Right

I don’t propose to know everything and in spite of what I do, I cannot claim to be an expert on a particular topic. But of course I may be more informed on some issues as in the course of my work I gather lots of information. Granted this information needs to be sieved to filter the truth and the facts from presumptions, fiction and outright lies. So it’s a tough job sometimes getting the true picture. Fact-checking is crucial as once the words leave your mouths or keyboards, it is hard to take them back. And this is the guiding principle that bona fide journalists live by. http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=51401

Banks feasting on bankrupt customers

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For those who underestimate the power of the banking lobby as financial "reform" weaves its way through Washington, one need only look back five years ago to see how influential banks are at pressing their agenda. Helped by the 2005 bankruptcy law, banks pushed consumers into too much credit, collected fees along the way and then went after them for defaulting. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/BankruptcyGuide/banks-feasting-on-bankrupt-customers.aspx