7 hours ago, The_King said:

Known for its Japanese bakes like Strawberry Shortcake and Tofu Chiffon cake, Flor Patisserie recently announced the imminent closure of its last physical outlet at Siglap Drive due to significant rental hikes. 

In a collaborative post two weeks ago, chef-owner Heidi Tan, 36, shared: “Our Siglap Drive landlord asked for a 57% increase in rent upon renewal of our lease come this July. Never thought our out-of-the-way, 21 mins by bus, 15 mins by walk from the nearest MRT station, no-parking-nearby outlet could be worth $8,500 in monthly rent (previously $5,400). That was exactly how much we were paying at our now-closed East Coast outlet, that had a much better frontage, with parking and accessibility.” The shop will close end June/early July. 

Heidi opened the business in 2010 at the tender age of 21. The patisserie closed its Upper East Coast outlet in June 2024 and its Duxton outlet in July 2024 due to low footfall and high overall costs, “especially after borders reopened and people preferred to spend their strong [Singapore] dollars overseas,” she shared with 8days.sg when we reached out to her.

But it’s probably not goodbye forever for Flor Patisserie. 

She added: “We are looking for another space to open a shop now. But it’s not easy to relocate our kitchen as we have sunk costs in terms of upgrading electrical power and building a cold room, both are non-transferable assets that we need for our operations. That’s our dilemma now.”

No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.

Plea for govt curbs on escalating rents for small biz owners

In a recent follow-up IG post, which Heidi said was to “share and create awareness,” she wrote: “Sorry it’s not a cake post. But this is something we feel we have to address as a small business in Singapore.” 

The post read: “We’ve posted on our stories before, asking our newly elected East Coast MP @edwintong for help.” (Heidi told 8days.sg he has not responded to her posts).

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Suggested a few possible measures

“We want our government to introduce policies to create a fair playing ground for businesses and landlords. Right now, landlords hold overwhelming negotiating power. For the government to even consider moving a toe in this direction, we think they need to first recognise that high rents directly impact the cost of goods sold. It impacts our everyday prices.”

She continued: “We know why landlords are trying their damn hardest to increase rents. Because rent is the biggest factor in land valuation.”

In the same post that drew over 3,200 likes within a day, she suggested possible measures like, “Implementing a grace period in which a commercial property can be empty for. We suggest a cap of 6 months. After which, the landlord will be fined 50% of the asking rent every additional month that it's on the market. We are sure it will bring rents down super quick.”

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“I am jaded, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up hope”

She clarified: “[Do we want measures] like how our govt is giving CDC vouchers to offset increasing cost of living? No, we don't want this to be another burden for our taxpayers.”

“We want the government to implement sound and fair policies that nip these unfair practices in the bud. We also believe with rent control policy in place, we can curb the inflation rate”.

8days.sg asked Heidi if she was disillusioned with the current situation after being in the business for 15 years. She replied: “I am jaded, but it doesn’t mean I’ll give up hope. I genuinely want change to happen, so that small businesses like mine can thrive”. 

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Viral post drew customer support, but landlord doubled down on increased rent

After her first post on her Siglap shop’s rental hike went viral, Flor Patisserie received an outpouring of support from its customers. “Even old customers that we lost when we moved out from Duxton came all the way to the east to support us,” Heidi told 8days.sg. “[Support] from landlords? No. They were even opportunistic property agents calling us relentlessly to “sell” their overpriced rental units. From our current landlord? An even bigger no. He's upset at being painted as the bad guy, he told me I shouldn’t have shared my struggles as a business owner publicly. And he didn’t lower the [rent renewal] offer. He's currently looking for a new tenant, [and still] asking for $8,500 [a month].”

As she said in her IG post: “We are tired of this. Honestly, we just want to focus on what we do best, make good cakes.”

Flor Patisserie will be bringing back some of its nostalgic older desserts in its final months, including the Earl Grey Choco and Mango Pie.

Flor Patisserie is at 42 Siglap Dr, S456167 and will close end June/early July. Open Tue to Sun, 10.30am to 6.30pm. Tel: 62430813. More info via Instagram. 

16 hours ago, socrates469bc said:

 

this is another dark secret of Vatican City that they dont want the kumgong flock to know

 

wahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

 

I've seen this one before too, it's good to know how low the folks who want to burn you on a stake is willing to go.

