Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression posted on Thursday, January 26, 2006
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0 comments
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "how dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nut," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. For example: We have a completely free press. If they know of evidence that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) had prior knowledge of the Oklahoma City bombing they would have reported it. They haven't reported it, so there was no prior knowledge by the BATF. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press that would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. For example: If Vince Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Scantly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don't the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.
-- David Martin
--
Be a world-beating S'porean, Mr Brown posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
I wish to congratulate our President for the adjustment to his salary to $2,507,200, an increase from the last adjustment in February last year.
-
I really feel Mr President deserved it. And it is also a good sign for all Singaporeans because it was done in view of "higher projected bonuses", which is the case because the economy has performed better than expected.
-
I am sure many Singaporeans are looking forward to adjustments to their salaries too.
-
It is a good time to be in Singapore. The headlines are carrying good news.
-
COE prices are at all-time lows. Consumer confidence is up. Low-wage earners are getting $1 billion in help. Our foreign trade hit a record of $712 billion. Low-wage workers will be getting a housing grant to help them own flats. Even Buangkok Station has opened — rejoice!
-
Other good news includes stiffer penalties for National Service (NS) evaders.
-
Hey, every Singapore male should experience fond memories of NS camaraderie. Don't think of it as tougher sentences, think of it as encouragement to partake of nation-building.
-
Sure, there are some who think that we should allow NS to be served in other non-military forms, if people have other talents such as piano playing and scientific research.
-
I agree wholeheartedly! Singaporeans who are world-beaters (our latest buzzword) in piano playing should be allowed to serve their NS in their area of talent.
-
I don't think we should let all that world-beating talent go to waste. The young fellow can serve his NS days playing piano.
-
It will be good for the morale of his comrades if he plays in the rest period between the 24km route march and the four-day field exercise (without a shower).
-
I recently read a letter in the press written by a young man who has a Thai father and Singaporean mother.
-
The writer, Pavin Limanont, who is one year away from serving his NS, said that he has plans to emigrate to the United States.
-
He grew up watching American movies and cartoons, and listening to American country music.
-
His paternal aunts and uncles are Ivy League students who "speak with a slight American accent and use American grammar in speech". He has plans to renounce his Singapore citizenship and hang on to his Thai one.
-
Given all these factors, and also that he feels no allegiance to Singapore, Pavin suggested that those who plan to emigrate, like himself, should be allowed to opt out of NS.
-
After all, he argues, if war breaks out between the US and Singapore after he has made the US his new home, he will defend the US and fight against Singapore if necessary.
-
Wah! Strong words indeed. I too grew up on American movies and cartoons, and did listen to some American country and gospel music. In fact, I believe there are only two kinds of music worth listening to: Country and Western.
-
And sometimes, I even speak with a slight American accent when I am around Westerners. I got that from my paternal aunts and uncles, who let me watch American TV shows at their homes whenever I visited. So sometimes, when I am not paying attention, I roll my "r"s and speak with a nasal drawl.
-
Too bad, both my parents are Singaporeans. So I cannot make as strong a case as Pavin. I wish him all the best in convincing the Government to allow young people who plan to emigrate the choice to opt out of NS.
-
No, really, I hope he gets to opt out. Because it is not a good way to start NS after declaring in the papers that you would fight against Singapore in a war.
-
There was a banner ad above that letter when I read it online. It was an ad for getting a US Green Card. I am sure that was unintended, but I thought it was quite funny and apt. (Incidentally, I just checked and the banner ad is not there any more.)
-
In Singapore, you have to be 21 before you can renounce your citizenship. But by that time, you would have served NS.
-
Maybe, parents who want to avoid that can fly to another country just one month before their kid is due to be born. Some enterprising businessman can set up a Choose Your Own Citizenship Tour package for these parents.
-
The only hiccup I can foresee is that most airlines will not let heavily pregnant women fly. So, I think you will have to choose a country near by. Somewhere you can drive to — like Malaysia or Thailand.
-
On a totally unrelated note, Singapore's blood banks need you. They are running very low on blood supplies, to the extent that elective surgeries are being postponed. So give blood, people!
-
I remember giving blood as a child and how fun it was. You always got some hot Milo and some biscuits to eat. As well as a packet of iron pills.
-
In JC, when there were blood drives, the boys had to ensure that they showed courage, since there were girls present. Guys had to pretend they were not afraid of the needle. Fainting from a blood donation was social suicide.
-
But really, don't be afraid. Donating blood is easy and a good thing to do. As long as you are above 18 and healthy, you can give blood. If you do go, get a few more packets of biscuits for me, can? I miss eating those.
