[MyAppleMenu] Feb 19, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Cologne <http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/19/saturday-poem-alfred-brendel-cologne?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29>
Alfred Brendel, The Guardian

**** Wise Guy <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/20/books/review/Isaacson-t.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss>
Walter Isaacson, New York Times

The problem with writing a biography of Socrates, as Bettany Hughes merrily admits, is that he’s a “doughnut subject”: a rich and tasty topic with a big hole right in the middle where the main character should be.



SingaporeSurf
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**** Singapore's Defence Budget FY 2011/12 <http://kementah.blogspot.com/2011/02/singapores-defence-budget-fy-201112.html>
Senang Diri

To skeptical tax payers, painting a doomsday scenario of an underfunded Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) falling victim to threats unseen, unexpected and unfriendly towards Singapore may not sit well with the voting public. They have heard this tune replayed for the past 45 years and the rehashed public relations (PR) script is looking far too predictable.

What Singaporeans need to hear is how the SAF is earning its keep.

**** No Love For Casino As Croupiers Stay Away <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/19/nation/8094452&sec=nation>
The Star

Some 350 Marina Bay Sands Singapore croupiers dealt the casino a bad hand by calling in sick or not going to work on Valentine’s Day.

**** æˆ‘ä»¬è¯¥æ€Žæ ·å‘æ–°åŠ å¡å­¦ä¹  <http://news.163.com/11/0218/08/6T5NT88O00014AED.html>
徐康宁, 南京日报

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**** Budget 2011: Analysis Snippets (Part 2) <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/02/budget-2011-analysis-snippets-part-2/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

**** Taiwan, HK Draw Unloved Singapore-listed Chinese Firms <http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/17/us-exchanges-sngapore-idUSTRE71G27G20110217>
Eveline Danubrata, Reuters

Singapore is slowly losing its luster as a capital-raising venue for Chinese companies.

**** City Harvest Church Loses Members, Staff <http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2011/02/19/city-harvest-church-loses-members-staff/>
Alicia Wong, Yahoo!

Following the uproar over City Harvest Church’s (CHC) plans to move to Suntec Singapore and the police investigation of several church leaders over the misuse of funds, problems continue to plague the megachurch.

**** Budget Goodies....2010 <http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/2011/02/budget-goodies2010.html>
Diary Of A Singaporean Mind

Let not the euphoria of receiving a few hundred dollars take you away from long term considerations - the need to prevent our Singaporean identity from being destroyed by excessive immigration, the widening income gap, safety nets for the unemployed, poor, sick and old, and serious restructuring of our economy so that good quality jobs can be created for Singaporeans. If citizens repeat the mistake they made in 2006, the pain and problems will just expand and become harder to fix. The short-term quick results (for GDP growth) approach of the PAP has to end. We have to think about our future and our' children's future and choose the people who can help to reclaim it for us.

**** Was The Tree Damage At Mandai Forest Really A Carnage? <http://otterman.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/was-the-tree-damage-at-mandai-forest-really-a-carnage/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OttermanSpeaks+%28Otterman+speaks...%29>
Otterman Speaks…

Here, windstorms had twisted and decapitated 15-25-metre trees. Everyone’s sad as our forest can’t take too much of a beating, really, they’re already such itsy-bitsy fragments.