An ingenius way to collect donations

Donating to a charity or a charitable home cannot be more easy than just tapping an EZ card on a reader. Every tap will only lead to a deduction of $1 from the card. This is a very convenient way of donating without being pestered by little boys and girls with their tin cans or donation cards. Just simply tap the card when one feels like it.

This is an initiative of the Community Chest and the posters with the readers are already up in 5 MRT stations. In the ST today there is a beautiful photo of several young primary school children tapping on the reader to make their donations. And the children are very happy doing their part for charity. It is always good to start young, to make the children think about caring for the less unfortunate. What a way to go.

I remember a story of a young school boy who hailed a cab and after being dropped off, told the uncle driving the taxi to keep the change. The uncle told the boy it was good to be generous but to wait till he earned his own money before trying to be generous and spending his parent’s money so happily and so easily. Children may not know how difficult it was to earn a few dollars and what a few dollars could mean to those lower income people. Exceptions if the children have parents who are ministers or tycoons.

Children are very innocent. Tell them to do good and they will happily obliged. Tap the reader, they will. How many of them understand how hard it is for their parents to earn a few dollars more to load into their EZ cards? How many of them know that the few dollars in their EZ cards could be squeezed out by their parents missing a meal? How many of them know that the $1 in the EZ card was the last dollar in the card and their parents would have a hard time trying to top up the cards?

There are laws against the young buying cigarettes or liquor or betting in the Singapore Pool outlets. There should be laws against little innocent children donating without the consent of the adults or being accompanied by their parents.

It is a good cause to donate. I think it is necessary to spare the children who still do not know what they are doing and donating the hard earned money of their parents who are struggling to make ends meet. For those parents who are earning millions or hundreds of thousands, it is damn fun tapping and tapping and tapping at the card readers. The Community Chest may want to organise a contest to see who can tap the most times in a minute or an hour or who can tap continuously for the longest number of hours non stop and stood to win a prize, like a car donated by a car dealer.

I think that would be nice. But keep the children out unless with parental consent.

Spore won’t harm Indonesia and Malaysia

Many pundits and commentators and laypeople would have thought that the revelation of Singapore assisting the Americans to tap into the communications of its neighbours would turn into a big embarrassment and also affect relations with the two countries would only find that this is not true. According to Shanmugam, the Indonesians and Malaysians know that we would not do anything to harm them. After all it is only an allegation and there is no proof that Singapore has done anything unfriendly.

We have very good relations with our neighbours and with such an assurance they would have taken our words in good faith, just like the govt will not do anything to harm the interests of its people. It is common sense and good neighbourliness.

Ok, case close. Everyone can go and party and play more golf.

The relevance of ADIZ

The need for ADIZ is not new and will grow in significance in a world when military might is the order of the day. The Americans and its allies have designated their ADIZs in many parts of their countries and dated to the early post WW2 years. The need for China to have its own ADIZ is not unfounded in view of its aggressive neighbours that it has disputes over sovereignty of islands and the military presence of the Americans in the region.

The offensive nature of military weapons like aircraft and their ability to launch an attack several hundred kilometers from the coastline makes an extended ADIZ into the sea more critical and necessary. No countries, not China or the USA or Japan would allow a potential enemy the free play to fly offensive military aircraft at a range that they can launch an attack on the country. How far is the comfort zone depends on many factors, the capability of the enemy’s equipment and weapon system, the scale of destruction it can cause, the speed they can launch an attack and also the systems and capability of the defending nation, among others. 

There is also the ‘fake’ psychological sense of vulnerability which is often used to bully weaker nations to accept an unreasonable claim of safety needs. This could be explained by what is safe to me is unsafe to the enemy or what is reasonable to me is unreasonable to the enemy.

In the China ADIZ, it is very reasonable to them but unreasonable to the Japanese and the Americans. Then why is the Japanese ADIZ reasonable to the Japanese and Americans and not to the Chinese when both extended to 130km of the other’s territory?

In the Cuba Crisis, the sense of security was extended to the placement of SAMs with nuclear capability in the island by the USSR. The Americans were willing to go to war if the Soviets did not remove the missiles. They imposed their right to their national security on the Cubans that they are not allowed to have missiles in their soil that can reach the USA and not vice versa.

