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WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN [till the next boo-boo]

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ABC MAN IN DEAL ON DRUG CHARGES

Nov 5: Former ABC foreign correspondent Peter Lloyd has agreed to plead guilty to some drugs charges in return for $ingapore authorities dropping the most serious charge of drug trafficking.

Lloyd, 41, had faced up to 20 years' jail and 15 strokes of the cane for five drug charges, after he was arrested in $ingapore on July 16 in possession of less than 1g of methamphetamine.

$ingapore's Attorney-General yesterday dropped the trafficking charge, which carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years' jail and five lashes.

In return, Lloyd's lawyer Hamidul Haq said the former ABC South Asian correspondent had agreed to plead guilty to some of the remaining charges.

Lloyd still faces one charge of being in possession of the drug ice, another charge of consuming the drug and two charges of possessing drug paraphernalia stained with methamphetamine and ketamine.

Mr Hamidul said Lloyd would probably have faced between five and six years' jail if he had been convicted of trafficking.

"Now that's out of the window," Mr Hamidul said.

Lloyd is currently free in $ingapore on $60,000 bail.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,24604171-7582,00.html

Lloyd's $ingapore trafficking charge dropped
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/04/2409973.htm

Australian to plead guilty in Singapore case
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/05/asia/AS-Singapore-Australian-Drug-Case.php

Looks like someone screwed up when they charged Mr Peter Lloyd for drug trafficking. Otherwise, why the u-turn? Mr Peter Lloyd in an Australian, where kangaroos originate.

AN EYE FOR AN EYE AS MALACCA DRAWS $INGAPOREANS

When the Eye On Malaysia officially opens for business on Saturday at the Sungai Melaka rivermouth, the people behind this project along with the state government will be keeping a close eye on $ingapore.

They rationalise that it is the $ingaporeans who are going to take the Eye on Malaysia here to greater heights. Standing 60m tall, the Eye will give riders a view of the World Heritage City of Malacca on one side and the Straits of Malacca on the other.

The Eye, which was moved from Kuala Lumpur's Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, has now found its permanent home at the Sungai Melaka river mouth.

The more $ingaporeans make a beeline for the historical city, the more the state and the project's other stakeholders are going to earn in revenue.

Eye On Malaysia chief operating officer Adam Yong Abdullah said: "We understand that $ingapore has the tallest Ferris wheel in the world and a ride costs about RM80 per person. It will set a family of five back at least RM400 and for that amount, they can get a better deal here."

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/2392794/Article/index_html

KOREAN BEGGARS PICTURE IN $INGAPORE TEXT BOOK

Primary school students in $heep City, $ingapore use a social studies textbook which has a picture of Koreans as homeless people sleeping under dirty blankets at a subway station's entrance. The $ingapore government has promised to have the picture removed. The matter was brought up after a Korean in $ingapore reported on a Web site late last month. The Korean embassy in $ingapore took the matter up.

Yonhap reported Nov 3, that it is very clear the photograph was taken in South Korea, with the word "exit" written in Korean lettering, or Hangeul, on the left side. The description next to the photo reads: "Even with limited land, our government is able to provide sufficient housing for the people." That line is seen by officials here as an insinuation that South Korea fails to do so.

The embassy said $ingapore will also remove from next semester an erroneous description that Korea was once a Russian colony. The error was discovered in middle school history textbooks.

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/081103/4/3rgn3.html

In $ingapore, the PAP sues anyone who slanders, or libels the government, the courts and political leaders in the ruling party.

A TOTALITARIAN STATE ENCOURAGES STUPIDITY

REMEMBER THE PROMISE?

"Members of Parliament yesterday supported the government's promise to put people first and to promote active citizenship that was laid out in President SR Nathan's address to Parliament last week." - the nation-builder press, Oct 12 1999.

PEOPLE FIRST?

The nation-builder press, October 16, 2008.

NO BAILOUT FOR $HEEP

"The Monetary Authority of $ingapore (MAS) has decided against following Hong Kong's lead in requiring banks to buy back Lehman Brothers-linked Minibonds at market price from investors."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 16, 2008.

WHY?

The nation-builder press, October 21, 2008.

