Life For Rent

Mercer survey shows that singapore is getting more expensive, and why are we not surprised. The drop in the greenback will make it harder for American expats especially. In the survey I don’t know who took Rank #12’s spot though.

Singapore is also Asia’s #5 most expensive country. And while Moscow is at the top at no surprise, Tokyo which has been known to be fairly expensive has climbed to #2. They beat London, which went down in the ranks and this surprised me a little. I mean, the pound, and the standard of living and all. Tokyo is expensive yes, but I didn’t think it will hit #2. Contrary to that, the other cities in Japan are still quite affordable.. Nagoya.. etc.

Singapore’s ranking also shows, while Singapore is a wonderful place to live in, work in (you don’t pay through your nose with taxes) and born in possibly, it is not really an ideal place to retire? Which is why maybe one should work at getting a property in another country where they’d like to retire, but at the same time it is a country they constantly visit now as well. It is risky to get a property when you don’t know the place well and you are not around most of the time to make sure things are fine and tenants are not turning your property into a graveyard.

In technical analysis, I talk about price, pattern, time. This could very well work for getting the right property at the right time. I am no guru at property though so I have much to learn still.

Are you analytical or intuitive?

Try these questions? You don’t need to think really hard nor do you need a calculator. You answer should be out within seconds of reading!

I will post answers in good time.

1) If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to wash 5 shirts, how long would it take 100 machines to wash 100 shirts?

2) In a garden , there is a patch of weeds. Everyday, the weed doubles in size. If it takes 50 days for the weeds to cover the entire garden , how long would it take for the weeds to cover half the garden?

3) A racket and ball together cost $2.20. The racket costs $2.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

Ahh.. listening to Guy Sebastian’s Angels Brought Me Here while typing away right here on the blog, memories flowing. But hang on. Actually I can’t really remember many memories.. other than being in Perth with Rach back when the Australia Idol’s a big big hit (I am sure it still is) then. Another song that captures me is Shannon Noll’s Learn To Fly. I like songs like that… any recommendations folks?

It was a birthday weekend for me and I have turned… ta da, 29! Okay so I am still in my twenties but it doesn’t appear to last for very long does it? In one group of friends in my circle I will be the first to turn 30. In another group, I will be one of the last few. Both groups bring different things to my life and I feel like.. I am kinda like a cross-roads guy. You know, like ‘not quite there yet’ but yet on the other hand, ‘been there done that’. Yes I am indeed a 2 faced person (at work and out of it) and I think both sides see the same thing in me, yet different sides of me. I guess as much as I am not a social butterfly, people do see me at face value. For better, or worse. What has happened over the past 1 year? Nothing much at work, which I continue to excel progressively although not as quick as I would like to be. But that’s okay cause that allows me to work on other stuff… like.. $$$! hahaa. Work aside, it is time I gotta begin working towards goals and wants in life. I don’t wanna come to a point where I look around and everyone has done so much and achieved so much but realise that I was where I began. While birthdays are not a ’stop and stare’ reflection of what I have accomplished over the past year, the birthday period is a good time to do a half time ‘health check’. As a personal fund and investment manager for me and my mom, I will be due to report my earnings for WY08 at the end of december. How will my portfolio do? How will I report in this very very turbulent bear market? A market where BIG and FAMOUS funds go bankrupt. Where hedge funds are in serious trouble. Where banks are in  distress. And the words ‘bail out’ is on everyone’s mind. I begun late last year and I will do up realised profits and unrealised gains using very simple formulas. My first reporting season will be in december this year and I will be due to release figures on Jan 4th 2009. This will be interesting, for it will be a report card of how much work I have done and how much I have forced myself to learn in double quick time and more importantly, how my strategies turn out. Maybe I should eventually list my own fund. Called the Royal Prince fund? *L*

Coming up, a very important exam for me end Aug and it is something I will not want to screw up. I have not screwed up a major test or exam that’s deemed important to me, so hopefully this won’t be my first!

