[MyAppleMenu] Jun 1, 2008

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
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**** Solid-State Drive Prices To Dive (Think MacBook Air) <http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9956136-1.html>
by Brooks Crothers, Crave
Adoption by notebook PC makers is expected to start in the third quarter, according to industry sources.

**** Mobile Phone Users Itching To Take A Bite Of Apple <http://www.theage.com.au/national/mobile-phone-users-itching-to-take-a-bite-of-apple-20080531-2k9l.html>
by Garry Barker, The Age
Thousands of Australian mobile phone users are trembling with anticipation at the imminent arrival of Apple's reolutionary iPhone, described by commentators as "one of the most talked-about consumer products in history".

The Tomorrow Weblog
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**** Billboards That Look Back <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/business/media/31billboard.html>
by Stephanie Clifford, New York Times
Some entrepreneurs are equipping billboards with tiny cameras that gather details abotu passers-by &mdash; their gender, approximate age and how long they looked at the billboard.

MyAppleMenu Reader
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**** Maid Cafes? On The Trail Of Tokyo's Otaku <http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/la-tm-tokyo06-2008jun01,0,31180.story?track=rss>
by Bruce Wallace, Los Angeles Times
The Japanese have perfected the art of obsession. Japan, after all, is the place that gave us /otaku/, that wonderfully elastic word that refers to people obsessed to distraction with the details of a single thing.

**** Stargazing On Hawaii's Mauna Kea <http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/la-tm-hawaii06-2008jun01,0,6231799.story?track=rss>
by Dan Neil, Los Angeles Times
"You were oxygen-deprived. You should try that sometime with a bottle of O2," he said. "Take on breath and the stars just"&mdash;he reached out as if grabbing teh sky and drawing it to his face&mdash;"whoop, leap out at you."
Oh /yeah/, I thought. I've got to try that.

SingaporeSurf
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**** Decision To Be Made On Tuesday On Sale Of Petrol To Foreigners In Johor <http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/NewsBreak/20080601171825/Article/index_html>
by V. Vasudevan, New Straits Times
Najib said Singapore had indicated that it did not have any problems with the Malaysian governments decision to restrict sale of fuel to vehicles from the republic.
"They do not reject the decision. It is the government's right. But they wanted pumps here to be able to sell fuel at market prices to their citizens. We do need to cater for this request," he said at a press conference after the Shangri-la dialogue.

**** Caught In Singapore Legal Web <http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2008-6-1-singapore>
by Sarah Frier, Palo Alto Daily News
"When you are in a foreign country you ar esubject to their laws," said Edgar Vasquez, a U.S. State Department spokesman. "We do whatever we can to assist, but ultimately they're under the jurisdiction of the country they're detained in."

**** Will You Be Back Tomorrow? <http://xenoboysg.blogspot.com/2008/06/will-you-be-back-tomorrow.html>
by A Xeno Boy In Sg
This is the political constant in Singapore. Despite all the rhetoric of opening up, allowing creativity, tolerating dissent. This is the cold basic stark political reality when you cross the invisible, shifting, convenient boundary defined by our political rulers.

**** Plenary Speech By Minister For Defence Teo Chee Hean At The Shangri-La Dialogue 2008 <http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/news_and_events/nr/2008/june/01jun08_speech.html>
by Singapore Government
Looking ahead, we need to build capacities that are capable of accommodating different modes of cooperation between different configurations of countires. No one wants to see a new divide, playing to a zero-sum outcome. New structures for avoiding conflict and solving new problems have to be established.

**** Necessary Conditions For Economic Growth And The Varnished Truth <http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-889.htm>
by Au Waipang, Yawning Bread
Clearly, Singapore is not at the same stage as most Sub-Saharan countries, so we shouldn't assume that the commission's finding that democracy is not a necessary condition for growth, is relevant to us. I would argue that we're past that, and that it is wrong to keep using this line to deny us the full flowering of our social and collective self-actualisation when we have a per capital GDP approaching most developed countries.

**** Malaysia Not Giving Up Hope On Batu Puteh Yet <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/1/nation/21421939&sec=nation>
by Paul Gabriel, The Star
Malaysia has renewed the search for evidence to stake its claim on Batu Puteh, whose sovereignty was deemed to be under Singapore by the International Court of Justice.
Foreign minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said although the ruling by the ICJ at The Hague on May 23 was final and not subject to appeal, there was a specific provision in the court's rules that allowed for a judicial review of a case within 10 years if new evidence was adduced.

**** Johor Traders Fear Losses <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/1/nation/21404183&sec=nation>
by Meera Vijayan, The Star
A group of Johor businessmen is against the petrol ban on Singapore registered vehicles for fear it would affect their businesses. They contended that the ban was unnecessary as all Singapore vehicles have to have their petrol tanks 75% full when leaving the country.

**** Police Arrest Former Singaporean For Insulting Public Servant <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/351129/1/.html>
by Bhagman Singh, Channel NewsAsia
In response to media queries, police confirmed that Gopalan Palichadath Nair, who is now a US citizen, was arrested at B roadway Hotel along Serangoon Road on Saturday.
See Also:
Singapore Dissident <http://singaporedissident.blogspot.com/>, a blog by Gopalan Nair.

**** Envoy: Those With Singapore PR Also Affected <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/1/nation/21403079&sec=nation>
by Nelson Benjamin, The Star
Malaysian high commissioner to Singapore Datuk N. Parameswaran said there were a large number of Malaysians holding Singapore PR who travelled in their vehicles between Johor and Singapore daily via the Causeway and Second Link.

**** Catherine Lim And The March Of The Lilliputians <http://chemgen.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/catherine-lim-and-the-march-of-the-lilliputians/>
by Chemical Generation Singapore
Why is it that the more self-conscious the public commentator, the harder he or she finds it especially ahrd to say "sorry" just for the sake of closure?

**** Transcript Excerpts Of Lees Vs Chees <http://singaporerebel.blogspot.com/2008/05/transcript-excerpts-of-lees-vs-chees.html>
by Martyn See, No Political Films Please, We're Singaporeans

**** No Days-Off For FDW (FOreign Domestic Workers): Letter To MOM And Newspaper Editors <http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-days-off-for-fdw-foreign-domestic.html>
by Huang Shoou Chyuan, nofearSingapore