men jeg har skrevet, i alle fall. jeg har skrevet fordi jeg vil, fordi jeg orker, fordi jeg har lyst. det er lenge sia jeg har hatt så lyst til å skrive som nå. det føles bra, selv om jeg vender skrivelysten i feil retning. men er det ikke sånn det alltid er? det man vil gjør man lett, det man ikke vil prøver man å unngå. å være menneske er å konstant lete etter enkle utveier, uansett hvor mye trøbbel de skaper senere.

Just Who is Joe the Plumber?

This man got 21 mentions by John McCain and 4 from Barack Obama. It was almost farcical. I mean really. I almost snorted Pepsi up my nose when Obama turned to the camera and said with a straight face that he was talking to Joe, too. I know that when McCain gets a phrase under his belt, he just cannot let it go (e.g., "My friends" used 22 times in the last debate), but the promises that McCain was making to Joe tonight made me wish, just for a moment, that I could change my gender and career because, gee golly dontcha know, Joe is going to get a lot from the Senator if he makes it to the White House.

For the record, Senator McCain, I really DO want to spread the wealth around. I've been waiting around since Reaganomics was first implemented for that trickle down effect to trickle down to me, and it still hasn't happened, so how about spreading the wealth around to some people who are really hurting. I nominate our household for the first round of spreading. Seriously. Here we are. Go ahead. Use a backhoe.

And that comment about not taxing anyone? Isn't that just plain stoo-pid? Hello? Aren't we in an economic crisis, which means that we need an influx of capital, and isn't money from taxes capital going into the system? And don't give me that cutting the capital gains tax line. Republicans have been hauling that out every year since Bush I, and the only people with substantial capital gains have more than 7 zeroes in their incomes, and hey, they don't need tax breaks.

Let's Talk About the Bad Stuff

Ooh, now I know why we haven't put the two candidates at the same table before. It's scary to have a close-up of John McCain. Have you ever looked into his eyes? Kind of like looking at a shark's eyes—black and soul-less. And how about the rolling of the eyes and smirking when Obama was talking? Interrupting? Snarky. Naughty, naughty.

But putting the candidates in proximity was perfect for making them talk about Bill Ayers and ACORN. Let's put it out their and see who blinks first. I believe that McCain was the one who said, "I don't care about an old washed up terrorist." Perhaps the senator should put that in a memo and distribute it to his surrogates, especially his pet pit bull. Nevertheless, the always smooth Obama was ready and answered the charges on Ayers and ACORN. However, I really wish that he had thrown the fact that John McCain, in March of 2006, headlined an ACORN event in Florida.

Nevertheless, my blood pressure soared when McCain had the audacity to say that he has "repudiated every time someone has been out of line whether they were in his campaign or not." Can we all say liar, liar, pants on fire? And ooh, McCain's feelings were hurt about what Representative John Lewis had to say regarding the dirty politics going on in the McCain camp. Obama responded by bringing up the point that people at the rallies were saying "terrorist" and "kill him." To which McCain said that he is proud of the people who come to his rallies and there are just a few fringe elements out there.

Aw. Why Didn't You Go There?

Now strategically, I understand why Obama didn't go there when Bob Schieffer asked the candidates about their opponent's running mates, the better part of valor and all of that. But was it my imagination or did I see just the faintest twinkle in his eye as he thought about it for a nano second, just a passing moment in which he thought, why not? But the statesman in him held him back and he gave a responsible, respectful answer when you know he wanted to say, "Are you kidding me? Seriously? I wouldn't let that woman run my sprinkler system." At least, that's what I imagine he wanted to say. But didn't. Because he's a lot nicer than I am. But you know that Michelle was thinking it.

Seriously, Now.

Senator McCain, Trig Palin has Down's Syndrome, not Autism. If you are going to exploit a special needs child, at least get the damned facts straight. Geez.