Let’s take a look at the weekend proper. It began Friday with a little movie gathering where we caught “The Bank Job”. It appears to be based on a true story. Predictable? A little but usually in such movies with unknown casts, I see great acting abilities among them. Is it because I expect a lot from a star studded cast? Why is it that when I watch ‘big stars’ act, I somehow feel like they are ‘holding back’? If it is a scene meant for outbursts, I wanna see outbursts, not people rolling their eyes and all that. I wanna hear the frustration, I wanna see the anguish in the eyes, I wanna sense despair in the voice. Perhaps this is why there is hardly any artiste out there that really captures me. Talent? I don’t know. Great marketing managers, maybe. Perhaps it is like singers. So many good ones out there. And you got some in the scene who can’t sing to save their own lives. Yet they cut an album. Bank Job has loads of dialogues in british accents so if you are looking to watch bats flying all over sky scrappers then this is not for you. This one is ‘as it is’. I’ll pay a Tuesday rate of $6.50 for this. It isn’t bad, but it wasn’t a shout-out.

Dinner was just across the road at the marina bay hawker place. You know, this place is heaven compared to the kopithiam just before the le meridian. You know, the one with just one row. DO NOT order from the seafood stall. The food is TERRIBLE, EXPENSIVE, and I heard from a friend within the group that they’re a bunch of con jobs where you pay for the fish you picked but it comes far smaller and there is no way a fish can shrink that much after cooking.

DO NOT PATRONISE that stall. Thumbs down all round, with my toes down as well for the rip off prices. For that price you might as well be dining at Newton Hawker Centre with MUCH better quality.

And err.. thanks for the round of ghost stories and all. I kept quiet towards the end. Fatigue from the week and all. But I wanted to add something in and I decided not to though. But here it is. Do you know that when you sit in a group and discuss ghosts and stories and all, ghosts will come by and listen too? They are very curious beings and they’re very interested when humans talk about them. I am not joking. I still remember an incident quite a distance back… no I can’t see anything and generally I was told my aura keeps them away but I have always been told to not stay out too late during hungry ghost festivals cause I have a tendency to attract a female ghost into following me.

Saturday was my actual birthday and yes, I had the nation celebrate with me, literally! I had tickets to the NDP rehearsal and despite the rain and all (the weather was cool thereafter!) I was very impressed with the crowd control, the ushering of guests to their seats and basically the folks around too cause everyone’s nice and in a good mood apparently. Not once where I felt like ’something was wrong’ or things were not under control. If there were, they did a good job at handling it. There was a participant who fainted towards the end of the parade and I didn’t even see that. The red lions did a fantastic job in parachuting down and they really had to land within a stipulated area else they could end up within the audience, or get entangled by the equipment, cables and lights everywhere. So good job red lions! The weather was good too with hardly a breeze so the timing was nice indeed. The fighter jets also did a good show and they never really fail to impress me. The vertical pull-up (imagine the Gs on your body!) sky high, the near miss acrobatic scenes. Very good. Very impressive.

It was unfortunate that the rain forced me to leave earlier before the fireworks came on. But we’ll catch them…. In case you are not aware, there are fireworks on Aug 22nd (Friday) at the marina bay as well. Pls confirm if there are on 23rd though.

We were thinking of steaks! But we weren’t hungry so dear and I went back to Xing Wang! I love the folks there and I signed up for the membership card while I allowed Thai Express to lapse. I had a bottle of wine for birthday month, free drinks, and a 10% discount on the spot. They got an outlet at Cineleisure as well and perhaps when I am really WARM I know what to do now.. Go for their MANGO ICE! I strongly recommend it. If you like beancurd, they got this tub of ‘tow huay’ for 4 people, for less than $6!

Sunday saw myself with the grandmother, aunts and all at Peramakan. I love going there at the club cause on top of discounts and no service charge, the food is FABULOUS and the service is great. One of the folks working there has been working at the club for a really long time, since 1990 when we first joined! I was still like in P5 or so and he sorta remembers me growing up. And now I am all of 29.. how cool is that. I will be back there for sure and they did a really good job with the food, service, packing and the birthday cake, I tipped them more than the 10% I would have been charged. Good service deserves reward. And while the outlet decided to cut the service charge, I have decided to give them the service charge, directly. After all I already get a 10% discount. And ahhh.. their durian puffs… heavenly! Thank goodness the chinese restaurant is closed. I think their food is really terrible and I hope Kippo or a Tung Lok group comes back to run the place….

It was then to the pub! One of the very few karaoke cum pub where even toddlers are not denied entry. I got my whiskey, threw some darts and hit some pool balls.

