The embarrassing accident involving USS John McCain and an oil tanker in
Singapore waters has come to a close. The 10 missing sailors have been
found inside the cabin of the ship. They were not flung into the open
sea as was initially thought or believed so. Only sailors on the open
deck would be thrown off the ship in an accident like this.
What happened in this case was quite obvious. The container hit the port
side of the destroyer right in the middle section and just above sea
water level. The dent just caved in but no open hull. Nothing would have
come out from the ship. It was pretty clear that the sailors were
trapped inside the ship, sealed inside the cabin. Period.
Why was this information not made known to the Singapore, Malaysian and
Indonesian forces that were madly scrambling around trying to be
helpful, to look helpful when it was all a wild goose chase? Why made
these helpful people looked like fools running around the surrounding
sea and worrying that they did not do a good job to find the bodies of
the sailors, or maybe a survivor?
Are the American so novice like the Singapore, Malaysian and Indonesian
forces, not knowing what really happened and madly running around
without knowing what was happening? The aimless search involving so many
people and resources was totally a waste of time and money and could
have been stopped from the word go. There was no need to make these
kindhearted though a bit dumb people looking more dumb chasing the
dragon when there was no need to.
The Americans owe the Singapore, Malaysian and Indonesian a big apology
for allowing this fiasco to go on. They should not just stop at
apologizing but to foot the bill for all the expenses incurred in the
intensive search by all the parties concerned. Otherwise, not only the
goodwill is lost, next time no one would want to volunteer to look like
fools again when such an incident happened again.
Can’t imagine the Americans grinning and laughing away at the silliness
in the open sea, in the sky, searching for nothing, day and night, non
stop.
Yushui Village in Lijiang, Yunnan, with snow mountain backdrop and cascading waterfalls.
8/31/2017
The Indians have it
India was and is never a great financial centre. When one talks about
financial centres, it is often about New York, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong
and even Singapore. It is never about Mumbai or some other Indian
cities. Singapore is a financial centre in SE Asia and with great
ambition to be a world financial centre to overtake Hong Kong or
constantly in competition with Hong Kong for the prestigious position.
This did not happen yesterday but for several decades even before 1965.
What has happened today is that there is a dearth of Singaporeans in top banking and finance positions. The handful that are still hanging around would soon be passé and with no worthy successors. Very likely some foreigners would replace them in UOB or OCBC. And very likely the foreigners replacing them would be foreign Indian talents.
Never without fail, daily, the media would have the faces of top Indian bankers in the news employed by banks in Singapore, both local and foreign banks. This is solid proof that the Indians are great bankers and prized catch for the banking industry. They must be very good. Long gone were the days when Singaporeans were in top positions in local and foreign banks in Singapore. Somehow, somewhere, sometime, there was an eclipse, and all the Singaporean brains were eclipsed and no longer good enough to be top bankers. At the way things are moving, in another decade at most there would be no Singaporeans helming banks in Singapore, not even local banks. This is if the daft continues with their foolish and blind meritocracy regardless of nationalities. Pure unabridged meritocracy will ruin Singapore in this case. The best from the world would simply be too good for Singaporeans. And the Indian best are already well too good to outshine every Singaporeans not only in banking and finance, but in IT, in law, in medicine and in the academia and many other industries.
During the time of Goh Keng Swee, there was a deliberate and conscious effort to put Singaporeans in top positions in banks operating here. Unless such an affirmative policy is implemented again, Singapore as a top financial centre will be a financial centre without Singaporeans except newly printed Singaporeans.
Would the govt think there is a need to act on this trend? Would the govt think it is a strategic interest to want to have Singaporeans to helm local banks and even foreign banks setting up business here? If this is important, strategic, then the govt must act now and quickly. Oops, I remember someone in govt once said, the process has been set in place and in 50 years time we would have our top bankers, top Singaporean bankers in charge. In 50 years time you know what would happen to the banking and finance industry?
Let’s not con ourselves. If the govt is serious, it must go back to the policies of Goh Keng Swee and do something positive. For a start, Singaporeans must be assigned to be trained under the Indians running the banks in Singapore and with an open and declared official policy to have Singaporeans as top bankers and running banks operating here. If not, more and more top foreign Indian bankers would find themselves taking over the top positions of banks here simply because they are the best banking talents. Daft Singaporeans have no answer to this and Singapore will bankrupt its pool of Singaporean talent in the banking and finance industry just like in the IT industry and soon the academia. Then it will be a case of by default all top banking positions would be filled by foreigners as there are no Singaporeans with the talent and experience to fill them.
Is this a serious problem? It depends on who you are and what you think is important and not important. If the top are only thinking about water taxes and sugar taxes and who is a Malay, you can bet this is not a strategic problem to be worth spending time on.
What has happened today is that there is a dearth of Singaporeans in top banking and finance positions. The handful that are still hanging around would soon be passé and with no worthy successors. Very likely some foreigners would replace them in UOB or OCBC. And very likely the foreigners replacing them would be foreign Indian talents.
Never without fail, daily, the media would have the faces of top Indian bankers in the news employed by banks in Singapore, both local and foreign banks. This is solid proof that the Indians are great bankers and prized catch for the banking industry. They must be very good. Long gone were the days when Singaporeans were in top positions in local and foreign banks in Singapore. Somehow, somewhere, sometime, there was an eclipse, and all the Singaporean brains were eclipsed and no longer good enough to be top bankers. At the way things are moving, in another decade at most there would be no Singaporeans helming banks in Singapore, not even local banks. This is if the daft continues with their foolish and blind meritocracy regardless of nationalities. Pure unabridged meritocracy will ruin Singapore in this case. The best from the world would simply be too good for Singaporeans. And the Indian best are already well too good to outshine every Singaporeans not only in banking and finance, but in IT, in law, in medicine and in the academia and many other industries.
During the time of Goh Keng Swee, there was a deliberate and conscious effort to put Singaporeans in top positions in banks operating here. Unless such an affirmative policy is implemented again, Singapore as a top financial centre will be a financial centre without Singaporeans except newly printed Singaporeans.
