> Former Nepal prince snubbed in Singapore disco

PHOTO: mysansar.com

Former prince snubbed in Singapore discotheque

Publish Date: Wednesday,6 August, 2008, at 01:38 AM Doha Time
KATHMANDU: Once known for firing his gun and picking up fights in night clubs with impunity, Nepal’s former crown prince Paras has now fallen on harder times with a discotheque in the strict island nation of Singapore refusing him admission.
A Nepali website has posted photographs of the former playboy prince, who left home last month to seek greener pastures in Singapore, and alleged that the headstrong 37-year-old has not changed despite the abolition of monarchy in Nepal and the royals becoming ordinary citizens overnight.
Mysansar.com said it had been sent the photographs as well as details about Paras’ new tantrums by a Nepali residing in Singapore.
According to the report, last month Paras went to a disco wearing sneakers, jeans and a T-shirt. He was also sporting a pony tail and dark glasses. However, the man who could get away with murder in Nepal, was refused admission by the gatekeeper.
Swallowing the snub, the quick-tempered former prince left the disco only to return wearing a suit. He was allowed to go inside this time but decided to leave after a couple of drinks, the report said.
At the car park, Paras, unused to not having the right of way any longer, picked up a fight with a fellow motorist. As luck would have it, he was noticed by a Nepali who began taking photographs of the quarrelling former crown prince.
Realising that he was being photographed, Paras got inside his car and left in a hurry, the report said.
Stripped of all privileges, the former royals were trying hard to drown their sorrow by acquiring all the luxury money could buy.
Paras had bought a flashy Lamborghini, said to cost over $1mn, the report said.
The news had an unexpected sequel.
Someone sent an SMS to the website from Singapore, defending Paras.
It is speculated that the sender was the former crown prince himself since he signed himself as “Yubaraj”, which means crown prince in Nepal.
“Hello my sansar, my name is yubraj,” said the long SMS. “Just want to high light (sic) that a few days ago you have written regarding our prince Paras which is really unbelievable. Now he has changed a lot. So please do not write anything which killed his dignity (sic).
“Don’t write unnecessary thing (sic) regarding him. Hope u understand. Thanks buddy.”
To prove the authenticity of the SMS, the sender also sent photographs of Paras, showing him posing in an underground Metro station in front of a litter bin, along with three more men, all of them Nepalis. – IANS

> Violence in Sim Lim Square shop

http://www.pinoysg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=334060

I just want to warn everyone to AVOID going to unit #___ in Sim Lim Square. They are grotesque scammers that has the tendency to be physically violent to customers. I was one of their unfortunate victims.

Their signboad says ‘___’, but as I was researching on the net, they apparently regularly change their store name. They used to be called ___, or ___. And a neighbouring store that’s unit #___ also used to be ‘Evolution Gaming’. They were also called ‘___’. I’ve read a lot of complaints from that store too.

Anyway, here’s what happened. My girlfiend and I went to Sim Lim to buy a PSP. I know, it was quite stupid of me to go there for a PSP. It’s all over the net that the last place to buy a PSP is in Sim Lim. I went anyway, thinking it’s “not gonna happen to me” (i was dead wrong).

So we went to different shops to ask for prices. The prices we got were 360, and 340.. complete with all the necessary stuff like battery, 4G card, cable, case, and modification. When we got to unit # ___ (___), they quoted us $308. That was too cheap.. but it was almost 9pm and I was just tired and wanted the PSP. So I said I’ll take one.

The sales guy was friendly. He’s tall, fat, and had a lot of pimples on his face. He took our money and said he’ll modify it in front of us. After the so-called modification, he showed the PSP to me… and it was lagging! He said the modification took much of the RAM and it needed an upgrade, and that we had to pay $200! Holy sh*t… and while he was selling the upgrade to me, he kept calling me ‘my friend…’.

That was just annoying. I said we don’t have that kind of money, and we’d like to get our money back. From here, things got ugly.