It is now time to take it easy and listen to my mp3s of oldie mouldie but still goodies. Tommy Paige’s Shoulder To Cry On, Love United’s Live For Love United,  Five For Fighting, Extreme etc.. Sarah Conner, Susanna Hoffs, and R Kelly all coming up soon. Hope everyone has had a great weekend! While the cancer sign takes a bow and heads off stage soon,  I look forward to the return of Orion….

For the uninitiated, it has since been completed!

With the completion of the Henderson Waves Bridge and Alexandra Arch Bridge, the Southern Ridges (a line of hills that straddled Telok Blangah to Kent Ridge) are now effectively linked.

The bridges themselves are the main draw, quite nicely done. The walk is also quite nice, the scenery and atmosphere serene.

I have yet to really walk from one side to the other side but this will be an interesting walk indeed.

Accurate?

CAPRICORN- The Go-Getter (Dec 22 – Jan 19) Patient and wise. Practical and rigid. Ambitious. Tends to be Good-looking. Humorous and funny.. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimistic. Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be Unfriendly at times. Like competition. Get what they Want.

AQUARIUS- The Sweetheart (Jan 20 – Feb 18) Optimistic and honest. Sweet personality. Very independent. Inventive and intelligent. Friendly and loyal. Can seem unemotional. Can be a bit rebellious. Very stubborn, but original and unique. Attractive on the inside and out. Eccentric personality.

PISCES- The Dreamer (Feb 19 – Mar 20) Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative..May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don’t like details. Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful.

ARIES- The Daredevil (Mar 21 – April 19)
Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge. EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse.. (Easily angered.) Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly – easily bored. Egotistical. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

TAURUS- The Enduring One (April 20 – May 20) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard – passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

GEMINI- The Chatterbox (May 21 – June 20) Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable But needs to express themselves. Argumentative and outspoken. Like change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent. Beautiful physically and mentally.

CANCER- The Protector (June 21 – July 22)
Moody, emotional. May be shy. Very loving and caring. Pretty/handsome. Excellent partners for life. Protective. Inventive and imaginative. Cautious. Touchy-feely kind of person. Needs love from others. Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

LEO- The Boss (July 23 – Aug 22)
Very organized. Need order in their lives – like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help Others. Social and outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive.

VIRGO- The Perfectionist (Aug 23 – Sept 22)
Dominant In relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to.Hard to please. Harsh. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic.

LIBRA- The Harmonizer (Sept 23 – Oct 22)
Nice to everyone they meet. Can’t make up their mind. Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible.

SCORPIO- The Intense One (Oct 23 – Nov 21)
Very energetic. Intelligent. Can be jealous and/or possessive. Hardworking. Great kisser. Can become obsessive or secretive. Holds grudges. Attractive. Determined. Loves being in long Relationships. Talkative. Romantic. Can be self-centered at times. Passionate and Emotional.

SAGITTARIUS- The Happy-Go-Lucky One (Nov 22 – Dec 21)
Good-natured optimist. Doesn’t want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome).. Indulges self. Boastful. Likes luxuries and gambling. Social and outgoing.. Doesn’t like responsibilities. Often fantasizes. Impatient. Fun to be around. Having lots of friends. Flirtatious. Doesn’t like rules. Sometimes hypocritical. Dislikes being confined – tight spaces or even tight clothes. Doesn’t like being doubted. Beautiful inside and out.

Did anyone hope for a super mega rally on Thursday and Friday but only to see the STI pull back? I did talk about the STI not going down as low as the HSI and DJIA. The latter 2 have broken their March and Jan lows but the STI isn’t anywhere near 2750. Why? Refer to the chart. We have one mega uptrend line from 2004 which I said must not break. Breaking that will be very bearish, where you’ll see that I will be dumping many positions. However we are resisted by the downtrend line. If you refer to the HSI chart below, you will see the resemblance and how different it is from the DJIA. So what gives? Decoupling? I reckon not quite so but rather we do take how the Dow closes, into 10am and then follow HSI’s lead. The SGX is a follower, not a leader. It can be quite frustrating when we’re always lagging behind some big brother in front. Some have chosen to move onto other stock exchanges for better prospects, others stay away completely. Then again, we have always been a follower. In a bull run no one cares, cause everything goes up. I see people post things like “cheong ah!! My car deposit depends on you”. In a bear market and when people lose money, blaming starts. Human behavior doesn’t change, does it? Which is why in a way, technical analysis is a self professed prophecy. Ok back to the STI. The good news is, it looks like the index will break either way. I am inclined to think it should be on the upside but I could be wrong. The bad news? Look and see how many bear flags there were previously. All bear flags lead to a dead cat bounce. Cheap gets cheaper. Does that sound familiar? There are major gap resistances for STI and HSI somewhere at the top and any upside will definitely have to overcome the gap resistances. It may be covered intraday only and retreat (refer to HSI), providing a short sell opportunity.