Although, the PAP government has already said there will be no bailout for $heep who lost money through their own investments in a financial instrument sold by the government-owned DBS Bank, that did not stop a new bill to amend the Constitution to unlock $ingaporean's wealth.

The government now wants "billions more for schools, roads and health care". The last time they wanted "billions more" was at the beginning of 2007 when they raised the sales tax [GST] and netted in excess of $5 BILLION annually.

At the time, the government said the money was meant to help the "poor".

THIS MAY BE AN INCONVENIENT TIME TO BRING THIS UP BUT KISHORE MAHBUBANI DID SAY THIS:

"There are no homeless, destitute or starving people in $ingapore. Poverty has been eradicated..." - Kishore Mahbubani, $ingapore's former representative to the United Nations, Jan 15 2001. He is author of the book, Can Asians Think? $ingapore raised the sales tax (GST) from 5 per cent to 7 per cent in January 2007 - the reason given is to help the "poor".

LAS VEGAS SANDS SURE NEEDS HELP

The nation-builder press, October 31, 2008.

Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp soared a record 80 per cent in New York trading after the $ingapore government said it was in talks with the casino company to help finish a US$4 billion casino project in the city-state.

The $ingapore Tourism Board will "facilitate the success'' of the project in downtown $ingapore, the agency said. It didn't say how it would help or if it will provide financial support.

$ingapore's tourism agency is "working closely'' with the company's $ingapore unit, Marina Bay Sands.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=azDhWgA9DSRo

What the Marina Bay Sands needs now is lots and lots of MONEY. The company borrowed S$5.4 BILLION from a consortium that included three $ingapore banks that reportedly put up the lion's share of the loan ie probably $ingaporean's savings. The parent company has not been doing well in the current economic slowdown.

The $ingapore government also invested $ingaporeans wealth up to US$24 BILLION buying bank stocks at the beginning of 2008. Their value has since dived.

"Pack up your troubles in your old kit back
and smile, smile, smile..."

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MARINA SANDS CASINO IN TROUBLE, PROJECT DELAYED

The nation-builder press, October 30, 2008.

$ingaporeans woke up on Oct 30 to learn that Las Vegas Sands' $ingapore casino was in trouble.

The nation-builder press politely reported that the project was "delayed" and will not complete as scheduled at end 2009. But it's more than that. The Marina Sands may well default on the $5.44 BILLION loan.

The nation-builder press, October 30, 2008.

For a start, the Marina Sands Casino's parent company, Las Vegas Sands Corp, has seen its share price fall from US$178 last year to under US$5 now. To shore up capital, Sands owner Sheldon Adelson has already had to bail out the company by investing US$475 million of his own money last month. The company has seen revenue slide at its gambling tables in Las Vegas and Macau. Blame it on the economic tumult.

What's at stake is not just reputation. Three local banks have taken the lion's share of the $5.44 BILLION loans to Marina Sands.

$ingapore's other nation-builder press, Business Times, reported Oct 25 that "United Overseas Bank (UOB) has committed to lend almost $890 million to the project. DBS Group Holdings' exposure is in the range of $740 million while that of OCBC Bank is around $570 million." All likely to be $ingaporeans' money, ie your savings, with these banks.

Amazingly, according to the paper, the general consensus among Shenton Way fortune tellers is that "[I]f anything does happen, the project which has been touted as iconic by the government will be rescued, perhaps by one of the government-linked companies..."

That means "BAILOUT".

"Indeed, given the importance of the project to $ingapore, it is unlikely to fail in the development stage... assistance will eventually come - at a price,' said Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Wilson."

For a more detailed report, see the full article posted at
http://luxuryasiahome.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/storm-over-sands-in-us-hits-local-ir-lenders/.

One last note.

When General Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, was asked why $ingapore wouldn't bailout minibond investors as Hong Kong will, this is what he said:

"You may get out of the immediate jam, but then what happens down the road? The next time somebody will sell a product and say, 'Don't worry, this goes wrong, the government will look after you.' And then more problems will come." [nation-builder press Oct 27, 2008]

That means no bailout for anyone, right?

The penalty for not following the rules is Marina Sands may lose their $200 million deposit and the $ingapore government can take back the property and call for a fresh bid.