And by the way, the most disappointing statistic of which we need to be ashamed as a developed nation: U.S. ranks 29th in the world for infant mortality even though we are supposed to have the best health care. As 29th, we tie with Slovakia  and Poland, but lag behind Cuba. Singapore is first, and the Czech Republic is 8th. This is truly an abominable statistic, yet no one seems to be outraged. WHY NOT????????????

Tired now. More later . . .

"
How do Dr. Strangelove and The Graduate, which are satires, and Die Hard, which is a drama, reflect their times and comment on American society?"

watch me give a fuck

for det gjør jeg jo faktisk. så langt har jeg og Film & History kommet temmelig godt overens, men nå føles det som om hjernen min har stoppet opp.  å spisse poengene har blitt vanskeligere for hver (andre) uke som har passert, og nå skal jeg klemme inn synsing om TRE filmer på FEMHUNDRE ord? det gir meg ca 166 ord per film. og det er jo nært å være null og niks, ca 11 linjer (om man tar 14 ord per linje som gjennomsnitt) på Dr. Strangelove, 11 linjer på The Graduate og 11 linjer på Die Hard. og skal jeg ha en nifty liten oppsummering blir det enda mindre.

hei, jeg heter Hanne og jeg er en apatiker.

æsj.

jeg skulka til og med ei forelesning idag. ikke noe nytt fenomen i Norge, men første gang i Singapore (siden oppmøte teller litt og to av fire forelesninger kommer med filmframvisning). det var digg å slumre i et par timer, men etterpå ble jeg rammet av en smule anger, og denne angeren ble enda verre da jeg innså at jeg antageligvis skulka ei anna forelesning denne uka også. skjønt, det kan vel knappest kalles skulking når man oppriktig vet at denne uka har man ikke forelesning og må se film på egenhånd siden professoren er i England. men, det kan se ut som om jeg ikke visste det likevel, bare trodde det, og gikk glipp av morsomme musikkvideoer og Spinal Tap. go figure.

så akkurat nå gleder jeg meg til jul. veldig.

]]> http://witart.wordpress.com/?p=732 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:49:41 +0000 witart http://witart.hi.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/ratusan-juta-rupiah-lenyap-seketika/ Tematik pengetahuan : Ekonomi Makro : Krisis Finansial

Selalu ada cara inovatif dan kreatif, untuk memeras masyarakat banyak, demi memperkaya segelintir orang.

Agaknya sejarah selalu berulang.... Lagi... dan lagi...

Ratusan Juta Rupiah Lenyap Seketika
korban iming-iming : Kamis, 16 Oktober 2008 | 00:20 WIB
Simon Saragih

Sebagai nasabah Citigold, Citibank Jakarta, Vincent Lingga, tak merasa akan terjebak kerugian Rp 450 juta. Tanggal 15 September, hari kebangkrutan Lehman Brothers, mungkin salah satu hari tergelap yang akan selalu dia kenang.

Dunia seperti gelap baginya begitu muncul berita bahwa Lehman Brothers bangkrut. Ingatannya segera tertuju ke produk investasi bernama Principal Protected Notes dengan nilai 50.000 dollar AS, yang ditandatangani pada Juni 2007.

Produk investasi ini adalah keluaran Lehman Brothers yang dipasarkan oleh Citibank. ”Saya tidak menyangka akan jadi begini. Bayangan saya, selama ini saya dan nasabah Citigold yang lain dilayani begitu baik,” kata Vincent.

”Salah satu hal yang tertancap di benak saya ketika produk itu ditawarkan adalah brand Citibank, yang melekat dengan kualitas dan profesionalisme,” kata Vincent, seraya mengatakan investasi itu ada pilihan dan risiko yang dia sadari. Dia tidak semata-mata hendak menyalahkan Citibank, tetapi paling tidak akan menjadi semacam edukasi bagi pihak lain.