The DJIA has done pretty well. I anticipate some consolidation and pull back, which must not break 113700 region. A pull back is healthy and if it doesn’t break that level, and is accompanied by light volume, it should lead to a strong rebound thereafter. If any of the ‘rules’ break then the positive move is negated. My TP for upside is somewhat around the 50MA resistance. Pls note that as a moving average, it will move.

My rules for a sustainable market rally-

1. Oil must come down (it has tanked over the past week)

2. Financials must be part of the market rally (citigroup did quite well!)

3. Volume must be present (if you see upmoves come with decreasing vol, i STRONGLY recommend that you run)

Bottom line for STI/HSI : In downtrend still. Must break downtrend resistance trendline for upsides.

Bottom line for DJIA: Rebound has been confirmed from Thurs/Fri move. Expect some side-way movements, with slight pull backs not exceeding the levels pointed out in the chart. Upside interim TP is 50MA resistance.

Here’s a look at how the dow is doing. As you can see, there was a bottom forming where a possible turn date was set (rebound). The thing is, everytime the market rallies, it is unable to hold onto it. It has been happening for days and it has a lot to do with the credit issues with lender Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Some feel it is over done, some feel there’s gonna be a can of worms. Regardless, I only look at my charts. Why? I shall use ST Eng chart later to illustrate. But for now, the DJIA has broken its turn date support. As  you can see, what we need now is for the dow to close above 11127 to get back into the reversal zone. For a reversal to be confirmed, it needs to break out of the channel resistance which would be around 11400 there abouts. So those are the 2 key things that needs to be done. Needless to say, one could say that the turn date failed. If this is so, it means more blood shed, period. If supports break and bottom signals fail, more blood. Period. Or, it could simply have been whipsaw. Chop shop kinda movement to flush out the short sellers. If so, we should see the index climb back into the range and test that resistance line. We need the index to be able to hold onto a  rally. Investors are jittery. Any rally is a chance to off load and gosh the volume over the past week has been tremendous!

Looking at the STI, I don’t really bother about indicators and chart patterns. There is not much to speak of. But, if one draws that trendline as you see from 2004, you will see it touches Jan and March’s low. We are now just on that trendline support. Obviously, breaking it will be nasty. Very nasty. If it does break and we touch 2800 or maybe even 2745, perhaps it might be a whipsaw. Perhaps it may get a lot worse. It is a little hard to get a firm grasp of a  trend at the moment cause there is a lot of choppiness. Among the major indexes, STI perhaps has been doing far better than the rest. We never did touch Jand and March’s low yet. Many major indexes have, and broke their previous lows. That itself, is not a good sign. So we really need to watch and see what happens. The earning season is about to begin soon. I don’t really like to play into earnings. If a stock has been rallying into its earnings release, be careful. If it has been tanking, u might take a gamble. I will illustrate that in a bit. If you see sideway movements look at the volume and watch for accumulation/distribution. It may not be that obvious and even for me, I have been burnt. Twice. BOTH by energy stocks. Ausgroup was one, KS Energy was the latest one… grrrr. Regretted holding onto those for too long. Lesson learnt.

And here, is what I mean by heavy dumping/rallying before news release. ST Eng has been on a down streak. A terrible one. Noticed the lines in blue where I drew, typical bear flag. Down movement, rebounds and goes into a new low. A bear flag is also what I would refer to as a dead cat bounce. A rebound which results in even lower prices eventually. If one can spot these, shorting right on confirmation can yield pretty good results IF the trend is DOWN. Always remember what the trend is. Do not go against it. Ride it out, wait, do whatever you want, other than taking a new position and going against a trend. If I had shorted it since it broke 3.16 I would be sitting on well over 60c gain right now. You can see the stock falling and falling, especially couple days back on very heavy volume. And then news came out. This is the news:

Closure of runway at Seletar will impact FY09’s earnings

Business Times has reported that Selatar runway will be redeveloped in November for a period of 18 months. The runway will be closed for 14 hours a day and there will be flight restrictions during this period. The move is part of a redevelopment plans to extend the runway to allow for a wide aircraft types to access the Selatar Aerospace Park.

