Category: Uncategorized

THE WHITE BIRDS

by: W.B. Yeats

WOULD that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea!
We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can fade and flee;
And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,
Has awakened in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that may not die.

A weariness comes from those dreamers, dew-dabbled, the lily and rose;
Ah, dream not of them, my beloved, the flame of the meteor that goes,
Or the flame of the blue star that lingers hung low in the fall of the dew:
For I would we were changed to white birds on the wandering foam: I and you!

I am haunted by numberless islands, and many a Danaan shore,
Where Time would surely forget us, and Sorrow come near us no more;
Soon far from the rose and the lily, and fret of the flames would we be,
Were we only white birds, my beloved, buoyed out on the foam of the sea!

‘The White Birds’ is reprinted from An Anthology of Modern Verse. Ed. A. Methuen. London: Methuen & Co., 1921.

Am I in all honesty pursuing a healthy lifestyle?

Are my food choices healthy?

Do I get enough exercise to keep all of my systems flowing well?

Do I get enough rest, so the body can rejuvenate and heal?

Do I do the best I can to keep the stress down in my life?

Do I take time specifically to ‘take care’ of my body and show that I ‘love it’?

Do I understand that if I don’t take care of my body, then ‘it’ can’t take care of me?

What do I ‘get’ out of being un-healthy?

Is being un-healthy an excuse so I don’t have to try to become all that I can be?

Am I too lazy, negligent, ignorant or in a state of denial and I think that ‘disease and death’ happen to
other people, but not to me?

Do I ‘expect’ the doctors/medical field to ‘fix’ whatever goes wrong with my body?

Statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called “developing world.”

Sleep, or rather the lack of it makes us less able (if not downright dangerous) in the workplace according to sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley of the Norwich University Hospital. “Sleep is as important as diet and exercise when it comes to the nation’s health,” says Dr Stanley, “but we place no importance on it in our culture. When you are sleep deprived you are putting yourself in a stress situation. In our culture it is socially acceptable to have had no sleep and go into work, even though your ability to function is severely impaired and you could be dangerous.” The good doctor recommends ‘power napping’ as a way of countering the effects of too little rest. “A 20-minute nap gives you an amazing boost, it’s much better than having a coffee,” he says. “Even closing your eyes for 20 minutes is better than nothing, but in the UK it is culturally unacceptable for us to be found napping with our head on the keyboard. However, it’s fine to pump yourself with caffeine even though it it’s nowhere near as effective.” Whilst nodding off at work is still largely unacceptable here, across the world in Japan it’s almost mandatory. Know as ‘inemuri’ or ‘to be asleep while present’, the custom is seen as a demonstration of how committed you are to the job (i.e. you are exhausted because you are putting in so many hours for the company). So well regarded is inemuri that many workers apparently fake it even if they aren’t really tired just to impress their bosses. Interesting place Japan. You couldn’t make this up.

The Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation

By Sue Kovach

Every day, we’re swimming in a sea of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) produced by electrical appliances, power lines, wiring in buildings, and a slew of other technologies that are part of modern life. From the dishwasher and microwave oven in the kitchen and the clock radio next to your bed, to the cellular phone you hold to your ear—sometimes for hours each day—exposure to EMR is growing and becoming a serious health threat.

Read the entire article

Electromagnetic Radiation:
Intervention Recommendations from the Safe Wireless Initiative

To minimize dangerous electromagnetic radiation from your personal environment:
Keep your cell phone at least 6-7 inches away from the body while it is on. Continue reading “The Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation” →

One beautiful April morning, on a narrow side street in Tokyo’s fashionable Harujuku neighborhood, I walked past the 100% perfect girl.

Tell you the truth, she’s not that good-looking. She doesn’t stand out in any way. Her clothes are nothing special. The back of her hair is still bent out of shape from sleep. She isn’t young, either – must be near thirty, not even close to a “girl,” properly speaking. But still, I know from fifty yards away: She’s the 100% perfect girl for me. The moment I see her, there’s a rumbling in my chest, and my mouth is as dry as a desert.

Maybe you have your own particular favorite type of girl – one with slim ankles, say, or big eyes, or graceful fingers, or you’re drawn for no good reason to girls who take their time with every meal. I have my own preferences, of course. Sometimes in a restaurant I’ll catch myself staring at the girl at the next table to mine because I like the shape of her nose.

