Wednesday, August 29, 2007

New! - Complimentary Seminar Preview

Check out the new seminar preview series.

==> Complimentary Seminar Preview



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Friday, August 24, 2007

V For Vendetta Speech



There is a big problem in this country. Does it ring a bell?

Do not forget the 5th of November...




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Internet Empire Launches - Hosting Entrepreneur Workshop

I've been having a lot of people in their late thirties, forties, fifties asking me the same old question. Edmund, do you have something that can make money easily? Something that does not require a lot of IT knowledge? Something that one can pick up really quickly?

I hear you!

==> Hosting Entrepreneur Workshop

I've assembled a 3 hour hands on program that anybody without any IT background can also do it. I've also got Videos to show the person how to do it step-by-step.

More importantly, I will also be providing a 2 year post support for this course to make sure that in the event you come up with any problems after the course, I will double up as your technical manager to help you liaise with your client.

24 seats left!

==> Hosting Entrepreneur Workshop


P.S. - This deal is really good at only 150USD. Sorry this deal is only for those who can attend in Singapore. For my overseas friends, sorry, I will be coming up the full videos so you can sign up as well. Cheers.



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Monday, August 20, 2007

Said Zahari's book launch 1st July 2007



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Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

FEER answers Singapore Defamation Suit

Our Correspondent
16 August 2007
Magazine says no defamation of Lee Hsien Loong and his father took place in August 2006 article

In two 50-page defense statements, The Far Eastern Economic Review has replied to allegations it had defamed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his father, former Premier Lee Kuan Yew, in an interview the magazine carried last August with Singapore opposition politician Chee Soon Juan. The defense statements are here.

The statements, filed late on Friday, argue that no defamation exists because the article and the interview were factual. It also argues that the article was written in the public interest and that as a political figure Chee was qualified to comment on public affairs in the island republic.

Singapore’s leaders, who have filed numerous libel suits against foreign media group and opposition politicians, have yet to lose a case in Singapore’s courts. Among those they have sued or taken other action against are the Economist, the International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, the Asian Wall Street Journal and FEER.


Defense statements:
DefenceLKY.pdf
DefenceLHL.pdf

Source: AsiaSentil.com

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Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Singapore's Temasek profit hit by Shin, lower gains

By Jan Dahinten

SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Singapore's state-owned Temasek Holdings warned that growing protectionism in Europe and the United States towards it and other sovereign wealth funds could hurt its expansion abroad in search of higher returns.

Temasek [TEM.UL], which owns stakes in Barclays, Standard Chartered, and Chinese banks, is one of a stable of huge state investors with deep pockets and global ambitions which are increasingly coming under scrutiny by Western governments.

The International Monetary Fund said in June it is growing uneasy about the trillions of dollars managed by largely secretive sovereign wealth funds because it fears their activities could disrupt financial markets.

"The free flow of investment is important for economic growth," said Ng Yat Chung, managing director of portfolio management at Temasek, at a briefing on Thursday.

"We would be concerned" about any move towards protectionism in the developed economies, he added.

Government-owned investment vehicles control around $2 trill ion -- roughly the size of France's economy -- and are expected to grow rapidly to $12 trillion by 2015.

Ng acknowledged concerns over investments by state funds in key sectors such as telecommunications and banks but said Temasek, owned by Singapore's finance ministry, was different.

"We distinguish ourselves by our transparency," he said.

IMPAIRMENT CHARGE

Temasek reported a 29 percent drop in net profit to S$9.1 billion ($6 billion) for its 2006/07 financial year, from S$12.8 billion a year ago, on lower divestment gains and an impairment charge on Thai telecoms firm Shin Corp , which lost one third of its stock market value during the period.

Temasek declined to disclose the size of the impairment charge on its Shin stake, but its annual report showed a S$830 million loss from associated companies, which include Shin.

A Temasek-led consortium bought Shin, Thailand's biggest telecoms group, from former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last year for $3.8 billion. The sale helped spark a prolonged political crisis in Bangkok.

Temasek said it had made S$16 billion of new investments in its 2006/07 financial year, against S$21 billion in the previous year. Last month, the government-owned fund agreed to invest up to 2.1 billion pounds in British bank Barclays Plc .

It divested assets of over S$5 billion in the financial year, against S$13 billion a year ago, while its portfolio value rose 35 percent to $108 billion from $80 billion.

"Temasek's investment outlook remains one of caution in light of medium-term geo-economic risks and signs of bubbly market conditions," Temasek Chairman S. Dhanabalan said in the review.

Temasek has expanded aggressively in Asia since 2002 in an effort to improve its long-term investment returns.

It reported a one-year total shareholder return by market value of 27 percent -- compared with a return of 32.6 percent on the city-state's Straits Times Index (STI) <.STI>, and a 20.7 percent return for a benchmark consisting of one third MSCI Singapore, the World, and Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.