13 hours ago, coffeenut said:

Means time to buy one of those barebones mini PC from Taobao or a Lenovo mini Thinkcentre PC, one cheap managed switch and setup your homelab liaoz .. Put Proxmox on the PC, install Opnsense, Pihole, Plex, Tailscale and do sheet

 

10 hours ago, The_King said:

thanks wil ltake time to watch

I'll just leave this here, it's just a clip from one of my fav tv series, nothing the folks monitoring this thread should be worried about.

 

 

11 hours ago, Standing Birdy said:

I think overkill unless you are on some list. Maybe @Huat Zai have some advice?

Unless you're planning something that will get you a couple of life sentences, VPN and/or TOR should be enough to get by. If you ARE planning something that will get you a couple of life sentences, getting  answers on a public, clearnet forum should be the last place you should be looking...

8 hours ago, socrates469bc said:

with the election of a new Pope today, limpeh intro this book which limpeh came across many yrs ago on the Vatican City.

 

so is Vatican City really so holy meh???????

 

@Huat Zai didi, u know this part of Vatican history bo??????

 

wahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

 

 

I'm aware of it, didn't bother to go deep into the topic though.

 

 

10 hours ago, zheng said:

 

 

完了完了为了2025BBQ了

 

 

9 minutes ago, The_King said:

A former housing official who worked under President George H. W. Bush has made an astonishing claim that the U.S. government spent years funneling money into the creation of a secret underground “city” where the rich and powerful can shelter in the event of a “near-extinction event.”

Catherine Austin Fitts, who served as the assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Housing between 1989 and 1990, made the shocking allegations during an appearance on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson‘s podcast, although there is no concrete evidence to support her claims.

Fitts, 74, who is originally from Philadelphia, cited research by Michigan State University economist Mark Skidmore, who released a report in 2017 stating that he and a team of scholars had uncovered $21 trillion in “unauthorized spending in the departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development for the years 1998-2015.”

At the time, Skidmore noted that he first began investigating the unreported spending after he heard Fitts “refer to a report which indicated the Army had $6.5 trillion in unsupported adjustments, or spending, in fiscal 2015.”

“Given the Army’s $122 billion budget, that meant unsupported adjustments were 54 times spending authorized by Congress. Typically, such adjustments in public budgets are only a small fraction of authorized spending,” the report noted.

Initially, Skidmore said he thought Fitts had made a mistake, stating that he assumed she had meant to say $6.5 billion, not trillion.

“So I found the report myself and sure enough it was $6.5 trillion,” he said.

According to Fitts, who worked as an investment banker before joining Bush’s administration, that money was used to fund the development of what she described as an “underground base, city infrastructure and transportation system” that has been kept hidden from the public.

“One of the things I’ve looked at in the process of looking at where all this money is going is the underground base, city infrastructure, and transportation system that’s been built,” she said.

“We have built an extraordinary number of underground bases and, supposedly, transportation systems.”

She told Carlson that she spent two years researching where the $21 trillion had gone, alleging that she uncovered evidence that there are 170 secret facilities in the U.S. alone, explaining that she and a team of investigators combed through “all the data and all the allegations on underground bases” in order to make a “guess” as to how many might exist.

Additionally, Fitts alleged that several of these bases are located beneath oceans—not just underground.

“We systematically went through and tried to guess estimate our guess—this is totally a guess—of how many underground bases [there are], both underground in the United States, but also underground under the ocean around the United States.

“And our estimate was 170 with a transportation network connecting them,” she said.

When Carlson asked what the “purpose” of these underground bases is, Fitts responded that they would be used if a “near-extinction event” was believed to be on the horizon.

However, she added that she believes these so-called bases could also be used by the government to carry out “secret” projects, such as a “secret space program.”

Carlson responded by claiming that he actually knew “a contractor who worked on one in Washington, D.C.,” stating: “I remember him telling me about a power box, like a transformer box, on Constitution Avenue. … He told me [that] was actually the exit, the egress from the White House.

“And I thought, that’s kind of crazy in the middle of this big city where I live … you could build something like that without me knowing it.”

Carlson said he had always assumed that those kinds of bases were only located in D.C.—and that they were meant specifically for some kind of “nuclear war,” to which Fitts responded: “Some of it is. It’s preparation for catastrophe.”

As for how these alleged cities and facilities are powered, Fitts said she believes the government has found a way to generate breakthrough energy that she believes is being used to keep them going.