The store owner (tall, skinny, and also had a lot of pimples) started shouting at us, saying just take the PSP, the we’re wasting his time, etc. And another guy tried to talk to us,this short little guy with glasses, squeaky voice, introduced as the store manager. He tried to explain about the upgrade. But we’ve heard enough. We just wanted our money back, and we were not leaving.

Finally they said we could have our money back, but since the PSP has already been modified, we should pay the GST (wtf!). After much debate, I just said fine.. if that’s what it takes to just leave this place, then ok. So they gave us our money, less gst (that’s $21 – not bad, but still hurts).

We were so pissed leaving the store. I decided to take a photo of the store premises so I could have a ’souvenir’ for the event.

Suddenly, this little guy with glasses (store manager, they say) started to slap me in the face! (I’m not sure if it was a slap or a punch.. looked like a punch, felt like a slap) He also shoulted at me with his small squeaky voice. I prepared to hit back, aiming at his small face.. but suddenly I see this tall lanky guy running from the store carrying a metal stool. And the fat pimply guy who tried to sell the PSP also came out running towards us too.

The little guy’s got backup! So now there’s 3 of them, and one of me. I remember thinking, if I fight back, this is going to get ugly for me. But then, the short guy took a plastic chair and continued to hit me, as well as this tall guy with the metal stool!

Unit #___ ___ is situated at the corner of the floor. The beating continued until we reached the escalator. They hit me on the face, the arms, and body. My girlfriend was just shouting ‘please stop!’. Suddenly they demanded for me to delete the photo.. i had no choice but to comply.

After deleting (they continued to hit me by the way), Sim Lim security came in the scene. The little guy gave me one last hit on the body with his reliable plastic chair. After that, security called the police. The police came to talk to me, then went up to talk to the store owner (tall pimply guy).

The guys that attacked me where no longer there (of course). We went to the police station, I gave a statement, they gave me a medical form, we went to the hospital to document the scratches I obtained from the attack. The police said that they were going to launch an investigation about it.

So now here I am writing about it. The net has got loads of warning stories like this about the scamming happening in Sim Lim. Let this be an additional story about it. I haven’t actually read about any violence happening, so I think this is the first.

Reading up on the net, here’s a few more stories/complains about unit #___ / ___ for scamming and bad service.

This one is when they were still called ___ (signboard ___): http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=1696186

Here’s another one about #___ where they have bad attitude: http://talkback.stomp.com.sg/forums/archive/index.php/t-10687.html

Here’s another one about ___:
http://imcomplicatedyetsosimple.blogspot.com/2007/12/scammer-from-sim-lim.html

And another one for ___:
http://forums.gameaxis.com/showthread.php?t=1476878&highlight=Sim+lim+square

And another yet one… “Extreme Lousey Service in Sim Lim Sqare”. This time it’s in #___ but still called “___” (it’s either they like exchanging signboards, or its the same owner): http://forums.gameaxis.com/showthread.php?t=1482761

Here’s another on #___, but it’s no longer called “___”.. This time their signboard says “___”: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=1793609

And another one on #___: http://sgforums.com/forums/2535/topics/313622

So I guess #___ and #___ exchange names, and has the same modus operandi. Everyone beware of these shops!

http://www.sgclub.com/singapore/violence_sim_lim_85016.html

> Google offer free downloads of Chinese licensed songs!

Google to offer free music search in China
By Steven Musil, CNET News.com
Thursday, August 07, 2008 10:48 AM

Google announced Tuesday that it has launched a free music search service in China that will give users access to free downloads of licensed songs.

Google said its service would let users search tens of thousands of Chinese songs by singer or song title on its Web site and download them from partner Top100.cn, a Chinese music site that has financial backing from NBA star Yao Ming.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google said the service will be supported by advertising revenue to be split with music companies and Top100.cn.

The service is being touted as a way to legally monetize music in China, which is well known as a hot bed for rampant piracy. Analysts have estimated that more than 90 percent of Internet users in China download unlicensed music every day via search engines.