Over a 10-year period, its total shareholder return of 8 percent compared with 9.3 percent for STI, and 7.9 percent for the MSCI index.

Temasek -- headed by Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- owns large stakes in many of Singapore's biggest firms, including Singapore Telecommunications , DBS Group Holdings , Singapore Airlines , and PSA International [PSA.UL].

Temasek said that Singapore accounted for 38 percent of its total portfolio at the end of March, down from 44 percent in the previous financial year. Asia ex-Japan accounted for 40 percent of the portfolio, up from 34 percent in the previous year.

Source: Reuters
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Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Do You Really Love Singapore?

Letter from Essaive of SammyBoy Forum.

Do I Really Love This Country?


Our nation is preparing to celebrate its 42nd birthday early next month. Suddenly I see huge banners and billboards showing happy children of different races juxtaposed with the pictures of their respective MPs of the various constituencies sprouting around the country. I see banners, flags, music videos and all sorts of decorations wishing a country that rose from being a chaotic, dirty, impoverished state to an economic powerhouse with global benchmarks in almost every avenue, a happy 42nd birthday.

But looking at it critically, something just doesn’t seem right. Are these people really in a celebratory mood? Are those children really celebrating away from the camera too? Do these kids even know who those MPs in the poster together with them are? Did the people who put up those banners doing it out of passion or obligation? Did the singers of these national day songs really write from their heart and sing ad verbatim? Do people really love the country that much?

Firstly, are Singaporeans really celebrating? Because recent experiences include 3 different taxi drivers complaining to me about life in Singapore, 2 old men in the coffee shop engaging in really intense polemics on how exactly was the GST increase beneficial to the poor in Singapore and an electrical engineer I know is seriously considering not having a 2nd child due to the potential financial burden to his family. With all these cynicism going around, I really wonder how long more the Government can tell us that everything is okay. Just take a walk down your neighbourhood and chances are you will be able to spot a beggar or two or someone collecting empty drink cans from food centers and even dustbins to sell. If really is in a golden age, then how do we explain all these? Even I, coming from a middle class family find it hard to go by everyday but I really shudder to think how the less fortunate go about their daily lives.

Secondly, talking about the children pictured together waving the flag. Sure, they did it amidst instructions from the cameraman or their teachers but are they really enjoying their youth? Are they really allowed their weekends free to rest and relax? Exams, segregation based on academic performances, stress and peer pressure and now, soliciting for donations on Saturdays. Is this really necessary? I understand that charities need money to go about their daily running but what is the point if they have to force schoolchildren to do it for them with the Community Involvement Programme (CIP)? And how do you measure altruism in ? Especially after the recent scandals involving charities, how sure are you that Singaporeans are more willing to part with their hard earned money?

I understand that the government works very hard to make sure we remain successful but at what cost? What is the point of being no.1 in the world but back home; there are smaller but more dangerous issues which have not been tackled. The recent economic policies have resulted in a greater disparity between the rich and the poor. It may seem like I’m exaggerating but how do we explain the recent surge in comments coming in from the “elites” about the poorer and less fortunate in especially via the Internet? Then there is the issue of foreign talent.

Foreign talent is vital for ’s long term success and gives Singaporeans a much better challenge and rids us of complacency but just how much is too much? After all its common logic that some of these foreigners might actually only be using Singapore as a stepping stone before moving off to the place they really wanted to go like USA. So how does this pacify the local kid who studied so hard to get his degrees, toiled under the sun for 2 years in NS only to lose out to the foreigner who might go elsewhere where the prospects could be higher? Where is the motivation? Instead of motivating us, all we get are comments about how lazy and unmotivated we are.

Another point is how do we identify with foreign sportspersons representing ? An Englishman and a Singaporean could be watching a World Cup match and the Englishman could point to a random player and exclaim how they used to be childhood buddies but can the Singaporean do the same? Of course I’m not saying foreigners are evil but realistically speaking, wouldn’t it be more ideal if these foreign talents could be mentors instead of doing our jobs?

You know life in a particular country is sad when there actually has to be a public campaign to stop the abuse of bus captains. But has anyone ever questioned why exactly are these people beating up the poor bus drivers? Why more and more Singaporeans are perpetually complaining about life here? Why the number of flags you see outside HDB flats now is much smaller than in the 90s? Why most of the people who write to newspaper forums to praise this country are actually foreigners? Why people who get selected to receive their NDP tickets eventually go on to sell them for a huge profit? These are some of the things I hope Singaporeans will continue to think about and hopefully, like me, think of solutions.

------------------------
Source: http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=sammyboymod&msg=148950.1




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Wealth gap 'spreads across Asia' - Except Singapore

The gap between rich and poor has widened sharply in China and many other Asian countries as their economies have boomed, research has suggested.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) found that relative inequality had widened more substantially in China than any other Asian country except for Nepal.