Would the govt think there is a need to act on this trend? Would the govt think it is a strategic interest to want to have Singaporeans to helm local banks and even foreign banks setting up business here? If this is important, strategic, then the govt must act now and quickly. Oops, I remember someone in govt once said, the process has been set in place and in 50 years time we would have our top bankers, top Singaporean bankers in charge. In 50 years time you know what would happen to the banking and finance industry?
Let’s not con ourselves. If the govt is serious, it must go back to the policies of Goh Keng Swee and do something positive. For a start, Singaporeans must be assigned to be trained under the Indians running the banks in Singapore and with an open and declared official policy to have Singaporeans as top bankers and running banks operating here. If not, more and more top foreign Indian bankers would find themselves taking over the top positions of banks here simply because they are the best banking talents. Daft Singaporeans have no answer to this and Singapore will bankrupt its pool of Singaporean talent in the banking and finance industry just like in the IT industry and soon the academia. Then it will be a case of by default all top banking positions would be filled by foreigners as there are no Singaporeans with the talent and experience to fill them.
Is this a serious problem? It depends on who you are and what you think is important and not important. If the top are only thinking about water taxes and sugar taxes and who is a Malay, you can bet this is not a strategic problem to be worth spending time on.
8/30/2017
Reserved EP for Malays – A status report
So far from all that we know, 3 candidates, Halimah Yacob, Salleh
Marican and Farid Khan, are the likely candidates for the EP. And if I
am not mistaken, all 3 candidates are likely to have ‘Indian’ recorded
in their BCs or ICs as their race. I may be wrong, but does it matter if
this is the case?
We are going to have a reserved EP specially created just to elect a Malay to be the President. Isn’t this the case? In this instance the 3 candidates are legally Indians if I am right and. I admit I did not have the privilege to look at their ICs or BCs. If I am right in this, would it mean that 3 Indians, legally speaking, are standing for election as Malay candidates for the EP reserved for Malays?
Would the candidates put on record what is their official race by showing to the people their ICs and BCs? Be transparent! This is the time for transparency. Or would it be like what Lawrence Wong said, ‘Our policy is not transparency for transparency sake. Our approach is that transparency leads to good governance’? In this case is transparency necessary or not, or does this EP not lead to good governance?
If the 3 candidates are legally Indians and standing as Malays in an election specially provided to elect a Malay, is there anything wrong? Is the legal identity of a person important in this case?
Don’t ask me for an answer. My view is not important on this matter.
We are going to have a reserved EP specially created just to elect a Malay to be the President. Isn’t this the case? In this instance the 3 candidates are legally Indians if I am right and. I admit I did not have the privilege to look at their ICs or BCs. If I am right in this, would it mean that 3 Indians, legally speaking, are standing for election as Malay candidates for the EP reserved for Malays?
Would the candidates put on record what is their official race by showing to the people their ICs and BCs? Be transparent! This is the time for transparency. Or would it be like what Lawrence Wong said, ‘Our policy is not transparency for transparency sake. Our approach is that transparency leads to good governance’? In this case is transparency necessary or not, or does this EP not lead to good governance?
If the 3 candidates are legally Indians and standing as Malays in an election specially provided to elect a Malay, is there anything wrong? Is the legal identity of a person important in this case?
Don’t ask me for an answer. My view is not important on this matter.
8/29/2017
Too many American warships in Asian waters
The spade of accidents involving American warships in Asian waters is
rising simply because there are just too many American warships in the
region to guard the American Empire and to conduct silly Freedom of
Navigation patrols. Why should there be so many American warships in the
region when the USA is thousands of miles away? Or is the region an
American swimming pool, a lake owned by the American Empire?
The accident involving USS John McCain and an oil tanker, Alnic MC in the overlapping sea of Singapore and Malaysia is raising many eyebrows. It is another case of too many American warships in the surrounding sea, and a sea route with many heavy commercial ships plying and transiting the narrow stretch of sea.
What has been highlighted as contributing factor to the incident is that the American warship was not detected by the Singapore Port Authority’s Vessel Traffic Information System unlike the Alnic. Thus the Port Authority could not forewarn the ships of an impending collision. Why? It is compulsory for all commercial ships in the area to switch on their AIS for identification purpose. But the American destroyer did not have to unless they chose to. How could this be allowed in an area with heavy shipping traffic is questionable. Why the exception and increasing the risk of accidents? This is Singapore’s territorial waters and all ships must follow and obey the rules and practices of Singapore’s Maritime Authority with no exceptions.
The American warships must be ordered to switch on their AIS when in our waters. Not switching on AIS is definitely unacceptable practice and pose a danger to all the commercial shipping in the area. Unbelievable that such a thing is allowed. American Exceptionalism or angmoh tua kee? Why put the safety of commercial ships at risk because of foreign military ships here that should not be here in the first place? And with their stealth technology and coating, most of the time these military ships are invisible to the commercial ships’ radar. Only the Americans can see the commercial ships and not the other way. And if they slept on the job, the risk of accident is lagi high.
There will be no such incidents if the American warships are not here in the first place.
KNN.
The accident involving USS John McCain and an oil tanker, Alnic MC in the overlapping sea of Singapore and Malaysia is raising many eyebrows. It is another case of too many American warships in the surrounding sea, and a sea route with many heavy commercial ships plying and transiting the narrow stretch of sea.
What has been highlighted as contributing factor to the incident is that the American warship was not detected by the Singapore Port Authority’s Vessel Traffic Information System unlike the Alnic. Thus the Port Authority could not forewarn the ships of an impending collision. Why? It is compulsory for all commercial ships in the area to switch on their AIS for identification purpose. But the American destroyer did not have to unless they chose to. How could this be allowed in an area with heavy shipping traffic is questionable. Why the exception and increasing the risk of accidents? This is Singapore’s territorial waters and all ships must follow and obey the rules and practices of Singapore’s Maritime Authority with no exceptions.
