North Korea - Last Frontier with No Ads Bombardment

North Korea is mysterious due to its isolationist policy. It is also perhaps the last unopened frontier market in Asia - military junta Myanmar has opened up. Like Myanmar, North Korea is rich in ore/metal deposits. Both countries have lots of upside if positive reforms are implemented unlike Sillypore which has hit the peak & going down.

Hamhung - 2nd largest city in N Korea. Seems like a cyclist paradise

The following 15mins each videos(NK) are the best i've watched. Switch to 720 & full screen:

- North Korea 2012 Part 1  0.5M views already
- North Korea 2012 Part 2

The country, sometimes known as the hermit kingdom is perhaps the last country on Earth to:

• No advertisements bombarding you.
• No traffic lights (in video as the bus drove through 2nd largest city)
• You hardly see people playing with their dumb/smart phones while walking
• Fit country - you see people either walk or cycle.
• Cars? What cars when even motorcycle is almost non-existent.
• Balcony is open. Seems like no crime.

More Toilet Users Equal -2.6% Productivity Growwth in 2012

On wednesday i wrote that productivity growth is difficult in services heavy economy. Today it was reported that:

GDP growth(2012): 1.3%
Productivity growth: -2.6%

State controlled media reported that declines in productivity due to slower economic growth over the past 2 years. However there is massive flooding in of cheap labor to shit & buy toilet paper to grow(more consumer spending) GDP at all costs like cancer.

Mountain of shit = 1.3% gdp
Mountain of shit = -2.6% productivity

This euro country doesn't import massive cheap workers to buy toilet paper, use cellphone (singtel), public transport (sbs,smrt), groceries (ntuc) for its govt-linked companies:

2:20min. Look at their high productivity.



They dare not report that sinkies are killing themselves slowly through long long work hours. Further flooding the tiny island to 6.9M is gonna bring more misery. Sinkies competing on long hours to avoid get their asses fired so as not to be replaced by cheaper foreign workers(little to no family/friends) are committing suicide on multiple fronts: Health, family life, social life.

"Achievements" of long work hours (previous blogposts):

• 98% of S'pore Workers Are 'Bochup' aka Disengaged in 2010
• 'Zombie' Workers - Plenty of Them In S'pore
• S'pore 2nd Lowest Globally for Job Satisfaction

Look at Germany (manufacturing powerhouse) with least no. of hours worked. Got time for leisure, hobby, family, friends, exploration etc which makes for happier people. Is no coincidence that sorely lacking these & long work hours that sinkies are #1 unhappiest people in the world.

Services Heavy Economy Is Hard for Productivity Gains Compared to Manufacturing

The scholars in S'pore ruling Pro Alien Party are no geniuses when it comes to running the economy. Much of the manufacturing base has hollowed out of this tiny island due to high land costs. Tenure of new industrial land has been cut from 60 years down to 30 years.

Building not 1 but 2 casinos is a desperate attempt. Apart from the evils of gambling & its 2 other evils (illegal $$ lending & prostitution) which accompanies it, the services industry is much harder to have productivity gains.

Again the insult on nurses by the ruling elites:
"Certain low-skilled jobs like personal services, retail, and nursing are hard to offshore. They will still be needed even as the economy upgrades."

 

Productivity gains are limited in services & in some cases end in destruction

2 hour concert
Singer sings at 2x speed (2x productivity) - experience destroyed

30min massage
U got a body massage at 2x speed & 2x intensity - experience destroyed

Nurse feeding a bedridden patient
Feed at double speed - patient vomit out.
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Supplier industries for services are lesser compared to manufacturing

2 hour concert
No factory making & sending parts for concerts.

30min massage
Apart from massage oil, there's no supplier of parts.

Nurse feeding a bedridden patient
Attention, care & concern as key ingredients - these ain't need a factory.
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R&D for manufacturing
2 hour concert
R&D budget to hire scientists to discover how to sing better for a singer don't exist.

30min massage
Ditto as above. Services are limited compared to manufacturing which has more spillover effect with supporting suppliers & R&D.

Nurse feeding a bedridden patient
R&D (high paying jobs) in pharmaceutical companies pave the way for manufacturing(after testing). Hospital sells services. I don't see R&D budgets & departments in hospitals.
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For the 2 casinos in S'pore, some limitations of personal services:

• How much faster/slower in dice rolling or in dealing cards?
• Vast bulk of day-to-day supplies are food & drinks (U call that high end?)
• no R&D spinoff

 

Unless the Pro Alien Party is voted out in 2016, don't expect much productivity gains in S'pore because of:

• addiction to cheap foreign labor
• fallen into services economy trap

Powerhouse Germany did not fall into services economy trap. Apart from german cars, there is another often forgotten german product which we as kids use:

Pencils made in Germany:
- Staedtler
- Faber-Castell

German stationary manufacturing industry has carved a niche in the world. Pencils manufacturing are mechanized for high productivty in Germany. Although China is now considered the factory of the world, manufacturing is still a vital part of the economies of South Korea, Taiwan- their govts did not fall into the services trap which S'pore's Pro Alien Party fell into.

