Nov 12th – Unveiling Charter for Compassion

CHARTER FOR COMPASSION TRAILER from TED Prize on Vimeo.

Charter for Compassion

Men-Tei : Ramen & the City

By Novia Lim, Lifestyle Correspondent

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When you are in CBD and craving for a bowl of ramen, regulars will know where they should head off to. Men-Tei Ramen is smack in the middle of Robinson Road and a long queue will start forming by the strike of lunch time.

They have four main types of ramen.

• Tonkotsu / spicy tonkotsu ramen

• Miso ramen / spicy miso ramen

• Shio ramen

• Shoyu ramen

Men-Tei’s signature ramen? Tonkotsu ramen. It’s served with pork broth that’s known to be boiled over high heat for more than 9 hours.

They have a spicy version that adds some twist to cater to local taste buds. What intrigues me is that they charge different pricing for different level of spiciness.

Miso ramen – Men-Tei uses a secret blend of different miso pastes from Japan. They also have a spicy version known to add additional “kick” to for their miso fans.

Shio ramen – Made from another secret recipe with a blend of sea salt that’s seasoned in different types of seafood. If you prefer a lighter taste or not a big fan of pork broth you can opt for this ramen as it’s served in chicken and fish broth.

Shoyu ramen – Replacing salt with soy sauce, you will have a different ramen that’s light yet rich tasting.

Tonkotsu ramen, S$14.00 nett 

My pick was the signature ramen. The noodles were slightly soft but you can request for a more chewy texture if that is your preference. Smooth and rich broth with a good balance of greens and bamboo shoots.

Spicy miso ramen, S$14.50 nett

My friend had spicy miso ramen for the day. The spicy level was mild, comfortable and does not overpower the miso taste.

 I have to highlight their perfect tamago (hard-boiled egg) with a runny yolk consistency. The egg has a light tint of shoyu marinate and the runny egg yolk blends perfectly into the broth.

Yakibuta, S$4.00 nett 

Nobody will never complain about too much yakibuta (grilled pork) slices. Hence, I ordered more to share! Dunk the pork slices into your broth and let it melt in your mouth with a sweet and aromatic after taste.

I’ve noticed that they have increased their ramen pricing from $13 to $14. It’s a dollar hike, but it’s still worth returning to.

Men-Tai Ramen

61 Robinson Road
01-01
64384140

Opening Hours: 11:00-15:00, 18:00-22:00
Close on Sat, Sun and Public Holidays

Food:
Ambience:
Value:
Service:

About the Author:

Novia Lim is a global data analyst by profession, honored with years of solid experience with multinationals corporations. She is also a hobbyist model and food blogger striving to achieve lifestyle balance with proper prioritization between career, demands of life on one hand and pleasure, leisure on the other.

Novia blogs at http://eatcookshoot.blogspot.com

Staff wanted: for NEW citizens and PRs ONLY

From our Correspondent

A photo of a hiring advertisement pasted on a window used by a bloomberg article on the Singapore job market has the following words in mandarin:

“Staff wanted: Basic $1,500 with CPF and commission. No experience needed. New citizens and PRs (welcomed)”

Neither the job scope or hiring company is revealed. It is not known why the advertisement specified “new citizens and PRs” and whether “old citizens” are eligible to apply for the job.

Though Singapore’s unemployment rate figures remain low, the median wages of ordinary workers had not increased by much in the face of rampant inflation especially that of housing.

The situation is made worse by the easy availability of cheap foreign labor. As they do not have a family to support in Singapore, many of them are willing to work for long hours at lower pay.

Singapore males are at an disadvantage because of national service obligations. They need to spend between one to four weeks a year for reservist training after they complete the mandatory 2 years of National Service, a Singapore euphemism for military conscription.

New citizens and PRs, on the other hand, do not have such burdens which increase their employability. It is hardly surprising that some employers prefer them than locals.

Despite widespread disgruntlement on the ground against their policies, the Singapore government is adamant that foreigners are crucial to the Singapore economy.