We estimate that Singapore operations accounted for about $600-650m in revenue in FY07. Given that works on the runway will only commence in November, there would be limited impact on FY08. However, FY09, could see at least see a 10% decline in revenue from Singapore operations. We have adjusted our FY09 net profit to reflect that but maintain our Hold recommendation for now.

When it got released, the counter picked up and held it’s 2.50 support and rebounded. It rebounded despite bad news being released. What does that tell you? It tells you about price action and price that had been factored in. SPH on the other hand had been rather steady, hanging onto dear life. But when results came out which was less than expected, it began to tank. Today it hit an intraday low of 4.06 (like yesterday) and closed at 4.08 (like yesterday too). Always beware of prices that have already been factored in. If the stock has been rallying, and it comes out with better than expected results even, do not be surprised to see it drop on news release. This is what I have learnt through observation. And yes I am still learning. Hopefully over time I will further tighten my grasp on the market, bull or bear!

The princess turns 22! Aint she pretty there? She’s all so grown up now but you know what, she never really changed since I knew her. All these years, despite it all, she is pretty much the same. As for me, lots of changes superficially it appears but I suppose deep down, for better or worse, little has changed.

Anyway, the few of us went for a steamboat dinner at the 7 story hotel in Bugis. The mood was jubilant (I think it’s the alcohol), she has a new toy which I am sure she will love and she no longer needs to contend with the ‘fugly’ phone she has been carrying for a while. Yes she’s a sweet thang and my dear, I hope you’ll never really change. I think I like familiarity for better or worse. Be the rach that I have always known! Perhaps it sounds hard and all andif you ask me, it is MUCH harder NOT to change but change is constant. Not changing, is also  change. Think bout it.

My hubs and I also have been so caught up with loads of shit and I guess it is easier to take a picture with me when I am on booze eh?

For the uninitiated, I do get red very easily. It doesn’t show in the pictures but believe me, 1 can of beer and I turn tomato red. The only other time when I turn so red is when I am really PISSED. Fortunately this time round, it’s the former.

PS : Off camera and off work, the prince is usually not so smiley!

I tried to think of a better title but I couldn’t so I just titled it to what the post is gonna be about.

There has been lots of news of late bout the buying and selling of kidney here. It is illegal and the sellers have since been sentenced to jail. If kidney trading is illegal, and the sellers have been sentenced, why hasn’t the buyer been charged? Is it a case of selling being illegal but buying isn’t? Mr Tang lied to the ethics committee and I believe that is also illegal in all ways.

But let’s take a step in another direction. Should kidney trading be allowed? I am gonna take a neutral stance for now cause I haven’t had time to fully explore this topic. I haven’t had to need a kidney transplant and I hope I never will need one, but here are some considerations-

- kidney failure is closely related as a complication of diabetes.

- a daily quota of 2 shot glasses of water only. Yes, it includes the amount of water needed to flush down 10 pills a day

There is a story bout one such person who has had diabetes since he was 20. At aged 39, the kidneys began to fail. There are 2 forms of dialysis. The first one has this tube running out of the tummy area. Many diabetics will have problems with it as the ‘hole’ gets infected all the time. The second type of dialysis is those machines you see in NKF. Unfortunately, the patient did not respond well to this form of dialysis at all. Imagine, as a kidney failure patient, everything you once took for granted became a chore. Walking around. Urinating. Watching your kids graduate, get married, have kids. You begin to wonder if you’ll ever live to see all that. But you also realise you are not responding well to the dialysis at all. So the symptoms return full force. Water retention. Extreme lethargy. Yellow eyeballs. And then the doctor says he needs to see you. He says, he has bad news, and worse news. Bad news is, as the dialysis is not working, you need a transplant. Failure of which you will die within months. The worse news is, because you have diabetes, you are not eligible to be on the waiting list.

So there. He has delivered your death sentence. Basically, you are just gonna die within a few months.

Or maybe not. There appears to be kidneys up for sale overseas. U just have to pay the price.