This same outrageous claim of national security is extended by the Americans today to the whole world if they can blackmail or twist the arms of weaker nations to forbid them to have nuclear weapons. Only their allies, approved by the Americans, can possess nuclear weapons. My security is your insecurity. Other nations cannot possess the offensive weapons even when they are located across the other side of the earth from America. This is the extent of the American nuclear ADIZ equivalent. They forbid and attacked Iran and North Korea for wanting to have their own nuclear weapons. Is this reasonable?

Why would countries like China not be allowed to set up their own ADIZ but to allow its enemies to fly their offensive aircraft near their coasts that could easily turn around and do a pre emptive strike against them? And these ADIZ is just a short extension from their coasts? Why are the Americans allowed to claim insecurity when countries around the world want to possess nuclear weapons and be accused of being a threat to the Americans?

It is simply power play. The country that has the military power can bully those with less military power to do their bidding, to toe the line, to forgo their national security and allow the bully nation to trample all over them anywhere and anytime without protest.

When the Americans were able to fly their spy planes at a height that the USSR and China could not take them down, the Americans rudely and offensively flew over their territories to take photographs of their military installations and gathered whatever intelligence data they wished to have. Only when the USSR and China could shoot them down that the bullying stopped.

The Americans are using technology to spy on the rest of the world, including their friends, on the belief that they have superior technology and could not be found out. Not until a whistleblower blew their pants away.

It is all a game of bullying with the muscles of military power. China could only uphold its ADIZ if it is willing to confront the bullies head on and has the ability to do so. This is the only right, or wrong. Political power comes from the barrel of the gun. It is still true. The Americans and their allies have put up a military challenge and China either has to stand up or back down.

Any country that wants to have their own ADIZ must have the military muscle to keep the bullies and rascals out. It is not a matter of right or wrong. It is national security and dignity that must be defended by military prowess. Take them on and force them out or let them in. This is the same logic as acquiring nuclear weapons. Without the military strength to fight and resist the Americans, there will be no nuclear weapons without their approval.

The Americans have established a balance of power and status to their favours and to the insecurity and right to defence of other countries. They would walk along the corridors of other countries strutting their stuff, armed with the most formidable weapons they have to spite these countries. Any attempt by these countries to say no, to change the status quo is ‘wrong’ to the Americans and their allies. They only see the world in their tinted glasses, and their superiority and dominance and obnoxious rights cannot be challenged.

Who is talking about rights, and whose rights and interests should stay above others? An ADIZ is a defensive construct. Does China or any country have the right to its self defence, to protect itself from enemy intrusion and attacks? Why are the western countries and Japan allowed to have their ADIZ and not China? Why are the Americans and their allies allowed to possess WMD and others are not?

This is not a private platform for private agenda

Hi guys and gals,

By now you would have noticed why I have deleted some of a particular blogger. This is the first time I am doing this kind of thing. I try my best to keep this as free a forum for everyone to express their views and opinions, uncensored.

I have received a friendly call by a little bird telling me that someone has been told to take down his blog as it was getting dangerous. That blog was propagating something that was undesirable and with a hidden agenda that must be stopped.

And I was told someone was trying to use my blog as his private platform to continue his insidious act. I was advised not be made use of and not to allow such dangerous people to hijack my blog for their dangerous agenda.

Please excuse me. I hope all of you would understand.

Cheers

Redbean

Our SWFs are furiously investing overseas

Recently it was reported that our SWFs were investing in micro financing in China and India, lending money to the poor to do small businesses. If the objective is to do charity and philantrophy, I think this is a worthy cause. Yesterday it was reported that one was investing in Bollywood. And there was the fame investment in a childcare chain in Australia. Last time a GLC with a niche in heavy industry and engineering went into fast food business.
 
The impression given is that they will invest in anything that they think can make money. You know what am I thinking? What’s next would they be investing, the oldest profession?
 