THE LAST WORD ON SHARING THE SACRIFICE

"It is time to put the controversy over Lehman minibonds and [DBS Bank's] High Five notes behind us. The institutions involved have been punished enough by the bad publicity. And the process of compensation has been put in place.

"As one forum writer succinctly put it, the issue of compensation for the affected 10,000 investors had been pursued with so much zest that the tens of thousands of investors - many of them retirees - who had placed their savings in bank stocks had been neglected. They too are hurting from the collateral damage as listed banks lost billions of dollars in market value.

"Yet, even as they shed their tears in silence, there is no mention of compensation for them! As the financial crisis unfolds and hurt us in many ways, we have to stand united to fight it together. Divided, we will be fodder for the hedge funds now pounding on our gates."

- nation-builder Goh Eng Yeow, Oct 24, 2008.

"Hedge funds pounding on our gates?" The banksters have already taken US$24 BILLION of $ingaporeans wealth that the PAP government invested into foreign banks.

Where is the comparison of gamblers on the stock market with retirees who thought they were putting their money in a safe investment? The former can still hope to see banks stock prices rise. For the latter, the paper is WORTHLESS.

Stand united? Workers have already surrendered BILLIONS of CPF money when the PAP government slashed CPF rates. Those rates have NEVER been restored to their original level. The PAP leaders by contrast had a pay surge on Jan 1, 2008.

Share the sacrifice? Share the benefits first.

"Pack up your troubles in your old kit back and smile, smile, smile... what's the use of worrying?" See item below on $ingapore's new National Anthem.

MRS $INGAPORE CONTESTANT LEAVES SUICIDE NOTE BLAMING MONEYLENDERS

The death of a former Mrs $ingapore contestant was prominently featured in all the major Chinese dailies. Sin Chew Daily reported Oct 24 2008 that Liu Jin Lian, 42, plunged to her death from her flat in $ingapore last Saturday [Oct 18].

In her suicide note, Liu, who left behind a husband and three children, aged between 16 and 23, blamed her death on loan sharks. Expressing hope that her debts would be written off following her death, Liu said she felt sorry for her elder daughter because she had used her daughter's college funds to pay off her loans.

Liu was a hawker and her food was said to be popular with customers. Her husband Yu Ming Yong, 46, said his wife borrowed S$40,000 from loan sharks to renovate her stall. "Every day, she had to pay about S$200 to the loan sharks," he said.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/25/nation/2371962&sec=nation

$INGAPOREANS, CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING

Note: Those who are sensitive and easily offended please do not click on the link.

A TOTALITARIAN STATE ENCOURAGES STUPIDITY

The following item first appeared in Spread The Word #476 (February 1, 2008)

LAS VEGAS SANDS WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE $HEEPLE OF $INGAPORE

Las Vegas Sands Corp President William Weidner stated Jan 4 2008: "We are pleased to have completed this important financing for our Marina Bay Sands development. The completion of this $ingapore Dollar-denominated facility, which is the largest private $ingapore Dollar-denominated financing in $ingapore's history, was accomplished on very favorable terms in a challenging global credit environment."

The entire loan is for S$5.4 BILLION. On Jan 15, 2008, Sands withdrew S$2 BILLION. Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheldon G. Adelson stated, "We are quite gratified that the $ingapore interest rate is significantly below the rates which we would have to incur in the U.S. or other international markets in today's market."

Here's the lowdown of who's doing what: Goldman Sachs, DBS Bank Ltd., UOB Asia Limited, and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited acted as coordinators of the financing. The coordinators as well as affiliates of Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Malayan Banking Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Calyon, and The Bank of Nova Scotia acted as Mandated Lead Arrangers.

DBS Bank Ltd. is acting as Technical Bank, Agent and Security Trustee.

THERE IS NO BREAKDOWN AS TO WHICH BANK IS LENDING HOW MUCH.

UPDATE: LAS VEGAS SAND'S HITS THE DIRT

The nation-builder press, October 24, 2008.

"THE business of building the integrated resort at Marina Bay could cost Singapore's three local banks far more than they bargained for. The parent company, Las Vegas Sands, is under financial distress, which puts the banks at risk of credit losses."