But no one can insist that his 100% perfect girl correspond to some preconceived type. Much as I like noses, I can’t recall the shape of hers – or even if she had one. All I can remember for sure is that she was no great beauty. It’s weird.

“Yesterday on the street I passed the 100% girl,” I tell someone.

“Yeah?” he says. “Good-looking?”

“Not really.”

“Your favorite type, then?”

“I don’t know. I can’t seem to remember anything about her – the shape of her eyes or the size of her breasts.”

“Strange.”

“Yeah. Strange.”

“So anyhow,” he says, already bored, “what did you do? Talk to her? Follow her?”

“Nah. Just passed her on the street.”

She’s walking east to west, and I west to east. It’s a really nice April morning.

Wish I could talk to her. Half an hour would be plenty: just ask her about herself, tell her about myself, and – what I’d really like to do – explain to her the complexities of fate that have led to our passing each other on a side street in Harajuku on a beautiful April morning in 1981. This was something sure to be crammed full of warm secrets, like an antique clock build when peace filled the world.

After talking, we’d have lunch somewhere, maybe see a Woody Allen movie, stop by a hotel bar for cocktails. With any kind of luck, we might end up in bed.

Potentiality knocks on the door of my heart.

Now the distance between us has narrowed to fifteen yards.

How can I approach her? What should I say?

“Good morning, miss. Do you think you could spare half an hour for a little conversation?”

Ridiculous. I’d sound like an insurance salesman.

“Pardon me, but would you happen to know if there is an all-night cleaners in the neighborhood?”

No, this is just as ridiculous. I’m not carrying any laundry, for one thing. Who’s going to buy a line like that?

Maybe the simple truth would do. “Good morning. You are the 100% perfect girl for me.”

No, she wouldn’t believe it. Or even if she did, she might not want to talk to me. Sorry, she could say, I might be the 100% perfect girl for you, but you’re not the 100% boy for me. It could happen. And if I found myself in that situation, I’d probably go to pieces. I’d never recover from the shock. I’m thirty-two, and that’s what growing older is all about.

We pass in front of a flower shop. A small, warm air mass touches my skin. The asphalt is damp, and I catch the scent of roses. I can’t bring myself to speak to her. She wears a white sweater, and in her right hand she holds a crisp white envelope lacking only a stamp. So: She’s written somebody a letter, maybe spent the whole night writing, to judge from the sleepy look in her eyes. The envelope could contain every secret she’s ever had.

I take a few more strides and turn: She’s lost in the crowd.

Now, of course, I know exactly what I should have said to her. It would have been a long speech, though, far too long for me to have delivered it properly. The ideas I come up with are never very practical.

Oh, well. It would have started “Once upon a time” and ended “A sad story, don’t you think?”

Once upon a time, there lived a boy and a girl. The boy was eighteen and the girl sixteen. He was not unusually handsome, and she was not especially beautiful. They were just an ordinary lonely boy and an ordinary lonely girl, like all the others. But they believed with their whole hearts that somewhere in the world there lived the 100% perfect boy and the 100% perfect girl for them. Yes, they believed in a miracle. And that miracle actually happened.

One day the two came upon each other on the corner of a street.

“This is amazing,” he said. “I’ve been looking for you all my life. You may not believe this, but you’re the 100% perfect girl for me.”

“And you,” she said to him, “are the 100% perfect boy for me, exactly as I’d pictured you in every detail. It’s like a dream.”

They sat on a park bench, held hands, and told each other their stories hour after hour. They were not lonely anymore. They had found and been found by their 100% perfect other. What a wonderful thing it is to find and be found by your 100% perfect other. It’s a miracle, a cosmic miracle.

As they sat and talked, however, a tiny, tiny sliver of doubt took root in their hearts: Was it really all right for one’s dreams to come true so easily?

And so, when there came a momentary lull in their conversation, the boy said to the girl, “Let’s test ourselves – just once. If we really are each other’s 100% perfect lovers, then sometime, somewhere, we will meet again without fail. And when that happens, and we know that we are the 100% perfect ones, we’ll marry then and there. What do you think?”