The American warships must be ordered to switch on their AIS when in our waters. Not switching on AIS is definitely unacceptable practice and pose a danger to all the commercial shipping in the area. Unbelievable that such a thing is allowed. American Exceptionalism or angmoh tua kee? Why put the safety of commercial ships at risk because of foreign military ships here that should not be here in the first place? And with their stealth technology and coating, most of the time these military ships are invisible to the commercial ships’ radar. Only the Americans can see the commercial ships and not the other way. And if they slept on the job, the risk of accident is lagi high.
There will be no such incidents if the American warships are not here in the first place.
KNN.
8/28/2017
PLA's 90th birthday
Below is a video on the massive PLA parade marking its 90th birthday. If China had such a military force in the early 1900s, it would not have been invaded by the foreigners and Japan. Any country still thinking of attacking China needs to think doubly hard on what they would be up against. Japan still harbouring the thought of conquering China?
China holds military parade to mark PLA 90th birthday 庆祝中国人民解放军建军90周年阅兵
China holds military parade to mark PLA 90th birthday 庆祝中国人民解放军建军90周年阅兵
What, US$10 billion only?
The Malaysian govt is conducting an inquiry into the forex losses by the
central bank in the 1990s. What is amusing is that the former assistant
governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, Datuk Abdul Murad Khalid was quoted
as saying, ‘After I gave him the explanation, Anwar commented that
should the true figures of the forex losses be revealed to the public,
he would have to resign as finance minister.’
What, a finance minister would have to resign all because the central bank lost US$10 billion in forex trading? How can? Firstly the trading was not done or conducted by the finance minister but by professional traders and bank managers. Why should the finance minister be held responsible and had to resign?
Secondly, the trading personnel were just doing their jobs, though coming up losers, they were honest mistakes. Any fund managers would have such bad days and lost their pants once or several times in their life time. They are doing everything legally and professionally. Why should anyone be held responsible for the loss and of all the people, the finance minister?
Thirdly, it is rare to have fund managers with such experience, losing billions. The experience is invaluable and should be seen as a credit, not that it is something to gloat about. At least such experienced people, very rare to come by, would know how to avoid making the same mistakes again. They are invaluable. They should be promoted and given bigger bonuses to retain them in the banks. The experience is paid by a heavy price. Even if they cannot perform any better, they can be paraded around as living examples of people that lost billions for the country, people that lost the country’s national reserves.
Fourthly, if someone is to answer for the losses, pick a scapegoat at the lower level management. QED.
Fifthly, this happened in the 1990s, over, passé, why bother to bring this up again? This is water under the bridge. It is time to move on.
The Malaysian govt cannot be accused of wanting to make use of this incident to gain political mileage and to slaughter a few political enemies right? What is US$10 billion? Peanuts!
Sixthly, where is the mirror? Look into the mirror for the bigger culprit.
The daft Americans have sacked the Commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, for the two accidents involving American destroyers. How stupid can the Americans be when the Commander was not driving the destroyers directly but sleeping in his office in HQ? He has nothing to do with the accidents. Just sack the Commanders of the destroyers would do. And to think about it, a Japanese Commander would have committed hara kiri in similar incidents.
So impractical, so daft. They would lose all their talents doing such silly things. Or no one would want to be commanders when they are held responsible for the mistakes of their subordinates.
What, a finance minister would have to resign all because the central bank lost US$10 billion in forex trading? How can? Firstly the trading was not done or conducted by the finance minister but by professional traders and bank managers. Why should the finance minister be held responsible and had to resign?
Secondly, the trading personnel were just doing their jobs, though coming up losers, they were honest mistakes. Any fund managers would have such bad days and lost their pants once or several times in their life time. They are doing everything legally and professionally. Why should anyone be held responsible for the loss and of all the people, the finance minister?
Thirdly, it is rare to have fund managers with such experience, losing billions. The experience is invaluable and should be seen as a credit, not that it is something to gloat about. At least such experienced people, very rare to come by, would know how to avoid making the same mistakes again. They are invaluable. They should be promoted and given bigger bonuses to retain them in the banks. The experience is paid by a heavy price. Even if they cannot perform any better, they can be paraded around as living examples of people that lost billions for the country, people that lost the country’s national reserves.
Fourthly, if someone is to answer for the losses, pick a scapegoat at the lower level management. QED.
Fifthly, this happened in the 1990s, over, passé, why bother to bring this up again? This is water under the bridge. It is time to move on.
The Malaysian govt cannot be accused of wanting to make use of this incident to gain political mileage and to slaughter a few political enemies right? What is US$10 billion? Peanuts!
Sixthly, where is the mirror? Look into the mirror for the bigger culprit.
The daft Americans have sacked the Commander of the US 7th Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, for the two accidents involving American destroyers. How stupid can the Americans be when the Commander was not driving the destroyers directly but sleeping in his office in HQ? He has nothing to do with the accidents. Just sack the Commanders of the destroyers would do. And to think about it, a Japanese Commander would have committed hara kiri in similar incidents.
So impractical, so daft. They would lose all their talents doing such silly things. Or no one would want to be commanders when they are held responsible for the mistakes of their subordinates.
8/27/2017
Let’s pray
Smug human beans and those that are materially successful tend to sneer
and despise the poor that went down on their knees to pray to God or
heaven or whatever deities or spirits they could seek to give them a
helping hand. Such practices have been perpetuated throughout human
civilization till today. The hapless, the helpless, the poor have no one
to look to and in desperation turn to the supernatural as a last
resort. The natural aristocrats, the royalties, the elite would quietly
sneered at their stupidity. The arrogant would laugh haughtily at these
pathetic beans and their desperate ways.
Don’t laugh, go to all the places and houses of worship, they are all praying. Even the fallen rich, fallen elites or aristocrats would go down on their knees to pray when they hit hard times.
