Inflated, Big Bust

The myth is busted! Subsidies, hand-outs, cash rebates for fuel, cash incentives for farmers and fishermen do not help the economy in the long term. We're heading for the big bust.

Most of those receiving these cash monies aren't paying income taxes that fuel the nation's growth. In KL city, many live in DBKL low cost flats subsidized by rate payers and still many will spend the money on the luxuries of Astro TV subscription and higher end cars. It's so frustrating to see tax payers money being spent on those who should not receive the subsidies. Drive by the flats in Sri Sabah Cheras, Desa Tun Razak, Bandar Tun Razak, to name a few. It's amazing to see there are more Astro dishes and expensive cars than there in the more upmarket apartments.

The big bust - Malaysia's inflation rate jumped to a 26-year high of 8.5 percent in August, driven by the escalating cost of food and fuel, according to official data released Wednesday. Thanks to more subsidies and cash hand-outs. And municipal council members can now have illicit sex with women from China.

The result was slightly higher than expected but the central Bank Negara would not raise interest rates to ensure growth.

With that kind of inflation, will the government increase the key interest rates? Or will it be maintained at 3.50 percent till the year-end to support growth?

The Department of Statistics revised downwards the inflation figure for July to 8.3 percent.

It said the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks rose 11.7 percent in August compared to a year ago. The high inflation is already hurting consumers with many Malaysians cutting down on their food bill.

The August data showed escalating prices in most categories, including transport which jumped 21.8 percent, and restaurants and hotels which rose 6.5 percent.

Wholesome bust (pic) isn't such a bad thing even in times of inflated prices. We continue to delight in diligently pay taxes while others enjoy subsidies, Astro trivia and trash.


Source: Agence France-Presse - 9/24/2008 9:15 AM GMT

A Blow to Jobs, A Gloomy Outlook

Inflation fears among executives around the world have decreased sharply in the past six months, according to the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions.

Despite the ongoing financial turmoil and a notable lack of confidence in national economies, respondents indicate that many companies have some flexibility to cope: most of those seeking external funding have so far been able to find it, respondents who predict higher inflation are also likely to report that their companies will be able to raise prices, and a majority of all executives expect the productivity of their companies to increase.

However, almost 30 percent of respondents now expect their companies to shrink the size of their workforce in the next six months, up from 18 percent a year ago. (click on the exhibit). More than 60 percent of the respondents report that their companies have acted to become more energy efficient. Among the most widely used moves are two that can be made very quickly—using less energy to heat or cool corporate offices and reining in business travel.

A year ago, the executives’ fears about economies at the national level rose appreciably. Today, they worry still more: 78 percent say that economic conditions in their countries are worse than they were half a year ago (See exhibit), compared with 64 percent in June.

Source: Economic and hiring outlook, third quarter 2008: A McKinsey Global Survey

In Various Positions, Women Drive

In which ever positions women are laid, they can become dominant and drive better.

A McKinsey research shows that:
1) Companies that hire and retain more women not only are doing the right thing but can also gain a competitive edge.

2) There is a correlation between high numbers of female senior executives and stronger financial performance.

Click on the graphs to view McKinsey's findings or read more on the McKinsey Quarterly website.

Some companies have moved successfully to increase the hiring, retention, and promotion of female executives. Their initiatives have included efforts to ensure that HR policies aren’t inadvertently biased against women, to encourage mentoring and networking, to establish (and consistently monitor at a senior level) targets for diversity, and to find ways of creating a better work–life balance. Changes like these have a price, but there are business advantages to making them—above and beyond the branding benefit that might accrue to companies viewed as socially progressive.

Or should that read as "sexually progressive"? And "better work-life balance" includes better sex life in a sexually progressive workplace?

Mind-blowing Blow Job Of The Century

It's unlike seeing pantyless Britney Spears. On Monday, Sept. 15, Lehman Bros. filed the largest bankruptcy case in history. It's assets before filing for bankruptcy were at least USD639 billion. That's seven times the pre-filing assets of the second-largest bankruptcy since 1980. How many times of Malaysia's GDP is that?

Lehman Bros. collapse was soon followed by the once impregnable, 158 year-old American International Group (AIG). Through its insurance policies AIG touches far more consumers around the world. There goes all my insurance policies with AIA. AIG is in a much scarier situation than Lehman — the insurer has assets of USD1 trillion, more than 70 million customers and intimate back-and-forth dealings with many of the world's biggest and most important financial firms.

The iconic Merrill Lynch, known for with its famous bull logo in the Wall Street, suffering billions in losses in the last year due to fallout in the U.S. mortgage market proved too much for the 94-year old firm. Bank of America rescued it for USD50 billion.

Now the US Treasury is putting together a mother of all bailout plan of USD700 billion for the troubled institutions.

Even some of the smartest, savviest people in the financial world — like the folks running the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board — find themselves reacting to rather than getting ahead of them. The top financial market analysts and writers like those of Time and Fortune magazines, with a combined 65 years of writing about business, say they have never seen anything like what's going on.