“Yes,” she said, “that is exactly what we should do.”

And so they parted, she to the east, and he to the west.

The test they had agreed upon, however, was utterly unnecessary. They should never have undertaken it, because they really and truly were each other’s 100% perfect lovers, and it was a miracle that they had ever met. But it was impossible for them to know this, young as they were. The cold, indifferent waves of fate proceeded to toss them unmercifully.

One winter, both the boy and the girl came down with the season’s terrible inluenza, and after drifting for weeks between life and death they lost all memory of their earlier years. When they awoke, their heads were as empty as the young D. H. Lawrence’s piggy bank.

They were two bright, determined young people, however, and through their unremitting efforts they were able to acquire once again the knowledge and feeling that qualified them to return as full-fledged members of society. Heaven be praised, they became truly upstanding citizens who knew how to transfer from one subway line to another, who were fully capable of sending a special-delivery letter at the post office. Indeed, they even experienced love again, sometimes as much as 75% or even 85% love.

Time passed with shocking swiftness, and soon the boy was thirty-two, the girl thirty.

One beautiful April morning, in search of a cup of coffee to start the day, the boy was walking from west to east, while the girl, intending to send a special-delivery letter, was walking from east to west, but along the same narrow street in the Harajuku neighborhood of Tokyo. They passed each other in the very center of the street. The faintest gleam of their lost memories glimmered for the briefest moment in their hearts. Each felt a rumbling in their chest. And they knew:

She is the 100% perfect girl for me.

He is the 100% perfect boy for me.

But the glow of their memories was far too weak, and their thoughts no longer had the clarity of fouteen years earlier. Without a word, they passed each other, disappearing into the crowd. Forever.

A sad story, don’t you think?

Yes, that’s it, that is what I should have said to her.

Collect at IFC Mall, Hong Kong or buyer bears shipping costs.

Military and Leadership

Elite Forces – The world’s most formidable secret armies
Richard M Bennett
HK$110 [SOLD]

The Marine Corps Way – Using Maneuver Warfare to lead a winning organisation
Jason A Santamaria et al
HK$110

Semper Fi – Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way
Dan Carrison and Rod Walsh
HK$80

Be Know Do – Leadership the Army Way
Frances Hesselbein and General Eric K Shinseki (USA Ret.)
HK$110 [SOLD]

Commandos – The Inside Story of Britain’s most elite fighting force
John Parker
HK$60 [SOLD]

Business

Never Wrestle with a Pig
Mark H McCormack
HK$60

Magnetic Service – secrets for creating passionately devoted customers
Chip R Bell and Bilijack R Bell
HK$110

Rain Making – The Professional’s guide to attracting new clients
Ford Harding
HK$80 [SOLD]

How to be a Rainmaker
Jeffrey J Fox
HK$60 [SOLD]

The McKinsey Way
Ethan M. Rasiel
HK$100 [SOLD]

Principle-Centred Leadership
Stephen R Covey
HK$60

What Color is Your Parachute? 2005 Edition
Richard N Bolles
HK$100

iCon – Steve Jobs, the greatest second act in the history of business
Jeffrey S Young and William L Simon
HK$100

Goldman Sachs – The Culture of Success
Lisa Endlich
HK$80 [SOLD]

Financial Accounting, 9th Edition
Needles & Powers (recommended by CFA Institute)
HK$480 (HK$840 new)

Spirituality

The Places that Scare You – A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
Pema Chodron
HK$80

The Miracle of Mindfulness
Thich Nhat Hanh
HK$70

How to Free Your Mind
Thubten Chodron
HK$80

The Art of Happiness
HH Dalai Lama and Howard C Cutler
HK$70 [SOLD]

Advice From a Spiritual Friend
Geshe Rabtem and Geshe Dhargyey
HK$80

Remarkable Healings
Shakuntala Modi M.D.
HK$70

Through Time into Healing
Brian L Weiss M.D.
HK$70

Travel and Sport

Shenzhen – A Travelogue in China
Guy Delisle
HK$100 [SOLD]

Buenos Aires – Lonely Planet
3rd Edition – 2002
HK$60

The Fundamentals of Hogan
David Leadbetter
HK$100

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel
Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
HK$70

Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.