On the other side of the world, a kidney seller awaits. The price for selling his kidney is equivalent to more than 16 years worth of work. Now this is where the problem begins to appear. U have a ready seller, and a ready buyer. But people call it ‘exploiting the poor’. And this is the point where I want to challenge.

Definite exploit? The seller sells the kidney. Gets paid, has money to set up a business and live happily ever after with his family, as we have seen in a particular case. The buyer gets the kidney (matching one of course) and receives a new lease of life. Watch his son graduate, get married, have kids. It wouldn’t have happened otherwise as he would have died. So, what exploitation? If you ask me, I will challenge that back. So what do you call, hiring foreign maids, who leave their family, come to your house, wash your panties, get scolded by you for doing something wrong, get fined for breaking stuff, all for 300 bucks a month. I don’t care how much the government levies the employer. This is between the employer and the government. The maid gets nothing, and to get here she has at least 12 months of debt to clear with the agency. Talk about EXPLOITATION! Are we not hiring CHEAP LABOR? So don’t come and give me some 2 cents crap that kidney trading is exploitation of the poor! Do they want to sell? Of course not. But do they have a choice? Ask yourself, do you rather fly here to an unknown land and work in someone’s house like a slave, or sell a kidney and u can set up a business and continue to be with your family. Both are painful decisions. In different ways.

As for the buyer. Is it wrong to fight for my own right to live? As a kidney patient who is not allowed on the list because he has diabetes, now that is a problem. The long waiting list is another. Some die waiting. What one of the MPs is worried about is, the rich people can afford to get their kidneys while the poorer ones have little way about it. And organ trading may become the norm and get out of hand. I can understand the latter bit, but the former one? Hey you know, I am not rich. 20k seriously, is a lot of money, minus surgical fees. 20k purely for the kidney only. I still need to pay for my own surgery and for the seller’s one too. BUT… if I am in that stage, believe me, if I gotta beg borrow lie steal cheat to raise the money, I will. What is the possible net effect? The waiting list gets shorter! U could say I jumped queue and bought my way out, BUT I bought my way out through a different market. Those on the queue are waiting for people who died and whose kidney is fit for transplantation. I am going towards those from living people. Different market! What is the issue?

The issue now is, should organ trading be allowed? This reminds me of 377a (sorry).. I am inclined to think since everything worked so well, why do something to change it and open a can of worms indeed. If it is allowed there must be procedures and policies put in place. At the moment only Iran is the only country in the world where organ trading is allowed. So where do we get guidelines from? None. We have to set up our own to protect interests of our own people. Many have felt, if any country were to be the first in doing up such policies, it would be Singapore who would do a good job out of.

I think that, if it ever happens, will take loads of time. Like the 377A thingie.

But please don’t come and tell me if one buys a kidney from third world countries, it is exploitation. Additionally, you better not let me find out you are hiring cheap labor at the same time!

The way I see it, if either scenarios happened to you, you wouldn’t know what you are capable of doing to survive. It is not about being unscrupulous. Unscrupulous is drugging someone, take someone’s kidney out, put the person in a tub and get her to call the ambulance when she wakes up and selling the kidney for x dollars and get a commission out of it. If you have 2 willing parties on both ends, you cannot say it is exploitation. Go visit people in the poor countries. The ethical issue is that this puts a price tag on a human organ. But I’ll say, life has never been fair. Is it fair to get kidney failure at age 30? Even before you have begun life proper? It is a huge topic to debate about. What irks me is people who pass sweeping statements that it is an ‘exploit’. Go to the homes of the buyer and seller. Tell me that their lives will not change for the better after the transaction has been completed. In my line of work, in technical definition, an exploit can only exist if there is a vulnerability. So what’s the vulnerability here? That one is sick and one is poor? In the ideal world, no one is poor and no one is sick. I will whoever dreams of such a scenario, to WAKE UP! You might as well say if my company is charging my customer Y dollars, but paying me a salary of X dollars only, I am exploited. Feel under paid? Maybe. How many can declare they are happy with what they are paid, or feel they are paid too much? Feel exploited? I don’t think so. Without my company, I may not have a job. And the client may not have someone to solve their problems. Can I just go direct to the client? In theory yes, in reality things do not work that way.

So deny the trade. The sick, will die within a couple months. The other, will continue to live day to day. That’s helpful. Is that fate? Bullshit. If you got the chance to change things, and you don’t, it is not fate. It is stupidity.