Foreigners help to keep business costs down which in turn contributes to the GDP figures. A variable component of the ministers’ multi-million pay package is pegged to GDP growth.

The government’s labor and immigration policies had contributed to the widening income gap in recent years. Singapore has the highest income gap in the developed world after Hong Kong, whose figures are skewed by a disproportionate higher number of billionaires.

MM Lee Kuan Yew said in a forum held at NUS lately that the income gap is “inconsequential” as long the government continues to create jobs for Singaporeans.

However, it is unsure how many of the jobs created went to native Singaporeans instead of new citizens and PRs who are grouped together in labor statistics as “residents”.

While the overall unemployment rate for “residents” is low, the real figures for “old Singaporeans” remain unknown.

Related articles:

>> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs

>> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months

>> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco

>> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly

>> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day

>> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners

>> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace

>> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs

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Shanmugan used Low Thia Kiang to defend the PAP’s “litigious” track record

From our Correspondent

Out of sheer desperation, Singapore Law Minister Shanmugan made used of the name of opposition MP Low Thia Kiang to defend the PAP’s “litigious” track record of suing its opponents!

In a speech directed at American lawyers from the New York State Bar Association International Section who are in Singapore for a week-long meeting, Mr Shanmugam addressed the issue of the opposition and defamation suits, which he said was mentioned in ‘every single report on Singapore’.

He said the most successful opposition politician here is Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang. He has been in Parliament as Hougang MP since 1991 and has never been sued. (in the actual transcript of the Q&A session, Mr Shanmugam said Mr Low has been in Parliament since 1984)

Mr Low Thia Kiang is known to be on good terms with the PAP and he seldom dare to oppose them during his long career leading some to question if he is in the opposition at all.

In an interview with the state media in 2007, Mr Low gave the PAP government a “passing mark” in governance and insinuated that vocal opposition leader Dr Chee Soon Juan to be a “mad dog”.

“The role of the opposition is to be a watchdog, not a mad dog,” he said. His remarks were widely publicized in the state media to lend credibility to the ruling party.

In 2008, during a parliamentary session, Mr Low was asked by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng should resign over the escape of suspected terrorist Mas Selamat. Mr Low appeared stunned and did not give a reply.

In the recent LUP fiasco over Hougang, the PAP losing candidate Eric Low revealed that he was on good terms with Mr Low Thia Kiang and they often went for “coffee” together after meetings.

Mr Low’s attempts to “please” the ruling party did not go unnoticed by MM Lee who once praised him as being a “credible and moderate” opposition MP.

While Mr Low is widely respected as a MP, his conservative approach does not go down well with certain quarters who felt that he should do much more to advance the opposition cause in Singapore.

Some even accused him of pandering to the whims and fancies of the ruling party by helping them promote Singapore as a “parliamentary democracy” (as Shanmugan has done) to the international community when it is a de facto one-party state.

The Workers’ Party used to boast of strong personalities like J.B Jeyaretnam, Tang Liang Hong, Francis Seow and Jufrie Mahmood who sent chills down the spines of the ruling party.

Under the congenial and friendly Mr Low, it has transformed itself to a “moderate” party which appears to be too quiet and inactive at times.

Mr Low once remarked casually that it will take the Workers’ Party another “20 years” to challenge the PAP.

For Singaporeans who are eager to change the status quo, it is unlikely that they can count on Mr Low to do so.

Gopalan Nair described Shanmugan’s speech as similiar to one made by Hitler

From our Correspondent

Former Singapore lawyer Gopalan Nair had poured scorn on Singapore Law Minister Shanmugan’s speech at the recently concluded meeting of the New York State Bar Association International Section.

Describing Mr Shanmugan’s speech as a “total flop”, Mr Nair ridiculed it as a “history lesson” on Singapore from 1959 till now.

“Another man in history could have made an identical speech, and that was Adolf Hitler. He too could have rightfully said that in 1920s Germany was in shambles, the Reich Mark was worthless etc etc, and look at us today in 1938, the strongest country in Europe. And so what? It doesn’t prove anything.” he wrote.