Albert Einstein

Favourite LCD TV: Sharp

Favourite LCD Monitor: Eizo

Favourite aquarium: Aqua Design Amano

Favourite briefcase: LV

Favourite pen: Montblanc

Favourite telephone: Bang & Olufsen Beocom 2

Favourite mobile phone: Nokia

Favourite headphones: Sennheiser

Favourite earphones: Shure

Favourite food: Maguro

Favourite vegetable: Wasabi

Favourite yoghurt: Wallaby Organic

Favourite mineral water: Ferrarelle

Favourite dessert: Gula Melaka (from Melaka)

Favourite fruit: Durian (from Penang)

Favourite sport: Ashtanga Yoga

Favourite car: Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

Favourite motorcycle: Ducati 749 Testastretta

Favourite bicycle: Klein Attitude

Favourite backpack: Arcteryx

Favourite hydration system: Hydrapak

Favourite outdoor clothing: Arcteryx

Favourite climbing equipment: Petzl

Favourite scuba regulator: Scubapro

Favourite wetsuit: Bare

Favourite fin: Mares Plana Avanti Quattro

Favourite dive computer: Suunto Stinger

Favourite camera: Canon

Favourite torchlight: Surefire

Favourite waterbottle: Sigg

Favourite designer: Dries van Noten, Marni, Versace, Paul Smith

Favourite vitamins: Solgar

Favourite drink: Pu-Erh or Dongding Oolong

Favourite pet: Nishikigoi

Favourite DJ: Paul van Dyk

On women:

Favourite jeans: Rock and Republic

Favourite shoes: Manolo Blahnik

Favourite handbag: Chanel

Favourite cosmetics: Lancome

Favourite fragrance: Gucci Summer

Favourite beauty products: Aveda, Jurlique

There was once a man and woman who had been married for more than 60 years.

They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $25,000. He asked her about the contents.

“When we were to be married,” she said, “my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.”

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

“Honey,” he said, “that explains the dolls, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?”

“Oh,” she said, “that’s the money I made from selling all the dolls.

LGM-118A Peacekeeper missile system being tested at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Peacekeeper was a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. Each rocket could carry up to 10 re-entry vehicles, each with a nuclear warhead with the explosive power of up to 300 kilotons (twenty-five times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War II).

Have a firm handshake.

Look people in the eye.

Sing in the shower.

Own a great stereo system.

If in a fight, hit first and hit hard.

Keep secrets.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen everyday.

Always accept an outstretched hand.

Be brave. Even if you’re not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.

Whistle.

Avoid sarcastic remarks.

Choose your life’s mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 percent of all your happiness or misery.

Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.

Lend only those books you never care to see again.

Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have.

When playing games with children, let them win.

Be romantic.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters.

Don’t allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It’s there for your convenience, not the caller’s.

Be a good loser.

Be a good winner.

Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret.

When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.

Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born.

Keep it simple.

Beware of the person who has nothing to lose.

Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.

Live your life so that your epitaph could read, No Regrets.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the one’s you did.

Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.

Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you.

Take charge of your attitude. Don’t let someone else choose it for you.

Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital, you need to only stay a few minutes.

Once in a while, take the scenic route.

Send a lot of Valentine cards. Sign them, ‘Someone who thinks you’re terrific.’

Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice.

Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 a.m.

Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job.

Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later.

Make someone’s day by paying the toll for the person in the car behind you.

Become someone’s hero.

Marry only for love.

Count your blessings.

Compliment the meal when you’re a guest in someone’s home.

Wave at the children on a school bus.

Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people.

Don’t expect life to be fair.

POSTED: 2239 GMT (0639 HKT), January 9, 2007

• Milk in tea eliminates protective effect against heart disease, study finds
• Researchers compared health effects on 16 healthy women
• Tea is second only to water in worldwide consumption

LONDON, England (Reuters) — Drinking tea can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke but only if milk is not added to the brew, German scientists said Tuesday.

Research has shown that tea improves blood flow and the ability of the arteries to relax but researchers at the Charite Hospital at the University of Berlin, Germany, found milk eliminates the protective effect against cardiovascular disease.

“The beneficial effects of drinking black tea are completely prevented by the addition of milk, said Dr. Verena Stangl, a cardiologist at the hospital.