Full article here http://www.todayonline.com/articles/283301.asp

The above article FINALLY revealed just which banks loaned the lion's share:

"DBS, OCBC and UOB are among the 12 lead arrangers of a $5.25-billion syndicated loan and the three $ingapore banks took the lion's share of allocation during the syndication, Mr Koh said. 'Although the banks are well capitalised, this may be a significant hit because they are lead arrangers for the syndicated loan'."

$ingaporeans money at stake again.

NO BAILOUT FOR $HEEP

The nation-builder press, October 16, 2008.

"The Monetary Authority of $ingapore (MA$) said there are approximately 10,000 retail investors who invested over $500 million into structured products linked to Lehman, such as Lehman Minibonds and DBS High Notes 5."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 16, 2008.

GONE, BABY, GONE

The nation-builder press, October 29, 2008.

"Investors [$heeple] in DBS High Notes 5 finally got the news they have been dreading for weeks: Their investments are officially worthless. DBS said on its website Oct 28 that the redemption value of the notes has been calculated to be zero, so nothing will be paid out. Letters are going out to investors notifying them of the valuation.

"About 10,000 retail investors bought more than $500 million worth of structured products linked to now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers, with about 1,400 of them pumping $103 million into DBS High Notes 5."

The nation-builder report also said "On DBS' part, it does not profit from the unwinding of these notes."

DBS made no profits from the sale of these notes? Who has the $103 MILLION pumped into DBS High Notes 5?

No other country in Asia or elsewhere has been hit by this bond sale. Only Hong Kong and $ingapore. DBS Bank operates in both cities.

SMILE, SMILE, SMILE

When General Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister, was asked why $ingapore wouldn't bailout investors as Hong Kong will, this is what he said:

There's a next time? Why doesn't our government bank do the right thing and sell a good product?

Here is $ingapore officialdom's standard advice when the shit hits the fan:

Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile,
While you've a lucifer to light your fag,
Smile, boys, that's the style.
What's the use of worrying?
It never was worth while, so
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile.

- $ingapore's new National Anthem.

Pack up and MIGRATE, MIGRATE, MIGRATE.

IT'S THE SAME STORY OVER THE YEARS

The nation-builder press, August 6, 2002.

"A more recent report on the performance of CPFIS-included unit trusts revealed that, as a whole, equity funds returned a negative 16.98 % over the past three years ended June 30. What went wrong?"

The nation-builder press, July 23, 2003.

"But Mr Leong [Sze Hian] is among those who argue that CPF investors should not be deterred because so many of them did not make money. 'The greatest risk is not taking a risk with your retirement funds, because if you don't take a risk you will barely be able to beat the inflation rate,' he says."

Mr Leong currently writes for an online blog of nation-builders. Every year there is a "next time". Every year the cost of living goes up even as wages are kept low to help $ingaporeans get jobs. In contrast, pay surges for the PAP ministers who earn multi-million dollar salaries.

The nation-builder press, January 5, 2004.

"When as many as 80% of CPF investors - or 508,500 of them - lost money in their ventures after taking into account accrued interests, a change is called for."

The change was to allow for more and different financial instruments to be sold to the $heep.

And don't forget all the $ingaporeans who got CLOBBERED by CLOB.

NOTE: $ingaporeans are not allowed to use their excess CPF/pension funds for anything else but investments. You cannot use the money to finance your children's education.

The $ingapore government has traditionally held on longer to the CPF funds by increasing the withdrawal age and holding on more by limiting the amount allowed to be withdrawn. Last year, an annuity scheme was made compulsory. Additional CPF funds must be held back to pay for this.

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$INGAPORE RANKED 144 IN PRESS FREEDOM INDEX 2008

$ingapore is ranked 144 out of 173 nations. The bigger the number the less press freedom in your country.

Asean countries with a worst ranking than $ingapore include Burma [170], Vietnam [168] and Laos [164]. For a country that prides itself as an international city, no other modern metropolis is ranked so far below. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29031

THE LAST WORD ON HELPING $HEEPLE

The nation-builder press, November 14, 2006.