Looking around at what is happening in this little piece of rock, it looks increasingly real and meaningful to pray to the supernatural when all else do not seem to work. Yes, the Sinkies are in desperation. Ok, not all Sinkies are in such a dire state, but those that were, their only hope is for the supernatural to do something. Many are hoping against all hopes that there is indeed a super bean out there to come to their aid when all else fails.
Everyone in the wrong side of the equation is hoping and praying for the mysterious hand to make things right. What else can they do? Yes, nothing. Their ancestors have done this through the millennia and today is no difference.
Let’s pray that wrong should be righted and goodness shall prevail over evil.
Everyone please go down on your knees. There is no shame to pray. You are just hapless poor human beans with on power to do anything to help yourself. Only the One that could work mysteriously could help you.
Let’ pray like what our forefathers do in times of desperation and when hope is the only thing to cling on to. For those that are successful and fearless, that what they are are due to their exceptional abilities and talent, there is no need to pray. They are gods themselves and untouchable, and praying is a very silly thing that only the losers will do. God will only help those that help themselves. For those who have, more would be added to them. Amen.
PS. Foe the successful, there is no need to pray for all their wants have been granted. They could even grant wishes if you pray to them. In the mean time keep sneering at the losers.
Don’t laugh, go to all the places and houses of worship, they are all praying. Even the fallen rich, fallen elites or aristocrats would go down on their knees to pray when they hit hard times.
Looking around at what is happening in this little piece of rock, it looks increasingly real and meaningful to pray to the supernatural when all else do not seem to work. Yes, the Sinkies are in desperation. Ok, not all Sinkies are in such a dire state, but those that were, their only hope is for the supernatural to do something. Many are hoping against all hopes that there is indeed a super bean out there to come to their aid when all else fails.
Everyone in the wrong side of the equation is hoping and praying for the mysterious hand to make things right. What else can they do? Yes, nothing. Their ancestors have done this through the millennia and today is no difference.
Let’s pray that wrong should be righted and goodness shall prevail over evil.
Everyone please go down on your knees. There is no shame to pray. You are just hapless poor human beans with on power to do anything to help yourself. Only the One that could work mysteriously could help you.
Let’ pray like what our forefathers do in times of desperation and when hope is the only thing to cling on to. For those that are successful and fearless, that what they are are due to their exceptional abilities and talent, there is no need to pray. They are gods themselves and untouchable, and praying is a very silly thing that only the losers will do. God will only help those that help themselves. For those who have, more would be added to them. Amen.
PS. Foe the successful, there is no need to pray for all their wants have been granted. They could even grant wishes if you pray to them. In the mean time keep sneering at the losers.
8/26/2017
Mahathir’s definition of a Malay
‘Mahathir simplified the meaning of being a Malay by saying to be a
Malay, one has to speak the Malay language, follow the Malay customs and
be a Muslim…. To be a Malay, said Mahathir, is no more an ethnic thing
as today it is more of a legal matter.’
What or who should be the authoritative source of what is a Malay? Singapore’s has its own definition of what is a Malay. According to Article 19B of the Singapore Constitution, "any person, whether of the Malay race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by that community" is qualified to run as a candidate for the reserved EP for Malays.
The encyclopedia, Wikipedia, dictionary and all the anthropologists would have their own definition of what is a Malay. With so many different definitions, the final answer for a Malay is that everyone can be a Malay and everyone can also not be a Malay.
A person can change his nationality, can change his religion, even change his father, but no one can change his/her racial blue print. Race is biological, You cannot change your DNA, at least for now until the scientists find a way to alter them. Then a Caucasian can be a Mongoloid or vice versa. A Negrito or Afrikaan can be Caucasian or whatever.
Race is not a legal matter but ethnicity, not even cultural, it is biological.
A chicken that can swim and quack like a duck and calling itself a duck is a duck, or still a chicken?
What or who should be the authoritative source of what is a Malay? Singapore’s has its own definition of what is a Malay. According to Article 19B of the Singapore Constitution, "any person, whether of the Malay race or otherwise, who considers himself to be a member of the Malay community and who is generally accepted as a member of the Malay community by that community" is qualified to run as a candidate for the reserved EP for Malays.
The encyclopedia, Wikipedia, dictionary and all the anthropologists would have their own definition of what is a Malay. With so many different definitions, the final answer for a Malay is that everyone can be a Malay and everyone can also not be a Malay.
A person can change his nationality, can change his religion, even change his father, but no one can change his/her racial blue print. Race is biological, You cannot change your DNA, at least for now until the scientists find a way to alter them. Then a Caucasian can be a Mongoloid or vice versa. A Negrito or Afrikaan can be Caucasian or whatever.
Race is not a legal matter but ethnicity, not even cultural, it is biological.
A chicken that can swim and quack like a duck and calling itself a duck is a duck, or still a chicken?
8/25/2017
Is the Govt short of money?
The slew of taxes coming from the Govt is not a good sign. When a govt
is desperately churning out more and more taxes, it is a sign that
something is wrong, financially. Why would a govt be raising taxes so
often when there is no need to, ie, when it is financially sound, when
there is no need to squeeze more money from the people? The most
important thing to do in judging the Govt’s financial position is what
it is doing, spending more money or collecting more taxes. This is a
good guide to the health of the govt’s coffer.
Why do I ask such a question, Is the Govt short of money? I did not follow the ND Rally but noticed that everyone is talking about a sugar tax. I quote this from thestatestimesreview, ‘The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday (Aug 22) announced that it is now “studying” sugar tax following dictator Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on diabetes. The MOH has created a committee, “Diabetes Prevention and Care Taskforce”, to implement the sugar tax:’
Diabetes is a health issue. Telling the people not to consume too much sugar is a good thing. And the people will know that this is a good thing and would be most willing to listen to good advice. This is not something like littering and a fine is needed to keep people from littering.
Why is there a need to impose a sugar tax to keep people from taking more sugar? Is sugar a drug, like cigarette or liquor? Oh, maybe it is like water, so subject to tax to make the people know how important it is not to waste water/sugar. No, sugar is a staple food, an essential food that everyone needs, like salt and rice. To think of imposing a sugar tax is outrageous unless there are more to it than meet the eyes. Is the Govt so short of money that it is finding every excuse to raise taxes? If not, which idiot is thinking that this is a good idea? What’s next, too much salt is bad, raise salt tax. Too much rice is bad, carbohydrate is also a major cause of diabetes, so raise rice tax?