Istilahnya, korban-korban lain agar tidak muncul lagi terjadi masa datang. ”Namun setelah saya periksa ulang, kemudian saya agak kaget. Ada keterangan yang menyebutkan bahwa produk investasi itu diperuntukkan bagi nasabah yang canggih,” kata Vincent, yang merasa tidak canggih mengkalkulasikan risiko. Kekecewaan saya, kata Vincent, keterangan itu baru diberikan setelah dana diserahkan dan perjanjian investasi sudah ditandatangani.

”Saya kira pihak kami sudah menjelaskan soal itu semua,” kata Irene Niwarlangga, relationship manager Citibank, yang melayani Vincent untuk menginvestasikan dananya ke produk Lehman Brothers itu.

Ada pihak lain yang juga jadi korban produk Lehman Brothers, namun minta namanya tidak disebutkan. Dia juga merasa tidak akan terjebak dengan produk Lehman Brothers. Masalahnya produk itu ditawarkan lewat Citibank, yang dianggap telah melayani nasabah dengan baik selama ini.

Ditta Amarhoseya, bagian Humas Citibank, yang ditugasi menjawab semua pertanyaan soal para korban Lehman Brothers sedang cuti.

Korban Lehman Brother bukan saja perorangan. PT Bank BNI Tbk juga menyatakan memiliki investasi senilai 7,8 juta dollar AS pada Lehman Brothers. Hal itu disampaikan Sekretaris Perusahaan BNI, Intan Abdams Katoppo, dalam keterbukaan informasi kepada Bursa Efek Indonesia, Rabu (15/10). Namun Intan tidak menerangkan bagaimana nasib dana sebesar 7,8 juta dollar AS atau sekitar Rp 75,66 miliar itu saat ini.

Gelisah
Korban-korban Lehman bukan saja di Indonesia. Chiu Hei-chun (72), warga Hongkong, menabung selama 50 tahun. Namun tabungan sebesar 520.000 dollar Hongkong itu ditabung untuk lenyap seketika karena Lehman Brothers bangkrut.

”Uang itu berharga bagi saya dan istri saya, untuk biaya perawatan kesehatan di hari tua dan biaya pemakaman kami suatu saat sehingga tidak membebani anak-anak,” Chiu.

Chiu Hei-chun spent 50 years washing dishes at a roadside stall in Hong Kong only to lose his life savings when Lehman Brothers went belly up.

“I saved it (HK$520,000) bit by bit. It was meant for my wife and I, for our medical bills and our coffins after we die so we won’t have to bother our children,” the 72-year-old said.

“HK$20,000 of that belongs to my wife and she hasn’t been talking to me. I used to get 4 hours’ sleep a night, but I haven’t even been getting an hour a night after this happened.” The global financial meltdown has hit not only pockets. Greater numbers of people are suffering from insomnia, anxiety and depression and psychiatrists say suicide rates may creep up.

http://www.financialexpress.com

Kini Chiu dia tidak saja kehilangan uang, tetapi istrinya tidak mau berbicara padanya. ”Saya biasa tidur empat jam sehari, namun saya tak bisa tidur sampai sekarang,” kata Chiu, dikutip Reuters, Rabu (15/10). Dia adalah salah satu dari 43.700 warga Hongkong, korban Lehman Brothers.

Awalnya, Chiu selalu menabung uangnya di dalam bentuk deposito. Nasib sialnya dimulai tiga tahun lalu. Karyawan bank tempat dia menabung membujuknya. Karyawan bank itu lebih ekstrem lagi, dengan gencar memberi jaminan bahwa produk Lehman Brothers aman.

”Saya sudah mengatakan pada karyawan bank itu bahwa saya tidak tahu apa-apa, dan saya memutuskan untuk menerima investasi itu hanya karena percaya sepenuhnya pada karyawan itu,” kata Chiu, yang berprofesi sebagai pencuci piring di sebuah restoran di Hongkong.