-
Thanks y'all, mighty kind of yer.
-
mr brown is the accidental author of a popular website that has been documenting the dysfunctional side of Singapore life since 1997. He thinks Johnny Cash is da bomb
-
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/96314.asp
--
National service a universal obligation posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
All male Singaporeans are liable for national service (NS). This universal obligation to serve, including the appropriate way to deal with those who default, was debated fully in Parliament and reported in the media, including The Straits Times.
Should Mr Limanont or his parents have queries on his specific case, they may contact the Mindef Feedback Unit on 1800-760-8844 or at mfu@starnet.gov.sg.
Col Benedict LimDirector, Public Affairs Ministry of Defence
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/story/0,5562,365887,00.html
--
Let those who intend to emigrate opt out of NS posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
I share the same sentiment as Mr Paul Wong, feeling no allegiance to Singapore and not being able to assimilate into Singaporean culture even though I was born and raised here.
As a child, I grew up watching classic American movies and cartoons, and listening to American-genre music like country, southern gospel and classic American oldies.
My paternal aunts and uncles are Ivy League students and speak with a slight American accent and use American grammar in speech. I was influenced by them.
Because I am the child of a Thai father and a Singaporean mother, I am a citizen of both Thailand and Singapore. I hold a Singapore passport and will have to serve national service next year.
I do not intend to live in Singapore and, in fact, have made serious plans to emigrate to the United States in future.
Many friends of mine who have gone overseas to study intend to settle down in their host country after serving national service.
I do not support the evasion of national service but I appeal to the Government to make some changes to the policy.
For those who do not intend to live in Singapore, there is no purpose in serving national service. It is a waste of resources for the Government and a waste of time for those affected.
In my case, I will renounce my Singapore citizenship at age 21 and take on Thai citizenship. The US will be my home in future and if a war breaks out between Singapore and the US, God forbid, obviously I would help to defend the US and fight Singapore if need be.
Therefore, I do not see the purpose of training men who might 'turn against' their country in unforeseen circumstances.
Perhaps the Ministry of Defence could come up with a policy to permit those who intend to emigrate to opt out of national service but if they do not leave by a certain age, then they would be drafted.
Patriotism and loyalty cannot be forced. It is ultimately up to an individual whether he wants to serve the country.
Pavin Limanont
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,365664,00.html
--
DBS leaves $1 posted on Saturday, January 14, 2006 | 0 comments
--
DBS Bank deducts payment from NS allowance, leaves only $1 in account
--
For a lot of NSmen the few hundred bucks they get credited into their bank accounts on the 10th of each month mean a world to them.
-
Just imagine if one unfortunate guy goes to a bank teller and finds that his $400 missing from his account?
-
I took a DBS study loan a few years ago for my polytechnic school fees. My father had not been supporting my family since he ran away to Malaysia when I was 14. My only elder brother left for Hongkong to work since I was 16 and he pretty much has a life there himself. -Since all my mother's CPF savings had gone into paying the instalments for the flat we were staying in, I could not use her money for my studies.
-
I started working since I was 14. I had endured the stress of working and studying all this time until my call-up for National Service five months ago. Sad to say, the work I did affected my studies and I failed to graduate with a diploma.
-
It is stated in the contract, which I did not realise initially, that when I fail to graduate, I have to pay the entire sum owed to DBS Bank. I was at my wit's end. The amount came to $8,000.
-
I desperately looked for options from DBS Bank but to no avail. My mother presently works as a cleaner. She hardly makes enough money for the family. So when I went into National Service last September our income fell greatly.
-
Luckily, one of the officers in DBS Bank agreed to help me look into my appeal to defer the loan till after my National Service. I had the impression that the repayment would be suspended temporarily as I had already paid almost $500 for interest and other charges last year.
-
That had already taken its toll on me. In October last year, driven to desperation I went to one of the bank's branches and authorised it to debit my account at $100 a month out of my $350 National Service allowance.
-
I felt relieved as I thought the bank would allow me to spread out my repayments. On January 10, I went to the teller thinking that I would finally be getting my first pay packet that exceeded $350, as I had just graduated from my recruit's phase.
-
But I found that my account had only $1 left in it. No one can imagine how desperate I was. I called the bank, explained my situation one more time and asked for the money to be credited back into my account.-The officer explained that the deduction was for penalty and interest payments. But she said she would ask for authorisation from the higher authorities for the money to be put back into my account.-Chinese New Year is coming. I wonder how much I can give my mum for the new year with this meagre allowance and $1 in my bank account.
-
I did not get any notice about the deduction from my bank account. I could not think of anything but begged that the money be put back, but the bank's higher authorities has said no.