The rationale for raising GST was to use the extra $5 BILLION raised to help the poor. Although most experts calculated that the people most affected by a rise in GST were the poor. Click on the banner above to see how the PAP government has been "helping" $ingaporeans.

WHY DO $INGAPORE SCHOLARS & MILLION-DOLLAR MINISTERS COME TO MIND?

The boss of a successful US hedge fund has quit with an extraordinary farewell letter dismissing his rivals as over-privileged "idiots" and thanking "stupid" traders for making him rich. Andrew Lahde's US$80m Los Angeles-based firm, Lahde Capital Management, in Los Angeles made a huge return last year by betting against subprime mortgages.

Yesterday [Oct 19] the 37-year-old told his clients that he had hated the business and had only been in it for the money. And after declaring he would no longer manage money for other people, because he had enough of his own, Lahde said that instead he intended to repair his stress-damaged health; he made it clear he would not miss the financial world.

"The low-hanging fruit, ie idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking," he wrote. "These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government," he said.

"All of this behaviour supporting the aristocracy only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America." - The Guardian

Andrew Lahde's full letter can be read here: http://www.portfolio.com/html/assets/AndrewLahdeFarewell.pdf

The $ingapore government through the GIC and its government company Temasek Holdings invested US$24 BILLION into banks and financial institutions late 2007, early 2008. The shares in these companies have since fallen sharply.

The people who brokered the deals are quite happy to have made a nice profit from $ingapore.

ONE YEAR AGO ON NATIONAL DAY 2007

In 2007, the government told $ingaporeans their life-expectancy was now 80 years. They went into overdrive to sell $ingaporeans that they had to save more for retirement. They had to "build their nest egg". Changes were then made to $ingapore's pension fund, the CPF, in September 2007. A fresh website Retirement Ready @ My CPF was also launched.

In his National Day Speech on August 19, 2007, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong [man with balloon hat] said:

"...But we have to adjust and bring the CPF system up to date. When CPF started, life expectancy was 60, 61; now, it is 80 years old. So, we need to make three changes -- firstly, improve the returns on the CPF savings. Secondly, draw down the CPF savings later so that they will last longer and thirdly, to cover the risks of living longer than expected...

"...Those who want higher returns can accept higher risks, you can invest your CPF money yourself. We have a scheme, it's called the CPF Investment Scheme. But although it's called the CPF Investment Scheme, it means you invest your own money and take the risks."

The changes meant the government would retain $ingaporeans savings/pension for a longer period and also an annuity scheme paid for by $ingaporeans was to be compulsory.

By the way, this is how Lee Hsien Loong started his speech on August 19, 2007:

"Friends and fellow $ingaporeans, $ingapore is on the move, things look good. There's growing buzz and confidence in the air and our overall outlook is positive. The environment externally is also favourable. There's optimism all over Asia. In recent weeks, you will have seen turbulence in the financial markets globally. This may affect the US and the European economies and, in that case, it will also affect Asia over the next three to six months. But even it if does, the fundamentals for Asia remain strong and so too for $ingapore."

$ingapore became the first country to slip into RECESSION in Asia on October 10, 2008.

NO BAILOUT FOR $HEEP

The nation-builder press, October 16, 2008.

"The Monetary Authority of $ingapore (MAS) said there are approximately 10,000 retail investors who invested over $500 million into structured products linked to Lehman, such as Lehman Minibonds and DBS High Notes 5."
- The nation-builder press, Oct 16, 2008.

The banksters who sold these financial instruments are quite happy to have made a profit.

The nation-builder press, Oct 18, 2008.

"The $ingapore government has already gone to the rescue of UBS, Merrill Lynch and CitiGroup to the tune of US$24 BILLION. Those old enough to REMEMBER CLOB, will know which investors were CLOBBERED in the end."
- The young, restless and cynical MIRROR OF OPINION, Oct 18, 2008.

As far as we can tell, the sale of these toxic financial products is unique to $ingapore and Hongkong. In both cities, the $ingapore government owned bank DBS operates. There have been no reports of such losses in Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Taiwan etc. It would be interesting to find out whose bright idea it was to sell this toxic product to retirees and other retail investors.

Transparency, please.

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