Sekitar 600 warga Singapura juga turut jadi korban Lehman Brothers. Sama seperti Vincent dan Chiu, mereka juga memberi produk Lehman Brothers dari bank tempat mereka menyimpan dana.

”Mereka (para karyawan bank) tidak pernah menyebutkan bahwa produk itu adalah produk Lehman Brothers. Saat ditawarkan, saya sudah mengatakan saya takut pada bank-bank AS,” kata Lin Ling, yang menanamkan dana 40.900 dollar AS di Lehman Brothers.

Saat ditawari produk itu pada Juli 2008, Lin mengatakan sudah mengetahui bahwa Lehman Brothers mulai menghadapi masalah. Namun mengatakan dia terus dikejar. Dia dan rekan-rekannya menunjukkan brosur produk investasi itu, yang sama sekali tidak menyebutkan itu produk keluaran Lehman Brothers.

”Saya tidak tahu bahwa itu adalah produk Lehman. Tak ada penjalasannya dalam bahasa China,” kata Madam Lee (60), yang menuntut bank tempat dia menandatangani investasi itu, mengembalikan simpanannya, yang sudah dialihkan ke investasi Lehman Brothers.

"They never told me the issuer was Lehman and I told the manager I was afraid of American banks," said Lin Ling, who bought S$60,000 ($40,900) worth of Lehman-linked "Minibonds" from a Singapore finance firm that had marketed the structured notes as a safe alternative to fixed deposits.

angry-lehman-investors-hold-public-meeting-in-singapore

Di Mumbai, India, Grace Varghese (50), juga sudah kehilangan 50.000 dollar AS. ”Saya kini mengkonsumsi pil pereda tekanan darah,” kata Varghese, yang mulai berinvestasi di bursa saham Mumbai empat tahun lalu. ”Saya menangis kepada suami dan anak-anak. ”Saya rugi! Saya rugi! Saya rugi!,” kata Varghese.

The global financial crisis has cost Grace Varghese, 50, a day trader in India's high-tech hub of Bangalore, more than $50,000. "I take high blood pressure tablets now," said Varghese, who started trading stocks four years ago after her children moved out. "I was crying to my husband and children: I lost! I lost! I lost!" That pain, she believes, has little to do with India itself and a lot to do with foreigners. "Indian fundamentals are strong," she said. "I don't believe...

http://article.wn.com

sumber:
ratusan juta rupiah lenyap seketika
specia report lessons citibank indonesia customers get burned
citibank not responsible losses investors
ri investors get burned lehman woes
special report watchdogs pave way big boys spoil financial market

You are Cordially invited to the Official Opening of

Kooshi’s Flagship Store at Parkway Parade

Date: 18 Oct 2008, Saturday (Kooshi Day)
Time: 11.00 am onwards
Venue: Parkway Parade Shopping Centre #01-34G

Limited Edition in-store only Items! Gifts & Treats!

Opening Hours:
11.00am till 9.30pm
Tel: 6440 9597

og fordi jeg vil ha tennene til tori

Quantum of Solace in Twinity

The wait is almost over: Quantum of Solace will be exploding across a cinema screen near you from 6 November. Twinizens can already get a taste of this hotly anticipated movie in Twinity from 16 October.

New Movie, New Location

The newly opened Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz and the CineStar CUBIX on Alexanderplatz in virtual Berlin are teaming up to feature Quantum of Solace movie highlights, merchandising, and much more.

• Watch the action-packed trailer and interviews with the cast
• Play Quantum of Solace arcade games
• Pit your wits against fellow Twinizens in the official James Bond quiz
• Snap up a Quantum of Solace poster or standee for your virtual apartment
• Or dress your avatar Bond-style in tuxedo and bowtie and become the ultimate face of espionage in Twinity

Come to the Quantum of Solace launch party at the all-new Sony Center on Thursday, 16 October at 7pm!