How did this financial tsunami come about? Should the tsunami hit Malaysia, which institutions would collapse first? How could such institutions that have endured for over a century, admired by many management gurus and students, and featured in books as built to last, finally suffer such devastating blow. Anyway, does anyone need to explain a mind-blowing blow job?

Offshoring Sexy No More

Is PIKOM representative of the industry? I associate PIKOM with PC Fairs, not the ICT industry. So I conclude that PIKOM represents only the PC retailers.

The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) is disappointed with Budget 2009 allocation for the country’s ICT segment. David Wong, PIKOM's Chairman said there are areas (within the ICT segment) that need to be seriously addressed, such as promoting (Malaysia as a regional centre) for outsourcing.

I thought that people don't talk about outsourcing any more. It's a period topic. In reality now, outsourcing isn't sexy any more. The wage inflation in this country has risen so much that it is no longer attractive to offshore.

The Real Minister of Education

Watch and listen to this transformative creativity of one man who is consumed by his passion and spellbinding eagerness to advocate for students and teachers. Here's what it takes to be the Minister of Education. (Don't be misled by the long intro. The video builds up to an awesomely inspiring presentation).

Free Access to Rear View on Sexy Environment

It may be rare to find absorbing websites on environment compared to anything sex-related. Environment and sex are two opposites. While sex is forbidden, sex is the most sought after, online or offline and all statistics confirm that. As free as there is access to environmental protection, it's almost as if environment is a forbidden topic - it's among the least accessed. Like me,some prefer to leave environment in the back - heck, there's nothing orgasmic about it.

So if you're like me, lets take a rear view for free at this Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE), an international public-private consortium coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Yale University, and leading science and technology publishers, enables developing countries to gain access to one of the world's largest collections of environmental science research.

Over 1,300 peer reviewed titles owned and published by over 340 prestigious publishing houses and scholarly societies are now available in more than 100 low income countries.

Research is provided in a wide range of awesome disciplines that would ensure our enduring sexuality.

Now, to make environment-related topics hot, again we learn from marketeers, that sex sells - blend sex and environment. It's only natural.

Sexy Home In A Box

When a cyclone hit Myanmar in May this year, killing 130,000 people and leaving millions homeless, Rotary clubs were among first responders, delivering ShelterBoxes. Designed to help an extended family survive for a minimum of six months, the lightweight, weatherproof box contains items such as a 10-person tent, blankets, basic tools, water-purification tablets and containers, a multi-fuel or wood-burning stove, mosquito nets and other items tailored to the particular region in crisis.

ShelterBox, created by ex-Royal Navy search and rescue diver, Tom Henderson, with Helston-Lizard Rotary Club, has aided more than 600,000 victims of disasters of all scales worldwide since 2001. Read the story on CNN's special edition, CNN Heroes, where you can also get involved.

Dedicated to Newly Wed Datuk J

Wilder Sex As Deforestation Rise

These pictures show two common things about rainforests anywhere. For example, Brazil, Malaysia and Australia all have huge areas rainforests. These rainforests are all home to some of the world's beautiful babes. Huge tracks of rainforests in all 3 countries have been cleared for golf courses, agriculture, timber and hot pit girls.

Myth: Hot pit girls drive you wild. Truth: Burning rainforests drives many wild.

Some 3,088 square miles of Amazon's forest were destroyed between August 2007 and August 2008 — a 69 percent increase over the 1,861 square miles felled in the previous 12 months, according to the National Institute for Space Research, which monitors destruction of the Amazon.

This is the first such increase in three years — as rising demand for soy and cattle pushes farmers and ranchers to raze trees.

The Amazon rainforest is so vast and full of life that even its defenders don't know exactly what it is they are protecting. The rainforest, which encompasses an area nearly as large as the continental United States and stretches across nine countries, is considered the world's richest and most varied natural habitat, with several million species of insects, plants, birds and fish calling it home. It also plays an important role in regulating Earth's temperature as its dense vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen into the air.

According to Cláudio C. Maretti, Brazil-based director for conservation for the World Wildlife Fund, the wealth of biodiversity is so immense, ". . . we cannot even estimate the amount we don't know. Every new expedition you do to the Amazon, you might find one new species of fish. Every other, you might find some new bird or frog." Read more on CNN's special edition, Planet in Peril

But the Amazon has been under pressure from outside forces for decades. In the past 40 years, roughly 20 percent of the rainforest has been wiped out, according to Maretti. The threat to rainforests in South East Asia is also acute. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, from 2000 to 2005, Cambodia lost nearly 30 percent of its primary forests and Vietnam lost close to 55 percent.

What's uncommon about rainforests: In Sarawak, after milking the land, a large timber company, gives salt to the natives of the rainforest. Read more here . . .

Do something sexy here . . .

Here are 3 take-home lines from www.savetherainforest.org:

If you are thinking a year ahead, sow the seeds.
If you are thinking 10 years ahead, plant a tree.
If you are thinking 100 years ahead, educate the people.