Mr Nair also accused Mr Shanmugam for trying to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes by arguing that Singapore criminal defendants are allowed legal representation just like American defendants. He used the example of his own incarceration to debunk Mr Shanmugan’s arguments.

Mr Nair was arrested on 31 May 2008 in Singapore for a blog posting critical of Singapore judge Belinda Ang. According to him, he was kept in solitary confinement at Central Police Station for 14 days or so during which he was repeatedly interrogated both day and night with all sorts of “threats and inducements” such as the threat of extending his stay in confinement unless he co-operated.

“Numerous statements were taken from me day and night and at each time I was asked to state that there were no threats or inducement even though there was clearly a threat to extend my confinement and further threats that I would be charged under the Sedition Act which meant I could spend 3 years in jail.

During this entire time, my lawyer was not permitted to see me and I had no legal representation whatsoever. As I was a lawyer and I believed in my rights, I was able to withstand their torture, and their denying me a right to legal representation. Had I been any other person, I would have confessed to anything they wanted just to be released from solitary confinement,” he said.

Mr Gopalan Nair was subsequently jailed for 3 months. His case was quoted by U.S. NGO Freedom House as a reason for giving Singapore a poor ranking in human rights and political freedoms.

Mr Shanmugan had been trying hard for the past few days trying to convince a sceptical American audience that Singapore is not a “repressive” state as made out by some western media and NGOs.

Unfortunately, it appears that his efforts had gone down the drain judging from the lukewarm response from the delegates.

When asked by the state media about his thoughts on Mr Shanmugam’s speech, steering committee member James P. Duffy III said:

“While not everything we learnt would fit comfortably with some important Western values, we are at the beginning of what we expect will be a long and fruitful dialogue with people whom we respect and want to know and understand better.”

This is the American way of saying:

“We respectfully agree to disagree.”

新加坡09年第3季国人失业率5%

作者：中央社

31/10/09

新加坡人力部今天公布的报告显示，新加坡今年第3季总就业人数今年以来首度成长，但9月整体失业率仍比去年同期和上月上升，达3.4%；本国人失业率则为5%。

新加坡9月的整体失业率（包含外国人）和本国人失业率应该是4年来最高纪录，但人力部指出，这仍未打破2003年严重急性呼吸道症候群（SARS）疫情爆发期间的整体失业率4.8%、本国人失业率6.8%的最高记录。

人力部说，9月的整体失业率增加主要是制造业 (manufacturing sector) 失业人口增加所致，但失业状况已经比前两季减缓。

此外，人力部的声明表示，本国人失业率达5%，比3月、7月的4.8%、4.6%，及去年9月、12月的3.4%、3.6%还要高，主要是因为一些本国失业人口因就业市场艰难，接受职业训练而延缓寻找新工作所致。

报告指出，新加坡的雇主今年第3季共裁员2200人，其中有200人是约聘合约提前解除、2000人遭到解雇。但是，第3季裁员的人数已经比第2季裁员5980人减缓许多。

报告说，前9个月遭雇主解雇的员工达2万940人。1998年亚洲金融风暴爆发时，有3万人遭裁员；而2001年新加坡经济衰退时，有2万6000人遭裁员。

不过，根据先前官方和私人机构的调查，新加坡的雇主对经济不稳定因素仍持审慎态度，今后仍不会增聘人手，因此一些经济学家预估，新加坡的失业率可能继续攀升。

但是在经济复苏带动下，人力部指出，今年第3季的总就业人口仍比前两季大幅增加，就业人口增加了1万5400人，结束了第1、2季分别减少6200 人和7700人的颓势。