-
I understand that DBS Bank is not a charitable organisation. It runs a business but how can it debit from my account just like this? Where's the sympathy that makes Singaporeans donate millions of dollars into charity every year without fail?
-
I am not asking for charity here and I will not accept any charity either. I'm just asking for a deferment till a better time to repay my loan. What is $8,000 to DBS Bank? What is $400 to DBS Bank? I have no idea how much it is going to deduct from my account in the days to come.
--Wan Ee Voon
--
the wealth of a nation posted on Sunday, January 08, 2006 | 0 comments
- Reuters, Jan 5, 2006 -
"Unemployed and single, 37-year-old Koh Hock Choon has been hit by so many medical problems, he wonders why he's still alive. 'I am just waiting to die,' he told The New Paper despondently. Mr Koh suffers from severe heart ailments that hinder his movement"
- April 5, 2005, TNP -
--
flickr - SIP, IMS & Weblogic posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 | 0 comments
--
merits of music posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 | 0 comments
http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/journal/index.php?issue=2000-12&file=tan&page=2
"If people do not perform their duties properly then they will have to take responsibility for it and answer for it in the appropriate way. But military training is such that it has to be realistic for it to be useful, and the people will be ready. From time to time, there will be incidents and accidents, even with the best of efforts. I think the Singapore public is mature enough to understanding it."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/186299/1/.html
--
Chahaar sanduq posted on Tuesday, January 03, 2006 | 0 comments
--
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "how dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nut," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. For example: We have a completely free press. If they know of evidence that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) had prior knowledge of the Oklahoma City bombing they would have reported it. They haven't reported it, so there was no prior knowledge by the BATF. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press that would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. For example: If Vince Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Scantly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don't the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.
-- David Martin
--
Be a world-beating S'porean, Mr Brown posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
Serve your NS proudly, roll your 'r's when convenient
I wish to congratulate our President for the adjustment to his salary to $2,507,200, an increase from the last adjustment in February last year.
-
I really feel Mr President deserved it. And it is also a good sign for all Singaporeans because it was done in view of "higher projected bonuses", which is the case because the economy has performed better than expected.
-
I am sure many Singaporeans are looking forward to adjustments to their salaries too.
-
It is a good time to be in Singapore. The headlines are carrying good news.
-
COE prices are at all-time lows. Consumer confidence is up. Low-wage earners are getting $1 billion in help. Our foreign trade hit a record of $712 billion. Low-wage workers will be getting a housing grant to help them own flats. Even Buangkok Station has opened — rejoice!
-
Other good news includes stiffer penalties for National Service (NS) evaders.
-
Hey, every Singapore male should experience fond memories of NS camaraderie. Don't think of it as tougher sentences, think of it as encouragement to partake of nation-building.
-
Sure, there are some who think that we should allow NS to be served in other non-military forms, if people have other talents such as piano playing and scientific research.
-
I agree wholeheartedly! Singaporeans who are world-beaters (our latest buzzword) in piano playing should be allowed to serve their NS in their area of talent.
-
I don't think we should let all that world-beating talent go to waste. The young fellow can serve his NS days playing piano.
-
It will be good for the morale of his comrades if he plays in the rest period between the 24km route march and the four-day field exercise (without a shower).
-
I recently read a letter in the press written by a young man who has a Thai father and Singaporean mother.
-
The writer, Pavin Limanont, who is one year away from serving his NS, said that he has plans to emigrate to the United States.
-
He grew up watching American movies and cartoons, and listening to American country music.
-
His paternal aunts and uncles are Ivy League students who "speak with a slight American accent and use American grammar in speech". He has plans to renounce his Singapore citizenship and hang on to his Thai one.
-
Given all these factors, and also that he feels no allegiance to Singapore, Pavin suggested that those who plan to emigrate, like himself, should be allowed to opt out of NS.
-
After all, he argues, if war breaks out between the US and Singapore after he has made the US his new home, he will defend the US and fight against Singapore if necessary.
-
Wah! Strong words indeed. I too grew up on American movies and cartoons, and did listen to some American country and gospel music. In fact, I believe there are only two kinds of music worth listening to: Country and Western.
-
And sometimes, I even speak with a slight American accent when I am around Westerners. I got that from my paternal aunts and uncles, who let me watch American TV shows at their homes whenever I visited. So sometimes, when I am not paying attention, I roll my "r"s and speak with a nasal drawl.
-
Too bad, both my parents are Singaporeans. So I cannot make as strong a case as Pavin. I wish him all the best in convincing the Government to allow young people who plan to emigrate the choice to opt out of NS.