Nurses Classified as Low Skill & Destroying Medical Hub Status

When my mum was rushed to hospital at night in Dec. due to pancreatitis, so many of the nurses in A&E & the ward are foreign nurses. Only local nurses i come across are 2 malay nurses at the ward. I do have the fear of whether these foreign nurses are adequately trained.

Elite mindset manifesting itself in 7M population white paper:
"Certain low-skilled jobs like personal services, retail, and nursing are hard to offshore. They will still be needed even as the economy upgrades."

To the elites in Pro Alien Party, there are 2 classes of people in Sillypore: Elites themselves & cog labor working peons.

Cog Labor Working Peons
There is no such thing as white collar. White collar is also working class since unknown certificates from Myanmar, Philiippines etc can replace a sinkie with NTU & NUS certs. High return on investment for Myanmese with unknown qualification earning S$ while unfortunate fresh grad sinkie is displaced & ladden with S$ debts & reservist.

'A+ Distinction Score' for Cog Labor Policy
1(Inderjit Singh) of the elites who still got conscience said in parliament:

"Young citizens he spoke to felt ‘demoralised’ at depressed wage levels across many income levels due to cheap foreign talent, even at the professional level."

"30% of all boys of permanent residents do national service." In other words, 70% has fucked off sillypore.


Destruction of Medical Hub Status
None of the lackeys in the bloated ruling bureaucracy surrounding the elites point out 'nurses are low-skill'. By failing to do so & publishing it, they are telling the rich from Indonesia & nearby countries that S'pore hire low skilled nurses.

Prior to this, there has been cases of foreign Drs molest patients, foreign Drs with questionable qualifications surfacing. Reputable medical hub status is being ripped apart by the Pro Alien Party's greed(hire cheap so more profits).

Greed Leading to Collapse - Sampoong Store & S'pore

As i watch the documentary on Sampoong Department Store collapse in South Korea in 1995, it reminds me of overdose of greed of S'pore's Pro Alien Party.

Adding beyond the safety limit

• Store owner added 5th floor to boost profits. The hell with load safety limits.
• Pro Alien Party approve policy to flood in at least 30% more people to shit in this already overcongested tiny island to boost profits.

Warning to Others

• Some tenants of the mall saw the cracks but didn't persist in highlighting the danger.
• In S'pore, an increasing bunch of netizens are highlighting the cracks but the top people are 'deaf'

Only the 2 widths are left standing.

"Disasters don't just happen. They are triggered by a chain of critical events."

There are many warning signs of an imminent collapse if no major repairs are done. Likewise there are many cracks appearing in Pro Alien Party controlled S'pore. In both cases, the top management knew about the cracks popping up here & there but being consumed with greed did nothing or at best just minor patching.

Watch Sampoong Dept. Store Collapse on Youtube (45mins). Skip the commercials.

No Bak Kwa Buying Tradition In Family for Lunar New Year

My family have not bought barbecued pork (bak kwa) for many years for Lunar New Year. My mum only buys it during off-peak periods. It makes no economic sense to buy at high prices during peak demand in the run-up to Lunar New Year.

What's more with huge demand, the quality of the cooking process deteriorates with the long queues:

Is the same for reunion dinners which more & more people are eating outside. Restaurant workers are in short supply during the festive days.

Insufficient workers coping with high demand = questionable hygiene & cooking process.

If 'lucky', these people paying a premium for the meal at the restaurant might get a bonus - diarrhea

Unselected Candidates Are a Potential Goldmine

Companies are always eager to improve their bottom line. Human resource department is consider a 'cost center' instead of profit center. HR staff live in fear of being laidoff when it come times of cost cutting compared to their colleagues in profit generating roles such as sales.

1 thing that's myopic that HR departments do when it comes to recruitment is: Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

The rest of the candidates are left waiting & wondering if they are selected. Rare is the company replying to them that they are not selected. Hence they are missing out an opportunity on creating goodwill. These candidates not selected wouldn't have applied to work in a certain company if they don't consider good or at least neutral about working there.

By replying to these unselected candidates, there's a chance of them becoming future customers or even more loyalty. Is a cheap way of advertising/marketing.

Just because the rest of the herd in the industry can't be bothered to waste their time communicating with these unselected candidates doesn't mean the 'conventional' way of the herd is appropriate for the situation.

Sinkies Stressful Fast-Paced Lifestyle. Need for Speed & More Speed

Men Proposes. Heaven Disposes.

Men Proposes
What a week this is as events unfold. Pro Alien Party announced flooding in 30% more people to squeeze with stressed up sillyporeans on this already congested tiny island. Sillyporeans are asking is the Pro Alien Party mad to have 6.9M people.

Heaven Disposes #1
Then 2 kids are killed by a cement truck while riding a bicycle. I don't know if the cement truck is speeding or didn't see the kids at the vehicle's blind spot.

Unfortunate event.

Heaven Disposes #2
Then today there is an accident in the morning involving 2 buses that resulted in a massive jam at 3 expressways.

Another unfortunate event.



Kiasu(scared lose) habits + fast pace of life + stress already result in such a scenario. It'll be even worse with 6.9M. People question the quality of life with 30% more people squeezed in.

As a cyclist myself i also get scared with the notion of increased accidents with more stressful, emotionless, unhappiest people driving around.