“I’m convinced that this energy exists. If you look at a lot of the really fast ships, flying around the planet, they’re not using classical electricity,” she claimed.

Fitts’ controversial claims come just a few months after a Virginia-based company called SAFE (Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments), unveiled plans for a $300 million luxury, members-only doomsday bunker called “Aerie.”

The company says the facility will offer “AI-powered” medical care, “wellness programs,” and the ability to “blend protection and luxury” in a way that has never been done before.

SAFE says it planned to build the bunkers—which will cost each entrant a $20 million membership fee—in all 50 states, but was going to construct the first in Virginia because of its proximity to D.C.

“It’s the wealthiest state per capita,” a company spokesperson previously told Realtor.com®. “It’s ground zero for the finest demographic for something like this in the world.”

 

On 4/22/2025 at 7:40 PM, zheng said:

 

 

 

 

Just now, Huat Zai said:

According to local media, she reportedly told Ma that she had no money to give him, only her life.

 

Sounds like someone finally decided to collect against people who say that.

 

A 52-year-old man was arrested in China after he allegedly murdered a woman, 48, who was his boss, allegedly due to a financial dispute over injury compensation.

 

Image from ETToday

 

The incident occurred in the southern Chinese city of Jingdezhen, located in Jiangxi province.

The man, surnamed Ma, had reportedly suffered a leg injury at work, which required surgery and a significant amount of time where he would be unable to work.

Ma had initially asked for 50,000 yuan (S$8,937), but the boss, surnamed Shao, was only willing to offer 30,000 yuan (S$5,362).

This eventually led to a court case, where Shao was ordered to pay 140,000 yuan (S$25,000) to Ma.

Shao appealed the verdict, but it was upheld by the court.

Despite this, Shao refused to pay.

According to local media, she reportedly told Ma that she had no money to give him, only her life.

Ma would eventually ambush her at her residence, and reportedly killed her.

He then allegedly waited at the scene of the crime till the police arrived.

Ma had reportedly yelled at Shao while committing the murder, telling her not to think she can do whatever she wants just because she was rich and powerful.

 

https://mothership.sg/2025/05/boss-compensation-china-death/

Lucid Dreaming Isn't Sleep or Wakefulness—It’s a New State of Consciousness, Scientists Find

 

 

Have you ever had a dream in which you realized you were dreaming?

When you become conscious of the fact that you are dreaming, you can take advantage of that knowledge and manipulate the dream. If you want to do something that is physically impossible in the real world, such as flying, you can leap into the air and take flight. Someone who realizes they are trapped in a nightmare can convince themselves to wake up.

The state known as lucid dreaming is an unquestionably surreal one, and it just got even more so. A team of researchers—led by Çağatay Demirel from the Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging at Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands—has discovered that lucid dreaming has now been found to be a state of consciousness separate from both wakefulness and REM sleep (the state usually associated with dreams), and is in fact associated with its own unique type of brain activity. They published a study on their findings in the Journal of Neuroscience.

“This research opens the door to a deeper understanding of lucid dreaming as an intricate state of consciousness by pointing to the possibility that conscious experience can arise from within sleep itself,” Demirel said in a press release.

To identify what sets lucid dreaming apart from the rest of sleep, he and his team pulled previous studies—in which brain activity was measured with EEG sensors—together into what is now the most extensive dataset in this field of sleep research. The researchers then compared brain activity patterns for wakefulness, REM sleep, and lucid dreaming to find that that the eerie self-awareness experienced in lucid dreams has a connection to the electrical rhythms in neurons known as brain waves.

Perception and memory processing in the lucid dreaming state were found to be different from non-lucid REM sleep. The consciousness of existing in a dream was associated with with beta waves in the right temporal lobe (which controls spatial awareness and nonverbal memory) and parietal lobe (which controls the sense of touch and self-perception). Beta waves are a type of high-frequency electromagnetic activity in the brain involved in conscious thought processes like solving problems or making decisions. Our consciousness is dominated by beta waves when we are awake.

This might explain why there is so much cognitive control in lucid dreams. Dreamers deep in REM sleep have no sense of control over factors like thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but those in lucid dreaming states do.

Demirel also linked gamma waves with lucid dreaming. These are the fastest brain waves, which become visible on an EEG at times when the brain is especially alert and focusing on something. When lucid dreaming begins, gamma waves increase in the right precuneus, which is involved in self-referential thinking—thoughts about ourselves and our lives. When we are awake, we often drift into this type of thinking when our minds wander.