-
No, really, I hope he gets to opt out. Because it is not a good way to start NS after declaring in the papers that you would fight against Singapore in a war.
-
There was a banner ad above that letter when I read it online. It was an ad for getting a US Green Card. I am sure that was unintended, but I thought it was quite funny and apt. (Incidentally, I just checked and the banner ad is not there any more.)
-
In Singapore, you have to be 21 before you can renounce your citizenship. But by that time, you would have served NS.
-
Maybe, parents who want to avoid that can fly to another country just one month before their kid is due to be born. Some enterprising businessman can set up a Choose Your Own Citizenship Tour package for these parents.
-
The only hiccup I can foresee is that most airlines will not let heavily pregnant women fly. So, I think you will have to choose a country near by. Somewhere you can drive to — like Malaysia or Thailand.
-
On a totally unrelated note, Singapore's blood banks need you. They are running very low on blood supplies, to the extent that elective surgeries are being postponed. So give blood, people!
-
I remember giving blood as a child and how fun it was. You always got some hot Milo and some biscuits to eat. As well as a packet of iron pills.
-
In JC, when there were blood drives, the boys had to ensure that they showed courage, since there were girls present. Guys had to pretend they were not afraid of the needle. Fainting from a blood donation was social suicide.
-
But really, don't be afraid. Donating blood is easy and a good thing to do. As long as you are above 18 and healthy, you can give blood. If you do go, get a few more packets of biscuits for me, can? I miss eating those.
-
Thanks y'all, mighty kind of yer.
-
mr brown is the accidental author of a popular website that has been documenting the dysfunctional side of Singapore life since 1997. He thinks Johnny Cash is da bomb
-
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/96314.asp
--
National service a universal obligation posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
I REFER to Mr Pavin Limanont's letter, 'Let those who intend to emigrate opt out of NS' (ST, Jan 18).
All male Singaporeans are liable for national service (NS). This universal obligation to serve, including the appropriate way to deal with those who default, was debated fully in Parliament and reported in the media, including The Straits Times.
Should Mr Limanont or his parents have queries on his specific case, they may contact the Mindef Feedback Unit on 1800-760-8844 or at mfu@starnet.gov.sg.
Col Benedict LimDirector, Public Affairs Ministry of Defence
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/story/0,5562,365887,00.html
--
Let those who intend to emigrate opt out of NS posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 | 0 comments
I refer to the Insight article, 'Doers & dodgers: Time to heal the rift?' (ST, Jan 14).
I share the same sentiment as Mr Paul Wong, feeling no allegiance to Singapore and not being able to assimilate into Singaporean culture even though I was born and raised here.
As a child, I grew up watching classic American movies and cartoons, and listening to American-genre music like country, southern gospel and classic American oldies.
My paternal aunts and uncles are Ivy League students and speak with a slight American accent and use American grammar in speech. I was influenced by them.
Because I am the child of a Thai father and a Singaporean mother, I am a citizen of both Thailand and Singapore. I hold a Singapore passport and will have to serve national service next year.
I do not intend to live in Singapore and, in fact, have made serious plans to emigrate to the United States in future.
Many friends of mine who have gone overseas to study intend to settle down in their host country after serving national service.
I do not support the evasion of national service but I appeal to the Government to make some changes to the policy.
For those who do not intend to live in Singapore, there is no purpose in serving national service. It is a waste of resources for the Government and a waste of time for those affected.
In my case, I will renounce my Singapore citizenship at age 21 and take on Thai citizenship. The US will be my home in future and if a war breaks out between Singapore and the US, God forbid, obviously I would help to defend the US and fight Singapore if need be.
Therefore, I do not see the purpose of training men who might 'turn against' their country in unforeseen circumstances.
Perhaps the Ministry of Defence could come up with a policy to permit those who intend to emigrate to opt out of national service but if they do not leave by a certain age, then they would be drafted.
Patriotism and loyalty cannot be forced. It is ultimately up to an individual whether he wants to serve the country.
Pavin Limanont
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/forum/story/0,5562,365664,00.html
--
DBS leaves $1 posted on Saturday, January 14, 2006 | 0 comments
Jan 14, 2006
--
DBS Bank deducts payment from NS allowance, leaves only $1 in account
--
For a lot of NSmen the few hundred bucks they get credited into their bank accounts on the 10th of each month mean a world to them.
-
Just imagine if one unfortunate guy goes to a bank teller and finds that his $400 missing from his account?
