"Why should we allow them (the exiled), through a movie, to present an account of themselves not of documentary history objectively presented, but that is a self-servigig personal account, conveniently inaccurate in places, glossing over inconvenient facts and others, which will sully the honour and reputation of the security people and the brave men and women who fought the Communists all those many years in order to create today's Singapore?"

~ Hsien-Loong Lee
on MDA's decision to not allow filmmaker Tan Pin Pin's "To, Singapore, WIth Love" for local distribution.

Share VPN Connection in Windows

a. Create a PPTP VPN connection on Windows computer.

b. Test if the PPTP VPN is working.

c. Disconnect VPN connection. Setup share the PPTP VPN connection. Point it to the connection other than the one that is being used to go to the Internet.

d. Connect device to that connection and connect up VPN.



Reference:

1) http://torguard.net/blog/setup-vpn-connection-sharing-windows-step-step-guide

2) http://torguard.net/knowledgebase.php?action=displayarticle&id=1

Borderlinx shipping tarrifs to Singapore

New tariffs as of October 5, 2012

On October 5, 2012, we will introduce revised tariffs for deliveries to Singapore. We are making our price structure simple and transparent, and adjusting the tariff of the Standard delivery service because of increased air transportation prices.
The new prices will be as follows:

• Standard Shipping option: USD 13.00 for the first half-kilo + USD 3.30 per half-kilo + fuel surcharge (the base price remains unchanged, whilst the incremental price is slightly adjusted).
• Express Shipping option: USD 16.00 for the first half-kilo + USD 4.00 per half-kilo + fuel surcharge (this is a significant price drop).

In order to reduce the Volumetric Weight of your shipments, we have recently introduced an automatic and free Repacking Service. Weight reductions averaging 20% are being realised giving you substantial shipping savings.
Borderlinx and Citi Globeshopper are committed to offer you excellent service at competitive prices.


Reference: https://www.borderlinx.com/pages/faq/citi-sg-new-tariff

Setup mobile device on GSM MultiSIM configuration

a)  Dial the following string to set the device as Phone #1.

* 1 3 6 #

b) Set the device as phone #2:

* 1 3 6 * * * 2 #

c) Set the device as phone #3:

 * 1 3 6 * * * 3 #

 d) Query status of device:

* 1 3 7 #

Native PDF reader in Firefox 15

Firefox 15 comes with a native PDF reader that uses JavaScript (pdf.js) to open PDF files directly in the browser.

This feature is disabled by default but it can be enabled by following these steps: open a new tab, type "about:config", search for "pdfjs.disabled" and set it to "false" (double click it).


Courtest of Web Upd8 site.

Adding flash to a Nexus 7

Adding Flash support to the Google Nexus 7 can be accomplished in two simple steps:

Download Adobe Flash Play 11.1 apk here or download it from XDA Developers. After the file has downloaded open and install it. Please be sure that “Install from unkown sources” is checked off in the Android settings for the Nexus 7.

Install Firefox Beta browser from the Android Market.

That’s it, now you have Flash support on your Android 4.1 (JellyBean) Google Nexus 7 tablet! Couple things to note:

1. This will NOT work with the current build of Google Chrome. A dev may fix this in the future but Google nor Adobe will be adding Flash support to any future builds of Android. I’ve also tried the plugin with ICS+ Browser and Dolphin Browser HD, both of which don’t work with the method used above. FireFox seems to be the only browser currently that works with the flash plugin in Android 4.1.

2. By default FireFox Beta has plugins set to “on demand”, which can cause some minor inconviences, however you can remedy this problem by going to:

    FireFox Beta settings (three dots to right corner) -> Settings -> Plugins -> Select: Enabled


Courtesy of Nicholas Konecny's blog.

Thanks.

Nexus 7: Guide for receiving 25$ credit from non US countries

If you bought Nexus 7 and didn't get 25$ credit (and missing Google Books, Google Magazines, Google Movies) this method may work for you.

1.Make factory reset.
2.When you get to the screen to enter Google account skip it.
3.Uncheck all the check-boxes in next screens.
4.Now when you got to the home screen, go to settings.Under Wireless and Networks click more.
5.Click on VPN, Add VPN. Now the Nexus 7 will ask you to define security (Pattern,Password,PIN), Define whatever you want.
6.Click again Add VPN, and enter this definitions:
Name: SuperFreeVPN
Server address: superfreevpn.com
and click save.
7.Now click on SuperFreeVPN,for username enter:free, and for password go to website superfreevpn.com and look for VPN Password.
8.Click Connect. If connected successfully you will see key icon in notifications.
9.Go to Settings, under Accounts click Add Account and choose Google. Enter your username and password, if everything is OK you will get to screen that will ask you to enter credit card to Google wallet to receive 25$ credit.
10.While you using VPN you can download Google Books, Google Magazines, Google Movies.

Courtesy of freesoul27 at Xda-Developers forum

Thank you.

Food for Thought: Talk on Injustice.

"..Ultimately, you judge the character of a society, not by how they treat their rich and the powerful and the privileged, but by how they treat the poor, the condemned, the incarcerated. Because it's in that nexus that we actually begin to understand truly profound things about who we are."

~ Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive
Director of the Equal Justice Initiative.

"Talk on Injustice" is broadcasted over at TED. The transcript can be found at Dotsub.

Food for Thought: Corruption.

“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

---

“Power does not corrupt men; fools, however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power.”

~ George Bernard Shaw

---

"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Food for Thought: Bamboozled.

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

Why the State ask people to mind their own business..