Other countries with rising wealth gaps include India, Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

More spending was needed on education, training and healthcare to alleviate the situation, the ADB argued.

Lagging behind

The bank said the main reason for widening wealth gaps in recent years was the discrepancy in investment between urban and rural areas which favoured better-educated, better-off urban populations.

Improvements in rural infrastructure were being held back by government policies which deterred private investment.


Growing inequalities can weaken social cohesion

Ifzal Ali, Asian Development Bank

Relative inequality, measured as the change in proportionate differences in income between the richest and poorest in society, has risen in 15 countries studied since the early 1990s, according to the bank's Key Indicators 2007 report.

In only six - Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Thailand - did it narrow over the period in question.

Although basic poverty levels have fallen as Asian economies have expanded, the living standards of the wealthiest in society have improved at a much faster rate, leaving the poorest lagging even further behind.

While increased income disparities were not unusual in countries such as China experiencing rapid economic growth, the ADB said such extreme differences were socially harmful.

"In a region as dynamic and vibrant as developing Asia, low growth in incomes of the poor is reflective of weakness in the pattern of growth," said Ifzal Ali, the ADB's chief economist.

"Growing inequalities can weaken social cohesion."

Social friction

Urban-dominated growth in China and India has caused social friction as a result of the high levels of migration to cities and a shortage of foreign investment in more isolated areas.

But the ADB said the answer was not to try and turn back the tide of globalisation but to ensure employment opportunities were made more widely available.

"Inequalities in life start early and they begin with extreme circumstances that deny millions the opportunity to have adequate nutrition, health and basic education," it noted.

Governments must ensure their health and education programmes were "targeted" and implemented in a way which did not destabilize the overall economy, the bank added.

Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6936525.stm



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Sink-A-Poor



Another classic video.



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Ministers Pay Hike



This is a little old but look at what Teo Chee Hean said.

"The government, as an employer has to respond quickly and decisively to stay competitive and close the wage gaps. Otherwise we will deplete the Service of the able people we need and the service level to the public will be affected."

Mr. Teo, are you trying to say that despite having the highest salaries of any cabinet in the world, we are not able to find the 'able' people to join us? Are you also trying to say that the salary paid towards the cabinet is not enough to keep the 'able' people.

No offence, but I think the PAP is in a world of their own. Uniquely Singapore.






Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Accident at Eunos MRT



There are so many accidents and yet SMRT wants to raise their fees again.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Hardcore Nose Digging Auntie on MRT



Questions.

1. Why is she occupying two seats?
2. It seemed that she was so enjoying the moment that she didn't realize she was filmed.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Eunos MRT Accident



Look carefully, the windscreen is splattered with blood stains.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

I Didn't Know LKY Could Speak So Fast



Somebody just posted this funny video on YouTube.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

LKY 'Bridging' Our Relationship



All the countries from all over the world need to pay attention to our advice. We have a strong team of 2 DPMs, 2 Minister Lees(PM + MM) and 1 Senior Minister. Each of their salaries are higher than any President & Prime Minister throughout the world.

There are 2 possibilities, they are either immensely talented or our system of paying out high salaries to attract top talent is horribly wrong. You decide.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew Questions Gay Sex Law



Now we have another Gay Rights Expert.




Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com>

Singapore Bans Said Zahari's Video & Tan Hua Piao Speaks



A long glimpse of one of Singapore's exiled. More truths to be told.



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Founding PAP member and ex-political prisoner to pen memoirs




Encouraged by the determination of fellow former political prisoner Said Zahari to unveil the other side of history, Singapore’s Dr Lim Hock Siew has also decided to publish his memoirs.

“Although I have told my story in a documentary film many years ago, I have decided to write it down myself in the form of memoirs like my ‘good brother’ Said,” he told malaysiakini during an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur.

“I am now conducting research to find out more newly declassified materials in London to link up more dots,” added the 76-year old founding member of Singapore’s now ruling People’s Action Party (PAP).

Lim was detained without trial for almost 20 years from 1963 to 1982. (Which makes him the second longest-held political prisoner in Singapore after Chia Thye Poh)

According to him, although he was alleged to have participated in the activities of the so-called ‘Communist United Front’ in Singapore from the mid-1950s to early 1960s, he was never formally charged in any open court of law for the allegation.

“I still remember even my police interrogators told me that they knew I had never been a member of any communist party or group,” said Lim who was a central committee member of the opposition Socialist Front in Singapore at the time of his arrest.

He was detained during the 1963 Operation Cold Store, which saw more than 130 leaders of opposition parties, labour and student unions and journalists deemed to be left wing held as well.

For more information, click here.

Courtesy of Martyn See - Film Maker of Singapore Rebel.



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism

By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Source Free Inquiry.co
5-28-3



Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

From Liberty Forum
--------------------------------

Do you happen to see any similarity?



Regards,
Edmund Ng
CEO, President
www.Internet-Empire.com