“If you want to drink tea to have the beneficial health effects you have to drink it without milk. That is clearly shown by our experiments,” she told Reuters.
Continue reading “Study: Milk dilutes benefits of tea” →

Read the review

Know your needs and room before picking LCD or plasma
By Seán Captain The New York Times

Published: September 14, 2006

In the old days of digital television, a year or two ago, choices were simple. If the screen measured less than 37 inches diagonally, it would be a liquid crystal display panel. From about 37 to 50 inches, it would probably be a plasma panel. And larger sizes would be rear- or front-projection sets.

But as flat panels have grown, categories have blurred. For 60-inch, or 152- centimeter, screens, plasmas starting about $3,000 are an alternative to projection models starting about $2,000. A bigger rivalry exists between LCD and plasma panels of about 40 inches, where prices are virtually identical. For example, the most popular plasma from LG Electronics, the 42-inch 42PC3D, sells for $2,000; and its 42-inch LCD, the 42LC2D, sells for $2,100. (Model numbers and availability may differ slightly in Europe and Asia.) Continue reading “Plasma better or LCD?” →

Far Eastern Economic Review
March 2006

Last month, Jeremy Hurewitz met with the grand old man of Malaysian politics, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Wearing a pin proclaiming his desire for peace, Malaysia’s former prime minister spoke from his office in Putrajaya, the seat of the Malaysian government.

Jeremy Hurewitz: What are your thoughts on China’s rise? Do you see any threats from a powerful China?

Dr. Mahathir Mohamad: I think that China is bound to play a very important role in both East Asia and all the world. You cannot stop China. It is the sleeping lion who has now woken up. And his appetite is enormous. We have Chinese in this country [Malaysia], and we know that the Chinese are very dynamic, very intelligent, very skillful people, and when you consider that there are 1.3 billion Chinese in China, their ability to compete with the rest of the world is tremendous. Looking back, of course, China was industrialized long before Europe. They used to produce many goods, even if they didn’t then have the mass production techniques that they use today. They worked so fast that they could produce a lot of products which were used all over the world. They used to trade with us—textiles, stoneware, paper. Now they have adopted the techniques of the West: mass production, quality and innovation. That is the China of the future. And there is always the fear that this huge lion might gobble up the rest of the world. But we in Malaysia have had relations with China for over two thousand years. We have traded with China, but the Chinese have never colonized us. Even when they thought that we were not treating their people well we never had any of their warships come here in response. On the other hand, when the Europeans came here, specifically the Portuguese, some were arrested and detained by the Malacca government in 1509. Two years later a flotilla of ships came here and conquered Malacca. So the approach is quite different. We have been trading with China, India, the Arabs, the Persians and the Japanese for centuries. But the moment the Europeans came they think in terms of securing supply and monopolies. And basically they ended up conquering all their trading partners: Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam. They tried with China but it was too big. So we are familiar with the West.

JH: But is Malaysia threatened at all economically by China’s rise? For example, electronic components that were once sourced from Southeast Asia for assembly into consumer electronics in China, will likely—sooner or later—be made by China, and Malaysia will need to look elsewhere for its economic growth. How should Malaysia manage its relationship with China?

MM: A country’s development initially depends on their low-cost position: how willing the people are to accept low wages. As they develop their costs begin to rise as their people want to be more highly paid. Sometimes they become steadily less competitive. In the case of China this process will take a bit longer, much longer in fact. But even now we see on the eastern coast of China the costs and the wages of engineers are higher than Malaysia. They are actually beginning to invest in other countries. Maybe it’s in order to soft-pedal things, but if you look at the trade treaties between Malaysia and China, we are actually exporting electronic goods to China. Now supposing the Chinese become very rich, per capita income over a half century reaches that of the United States, they are going to be a very big market for us and we are sure to find something that they want which they cannot produce themselves. And certainly the number of tourists will increase tremendously. So there will be a change in terms of the character of our industry. But a rich China can be a useful market for us.

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Mary Ellen Pinkham explains how to neatly press a shirt.

One thing to remember before beginning to iron is to always start with the smallest sections of the garment first, then move on to the larger sections. The reason for this is that collars, cuffs and pockets will wrinkle less as the rest of the garment is ironed.