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Quotes The Straits Times on 04 Febuary 2012: "One PAP member who stayed [as party member] when he became NMP [Nominated Member of Paliarment] in 1997 was Gerald Ee, chairman of the National Kidney Foundation.

Mr Ee, who is no longer in the PAP, said then that being an NMP was an advantage over being a party MP, as he would not be subject to the party whip. The whip ensures MPs vote according to party line."

Is this an official notice or a commercial brochure?

Notice of Repair

Once upon a time in a far, far away Land...

At first there was a champion of people who was interested to be the Top Head.
Upon seeing fellow people embroiled in Ponzi schemes and losing loads of money, he stood up for them when the establishment was adamant to act.

While he may not be the most eloquent speaker and paints a white sheet black, he felt he can represent the people on the ground and bridge the gap between the establishment and the people.

The establishment had growing concern when the day to select the Top Head was near. Knowing a duel was not a safe bet, it called upon one contrarian among its ranks to rise to the challenge. The ruse was to divide the support for the champion.

At the mean time, the rivals to the establishment had acquired their own challenger, hoping to pip the Top Head at the post. This make the Selection more complicated while unwittingly played into the establishment's hands.

The champion hoped to do a re-group but was in vain. He had to go ahead against bigger odds for the Selection.

Will he succeed?

Polling Day 2011

Dear fellow citizens,

Today is a special day.
We will reflect on what were going on for the past 5 years, decide which box shall we mark a cross over and project our expectations for the next 5 years.

I have set a few benchmarks while considering the judgement.

1. Cost of taking public transport.
2. Presidential and Cabinet's pay.
3. Town councils' investments in structured products.
4. Cost of public housing for first time buyer.
5. Utility bills.
6. Taxes on possession and usage of private vehicle.

Please use your vote wisely.
May the force be with us.

A few curious points about Sembawang chief's words.

"To reach out to 140,000 voters, when they've never been here (Sembawang GRC), it's difficult. So we know they'll be just using rallies and of course they hope to have a debate with my team, then they're on national TV - straightaway, they reach out. So I can understand why they prefer this tactic."

~~ Khaw Boon Wan explained why a public debate with opposition party is unlikely to happen. 24-Apr-2011.

1. Isn't public debate a good opportunity to prove the credibility of the opposition, or rather the lack of it, once and for all?

Why the concern over the opposition reaching out to the voters?
The opposition only indulged in hifalutin talks and baseless accusations, don't they?
Can they strike a chord with the common voters?

As one deceased US President said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

2. Will a debate undo one's ground work of over 6 years?

3. Could it be futile to engage in public debate as you believe the election as a forgone conclusion?


One question shot to mind when hearing some said the opposition is rarely seen on the ground during normal times: Does the opposition require police permit to walk the ground so to not infringe illegal gathering rule or whatever laws applies?

GE2011: If I vote for the opposition, the government will blacklist me.

We always hear stories of some people being dis-advantaged because they voted for opposition in an Election. But we never know who they exactly are.

While it may not be true, the rumour persists.

Understandably, the ruling party will not pull out all the stops to debunk this.

So here we go again.
Who got "condemned' at work in a government-linked organisation after voted for opposition?
Whose kid is denied entry to preferred school due to the parent's political choice?
Which couple has tried for years and never been successful in any new HDB flat ballot because each of them failed to vote for the ruling party? ...


Reference:
1. http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/04/three-local-myths/
2. http://fbshare.me/AbFGA

Ask not what your country can do for you; Ask what you can do for your country.

Mah_comment_on_lower_land_cost_for_HDB

You can't handle the truth !

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

~~ Colonel Jessup in "A Few Good Men", 1992.

Netizens reacted in doves after hearing PM Lee spelt out people who supported the ruling party are favoured for national programme which are public funded, over those who didn't.

We could only say this: You cannot handle the truth.

One advantage about single party system of government is policies are drafted and implemented more efficiently without much opposition or debate. Hence the impact on people whether positive or negative will be felt quickly. How good the policies are relies heavily on how wise the group of people who drafted the policies are.

While in a multi-party system, policy implementation will take longer time as you are expected to debate and convince majority of parliarment to pass the policy. The policies have to withstand the acid test before the people can felt it.

You choose which one is better suited here.

Is goods and services tax (GST) a form of regressive tax?

I read from Lucky Tan's post that GST increase from 3% to 5% from year 2003 in Singapore is to top up the reduction in top marginal personal income tax rate and corporate income tax rate.

In 2007, GST is raised to 7% with an offset package for locals over 5 years to cushion the impact of the 2% GST raise. The package will cost SGD4 B in total.

According to Tony Tan's report, the gain in GST at 7% as of end 2009 is SGD4.9 B.
This seems to be sufficient to fund the offset package.

What will happen after the offset package lapse?
=========================

Elsewhere,

a) In Malaysia - "The GST would replace the existing taxes on sales and services and would not put pressure on prices, he said, adding that to ease the burden on consumers, staple foods such as rice, sugar, cooking oil and flour will be exempted.

The plan drew immediate criticism from opposition lawmakers who said it will cause living costs to spike."

Malaysia has yet to implement GST.

b) In Pakistan - "FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) was supposed to collected Rs 73 billion additional revenue through conversion of GST in to Value Added Tax and due to political opposition of VAT in the country FBR is unable to generate the same."

Pakistan has yet to implement the new RGST (reformed GST).


Reference:

1. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1020728/1/.html
2. http://www.brecorder.com/component/news/single/623:news.html?id=1164412