What utter rubbish! Everything also wants to tax. So desperate for money? No, no, really? Then what is the real reason behind this thinking on sugar tax? Running out of ideas? Taxing the people is fun yah? May I suggest this, tell the daft people good quality sugar must be priced higher so people would not buy too much sugar because it is expensive?
Why doesn’t the Govt make consuming excessive sugar a crime? Then can impose fine for buying or consuming too much sugar. Make the people wear a sugar counter on their necks to measure how much they take and fine them accordingly if exceeded the limit?
Have these people gone crazy, money crazy?
Why do I ask such a question, Is the Govt short of money? I did not follow the ND Rally but noticed that everyone is talking about a sugar tax. I quote this from thestatestimesreview, ‘The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday (Aug 22) announced that it is now “studying” sugar tax following dictator Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally speech on diabetes. The MOH has created a committee, “Diabetes Prevention and Care Taskforce”, to implement the sugar tax:’
Diabetes is a health issue. Telling the people not to consume too much sugar is a good thing. And the people will know that this is a good thing and would be most willing to listen to good advice. This is not something like littering and a fine is needed to keep people from littering.
Why is there a need to impose a sugar tax to keep people from taking more sugar? Is sugar a drug, like cigarette or liquor? Oh, maybe it is like water, so subject to tax to make the people know how important it is not to waste water/sugar. No, sugar is a staple food, an essential food that everyone needs, like salt and rice. To think of imposing a sugar tax is outrageous unless there are more to it than meet the eyes. Is the Govt so short of money that it is finding every excuse to raise taxes? If not, which idiot is thinking that this is a good idea? What’s next, too much salt is bad, raise salt tax. Too much rice is bad, carbohydrate is also a major cause of diabetes, so raise rice tax?
What utter rubbish! Everything also wants to tax. So desperate for money? No, no, really? Then what is the real reason behind this thinking on sugar tax? Running out of ideas? Taxing the people is fun yah? May I suggest this, tell the daft people good quality sugar must be priced higher so people would not buy too much sugar because it is expensive?
Why doesn’t the Govt make consuming excessive sugar a crime? Then can impose fine for buying or consuming too much sugar. Make the people wear a sugar counter on their necks to measure how much they take and fine them accordingly if exceeded the limit?
Have these people gone crazy, money crazy?
8/24/2017
Why is China hesitating and not chasing the Indian soldiers out of its territory?
The Indian soldiers have been in the Chinese territory on the Sino
Bhutan border on the pretext of protecting Bhutan’s territory from
China. They moved in to stop the Chinese from building roads in an area
between China and Bhutan that is not Indian territory. China has given
several warnings for the Indians to withdraw voluntarily but the Indians
have stayed put in defiance, violating Chinese territorial integrity.
The Indians arrogantly spoke of their superior military strength and completely ignored the Chinese warnings. They have reasons to do so as they came well prepared just like in 1962. The Chinese were caught off guard as their people on the ground were construction workers with a few border guards that were not prepared for an Indian incursion. The Indians have been amassing their troops at the border and any hasty and unprepared reaction by the Chinese border guards would be dealt a severe blow by the Indians.
India has been preparing for this day since the humiliating defeat in the 1962 Sino Indian border war. The shame inflicted on the Indians was too much to swallow and till today they are still claiming that they were caught unprepared despite building up a dedicated 4th Army Corp specifically to seize the disputed territories from China. Now they have stationed their elite 33rd Army at the border region, all prepared for war with China. The 33rd Army is backed by Brahmos missiles, Sukhoi 30s bought from Russia, Apache helicopters and field guns and tanks bought from the Americans. The Chinese would be knocked unconscious if they dared to chase the Indian soldiers out of their territory without proper preparations.
This is a major reason why the Chinese are still not acting. They would also want the whole world to know that it is the Indians that are encroaching on Chinese land. In the meantime they would need to move in their air force, armies and anti aircraft and anti missile units to defend against the Indian forces lined up along the Sino Indian border. The Indians are very confident that they could take on the Chinese and avenge their defeat in 1962 this time with a well prepared military force, like their very well prepared 4th Army Corp. Only after the humiliating defeat then that they put blame on their unpreparedness. This time they are on record claiming that they are well prepared and would win this war and could not hide under another excuse of not being prepared if defeated again. And this time it is on record that they have intruded into Chinese territory.
The Chinese would need time to prepare themselves in the face the massive deployment of Indian forces along the border. This is not going to be a quick and decisive war with just foot soldiers. It is going to involve missiles, artillery and the air forces unless the Chinese can get it over with quickly. While everyone is wondering when would this war begin, the Chinese would be building up their forces to meet the Indian forces, might with might, men for men, machine for machine. This is not play play game. This is serious and going to be big. A military offensive to defend their territory occupied by an invading force cannot be taken lightly.
The Indians arrogantly spoke of their superior military strength and completely ignored the Chinese warnings. They have reasons to do so as they came well prepared just like in 1962. The Chinese were caught off guard as their people on the ground were construction workers with a few border guards that were not prepared for an Indian incursion. The Indians have been amassing their troops at the border and any hasty and unprepared reaction by the Chinese border guards would be dealt a severe blow by the Indians.
India has been preparing for this day since the humiliating defeat in the 1962 Sino Indian border war. The shame inflicted on the Indians was too much to swallow and till today they are still claiming that they were caught unprepared despite building up a dedicated 4th Army Corp specifically to seize the disputed territories from China. Now they have stationed their elite 33rd Army at the border region, all prepared for war with China. The 33rd Army is backed by Brahmos missiles, Sukhoi 30s bought from Russia, Apache helicopters and field guns and tanks bought from the Americans. The Chinese would be knocked unconscious if they dared to chase the Indian soldiers out of their territory without proper preparations.