Unbutton the collar and start ironing the reverse side of the collar first, followed by the sleeves, back and finally the front of the shirt.

When ironing several shirts, dampen them first by spritzing with distilled water. Do not use tap water because this may cause water stains. Fold the sleeves in and tightly roll the shirts up and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Pull the shirt over the pointed end of the ironing board to iron the yoke, or the upper part of the sleeve. Iron in a back-and-forth motion only, never in a circular pattern, which can damage the fabric.

Ironing the seams may be difficult, but they are the most important areas to iron for appearance reasons. Iron one side of the sleeve, then turn and iron the opposite side. The sleeves will then have creases. One way to iron out a few pesky creases is to stuff the sleeves with a rolled-up towel after ironing them and gently pressing out the creases.

Next iron the back of the shirt, and finally the front. Be sure not to run the iron over the buttons. Carefully iron between the buttons.

Use a bit of spray starch for any natural fabrics, or use sizing for polyester and other synthetic fabrics.

Turn on the radio for a little background music while ironing.

When ironing the collar and cuffs, begin at the outer edges and move inward.

I RECENTLY had the opportunity to once again visit the Lion City and confer with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Defence and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.

My visit was part of the fifth annual Shangri-La Defence Conference, which also afforded the opportunity to meet many other defence ministers from around Asia.

As always, I was struck by the energy, zest and prosperity of your clean and beautiful city.

Having visited many times over the years, I remain an enormous fan of Singapore, a vital ally and friend of the United States of America.

Thank you so much for your warm hospitality and all that you contribute to this vibrant Pacific region and to the world community.

I look forward to my next visit.

Donald H. Rumsfeld
United States
Secretary of Defence

While there were reports recently about road rage across the Causeway, I also want to alert Singaporean golfers about ‘green’ rage on the golf course. Last week, my wife and I went to a golf resort in Johor hoping to have a nice golf getaway. What happened on the green made us think twice about risking it again. At one of the holes, I had the unusual luck of driving the ball beyond my normal range and it landed about 20m from the flight in front. This flight consisted of four men in their forties. I realised it and we shouted and waved our hands at them as an apology. One of the men reciprocated by hitting my ball into the rough and armed with their clubs, they then charged at us in their buggies. They got off the buggies and a slew of vulgarities followed. With their clubs they threatened to beat us up. Naturally, my wife was terrified as this was a quiet weekday afternoon and we were in the middle of a forest where there were just the two of us besides the men. We could not reason with them. To avoid violence, we took off in our buggy but they were hot on our heels spewing more vulgarities until we reached the clubhouse. We hope fellow Singaporeans take extra precautions should they go golfing across the Causeway as there are hooligan golfers there.

Oh Lian Chye

By Robert Karniol JDW Asia-Pacific Editor
Bangkok

 
Singapore will acquire 12 Boeing F-15SG fighters for delivery in 2008/09 under a contract concluded on 12 December, with the option to order a further eight platforms.

“The F-15SG, which has a configuration unique to Singapore, will be the most advanced variant of the F-15 and will operate as the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF’s) next-generation multirole fighter jet,” Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said while announcing the contract.

Analysts are confident that Singapore will eventually take up its option to acquire the additional eight F-15SGs, making a total acquisition of 20.

However, it is unclear whether this will be followed by any additional procurements of this aircraft.

The RSAF is thought to require another 20 advanced fighters when it replaces the F-5S Tiger II air-defence/attack aircraft around 2015.

More F-15SGs are one option but the RSAF could instead opt for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) in combination with unmanned aerial vehicles.

http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/news/jdw/jdw051213_1_n.shtml

 

“Once you get home, nobody will be remotely interested in what you did or what you saw. Why should they be? All they’ll want to know is whether or not you ‘had a good time’, and your notion of a ‘good time’ is unlikely to be theirs. The best kind of traveller is a thief on the prowl, looking for illuminating moments. Travelling, unlike tourism, is just living more intensely, freed for a short time from the constraints of being whoever it is we’re accustomed to thinking we are. It’s being on the prowl, beholden to nobody, for the beautiful self we’d forgotten was locked up inside us.”

Robert Dessaix in “The Age” newspaper, 18.ix.04.