Sensational Prizes

From 16 October, you have the chance of winning sensational Quantum of Solace prizes in Twinity. Three prizes are up for grabs each week:

• 1st prize: Quantum of Solace the Game for PS2 from Activision.
  See more at www.007thevideogame.com.
• 2nd prize: Quantum of Solace soundtrack.
  Hear more at www.aliciakeys.de.
• 3rd prize: Quantum of Solace fan package, including 007 mug, pen and poster.

To take part in the competition, all you have to do is:

• Hunt down 5 Quantum of Solace posters at 5 places in Twinity
• Send the names of the places together with your Twinity name to quantum@twinity.com
• Competition runs from 16 October to 5 November

Quantum of Solace © 2008 Danjaq, LLC, United Artists Corporation, Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. 007 Gun Logo and related James Bond Trademarks © 1962-2008 Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation. Quantum of Solace, 007 and related James Bond Trademarks are trademarks of Danjaq, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ]]> http://sachithvida.wordpress.com/?p=129 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:19:18 +0000 Sachith http://sachithvida.hi.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/democracy-sri-lanka-and-singapore/ We love to compare Sri Lanka with Singapore. Today I stumbled upon the Economist's Democracy Index rankings. Sri Lanka is ranked at 57.  Singapore?...... at 84 and Hong Kong at  78.

Something to think about..............

Needless to say, as someone who believes in savings, I'm delighted. Not that for one moment I thought our banking system is wobbly but because when everyone else, starting from the Irish, has begun guaranteeing bank deposits, it's impossible and downright dangerous for Singapore to stay resolute, like the boy on the burning deck.

Thank goodness our country is pragmatic and sees that when every other country guarantees its bank deposits, it won't do amid the continuing turbluence to say "no" to guarantee just because we aren't Ireland.

This is because as I wrote yesterday "in a world of free flowing funds, banks that enjoy the blanket of Govt guarantee will draw funds from those that don’t. The irony is that if some Govts stand firm and say “I won’t join because my own banking system is sound”,  such a contrarian stand could see the deposit base of perfectly sound banks eroded, as depositors move funds to take advantage of those with guarantee."

That's exactly what made Singapore moved to give the guarantee with immediate effect and which will remain in place until 31 December 2010.

All depositors, big and small, corporates and individuals, including those under the current Deposit Insurance Scheme administered by the Singapore Deposit Insurance Corporation will now enjoy protection from the Government on the full amount of their deposits for the duration of the guarantee.

Hurray! Now can sleep safe and sound and not worry that some dumb banker from some foreign glen or loch will start another Irish jig in the international markets and make others half way across the world have difficulties even with their food bills!

I won't babble here about the importance of and the value that DMfest 2008 will offer those that have a passion for this space - the details are below. But clearly the conversations that were carried out whilst munching on pizza and raw fish you can easily see that passion will drive this event to success.

For me it was my fourth meeting of the day - the meeting prior was very cool as I was able to demo Virtual Geek Terminal in twinity to one of the owners of the real Geek Terminal who got very excited - it looks so real he said - that I was a bit too tired to contribute - that said sometimes listening is the best thing you can do somtimes - clearly the event is being well organized, the speaker line up impressive for a 1st time event and with Text100 driving the publicity support - all together it means if you have a passion for Digital Media and User Generated Content you should attend this event and learn just a bit more - i did tonight.

	For more information on DMfest 2008, visit their event website Click here to register now! For enquiries, contact the event secretariat today! T: +65 6829 7516 F: +65 6220 6116 E: secretariat@dmfest.com Forward this to a colleague

Es agradable ver que cada esfuerzo que se hace en todo el mundo tiene un brief muy claro y simple, con lo que el abanico de opciones se cierra tanto que los creativos de distintas agencias que manejan Bravia a nivel local sólo deben encontrar la manera de juntar el color en situaciones reales o irreales. Recordemos el caso de Pyramid, un sensacional comercial también para Bravia con autoría de Y&R Singapore.