What is the driving force in the SWF’s investment strategy? Do they have a clearly defined mission or is the mission simply to invest and to make money? The fear of SWFs blindly investing in anything that came along is always there. There are two factors that could lead to this kind of no strategy and directionless investment strategy. One, the abundance of funds and not knowing what to do. Secondly, there are too many highly paid fund managers who have to show their worth and also to generate profit to be rewarded with big bonuses.
 
A fund that has too much money is a good thing. But this can be a dangerous thing as well when there is a fear of not investing. The money cannot be left idle. So, instead of waiting for the right opportunity, for a good investment to come along, they went shadow chasing. Anything that moves, buy. Would be wiser to only invest in the right thing, solid investment like blue chip companies, and not in anything? Even blue chips or the best of blue chips can be dangerous, just don’t be conned.
 
With so many fund managers managing the funds and needing to prove themselves and wanting to have a big share of the bonuses, and with the mentality that it is other people’s money, the tendency to invest for the sake of investing is always there. Not investing is like not working and not putting in a bet for the big bonus payout. The reward system only rewards good returns not prudence. Prudence doesn’t pay.
 
SWFs that are managed by professional managers run the risk of gambling when every fund managers are playing high stakes for high returns with OPM. A SWF may be better managed by financially trained civil servants that take a longer perspective and showing more care and prudence in handling public funds. And the reward system must take cognizance of the risk versus caution divergence. Both are equally important. 

Rewarding only big risk takers will incur the big risk of losing everything when they invest in snake oils, including you know what and when due diligence is best forgotten. Geylang would make an extremely great enterprise when reorganized under professional management. Gambling dens too will generate exceptional returns.
 
Are there moral considerations and stringent criteria and guidelines laid out to govern the way fund managers managed SWF’s money? I am very sure they have. Or is it a case of as long as it can make money go for it? Investing SWF is investing the people’s savings, the CPF money that the people slogged for a life time and cannot be lost by wild gambling and punting. The guardians of the people’s savings must be prescient and cast a watchful eye over how the money is thrown around the world. It is not Other People’s Money. It is The People’s Money. The people did not ask that the money be used for gambling, to take high risk, like private funds and hedge funds with willing investors knowing what they are in for. The SWF’s owners are captive prisoners that have no choice in how their money is being used.
 
The guidelines in how these money can be used must be very stringent and not to take high risk, not to invest when there is nothing good to invest. At times it is better to earn that little interests or dividends and wait for a better opportunity to come along. The two wrong reasons to invest are: One, a lot of money, so must invest. Two, must invest to show profit, so as to be rewarded.

The irony of FDI

Many countries are obsessed with FDI to generate economic activities in their countries. The more FDIs coming in, the more vibrant will be the economy. The Philippines are getting something like $2b to $3b FDIs annually while Singapore is getting something like $30b. No wonder Singapore’s economy is so healthy.
 
Singapore also has a reserve, unofficially it is rumoured to be around $1 trillion. Leaving this money idle is unsound as the money must generate income to pay the real owners of the money even at 2.5% or 4% pa.
I
ncidentally, how much of this reserve is being invested in Sin City and how much is being invested as FDIs in other countries? If the reserve were to be invested locally, would it mean that the $30b FDIs Singapore is getting is really peanuts?
 
Instead, Singapore is pouring FDIs all over the world and begging foreigners to invest here for a paltry $30b and so frightened that they would not come. Even worse, Singapore is throwing the billions all over without anyone begging for it but actually begging others to let Singapore pour FDIs into their countries at their terms. Heheh, the first thing that came to my mine is all the Free Trade Agreements like CECA.
 
Would it not be a better idea to pump our billions and billions of reserves back into our economy and no need to beg anyone to be here and be threatened by them or for them to discriminate and fix up our PMEs? Does it make sense? And from the reports and records, with so many failures in the tune of hundreds of millions and billions, is Singapore’s FDIs to other countries really profitable, nett nett of such heavy losses and still making billions?
 
Would Singapore be a safer alternative for our own reserves? We are trying so hard to sell Singapore to foreigners to invest here and have to kow tow to their demands. Why don’t Singapore sell Singapore to GIC and Temasek to attract their money to invest here as FDIs?
 
Does it sound funny?

B52s could have started WW3

Photo credit to Global Times.

