Buddha's Philosophy-Dealing with Insult

This is how the Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, o Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

What a gem of wisdom!

Bad Neighbours

Love Thy Neighbour-that is what Jesus preached. The story of the Good Samaritan testifies who is a neigbour. He is someone who we care as if he is of our own.

Then in law, we have the concept of the "duty of care". Everyone using the road is a neighbour-be it a pedestrian or a fellow driver. The law expects us to be considerate of other road users as if we are all good neighbours; each one having an obligatory duty of care to drive safely and ensure safety for all.

What about bad neighbours? The ones that stay next to the walls on the other side?

Yes, proximity breeds enmity. Believe me, if houses are kept far apart from each other like bungalows in hill resorts, then we will not even talk about "bad neighbours". But in the suburbs and in the urban areas, we share the little space with others.

The worse types of houses are tenement flats and terraced houses. Here, neighbours can be an absolute nuisance. Music blaring at odd hours through 'paper-thin' walls. Quarrels over parking spaces. Car scratching in anger. Shouting matches with super expletives!

Here are some 'horror' stories.

-A neighbour had just resurfaced his driveway with a fresh layer of cement. In spite of some big cans placed strategically around it to prevent usage, the neighbour's son drove across the edge of the driveway leaving tyre marks for posterity.

-A neighbour claims that the road shoulder across the road from his house is his to park. He scratches another neighbour's car just to send him a message not ever to park there.

-Neighbours throwing cut leaves that has fallen from a tree outside both their houses into the other house as if the neighbour was responsible for the wind that brought the leaves into his compound in the first place.

-Neigbours ordering another to remove cat pooh from his house because the cat has done the deed in his compound!

-Neighbours turning a blind eye as their dog on a leash poohed in front of a neighbour's gate. He then made haste and vamoosed with the dog after the act.

-Neigbours playing mahjong into the wee morning hours and others screaming their heads off after watching an early morning football match on satellite TV.

-Neigbours quarreled because of outdoor cooking

-Neighbours quarreled because of renovation work that affects their peace.

There are many more of such horror stories. I am sure you have your sack of them.

The message I would like to deliver here: If you have neighbours, the likelihood is you will make enemies of them because of the proximity issue. The proximity issue brings along with it all sorts of bones of contention from noise to smells to car parking problems.

If you can help it, do not stay in low cost apartments or in terraced housing.

Problem is how many of us have a choice?

Liquidity Pushes Landed Property Skywards

If the government wants to revive the property market, they have done it. People are moving money out of fixed deposit accounts to venture into the property market.

Investment decisions are made in choice locations rather than across the board.

Business Times Singapore has this report today.

Always a favourite, landed real estate is receiving more interest in the current property lull. According to property agents, there has been a slight pick-up in the past two months, mainly in primary sales and landed properties located in popular suburbs.

Zerin Properties' chief executive Previn Singhe described April and May as “surprising months with very strong interest in landed properties”, centred mainly in the Klang Valley as prospective purchasers act on the premise that prices are unlikely to slip because of the limited supply.

In some places, demand continues to outstrip supply, he said, citing Bangsar, Bukit Damansara, Damansara Heights, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Seputeh, Taman Desa and Jalan Ipoh where prices — which had held steady — have started to inch up as investors turn to property as a hedge against inflation.

“If you want to buy for owner occupation, any time is a good time. If it's for investment, you need to be looking now,” advised CH Williams Talhar & Wong managing director Goh Tian Sui.

Singhe lists those on the property hunt: the first timers attracted by low interest rates; investors in the 30-55 age group who are acquiring for their children; professional investors looking at Kuala Lumpur landed real estate for capital appreciation or condominiums for rental yields; and non-resident Malaysians.

There are also foreigners who have started to look at condos in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and Mont Kiara areas since the price of some units have dropped by 20 per cent. Location-wise, Penang is another hot-spot, popular with Penangites and other northerners, as well as KL-ites looking to retire there.

“There are more opportunities in the secondary market because the primary market development costs have gone up.”

Across the South China Sea, Kota Kinabalu real estate has received a boost from the oil and gas boom, as well as tourism which has led to numerous Koreans and Europeans succumbing to its charms, Singhe said.

In the south of the peninsula, Johor's Iskandar Malaysia remains a major point of interest. Central to Iskandar is the Nusajaya area with its strategic location across the Straits of Johor. Nusajaya's jewel is the 687-acre Puteri Harbour with its planned integrated waterfront and marina development.