Maybe the most mind-bending thing about lucid dreams is that they are, according to the study, similar in the brain to the effects of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and ayahuasca. These types of psychedelic experiences are also associated with the precuneus, whose activity is modified when waking imagery is seen despite having closed eyes (something usually only experienced with psychedelics).

Interestingly, however, lucid dreams may even go a few experiential steps past psychedelics. “While psychedelics often lead to a dissolution of ego and decreased self-referential processing […] lucid dreams may actually harness elements of self-awareness and control,” Demirel and his team said in the study.

So if you’re capable of lucid dreaming, you’re in for an awesome trip.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a64563688/lucid-dreaming-consciousness/

4 minutes ago, coffeenut said:

Chiobu pics only!

 

 

 

Or your pgd will tio widen in a way @ManOfTheHour will scare

 

 

 

 

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has expressed surprise and disappointment over what he described as the “negative tone” adopted by the Workers’ Party (WP) during their recent rally, particularly in their criticisms of Gan Kim Yong and the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) team in Punggol.

Speaking to reporters during a walkabout at One Punggol Hawker Centre on 29 April, Wong, who is also the PAP candidate for Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC, responded to remarks made at the WP rally the night before.

He said he was “rather taken aback” by the WP’s approach, noting that while political differences were expected, there was no need for personal attacks—especially against someone like Gan Kim Yong, who he said had made significant contributions to Singapore.

“We may have our differences, but there is no need to go into negative attacks on individuals—especially someone like Gan Kim Yong, who has done so much for Singapore,” Wong stated.

Expressing regret over the tone of the campaign, Wong urged Punggol residents to reject what he called “negative politics.”

“The tone of the campaign is regretful. But I would say to Punggol residents—let’s reject this kind of negative politics,” he said.

Wong: Gan Is ‘No Stranger’ to Punggol or Singapore

Addressing questions about whether Gan Kim Yong was a “stranger” to Punggol, Wong insisted that Gan was well-known to both the constituency and the country.

“Gan Kim Yong is surely no stranger to Punggol residents or to Singaporeans. How can he be? He spent so much of his life in public service.

He helped us through COVID. He’s done so much for Singapore, and we treat him like a stranger? Let’s be more gracious,” he said.

A Surprise Move to Field Gan in Punggol

Wong also elaborated on the decision to field Gan in Punggol GRC—a move announced on Nomination Day, 23 April, which surprised many as Gan had been expected to remain in Chua Chu Kang GRC.

Wong explained that the decision was made to fill a leadership gap left by Teo Chee Hean’s departure.

Wong speculated that the WP may not have anticipated the move.

“No doubt the WP would have preferred me to field a new minister here, or perhaps just stick with the existing team and add a new candidate.

That’s likely why they decided to drop everything in Marine Parade–Braddell Heights and parachute into Punggol, not expecting me to make this move,” he said.

“So, let’s be clear: the WP didn’t step up—they stepped away from Marine Parade.”

Netizens Accuse PAP of Double Standards

Wong’s comments sparked a wave of backlash online, with over 1,600 comments on The Straits Times’ YouTube and Facebook pages, where many netizens accused him of applying double standards — some even going so far as to call him hypocritical.

Several pointed out that while the ruling party often criticised opposition candidates, it seemed to take offence when similar remarks were directed at its own leaders.

One user questioned the double standards, pointing out that while the Workers’ Party (WP) was accused of “parachuting,” the same could be said about the decision to move Gan Kim Yong (GKY) to Punggol.

The user also highlighted that when the WP criticised, it was deemed “negative,” but when Ong Ye Kung attacked Chee Soon Juan, it was not considered so.

“How many double standards are you practising?”

Another commenter pointed out that the PAP could accuse the opposition of abandoning constituencies, parachuting in, and calling them strangers whenever it suited them.

However, when the opposition defended itself and called out hypocrisy, the PAP framed it as dirty politics and a lack of graciousness.

Netizens Point Out PAP Started Negative Rhetoric Against Opposition

Many netizens argued that the PAP itself had initiated negative rhetoric, citing past instances where opposition candidates were accused of being “strangers” or “abandoning” constituencies.

One user remarked, “Why does Wong act like the PAP has never attacked the opposition negatively before?”

Another added, “PAP behaves like a child—attacks others first, then plays innocent when hit back. All GE speeches are recorded and can be replayed. Those who think critically can easily see who started the fire.”