The above map is produced in Global Times and showed the flight path taken by the B52 bombers on 27 Nov 13. The heading of the B52s directly into China is an act of hostility. Given the capability of the B52s, at 200km off the Chinese coast they are able to launch cruise missiles to strike at Chinese coastal cities like Shanghai or Xiamen. As China was not given a flight path and the intent of the bombers unknown, it could assume that they were enemy aircraft with hostile intention.

Given such a scenario which was aggressively provocative, China should have scrambled fighters to intercept the bombers and force them to turn around, firing warning shots if necessary. China should lodge a strong protest to Obama (and the UN) and warning him that any military aircraft heading towards China unannounced and crosses the 200km (or 300km red line) would be declared as hostile, an act of war, and would be shot at.

With this nasty experience, China should make this clear to Japan and the US and its allies that China will take military action to shoot down unidentified aircraft acting in a hostile manner with no exceptions.

At the very least China must scramble its fighter to intercept and force any military aircraft to turn around. This is a military protocol that all nations will adopt in the face of an intrusion by unknown aircraft. The B52s are not any civilian aircraft but nuclear capable bombers and getting anywhere nearer is a very dangerous and offensive act and cannot be repeated.

The Russians shot down a civilian airliner from South Korea when it claimed to have lost it direction and flown into Russian territory. In this case, the B52s cannot be allowed anywhere nearer than a 200km radius from China's coastline. The Americans are playing with fire.

China should also raise this issue at the UN Security Council and make its stand clear, that it will shoot down military aircraft encroaching into its airspace and within a specified distance that would allow it to conduct a strike against China's mainland. This message must be made known to all countries and the American's irresponsible act must be registered with the UN that such an event had happened and would not be allowed to do so again.

The stupid act of the Americans could have started a war yesterday. A hawkish Chinese general could have fired a SAM at the B52s as a defensive act and rightful to do so. The Americans were acting irresponsibly and in a very provocative manner. This was how close the world came to the Third World War should the bombers be shot and brought down.

The crazy cowboys must not be allowed to try this again.

The Empire strikes back

China, an emerging superpower has stake its claim to its right to defend its territories and to reclaim territories lost during the years when it was weak. Its designation of an ADIZ over its air space and territorial seas that have been grabbed by Japan and used as a playground by the Empire is being challenged by both head on. The Japanese refused to recognize the ADIZ, like the Americans, and even ordered its commercial airlines, ANA and Japan Airlines not to comply with China’s request. The Americans have blatantly flown two of its biggest bombers through the ADIZ as a show of defiance, to show who is boss.
 
China is now forced to react. Not doing anything would expose its weakness and would encourage other pesky countries to dismiss its ADIZ as well. It is now a matter of how to react and how to keep an even keel without raising tension to a level when hostility is the next recourse.
 
There are many things that China can do on a graduated scale short of hitting force with force. During the days of Cold War, the USSR had repeated flown their planes into the British ADIZ unannounced. The British would respond by scrambling their fighters to meet the approaching Soviet aircraft. And they would fly side by side, waving at each other. This went on for many years until the pilots could even recognize each other as acquaintances. Both sides were just testing each other’s capability and resolve without raising the temperature. The Soviet bombers would fly in and the British would scramble to intercept. They would stay in the air until the fuel ran out. Both sides did not risk any hostile posturing.
 
This is one way China may deal with the Americans and even the Japanese aircraft in its ADIZ. The Japanese have been doing the same to Chinese aircraft in its ADIZ. At a higher level, China could do another Hainan Act when a Chinese pilot flew into the path of the American recce aircraft and allowed it to be rammed by the Americans. The Chinese pilot was killed but not before taking down the American aircraft that was forced to land and detained in Hainan. The aircraft was stripped into bits, with the Chinese having a preview of American equipment and technology. This act could be reenacted should the Americans push the Chinese too hard.
 
A variation to this could be the flying of drones into the path of the intruders and let them crash into it. Drones are difficult to control and an accident with the drones is highly possible.
 