The precinct is to be gradually developed and because of its geography, has attracted the attention of a number of foreign builders which are keen to be involved. One of them is Limitless Holdings, a unit of Dubai World, which plans to jointly develop luxury residences with Nusajaya's master developer, UEM Land.

Most believe Puteri Harbour's location, quality of build, management, and security will prove a big attraction to investors — especially foreign ones — just as they have in places slightly further afield such as Leisure Farm, Horizon Hills and Ledang East in Nusajaya.

Singhe is of the view that the better quality products in Iskandar have allowed Johoreans to “upgrade”. Indeed, many property consultants believe branded developments or designer buildings are what discerning investors increasingly desire and could make a difference in a project's “sell-ability”.

KGV-Lambert (M) executive director Samuel Tan agrees that the higher-end developments in Iskandar have drawn the most interest in Johor. The rest of the market has been softer.

“People think that Nusajaya is Iskandar Malaysia,” he observed wryly, pointing out that it is only a fraction of the special economic zone which is three times the size of Singapore. He highlighted new developments in brownfield areas as well as mature ones in the Tebrau Corridor, Skudai and Pasir Gudang which have been under-promoted but which might be worth a second look. “There are more opportunities in the secondary market because the primary market development costs have gone up.”

For those considering the lower- to mid-range of the market, bad debts have created a “sub-market” of auctioned properties in Johor, he revealed, with auctions held weekly. Each auction offers 20-50 properties and they go for about 30 per cent less than their market value.

Despite the global financial crisis, Iskandar investors remain committed, the biggest to date being Middle Eastern firms which plan to develop the area called Medini, located near the Second Link.

Still, property developers caution that the pace of construction could be slowed. On the bright side, the state government has already moved into the new administrative buildings in Kota Iskandar, and overall infrastructure works are continuing.

Singhe believes the 2003-04 pattern of funds sniffing for deals which resulted in a property boom in 2006-07 is being repeated now based on the number of funds that are making inquiries. Accordingly, he expects a property upswing to materialise in 2011-12.

The Quill Group of Companies, which designs and constructs purpose-built offices, confirms growing interest in Malaysia. Its property director, Ng Chee Kheong, said that multinationals were showing keen interest in the area of shared services, particularly in the Klang Valley and Penang.

Of late, Malaysia has started to speed up its liberalisation of many sectors of the economy to attract more investments. Should it succeed, the expatriate market ought to increase which would in turn stimulate demand for rented properties and help arrest some of the decline in yields.

Because of the downturn, a number of developments had been put on hold, including one by Singapore's Kwek Leng Beng who was to have launched a 42-storey luxury condominium last year in the Kuala Lumpur golden triangle.

A prospective buyer expressed disappointment at the delay as he had been looking forward to purchasing a unit in the Carlos Ott-designed building which is to be constructed next to the tycoon's Millennium Hotel.

Kuala Lumpur high-end condo prices have dipped to an average of RM1,000 per sq ft although the more prestigious ones still command a premium. Because of the weak ringgit, prices remain very affordable, especially for foreigners.

Ferrari team's ex-boss Jean Todt, who is engaged to well-known actress Michelle Yeoh, recently revealed he had acquired a unit in OneKL, which sits opposite the iconic Petronas Twin Towers.

Before your money shrinks to banana republic currency,better decide what you want to do with whatever you have!

How the Fight Started...

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift..
The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the
gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started.....
************************************************************************
I asked my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?'
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!' she said.
So I suggested, 'How about the kitchen?'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have sex?'
'No,' she answered.
I then said, 'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying 'Yes.'
So I said, 'Then I'd like to phone a friend.'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.

Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer
would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started......
*********************************************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first..
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And that's when the fight started.....
************************************************************************
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping
the channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...

======================================================================

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming
anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to
200 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

===============================

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as
he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her , 'Do you know him?'

'Yes,' she sighed, ' He's my old boyfriend...
I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and
I hear he hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' I said, 'who would think a
person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started...

=============================

I rear-ended a car this morning.. So, there we were
alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know
how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem
funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started...

==============================================

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife
kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of
first, the truck, the car, playing golf '
Always something more important to me.

Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When
I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass,
busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.
I watched silently for a short time and then went into the
house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, 'When you finish cutting the grass,
you might as well sweep the driveway.'

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift..
The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the
gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started.....
************************************************************************
I asked my wife, 'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?'
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!' she said.
So I suggested, 'How about the kitchen?'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, 'Do you want to have sex?'
'No,' she answered.
I then said, 'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying 'Yes.'
So I said, 'Then I'd like to phone a friend.'
And that's when the fight started....
************************************************************************
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95.

Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer
would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started......
*********************************************************************

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my
order first..
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
He said, 'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And that's when the fight started.....
************************************************************************
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping
the channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust.'
And then the fight started...

======================================================================

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming
anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to
200 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.
And then the fight started...

===============================

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school
reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as
he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her , 'Do you know him?'

'Yes,' she sighed, ' He's my old boyfriend...
I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and
I hear he hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' I said, 'who would think a
person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started...

=============================

I rear-ended a car this morning.. So, there we were
alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car. You know
how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem
funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I looked down at him and said, 'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started...

==============================================

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife
kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of
first, the truck, the car, playing golf '
Always something more important to me.

Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When
I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass,
busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.
I watched silently for a short time and then went into the
house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, 'When you finish cutting the grass,
you might as well sweep the driveway.'

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

The Vincent Tan Juggle

Vincent Tan is busy juggling his holdings.

Market sources indicate that his Berjaya Land (BLand) has placed out 40m of Berjaya Sports Toto’s (BST) shares for RM190m or RM4.75 per share. This would effectively dilute BLand’s stake in BST by 3.2% from 50.7% to 47.5%.

Concurrently, Vincent has also placed out 15.6m shares (including Berjaya Corp and his other private companies). All these would collectively dilute his stake by 4.4% from 57.4% (direct 5.58%, indirect 51.85%) to 53.0%.

The placement exercise follows the 80 sen bumper dividends declared by BST in 4QFY09, including a 1-for-14 treasury shares distribution valued at 35 sen.

According to DBS, the placement was done at a 4.6% discount to BST’s last closing price and values BST at 13.6x FY11 PE. The price is close to DBS's dividend discount model value of RM4.83.

Why the need to do the juggling now?

Apparently, the net proceeds from the placement would be used for partial redemption of BLand’s RM848m 8% secured exchangeable bonds due in 2011 which bondholders can exercise a put option for early redemption on 15 Aug 09 at 100% nominal value.

Collectively, BLand would have RM667m in hand (including the Treasury shares receivable which may be placed out later should the need arise) for the potential bond redemption (79%).

DBS maintains a hold on BST, based on its DDM of RM4.80.

BST goes ex this Monday,13 July. Hopefully it can maintain it's price above the RM4.80 level

Berjaya Sports Toto
BLand Places 40m BST Shares (Hold; RM4.98; BST MK; TP:RM4.80)Parent Berjaya Land (BLand) has placed out 40m of BST’s shares for RM190m or RM4.75/share. This would dilute
BLand’s stake by 3.2% from 50.7% to 47.5%.Concurrently, major shareholder Tan Sri Vincent Tan has placed out 15.6m shares (including Berjaya Corp and hisother private companies). All these would collectively dilute Tan Sri’s stake by 4.4% from 57.4% (direct 5.58%, indirect
51.85%) to 53.0%.The placement was done at a 4.6% discount to BST’s lastclosing price and values BST at 13.6x FY11 PE. The price is close to our dividend discount model value of RM4.83.
Net proceeds from the placement would be used for partialredemption of BLand’s RM848m 8% secured exchangeable bonds due in 2011 which bondholders can exercise a put option for early redemption on 15 Aug09 at 100% nominal value. The placement exercise follows the 80sen bumper dividends declared by BST in 4QFY09, including a 1-for-14treasury shares distribution valued at 35 sen. Collectively,BLand would have RM667m in hand (including the Treasury
shares receivable which may be placed out later should theneed arise) for the potential bond redemption (79%).

Maintain Hold on BST, and our DDM-TP of RM4.80

How it Hurts not to be Heard

It was to be expected.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed disappointment with the government’s decision to scrap his policy of teaching mathematics and science in English, saying it will affect future generations.

He expressed disappointment that his recommendations were not taken into consideration.

He told the press that “I was only briefed about it. After the briefing I gave my suggestions, I said even if it could not be implemented at primary level, at least at secondary level it should be maintained." This was also not considered.

“I am saddened because the future of our children will be affected. They will be the victims,” he said.

Dr Mahathir was exasperated to hear the reason for this policy turnaround was failure to get able teachers to teach the two subjects in English. To him, it should not be used as an excuse to scrap the policy.

“The government’s responsibility is to train the teachers, the problems cannot be solved overnight, because this is important for our future, we have to face the challenges, I am confident our teachers can learn English,” he added.

On the government’s plan to train more English teachers Dr Mahathir said the same should also be done to science and mathematics teachers.

“It is a good move, but if they can train English teachers, they should also be able to train science and mathematics teachers,” said a logical minded Dr Mahathir.