-
I took a DBS study loan a few years ago for my polytechnic school fees. My father had not been supporting my family since he ran away to Malaysia when I was 14. My only elder brother left for Hongkong to work since I was 16 and he pretty much has a life there himself. -Since all my mother's CPF savings had gone into paying the instalments for the flat we were staying in, I could not use her money for my studies.
-
I started working since I was 14. I had endured the stress of working and studying all this time until my call-up for National Service five months ago. Sad to say, the work I did affected my studies and I failed to graduate with a diploma.
-
It is stated in the contract, which I did not realise initially, that when I fail to graduate, I have to pay the entire sum owed to DBS Bank. I was at my wit's end. The amount came to $8,000.
-
I desperately looked for options from DBS Bank but to no avail. My mother presently works as a cleaner. She hardly makes enough money for the family. So when I went into National Service last September our income fell greatly.
-
Luckily, one of the officers in DBS Bank agreed to help me look into my appeal to defer the loan till after my National Service. I had the impression that the repayment would be suspended temporarily as I had already paid almost $500 for interest and other charges last year.
-
That had already taken its toll on me. In October last year, driven to desperation I went to one of the bank's branches and authorised it to debit my account at $100 a month out of my $350 National Service allowance.
-
I felt relieved as I thought the bank would allow me to spread out my repayments. On January 10, I went to the teller thinking that I would finally be getting my first pay packet that exceeded $350, as I had just graduated from my recruit's phase.
-
But I found that my account had only $1 left in it. No one can imagine how desperate I was. I called the bank, explained my situation one more time and asked for the money to be credited back into my account.-The officer explained that the deduction was for penalty and interest payments. But she said she would ask for authorisation from the higher authorities for the money to be put back into my account.-Chinese New Year is coming. I wonder how much I can give my mum for the new year with this meagre allowance and $1 in my bank account.
-
I did not get any notice about the deduction from my bank account. I could not think of anything but begged that the money be put back, but the bank's higher authorities has said no.
-
I understand that DBS Bank is not a charitable organisation. It runs a business but how can it debit from my account just like this? Where's the sympathy that makes Singaporeans donate millions of dollars into charity every year without fail?
-
I am not asking for charity here and I will not accept any charity either. I'm just asking for a deferment till a better time to repay my loan. What is $8,000 to DBS Bank? What is $400 to DBS Bank? I have no idea how much it is going to deduct from my account in the days to come.
--Wan Ee Voon
--
the wealth of a nation posted on Sunday, January 08, 2006 | 0 comments
In an era where funding is critical -- even a microscope can cost half a million dollars -- wealthy Singapore has the money. That, say scientists, has been Singapore's attraction, along with speedy grant approvals and lack of burdensome paperwork. "We don't want to spend the rest of our lives writing grants," said Copeland, adding that Singapore's quick access to funding was key. The couple's colony of 20,000 mice costs some $1 million a year to maintain
- Reuters, Jan 5, 2006 -
"Unemployed and single, 37-year-old Koh Hock Choon has been hit by so many medical problems, he wonders why he's still alive. 'I am just waiting to die,' he told The New Paper despondently. Mr Koh suffers from severe heart ailments that hinder his movement"
- April 5, 2005, TNP -
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flickr - SIP, IMS & Weblogic posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 | 0 comments
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyhuang/
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merits of music posted on Thursday, January 05, 2006 | 0 comments
"People were quite surprised to find that I only played the fortepiano, and I began to realise that my repertory had, in fact, been very restrictive, all of it written within a period of eighty or so years. My school days had been so steeped in French nineteenth- and twentieth-century repertory, and I found myself wondering what it would be like to do all that again, so I did!"
http://www.musicteachers.co.uk/journal/index.php?issue=2000-12&file=tan&page=2
"If people do not perform their duties properly then they will have to take responsibility for it and answer for it in the appropriate way. But military training is such that it has to be realistic for it to be useful, and the people will be ready. From time to time, there will be incidents and accidents, even with the best of efforts. I think the Singapore public is mature enough to understanding it."
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/186299/1/.html
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Chahaar sanduq posted on Tuesday, January 03, 2006 | 0 comments
Chahaar sanduq (Four boxes; Tehran,1979), written in 1967, is a study of how a society manufactures its own dictators. Four characters appear on stage as four colors: yellow, green, red, and black, symbolizing intellectuals, clergy, merchants, and laborers respectively. At the beginning, in order to safeguard the interests of his own class, each contributes to the making of a scarecrow as guardian against some unknown external threat. Soon, however, the scarecrow comes to life and is able to break their alliance and force them to build four boxes, in which each is confined. This confinement is, however, self-imposed, for each character is more afraid of the others than of the despotic scarecrow
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