In the case of civilian aircraft, this is a bit tricky as the safety and discomfort of many civilian lives will be at stake. Japan is willing to play this chicken game by risking the lives of its passengers. What would or could the Chinese do? When tested, the Chinese could force the civilian aircraft to land in a Chinese airport, escorted by the Chinese fighter jets. Very likely China would just send its fighters to escort the civilian aircraft out of the ADIZ, forcing it to make a detour to avoid the zone. Japan could retaliate by sending its fighters to escort the civilian planes of ANA and Nippon. Both fighters are likely to keep a comfortable distance apart like the coast guards in Diaoyu Islands. China only needs to keep up the pressure and the two airlines will loose passengers for fear of harassment, inconvenience or an accident.
 
There is always a high risk that the Americans and the Japanese would force the issue by firing at the Chinese or at the ANA or Nippon planes and accuse the Chinese of doing it, a false flag incident for an open conflict.
 
An open conflict is unlikely as the consequences would be grave. Should it happen, as a localized war, Chinese should have some advantage with the availability of SAMs, which are much cheaper to operate and less demanding on the boys in the air or in the ships. Would the Japanese and Americans push the limits? An open war would halt all economic activities in the region and aircraft and ships could be fired on. Time for testing the equipments and a prelude to the Third World War.

The benefits of hindsight

Boon Wan is churning out so many flats within a year, averaging 25,000 or more. The latest announcement was 33,568 for this year. And this is still not enough and the demand is mounting.
 
With the benefits of hindsight, we can see what happened over the last few years. We, the low down untalented citizens, only have hindsight to say our piece. Foresight is only the reserve of the supertalents. With foresight, over the horizon ability, they could predict the future, plan ahead, nip problems in the bud before they went out of control. With hindsight, we can see how problems were not nip in the bud, no proactive actions, and problems got blown out of proportion.
 
We now know the cutting down of building HDB flats to less than 10,000 units for several years prior to Boon Wan’s ramping up the building of new flats was a gross mistake. We also know that there were pent up demands by a growing population. We also know that when HDB was not building enough flats, the population was increasing like crazy with hundreds of thousands of foreigners being allowed into the island and needing more flats. Hindsight can tell the uninformed and ill informed citizens of the truth, of what really happened and what really went wrong.
 
Did the super talents with their foresight saw what were coming? Definitely. They cannot be that stupid right? And neither could they be sleeping on the job and not knowing that so many foreigners were let into the country and the cutting down in building HDB flats would cause a big shortage of housing while the demand was rising.
What actually happened then that resulted in such a huge housing shortage problem and the ballooning of housing prices? What were they thinking or planning or scheming? 

With all the foresight and hindsight, maybe someone would want to tell the people what actually went ‘right’? Got to say right, saying what went wrong would not be nice and would not get an answer. What went right?

The Japanese govt lying through its teeth about Fukushima

RELATED: Top Scientist: Another Fukushima Quake Would Mean US Evacuation, ‘Bye Bye Japan’
 
‘“Fukushima is the most terrifying situation that I can imagine,” Suzuki said, adding that another earthquake could trigger a potentially catastrophic, nuclear disaster.
 
“The fourth [reactor] has been so badly damaged that the fear is if there’s another earthquake of a 7 or above then that building will go and all hell breaks loose,” he said, adding that the chances of an earthquake measuring 7 or above in Japan over the next three years were over 95 percent.
 
“If the fourth [reactor] goes under an earthquake and those rods are exposed, then it’s bye, bye, Japan and everybody on the west coast of North America should be evacuated. And if that isn’t terrifying, I don’t know what is,” Suzuki said….’
 
The above quote is from a report dated 7 Nov 13. Feeling comfortable or uncomfortable? I don’t mean so much about Sinkies, I mean the Japanese and the Americans on the West Coast of America. And countries like eastern Russia, Korea and China are too close for comfort. When Japan goes under because Mother Nature gives it a kick, many countries will suffer an equally disastrous effect from the nuclear fallout.
 
And it is not just these countries, the live stocks in the Oceans, not only the Pacific, will ultimately be inedible. What would life be like when food is scarce? One thing for sure, the Japanese and the Americans can fall back on their defence treaty to defend each other against the radioactivity coming from Fukushima, provided there are still Japanese left in Japan. Maybe the whole of Japan will be quarantined and there will be an international blockage of the Japanese island to keep the Japanese in the islands of Japan.