This is a major reason why the Chinese are still not acting. They would also want the whole world to know that it is the Indians that are encroaching on Chinese land. In the meantime they would need to move in their air force, armies and anti aircraft and anti missile units to defend against the Indian forces lined up along the Sino Indian border. The Indians are very confident that they could take on the Chinese and avenge their defeat in 1962 this time with a well prepared military force, like their very well prepared 4th Army Corp. Only after the humiliating defeat then that they put blame on their unpreparedness. This time they are on record claiming that they are well prepared and would win this war and could not hide under another excuse of not being prepared if defeated again. And this time it is on record that they have intruded into Chinese territory.
The Chinese would need time to prepare themselves in the face the massive deployment of Indian forces along the border. This is not going to be a quick and decisive war with just foot soldiers. It is going to involve missiles, artillery and the air forces unless the Chinese can get it over with quickly. While everyone is wondering when would this war begin, the Chinese would be building up their forces to meet the Indian forces, might with might, men for men, machine for machine. This is not play play game. This is serious and going to be big. A military offensive to defend their territory occupied by an invading force cannot be taken lightly.
8/23/2017
Commuters must beg for fare hikes to improve quality of service
'Totally waiting for Khaw boon wan to emerge with a champion solution of
raising MRT fares to raise standards. Look at what the past few fare
hikes have given Singaporeans. Did it give us better service standards?'
Sandra Chin
Sandra Chin posted an article in the TRE about the numerous fare hikes but with no improvement in train services, rather more serious failures and stoppages on a daily basis. She is aghast and frustrated like many commuters. Everyone is hoping for PAP's fix all expert Khaw Boon Wan to fix this problem fast but after more than a year, things did not seem to improve.
As I have stated way back then when Boon Wan volunteered to solve the MRT problem after the success in building more HDB flats to cut down the queue and runaway prices, this may also be a self inflicted problem like the HDB. In the HDB's case it was easier as the cause of the problem was not building enough flats or slowing down the building of more flats in Mah Bow Tan's watch.
In the MRT case, it was neglect in maintenance and engineering services that led to an accumulation of faults and shortfalls in maintenance. Short of a major revamp, the overload in capacity due to rise in ridership and years of maintenance neglect would not be so easily resolved.
The other problem as raised by Sandra Chin as the cause of poor services must be not enough fare hikes or fare hikes not high enough. Maybe, I say maybe, commuters should beg the MRT to raise fares so that services can be improved quickly. As we have heard this mantra for years, you want good services, better quality services, be prepared to pay more.
So, commuters, please go down on your knees and beg for more fare hikes. The quality of service would definitely improve and the regular and daily stoppages, breakdowns, slowdowns and delays could disappear over night. Pay hikes or higher pays, or higher fees are the miracle cures for social, economic and system problems in this island. Everything can be solved or will be solved by paying more.
See the quality of our graduates, after paying so many years of tuition fee hikes, all now so qualified to drive taxis! Today we are the city that have the most and highest qualified taxi drivers in the world. See how they compete with foreigners with poor degrees or degrees from degree mills and ended up working as temps or short term contract staff! 47,000 applied to be Uber/Grab drivers, a choice job of Singaporeans, to be their own boss.
Pay more and get more and better quality and services is the way forward. It never fails. Quick, quick, more fare hikes the way to go for better services.
Sandra Chin posted an article in the TRE about the numerous fare hikes but with no improvement in train services, rather more serious failures and stoppages on a daily basis. She is aghast and frustrated like many commuters. Everyone is hoping for PAP's fix all expert Khaw Boon Wan to fix this problem fast but after more than a year, things did not seem to improve.
As I have stated way back then when Boon Wan volunteered to solve the MRT problem after the success in building more HDB flats to cut down the queue and runaway prices, this may also be a self inflicted problem like the HDB. In the HDB's case it was easier as the cause of the problem was not building enough flats or slowing down the building of more flats in Mah Bow Tan's watch.
In the MRT case, it was neglect in maintenance and engineering services that led to an accumulation of faults and shortfalls in maintenance. Short of a major revamp, the overload in capacity due to rise in ridership and years of maintenance neglect would not be so easily resolved.
The other problem as raised by Sandra Chin as the cause of poor services must be not enough fare hikes or fare hikes not high enough. Maybe, I say maybe, commuters should beg the MRT to raise fares so that services can be improved quickly. As we have heard this mantra for years, you want good services, better quality services, be prepared to pay more.
So, commuters, please go down on your knees and beg for more fare hikes. The quality of service would definitely improve and the regular and daily stoppages, breakdowns, slowdowns and delays could disappear over night. Pay hikes or higher pays, or higher fees are the miracle cures for social, economic and system problems in this island. Everything can be solved or will be solved by paying more.
See the quality of our graduates, after paying so many years of tuition fee hikes, all now so qualified to drive taxis! Today we are the city that have the most and highest qualified taxi drivers in the world. See how they compete with foreigners with poor degrees or degrees from degree mills and ended up working as temps or short term contract staff! 47,000 applied to be Uber/Grab drivers, a choice job of Singaporeans, to be their own boss.
Pay more and get more and better quality and services is the way forward. It never fails. Quick, quick, more fare hikes the way to go for better services.
8/22/2017
Change is happening inside me
Two things this year prompted me to ask what is happening to me. I did
not watch the NDP. And yesterday, 20 Aug, I did not watch Hsien Loong’s
National Day Rally Speech as well. Both were events that I hardly missed
for the last few decades. Today, I did not even bother to catch up on
repeat telecasts or reading the papers to find out what was happening.
There was no desire, interest or anticipation of wanting to watch the
NDP or wanting to listen to Hsien Loong’s rally speech, like non events,
expecting nothing worth spending time on.