若以行业类别来看，报告显示，第3季的服务业增聘1万3400人，比第1、2季增聘7500人、3800人要增加。

在建筑业部份，报告说，第3季建筑业也持续增聘8100名人手，比第2季增聘4100人增加。

不过，新加坡制造业在全球需求仍不稳定下，增聘员工人数连续4季减少。报告指出，制造业第3季就业人数减少6600人，但已比前两季大幅减缓。

来源：http://iservice.libertytimes.com.tw

韩港新阻升房价防泡沫化

作者：经济日报

2009.10.28

面对不动产价格升高，从南韩到新加坡的亚洲国家决策官员，纷纷开始压制房价，以免重蹈美国房贷泡沫覆辙。

最近几周，南韩、香港及新加坡的主管当局都要求银行业者紧缩放款标准。印度及南韩的央行也已预告，将在未来几个月提高利率。

美国联邦准备理事会主席（Fed）柏南克从2007年以来的金融危机 (financial crisis) 学到一个教训：必须在发生经济危机压制「过度」的财务杠杆。

亚洲官员希望借用这个教训，但代价可能是抑制可能带领全球走出经济衰退的亚洲经济扩张。

渣打银行东南亚经济研究部门主管许泰（音译）表示：「有关当局得迅速因应资产泡沫，以免一发不可收拾。中央银行得透过利率或行政手段，为泡沫消气。」

香港的房贷利率至少是19年来最低，但房价今年来上涨26%，当局将紧缩豪宅的头期款条件。九龙区一个一房、816平方呎的公寓上个月以2,450万港元 (320万美元)卖出。香港金融股今年上涨60%，不动产股上涨67%。

新加坡私人住宅开发商今年1到7月卖出1万个住宅单位，高于去年全年的4,300个。南韩8月银行对家庭放款连续七个月成长，房价也大幅攀升。

资产价格大涨，也引发争议，究竟何时应调整利率，或紧缩对金融机构的规定，以压制信用成长？分析师表示，可能两者并行。

野村证券日本以外的亚洲区首席经济师苏巴曼说：「央行的挑战在于是否升息，因为资产价格可能导致重创先进经济体的泡沫历史重演。」

联准会决策官员以往认为，资产价格的波动不是央行的职权，但现在已放弃这项正统原则。

旧金山联邦准备银行总裁叶伦（Janet Yellen）4月表示，「现在已很清楚，不未雨绸缪处理特定种类的泡沫，会带来严重后果。」

亚洲的官员则是双管齐下。例如，新加坡政府上月禁止部分住宅计划的只缴息贷款。香港政府上周限制港币2,000万元以上的住宅，抵押贷款不得超过房价60%。南韩金融当局月初也宣布，加强管理非银行金融公司的放款。

来源： http://udn.com/

后泡沫经济时代已来临

作者：谢国忠 (Andy Xie)

30/10/09

全球政策制订者们似乎并没有理解当前经济危机的实质。现在已经到了20年泡沫期的终结时刻，即以资产为基础的经济形态的终结时刻，也是IT革命和全球化产生的生产力红利（productivity dividends）的终结时刻。

在泡沫时代，收入分配越来越集中于通过资产获利的相关经济活动，收入分配也变得极端。例如，美国上市公司金融活动的利润份额增长了3倍。金融从业人员的收入也出现了相似的大增长，来自金融行业的大部分收入，集中于一小撮从事奢侈品消费和高端金融投资的群体。

泡沫的破裂将摧毁金融活动带来的绝大部分收入，损失约等于GDP的10％。从豪华轿车的司机到奢华住宅的建筑商，金融业危机引发的乘数效应将使失业人士遍布全球各个行业和国家。

在当前严峻的经济衰退中，各国政府采取积极实施财政刺激政策是必要的；但是，如果政府的支出偏离市场的需求，将延缓经济复苏的进程。它必须符合未来结构性调整的需要。

让我们设想一下，失业的银行家和他失业的司机可能面对的问题。危机前，银行家的薪水是司机的20倍，他可以轻轻松松地雇佣一帮人。平均而言，银行家将收 入的70％用在了全天候为他服务的15个佣人身上，另外的30％投在了对冲基金等金融投资上。现在，危机爆发了，银行家成为一所高中的教师；他目前的收入 水平等于前司机的工资，他必须自己开车、打扫房间，放弃按摩。需要考虑的问题是：为前银行家雇佣的那15个人该怎么办？