Australia said it is ‘unhelpful’

The Australians got the cheek to tell China that its Air Defence Identification Zone is unhelpful? An ADIZ is a nation’s defensive line to guard against an intrusion by air. Why didn’t the Australians tell the Japanese that their ADIZ is unhelpful?
 
And it is helpful to tap on the private phones of the President of a neighbouring country and his close associates? This is definitely not unhelpful ya. It is bad, it is offensive, and it is downright immoral act. The Indonesians should not let this pretender to continue acting high and mighty. They should punish the Australians nice and proper for such obnoxious act against their President and who else.
 
Is this tapping act helpful, Julie Bishop?

Are Sinkies lepers?

Gilbert Goh of Transitioning.org has written another letter copied to Tan Chuan Jin on job discrimination against Sinkies. This time the offending online advertisement is from a company called Cotton on Group. 

The offending advert states ‘To be considered for this position you are required to be a Malaysian Citizen or Permanent Resident.’
 
Why are these foreigners doing this so blatantly, not to recruit Sinkies? At one point some were complaining that the Sinkie men’s reservist training could be a liability. What about Sinkie women? They don’t do NS, no reservist liabilities. Are Sinkies lepers, to be voided at all cost. Employ anyone, anything, except a Sinkie. And do this in the home country of Sinkies to slap them in broad daylight. Sinkies would not fight back, would not do anything.
 
Would the Sinkie govt do anything to protect the Sinkies? You asking me?

A sad Sinkie tale

Below is part of a post by a Raja posted in Gilbert’s Transitioning.org.
 
‘I am a 36-year old BORN AND BRED Singaporean, with a Bachelors in IT from NUS, and Masters in IS from NTU; 12 years of IT experience in various MNCs such as IBM, Nokia (before they were sold to Microsoft) and Unilever in the IT Infrastructure and service delivery domain.
 
I relocated to Qatar in 2010, working for an Oil Company as project Manager, and I must admit I have opened up my eyes and expanded my horizons since my Overseas stint, but at the same time I feel very sorry for fellow Singaporeans who are caught in the daily Grind, constantly in fear of when their jobs will be snatched away from cheaper, better, faster 3rd-world foreign PMET in Singapore.
 
Over here in Qatar, I marvel at the way the Qatari government treats their locals versus the expats. Expats are a distinct 2nd class here, and we are talking about white collar expats, not even the blue collars.
 
Americans, British, Europeans, Asians, it doesn’t matter, we are all here in servitude to the Qatari economy, and the locals are king. We are never made to forget that this is not our country and that they are in charge. We can never become citizens, and once we reach retirement age, or when we are made redundant, that’s it we and our families can pack up and go. Non-negotiable.
 
Qatar has a program called Qatarization, which is basically catapulting young and able Qatari talents to fill in key PMET/managerial positions, and this is a national initiative pushed by the royals.
 
No, it’s a national priority.’
 
It is so sad that a Sinkie with this kind of qualifications and experience was unable to find a job here and got replaced by questionable foreigners under questionable processes. Indeed we have lost our country.
 
When other countries have nationalization policies to put their citizens first, we have pro foreigner’s policies to put foreigners first, or foreigners as equal to citizens. What kind of shit is this?

Hypocrisy of the American Empire

‘The United States is deeply concerned about China's announcement that they've established an "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone." This unilateral action constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea. Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident.’
 
This message is being reported in practically every English media as if China is doing something wrong. The setting up of an ADIZ is part and parcel of a country defending its air space. China did not do so earlier, and could not do so as it did not have the capability to do so then. Now that China has all the military resources to establish its ADIZ, what is wrong with that? The Japanese has established its ADIZ that extends to the coast of China and encroached into Chinese air space. They have been harassing Chinese aircraft that flew into the Japanese declared ADIZ. The acts were provocative and been conducted daily, several times a day. Why didn’t the Americans call the Japanese acts destabilizing? Why didn’t the Americans raise alarms when Japan provoked China by its farce sales of Diaoyu Islands and subsequently nationalized it against China’s protest?
 