Earlier at a press conference to announce the scrapping of teaching mathematics and science in English policy, DPM Muhyiddin said he and officials from Education Ministry had informed Dr Mahathir of the decision and the former prime minister had accepted the government’s views.

Apparently, it was not so.

Miss Tiffany 2009

Wow! Look at these creatures!

All decked out and ready to go to a society ball.
Beautiful and lovely to behold!



But,sadly they are the products of cosmetic surgery and body shaping.


Formerly of the masculine sex, these lovely creatures are signing up for the Miss Tiffany 2009 contest to be held yearly at Pattaya, Thailand.


These pictures are samples of the contestants.

The Fortunes of Genting Resorts Sentosa 's Competitor

Reuters filed this report on 8 July 2009 on the status of operations of Las Vegas Sands , the world's largest casino firm.

According to the report, Las Vegas Sands wants to raise $3-$4 billion and is considering several options including an IPO of its Macau assets in Hong Kong, Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson said on Wednesday.

"We are looking at a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing, among 5 or 6 options," Adelson told Reuters Insider TV in an interview in Singapore, adding that the firm hopes to get a total of $3-4 billion through various fund raising initiatives.

Sands may also raise cash by selling stakes to private equity firms or getting construction companies involved in its projects to assemble their own financing, he added. He denied reports that the firm was considering a bond issue in the United States.

The global casino industry has been hit by a drop in leisure spending and Sands has cut staff in the United States and postponed construction projects in Macau to conserve cash. Analysts estimate the firm needs to raise about $1.5 to $2 billion to complete its developments in Macau.

In May,Sands had hired Goldman Sachs to look at a potential Hong Kong listing for its Macau operations and the firm and is planning to cut around 4,000 jobs or 20 percent of its workforce in the Chinese territory.

Adelson, however, said the global economy appears to have bottomed and that the firm's Las Vegas casinos had exceeded budget projections for May and June. The Macau properties have also performed better than the industry average in terms of visitations and revenues.

"We are at the trough of the recession... From this point on, I think we are going to see an improvement," he said.

Adelson said Sands has put on hold plans to sell the retail component of its Venetian casino in Macau because of the weak financial markets, and it hoped to resume construction in Macau at the end of 2009.

Sands owns and operates the Venetian and Palazzo casinos and Sands Expo in Las Vegas as well as the Sands Casino Resort Bethelem in eastern Pennsylvania.

In Macau, it owns the Venetian Macau and Sands Macau, and is involved in the development of several casino-resorts on a piece of reclaimed land known as the Cotai Strip.

DELAY IN SINGAPORE

Turning to Singapore, where Sands is currently building a waterfront casino on the edge of the central business district, Adelson said the Marina Bay Sands is now expected to open in either January or February next year instead of at end-2009 as earlier announced.

The Singapore casino will cost $5.25 to $5.5 billion against an original forecast of $3.2 billion when the project was conceived, and will go into operation at a time when tourism is shrinking.

Vsitor arrivals in Singapore has fallen for the 12th consecutive month in May, dropping 13 percent from a year ago as the global recession and outbreak of H1N1 flu discouraged travel.

Singapore legalised casino gaming in 2005 as part of an ambitious plan to make the city state more exciting and to double annual visitor arrivals to 17 million by 2015.

Genting Resorts Sentosa meanwhile is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010.

It's Official-Death Knell for English

The powers to be have spoken.

From 2012, both Science and Maths will revert to using Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and to the vernacular tongues in Tamil and Chinese schools.

The government today relented and buckled to political pressures to put an end to the polemics surrounding the issue of English as the medium of instruction for the teaching of Science and Mathematics.

Effectively, this Cabinet decision put paid to the fears of English being used as a passing criteria for SPM.

Only Form Six and matriculation will be allowed to use English in teaching these two subjects from now on and God knows whether they would have to re-learn Maths and Science in Bahasa Malaysia when they progress to national universities.

Sadly the ultra nationalists and vernacular language patriots have worn the battle,striking at the heart of Mahathir's arguments for using English in both the teaching of Science and Mathematics. This is one sad day for the ex-premier, I am sure.

Introduced in 2003, the policy has been heavily criticised by Chinese educationists and Malay language activists, but a recent survey by the independent Merdeka Center showed that 58 per cent of 1,060 voters interviewed supported the policy.

Expect an exodus of students to international schools as well as students leaving for foreign shores to further their education.

The clock is set back by easily another generation and the brain drain will continue as Malaysia becomes globally incapacitated by the lack of English skills.