Users outside of China will not have access to the service, Google said.

The service could pose a challenge to Baidu.com, which dominates China’s Internet search business with 64 percent of the market, compared with Google’s 26 percent.

> Fat people

Dispelling Common Myths about Fat Persons

Stereotypes, and the resulting prejudice, develop from a belief that a group of people share common characteristics. This belief is almost always grounded in myth. The following widely-held beliefs about fat people are often used to justify treating fat people as second-class citizens, and create a “blame the victim” mentality. The information which follows may help to explore our biases against fat people and increase our understanding of people of size, which is the first step in ending size discrimination.

MYTH: “If fat people really wanted to, they could lose weight..”

FACTS: Permanent weight loss is elusive for most fat people; 95-98% of all diets fail over three years. Contrary to what the $33 billion per year dieting industry would have us believe, the failure of diets is not the fault of the dieter; rather, the body’s response to a very low calorie diet (VLCD) dictates that the diet will fail.

A person’s body weight is determined by a number of factors, including genetics, metabolism, and dieting history. The body will naturally stabilize at a certain weight; dieting serves to raise this natural “setpoint”. This is because the body interprets a VLCD as a period of starvation; in response, the body slows down its metabolism, in order to conserve energy (calories), and sends messages to the dieter that it needs more food. When the dieter goes off her diet, her body converts extra calories consumed as fat, in anticipation of the next period of “starvation,” resulting in weight gain greater than the amount lost. This “ratchet effect” is evident in yo-yo dieters, who may lose 20 pounds, gain 30, lose 30 pounds, gain 40, etc.

MYTH: “It’s not healthy to be fat.”

FACTS: The issue of fat and health is a complex one, with many factors to consider. Medical research has raised more questions than it has answered. It seems that, while there are health risks associated with being fat, there are also some health benefits. It may be healthier to remain at a stable high weight than to yo-yo diet.

Added to questions raised by medical research, we also must consider that, in our society, it is very difficult for fat people to stay healthy and become fit. Due to prejudicial medical treatment and harassment by health care professionals, many fat people do not receive adequate preventative health care, and put off seeking treatment when there is a medical problem. In addition, many fat people do not feel comfortable participating in activities that would lead to a greater level of fitness. Due to the harassment they face, fat people rarely feel comfortable using public pools or health clubs, or participating in recreational exercise.

Given that permanent weight loss is elusive for most fat people, the issue of fat and health is irrelevant. The only true option available is to be as healthy as you can, regardless of your weight. (Often times the health issue serves as a smoke screen to justify denying fat people their civil rights. The assumption that fat people are unhealthy is often used to defend discrimination in employment, educational opportunities, housing, and adoption privileges. Health issues should never supersede one’s civil rights.)

MYTH: “All fat people are compulsive overeaters. “

FACTS: The compulsive eater, whether fat or thin, is a person with an eating disorder. Simply being fat does not indicate the presence of an eating disorder. Studies which set out to prove that fat people eat more than thin people concluded that there is no measurable difference in the food consumption of fat and thin people. Compulsive dieters, who ignore their body’s hunger messages, tend to become obsessed with food, and usually overeat after a round of dieting.

MYTH: “Fat people are ugly.”

FACTS: Beauty is a learned concept, and the cultural norm of beauty changes over time. At the turn of the century, the leading sex symbol, Lillian Russell, weighed over 200 pounds. Marilyn Monroe would be considered “overweight” today. The media, advertisers, and the diet industry tend to set the standard of beauty in today’s society. We must remember that they are selling us dissatisfaction with our bodies in order to make a profit.

MYTH: “Fat people can’t find romantic partners.”

FACTS: It’s estimated that at least 5-10% of the population has a preference for a large-size partner. Because our society does not view this as a legitimate preference, many people who prefer fat partners face harassment from their families and peers. As the preference for the large-size partner is legitimized, the 5-10% figure may rise.