La propuesta de Cabral en aquellos primeros comerciales era más onírica –aunque no quiere decir que este comercial realizado por Bates Singapore no lo sea-, sin embargo el trabajo actual se nota menos mágico pero igualmente bien aterrizado.

Aquí pueden ver los comerciales de Fallon Londres para esta marca, en una antigüa entrada de Cólicos Creativos.

Específicamente en este comercial la filmación y la fotografía son simplemente geniales, y cabe resaltar que esta súper producción contó con el apoyo de Film Construction, a quienes ya le conocemos grandes trabajos de producción para otras marcas.

Definitivamente y por muchas razones mi favorito sigue siendo Balls, sin embargo Domino City ya se ganó un lugar en el pull de buenos avisos para Bravia:

[dailymotion id=x73b0l]

Todo en este comercial encaja perfectamente, a la ya mencionada producción y fotografía se le une una música maravillosa y una dirección por demás buena, con lo que no encuentro ninguna razón para que Sony no siga vendiendo televisores de LCD por millones.

Un muy digno trabajo de Bates tomando en cuenta que el brief ya está bastante digerido; habemos varios que ya esperamos los próximos trabajos de Bates que ahora está al frente de la cuenta en esa región, mientras que antes lo hacía Y&R.

Una mecánica divertida se estrena en Cólicos Creativos.

Ante todos la cada vez más grande avalancha de comerciales, les pregunto:

[polldaddy poll=1003593]

Anyway I am planning to buy good camera, I am still investigating the price, features and reviews; let's see how it is working out.

I thought of sharing some of my interest and I am starting with the first one which I took around my office; mobile are very handy because when I see some nice place with perfect lighting then I will click it with my mobile...

Just click!... 

International Business Park(IBP) is where my office building located, nice location far from crowded city life; 

I got this shot in the evening @ around 7.00 pm

Everyday I use to take bus in this stop, totally opposite compare to my hometown. They keep up the time & bus captains show lot of courtesy to passengers. One of the reason I like singapore; they have very good public transport; trains are the best compare to bus service and singapore government is also planning for more train service and reduce the bus service (green environment programme).

I will reach my home approximately in 25 to 35 minutes with all the comfort.

Often when I meet university students, I am asked the question: So why did you join Oracle?

And I don't blame them. Its not a natural choice for a graduate - they didn't recruit graduates in Singapore until very recently. Its not half as "sexy" as a bank or an ad firm . Its not even a  a Google or Yahoo where you get to work in casuals (except Fridays of course) or consume large amounts of calorific food (though the pantries aren't too bad here). So why did I join?

A quick backgrounder. I completed a dual degree in Information Systems and Business Management from SMU in April. For someone with my kind of experience, there was hardly a better place to go.

I could have applied to Microsoft, but the company has their hands in too many pies for my liking. Perhaps Accenture but my understanding was it was mainly involved consulting gigs, which didn't interest me much. Google sure was an option, but there wasn't an opportunity available. Yahoo, well with its troubles was hardly fascinating. SAP to my knowledge wasn't recruiting graduates. Technology in a bank was certainly an option. My thinking though was that if I am going to be doing tech, I might as well do it in a company which lives and breathes technology - I didn't want to be in a supporting function.

And in technology, they don't come bigger than Oracle. As the largest enterprise software company in the world, it offered unparalleled global opportunities. How much higher can you go, once you are at Oracle? That it was offering a comprehensive structure Graduate program, made it an even more compelling option.

Its a choice that I haven't regretted one bit and hopefully it stays that way...

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from 1 week onwards with Lift Landing

In between the City and Singapore Changi Airport

Have a look at http://masjid19.co.nr
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S$800 to S$1000 per week
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Masjid19@ gmail.com

Tel : (65) 8161 8699 Mr Koh to arrange for an appointment to view the various units of apartments