Maybe I am getting old, tired, losing interest of what is going on. Maybe becoming apathetic, blasé, nothing matters anymore. I glanced through some comments in the social media that said the speech was banal, missing all the important issues troubling the people. I glanced through the main media only to find that the main issues raised by Hsien Loong were about pre school, diabetes and smart cities. Not that these are unimportant, but definitely not something that I would have written and put much thoughts into them. Ok, I may have written some comments about smart cities and dumb people or smart cities making people stupid, but would not think they are issues that demand much attention when there are many more serious issues that are apparently unsolvable and posing a threat to the good life of Singaporeans.
Maybe these are good reasons why I did not bother to listen to the rally speech. What else is there to interest me to want to waste my little precious time left on? There are so many madnesses in world affairs and domestic issues that would still be stirring inside me, made me feeling unease, to keep me want to question and be concerned about, to want to write about.
Did I miss anything for being tiada apa over the NDP or National Day Rally? Or is there anything important that I have missed?
Maybe I am getting old, tired, losing interest of what is going on. Maybe becoming apathetic, blasé, nothing matters anymore. I glanced through some comments in the social media that said the speech was banal, missing all the important issues troubling the people. I glanced through the main media only to find that the main issues raised by Hsien Loong were about pre school, diabetes and smart cities. Not that these are unimportant, but definitely not something that I would have written and put much thoughts into them. Ok, I may have written some comments about smart cities and dumb people or smart cities making people stupid, but would not think they are issues that demand much attention when there are many more serious issues that are apparently unsolvable and posing a threat to the good life of Singaporeans.
Maybe these are good reasons why I did not bother to listen to the rally speech. What else is there to interest me to want to waste my little precious time left on? There are so many madnesses in world affairs and domestic issues that would still be stirring inside me, made me feeling unease, to keep me want to question and be concerned about, to want to write about.
Did I miss anything for being tiada apa over the NDP or National Day Rally? Or is there anything important that I have missed?
North Korea’s nuclear capability makes the world safer
Kim Jung Un has succeeded in stopping the world’s number one rogue
country from conducting a nuclear strike against his people. Like it or
not, living with a myth or a delusion, the Americans can go on
pretending that North Korea is not a nuclear power by not recognizing
it, but the days the Americans can bully North Korea, can threaten a pre
emptive nuclear strike is over. The world’s most bellicose country, the
USA, is now prevented from doing the most evil thing they have been
trying to do all these years, the right to strike first using nuclear
weapons. This is American policy of war.
North Korea’s possession of a nuclear strike capability is now an obstacle to the mad and warmongering Americans to conduct nuclear wars. North Korea is now a new member of the forces that would stop the Americans from thinking it can hit anyone it likes with impunity. North Korea, China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran, and the number is growing, are the nation states that would stand up as the ring of armour against the rogue Empire to stop it from its reckless and fetish craving for wars and making wars.
The world is now safer with North Korea joining the ranks of nuclear power against the world’s number one rogue Empire. Naïve Arab countries that were conned into believing that the Americans would leave them in peace should they give up their nuclear weapon programmes are the living dead, living monuments of American aggression and invasion. Look at poor Iraq and Libya, testaments to their innocence and stupidity to believe in the American lies. They are now paying a very heavy price for believing in the American guile of peace.
Kim Jung Un and the North Koreans have stood firm and are now safe as a nation, as a people, from an American invasion. Together with other nuclear capable countries, they would make it increasingly difficult for the mad Americans to think of starting a nuclear war.
Citizens of the world need to thank the North Koreans for making this world a safer and more peaceful place without the fear of the Americans and their nuclear weapons. This is the irony but the unpleasant truth that people of the world have been misled by the Americans not to see and not to believe, but to believe in a world controlled by the mad Americans with their thousands of nuclear weapons waiting to be unleashed to those countries that did not have such weapons. The Americans have always reserved the right to conduct preemptive strikes on any country at their whims and fancy, like Iraq, Libya and Syria. The rogue Empire is all about war, about invading other countries on fabricated lies. Trump is still talking about war with North Korea. In today’s media, it reported that Trump is working on a new war strategy in Afghanistan. Now they cannot do this so freely with more countries standing up to challenge them and with the ability to strike back if they dare to do so except to target weak countries in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America particularly Venezuela and Afghanistan.
This is a difficult truth to the unthinking. They have been misled by the American lies that the USA, the rogue Empire, is about peace when the truth is, they are conducting wars everywhere. Open your eyes and see the truth. Who is at wars, who is trying to start more wars? Stop being daft!
When the Americans say they are coming to help you, to save you, be frighten, be very frighten.
North Korea’s possession of a nuclear strike capability is now an obstacle to the mad and warmongering Americans to conduct nuclear wars. North Korea is now a new member of the forces that would stop the Americans from thinking it can hit anyone it likes with impunity. North Korea, China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran, and the number is growing, are the nation states that would stand up as the ring of armour against the rogue Empire to stop it from its reckless and fetish craving for wars and making wars.
The world is now safer with North Korea joining the ranks of nuclear power against the world’s number one rogue Empire. Naïve Arab countries that were conned into believing that the Americans would leave them in peace should they give up their nuclear weapon programmes are the living dead, living monuments of American aggression and invasion. Look at poor Iraq and Libya, testaments to their innocence and stupidity to believe in the American lies. They are now paying a very heavy price for believing in the American guile of peace.
Kim Jung Un and the North Koreans have stood firm and are now safe as a nation, as a people, from an American invasion. Together with other nuclear capable countries, they would make it increasingly difficult for the mad Americans to think of starting a nuclear war.
Citizens of the world need to thank the North Koreans for making this world a safer and more peaceful place without the fear of the Americans and their nuclear weapons. This is the irony but the unpleasant truth that people of the world have been misled by the Americans not to see and not to believe, but to believe in a world controlled by the mad Americans with their thousands of nuclear weapons waiting to be unleashed to those countries that did not have such weapons. The Americans have always reserved the right to conduct preemptive strikes on any country at their whims and fancy, like Iraq, Libya and Syria. The rogue Empire is all about war, about invading other countries on fabricated lies. Trump is still talking about war with North Korea. In today’s media, it reported that Trump is working on a new war strategy in Afghanistan. Now they cannot do this so freely with more countries standing up to challenge them and with the ability to strike back if they dare to do so except to target weak countries in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America particularly Venezuela and Afghanistan.