And what status is the Americans talking about that must be maintained? A position that the Japanese and the Americans imposed on a China when China was weak and unable to protest, with the Japanese more or less delineated the whole area as Japanese air and sea space, including Diaoyu Islands?
 
China is now able to defend its own territorial air space and sea lanes and would stand up to demand its rights to her territorial space, like it or not. A new status quo that reflects a fair position with China claiming back what were China’s is only natural. The old status quo that violated China’s territorial integrity must be set right and the aggressors that took advantage of China’s weakness in the past would have to acknowledge and accept the new realities. China’s territories and territorial air space and sea would have to revert to China and Japan or the Americans would not be in the way.
 
The current messy situation was actually due to the irresponsible actions of the Americans that handled administrative control of the Chinese islands of Diaoyu to Japan in 1972. The problems would have been settled long ago, immediately after the defeat of Japan. But for its selfish interests and its cold war against the USSR and China, the Americans violated the Potsdam Agreement of the victorious allied powers to hand over the islands to the defeated Japanese. It is this act of treachery by the Americans that is causing the tension in the area today.
 
The Americans took the unilateral action against the interest of China to create this situation. China is only standing up to reclaim what it has lost. And the status quo will change to give China a fairer stake in the region with the changing balance of power.
The American hypocrisy must be traced back to its historical past, of a situation that resulted in a never ending feud between China and Japan. And this hypocrisy has led to raising tension if the Diaoyu Islands are not return to its rightful owners and the airspace and ADIZ of China and Japan are not rewritten in a fair and equitable manner.
 
While Japan can go on its reckless acts of scrambling fighters to intercept Chinese aircraft with the quiet connivance of the Americans, China will now have the right to do the same. The American hypocrisy can continue but China will not stand down when its core interests are at stake. China today is ready to reclaim all its territories lost during the era of Unequal Treaties and will go to war with Japan if the latter still thinks it can bully China and grab Chinese territories at will, with the help of the Americans.
 
There will be tension and possible acts of hostility if both sides do not tread carefully in the overlapping ADIZ. China would no longer step down to appease the Japanese or the Americans and allow these aggressive countries to violate its territories. History has come full circle and old scores would have to be settled, peacefully or otherwise. China will change the status quo that is demeaning and to its disadvantage, like it or not. China would not allow itself to be bullied or threatened by the Japanese and the Americans and let them dictate the rules of the game and a status quo in their favour.
 
An unfair status quo will be made fair again when the disadvantaged party is able to stand up to the unfairness. China must use the big stick and insect repellants against rogue and pesky nations. That is the only way to deal with them and bring them to their senses. That was how Japan dealt with China and its neighbours when it was wielding a big stick.Japan only understands the language of a big stick.

Frolicking with people with BO

When you party, frolic and flirt with people with BO, it is only a matter of time when you smell like them. Indonesia is bashing the Australians for spying on their President and leaders. Ong Keng Yong, our High Commission in KL has been summoned by the Malaysian govt to explain our part in sneaking around with the Americans. Singapore is accused of being the third party in the ‘5 eyes’ spy ring comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand involved in tapping the undersea cables and spying against Malaysia and Indonesia.
 
Our warming relation with Malaysia is going to take a hit. Our relation with the Indonesians is hanging on a string. There are more things that Snowden would reveal in a matter of time. Now that we are smelling, let’s hope it is only the BO and nothing more. It would be ugly if we are caught in bed with the Americans and their allies in a compromising position. Then it would be more than just the BO that is offensive.
 
Frolicking and flirting with dirty and ugly companies are silly things to do. It is not only a matter of bad taste. It is stupidity. Never think that after the event one can walk away without the smell. The stench will stay for a long time.

A sordid affair in Sin

Over the first 30 years of this govt, it has developed Singapore into a country that ticks. Press the button and the toilet will flush. Press the switch and the light comes on. Send you mail and it will reach the addressee without failed. Send a letter to a govt agency and it will respond dutifully. Apply for a flat or school admission for a child, it will be carefully considered. This is the kind of perfection, a system that works. It is 100% reliable, dependable and expectable. If a bill is sent to you demanding payment, you can expect the amount charged to be the amount due. No monkey business, no nonsense.
 