银行家此前的收入来自资产市场的活动，本质上是通过操纵资产价格，将收入再分配转移至其名下。当危机来临时，经济活动遭受的损失等同于银行家的收入下降额，但 早前受雇于他的人丧失了收入。最终结果是，经济萎缩额等同于银行家的收入与15名被雇佣人员的全部工资。此外，这15名人员还无力消费。乘数效应放大了银 行家收入下降带来的影响，这一数值大约是2。

政府开始着手刺激经济，实际上相当于借入与前银行家收入等额的资金进行政府支出，目的是为了保证15名被雇佣人员能有新的工作。然而，政府并不会把钱花在司机、花匠、女佣或是按摩师身上。政府的目标，应该是避免失业人员可能由乘数效应导致更多损失。

受各国政府的财政政策刺激，全球经济可能会在2009年下半年出现明显反弹。我们需要担心经济刺激政策的长期有效性，其短期效果似乎也并非令人高枕无忧。

当前最紧迫的任务，第一，是修复银行体系，尤其是美国的银行系统。正确的方法是将这些银行国有化，将不良资产剥离到另外一家公司实体中，并将优质资产重新打包上市。这是前些年中国对银行体系采取的改造策略，可能也是美国政府的唯一出路。

第二，西方必须控制社会福利费用。如果政府不能实施大刀阔斧的改革以控制其医疗成本，也许10年内，政府就会面临破产境地。如果欧洲政府不改革其养老金和失业保险制度，它将被迫增税或是长久地背负更大的预算赤字，欧洲经济将走向停滞。

第三，新兴经济体必须降低对出口的依赖。出口导向型的发展模式通常反映了政治经济的无力——无法有效地将储蓄转化为投资；原因多为缺乏法律保障，收入与 财富过度集中。出口导向型模式实际上是进口全球体系。这一模式在相当长一段时间内发挥作用，从一个世纪前的日本到50年前的“亚洲四小龙”，再到30年前 的中国。这一模式推动了这些国家和地区的快速发展。

今天，这一模式遇到的挑战是采用它的国家太多了。以当前的价格计算，发展中国家占据了全球经济的30％；以购买力平价计算，则占据了全球经济的近半壁江山。在缺乏消费者的情况下，这一模式难以延续既往的畅行无阻。

信贷泡沫的破裂引发了自“二战”以来最严重的全球经济大萧条。挽救全球危机需要复杂、艰难的改革。简单的刺激计划无法挽回昔日的繁荣。尽管股市在今年二 三季度有所起色，但这仅仅是熊市的反弹。当通货膨胀的幽灵在2009年底笼罩市场时，股市将不可避免地再次急剧下挫。可以预见，当前危机的最终底部也许在 2010年。

作者简介：1960年出生于上海，1983年毕业于上海同济大学路桥系，1987年获麻省理工学院土木工程学硕 士，1990年获麻省理工学院经济学博士。同年加入世界银行，担任经济分析员。在世行的五年时间，谢国忠所参与的项目涉及拉美、南亚及东亚地区，并负责处 理该银行于印尼的工商业发展项目，以及其他亚太地区国家的电信及电力发展项目。1995年，加入新加坡的Macquarie Bank，担任企业财务部的联席董事。1997年加入摩根士丹利，任亚太区经济学家。

来源：IT时代周刊 http://finance.jrj.com.cn

Temasek Review site down by another massive DDOS attack

Dear readers,

Our site is down from 3pm yesterday due to another round of massive DDOS attack. This is the second time in two weeks that services to our site is disrupted due to external factors beyond our control.

We have already installed another layer of firewall to pre-empt this from happening again. However, we do expect the person or group to continue their attacks in the future.

They must have spent a bomb already to bring down our site, but you can be assured that no matter what they do, Temasek Review will continue running and we will be acquiring more sites in the future.

Some comments from our readers posted yesterday are also lost as a result of the attack

We apologize for the inconvenience caused and we would like to thank you for your continued support. 

 ADMINISTRATOR

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