“Now PM Wong wants to play ‘Mr Nice Guy’ and advise the opposition to be gracious? How hypocritical is that?” another user wrote.

Some commenters urged Wong not to “spin” what was said at the WP rally, suggesting that his framing of the situation was an attempt to gain sympathy from voters.

“Don’t try to pretend to be the victim,” one user said.

Claims of Personal Attacks on Gan Disputed

Some netizens who watched the WP rally disputed Wong’s claim that there were personal attacks on Gan Kim Yong.

They pointed out that WP candidate Harpreet Singh had specifically urged the crowd not to boo Gan.

One user argued that the rally only questioned Wong’s decision to field Gan in Punggol as DPM, rather than in the Central Executive Committee.

“There was zero attack,” the user said.

Another commenter challenged Wong’s approach, asking, “Why not just address and respond to the scepticism instead of dodging it like how questions were avoided in Parliament?”

“You can’t just label it as negative because you don’t like it.”

Workers’ Party Questions Political Decisions Surrounding Gan Kim Yong’s Candidacy in Punggol

At the WP rally held on 28 April, party chief Pritam Singh and other WP candidates took aim at the PAP team in Punggol, specifically Gan.

Singh raised concerns about Gan not being elected into the PAP’s central executive committee in 2024, suggesting it might signal his readiness to retire and questioning his suitability for this election.

“If so, can he be so critical to the PM’s plans?” he asked.

Singh also addressed Gan’s earlier remarks at a PAP rally, where he stated he would speak to Prime Minister Wong to secure infrastructure funding for Punggol.

“Do I need to be his friend for taxpayer funding to be allocated to Punggol? No,” Singh said.

WP candidate Harpreet Singh, a senior counsel, called for greater transparency over Gan’s involvement in the cancelled Income-Allianz deal.

Singh stressed the need for “fair politics and accountability” in Singapore’s leadership.

The senior counsel argued that critical questions raised by former NTUC Income CEO Tan Suee Chieh must be answered by Gan, who is leading the People’s Action Party (PAP) team in Punggol GRC for the General Election 2025.

In an open letter dated 28 April 2025, Tan called for DPM Gan to disclose his role in the deal, citing concerns about regulatory oversight and the strategic direction of NTUC entities.

Tan’s letter, widely circulated on social media, marked his fourth attempt to seek accountability from Gan, following three earlier letters sent between August and September 2024.

WP candidate Alexis Dang addressed comments made by PAP candidate Sun Xueling, who had previously stated that “strangers” were not needed in Punggol.

Dang questioned whether this standard applied to Gan Kim Yong, who had been moved to Punggol after two decades in Chua Chu Kang GRC.

“Is he exempted because he’s a good friend of PM Lawrence Wong?” she asked.

While expressing respect for Singapore’s leaders, she raised concerns about political decisions being made based on personal friendships rather than merit.

She questioned, “Is this the kind of leadership we want to endorse? Is this the political culture we want to pass on to our children, where success is based on connections rather than fairness?”

In his rally speech on 29 April, Workers’ Party (WP) Secretary-General Pritam Singh delivered a pointed rebuttal to recent remarks by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who had accused the WP of engaging in “negative politics.” Singh countered that it was the People’s Action Party (PAP) that had long practised such politics through its treatment of opposition-held constituencies.

He cited past HDB upgrading policies, where opposition wards were deprioritised, and pointed out that access to community clubs and national events—such as citizenship ceremonies—had been consistently denied to opposition MPs.

Singh argued that these actions reflected a longstanding pattern of political exclusion. “The PAP only listens when it loses vote share and parliamentary seats to the Workers’ Party,” he said, drawing strong applause from the crowd.

Tying his argument to broader themes of national development, Singh referenced Singapore’s 60th year of independence, which has been designated the “Year of Resilience.” He suggested that the political resistance demonstrated by opposition wards in the face of discriminatory policies represented a true form of resilience—one that deserved to be taught in schools.

Singh also revisited a historical remark made by a former prime minister, who once said he would need to spend time “fixing the opposition” if they gained more seats. Singh questioned whether such a stance could be considered positive politics, asking pointedly: “I wonder what Prime Minister Lawrence Wong would say about this. Is this negative politics?”

He concluded by directly addressing Wong: “Please say yes or no before polling day. Let me know, so I can go and debate with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament. What is the real meaning of negative politics?”