When someone sent out his resume to apply for a job, and when the reply came, ‘We regret that your application is unsuccessful. Thank you for your interest in our company,’ he can expect that due diligence and consideration have been taken to vet and check his suitability for the job. This is how reliable and trustworthy the Singapore system is. And the Sinkie will accept the rejection and that he is not qualified for the job.
 
When all the PMEs applied and had their applications rejected, they must have accepted the decisions believing that they were given a chance and considered for the positions but found unsuitable in a fair and equitable manner. Case closed and they moved on. And after several rejections they have resigned to become taxi drivers. Even when thousands of our PMEs are rejected, at times no reply which is as good as a rejection, even when thousands of fresh graduates also faced the same rejection, no one in his right mind will think that something fishy is happening.
 
Our reliable and trustworthy system is made for honest people. Such a system can only work when everyone is honest and will do their fair part. When you have dishonest people distorting the system, gaming the system wholesale, cheating, discriminating, no one will have a clue that they have been had and made a fool of. The Sinkie applicants would know that the foreigners have taken control and are fixing them up, people that don’t play fair, and when cheating is in their DNA. They would not expect their applications to be intercepted and thrown away.
 
In a way we have raised a people that is so honest, do not game the system, to the extent of being robotic or simplistic, but upright in every sense. They don’t stand a chance in a new world of crooks and cheats.
 
Have all our PMEs been cheated? How many areas and industries in our system have been compromised to disadvantage an honest and no cheating citizenry? Such a citizenry is helpless and needs help. They do not know how to fight back. The law does not encourage them to fight back or too slow to take actions. They expect the law to be on their side, not on the side of foreigners that cheat on them. Bu the law can do nothing until they cry foul, have evidence that they are cheated. But they don’t even know that they were cheated all this while. They can’t complain if they are ignorant of being cheated.
 
This is how pathetic we have become. An honest system for honest people now managed and run by cheated and dishonest people for all over the world. We were cheated by no talent people who faked themselves as talented people and made our talented people think and believe that they are no talent people. What the….. is happening?
 
Who shall we say a big thank you for this kindness and generosity? What is going on?

Samsui woman, 95, jumps to her death

Photo courtesy of TRE
 
Why would an elderly woman at 95 want to end her life this way? And this is no ordinary woman. The samsui women, the pioneers that built the HDB flats and factories of this country, were the hardiest women in Singapore’s history. They toiled under the hot sun and rain, like the present construction workers from neighbouring countries, protected only by a rectangular red cloth contraption on their head. They were the red head army of workers carrying cement and bricks on their back and balancing on the narrow wooden planks that led to ever higher and higher floors of HDB flats under construction. They worked day and night with no complaints. I don’t think they even join the union to protect their welfare and working conditions.
 
When Madam Loke retired at 60 as a construction worker, she continued to work as cleaners and other manual jobs to earn a living. There was a quiet pride and dignity in these women. They do not beg for a living. They worked for a living. And she continued to work till her 80s, as coffee shop assistant or any odd jobs available.
 
Recently she had a fall and was hospitalized. According to her daughter, she jumped to her death so as not to burden her children. The medical cost to keep her alive is prohibitive. She could be the last old person to jump to her death for fear of high medical cost.
 
The govt is seriously working out a medical insurance scheme for the oldies to take care of their medical bills till 100 years old or more. They only need to pay the insurance premiums, if they can afford it, and all will be fine. There will be no more such problems. The Medishield Life could be the live line for the oldies to live longer and have peace of mind.
 
As for Madam Loke, she lived a life of dignity and probably enjoyed working till way past her 80s. Think all old Sinkies enjoyed working till they die. Working for the oldies in this island is for their own good, respect and dignified. Many average Singaporeans will live their golden years this way, working till they can work no more. There is now one more reason for them to work for, the impending Medishield Life and an insurance premium to pay for.
 
Maybe I am wrong. Medishield Life for the oldies is free, or they pay when they were young. Not sure about this, and not sure at what age will it be free, or will it be free at all.