This is a difficult truth to the unthinking. They have been misled by the American lies that the USA, the rogue Empire, is about peace when the truth is, they are conducting wars everywhere. Open your eyes and see the truth. Who is at wars, who is trying to start more wars? Stop being daft!
When the Americans say they are coming to help you, to save you, be frighten, be very frighten.
8/21/2017
Hard core evidence from the White House that the USA is the world's number One Terrorist Nation
Below are some hard core evidence provided by a '72 years old and a
Vietnam veteran' praising Trump for doing more for America & it's
people in a single year than the last 4 presidents combined. His claims
and credential are in his listing of '23 REAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS by
president Trump that accounts for every penny of the $19 trillion his
presidency & leadership has brought back to America, I defy you to
prove even 1 accomplishment I've listed as a lie, I'm a gold donor
lifetime member of the RNC which means I'm 1 of 48,000 republicans who
receive monthly briefings from the Trump white house listing
accomplishments and outlining goals for the near future ,and long term,
everything I listed came directly from the RNC on behalf of our
president. Source Michael Ledford 29 Aug 17.
Below are the evidence from three of the listings by this Vietnam war veteran.
#19 Eleminating Obama's illegal funding of over $60 billion a year in federal funds being given to anti US groups like Antifa & dozens of others.
#20 Eleminating the $653 BILLION dollars a year Obama spent dropping bombs & drone strikes that killed over 2 million civilians in 7 country's.
#21 Stopping the $500 million a year in Obama arms shipments to Isis and Al Queda groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Adding the above 3 facts, it is costing the Americans trillions to support terrorist organisations and terrorism and wars across the world. The is the evil Empire that have been conducting wars daily and boasting about peace.
How's that for a little hard truth? Too difficult and painful to swallow after being fooled and made to walk around like American stooges for a life time and defending the American 'goodness'?
The truth hurts.
PS. Spelling errors inherent in the quotes.
Below are the evidence from three of the listings by this Vietnam war veteran.
#19 Eleminating Obama's illegal funding of over $60 billion a year in federal funds being given to anti US groups like Antifa & dozens of others.
#20 Eleminating the $653 BILLION dollars a year Obama spent dropping bombs & drone strikes that killed over 2 million civilians in 7 country's.
#21 Stopping the $500 million a year in Obama arms shipments to Isis and Al Queda groups in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Adding the above 3 facts, it is costing the Americans trillions to support terrorist organisations and terrorism and wars across the world. The is the evil Empire that have been conducting wars daily and boasting about peace.
How's that for a little hard truth? Too difficult and painful to swallow after being fooled and made to walk around like American stooges for a life time and defending the American 'goodness'?
The truth hurts.
PS. Spelling errors inherent in the quotes.
8/20/2017
Dotseng's thoughts on China's OBOR/BRI
Below is a long piece by Dotseng aka darkness posted in his blog. The
writing of this piece it shows how much effort, reading and thinking he
has put into it to make it substantial and meaningful, the
usual crap in those western biased, silly and mischievous articles. I
hope darkness does not mind me reproducing the whole article here. It is
good reading on a Sunday afternoon, something to chew on.
How will Singapore be affected by rail and port investments by China
Q: There are some who believe that China is punishing Singapore for being a staunch supporter of the US. That is why they are investing in ports and railways to create alternative trade routes that will bypass Singapore. Then there are others who simply believe it would be naive to assume that China would not invest in infrastructural nodes elsewhere besides Singapore to further open new trade routes to secure it’s logistic supply of energy. Which one is true?
A: In my opinion as a farmer who only consults his pet parrot on world affairs (cut off)
Q: I have asked a serious question and I and assume the readership would appreciate immensely if you can do us the courtesy of responding in kind.
A: I do apologise. Please let me start again. To say OBOR is huge doesn’t quite capture the sheer immensity of the scale and complexity of the undertaking – it’s like calling the Grand Canyon a giant sink hole.
China in my opinion is not only attempting to construct new trade routes through the Maritime Silk Route and the Silk Road Economic Belt. But it is also a new model of doing things and this is something that I feel is not really discussed and should be. Only because the means to the end this time is equally radical. Radical not only in the methodology, but also how it will be financed as well.
Let me share with you I believe this is so important – for the very first time we are witnessing very big infrastructural projects being financed wholly by the $100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the $40 billion Silk Road fund which requires the internationalisation of the renminbi and the harmonisation of various free trade agreements and also intellectual property rights between China and those countries that they are investing in.
So if look at what is happening on the brick on mortar side – there is considerable adjustments to intellectual laws pertaining to patents and copyrights. What the Chinese are doing in effect is to establish their own system of governance when it comes to financial instruments to even intellectual rights.
This is important because one aspect of the TPP and how it aspires to put China in a straight jacket is to nit pick on what it can and cannot do when it comes to intellectual property – so in effect this is a means for the Chinese to sideline those constraints.
Besides hundreds of billions of dollars in Chinese funds that are invested abroad. What we are also witnessing is another dimension of Chinese power. Namely its financing prowess and the ability to manage long term loan risk in investments and it is this undiscussed aspect that is key to extending Chinese power across the region.
To do all this requires core competencies not only in just pouring concrete but also how to manage financial risk on a long term basis.
What you need to understand is many of these mega infrastructural projects have traditionally being funded by the world bank, Asian Development Bank and in some cases the IMF. So what we see here is a very significant shift in how things being done along with a very radical shift in both strategy and philosophy as to how loans on country to country basis is structured.
I think when you see OBOR in this light. Then what it actually is, is not simply an attempt to out do Singapore with just providing better port of refitment services. But it is conceivable that the Chinese are also replicate the entire complimentary sets of accoutrements to provide a comprehensive one stop port service ranging from underwriting risk to financial instruments. And I think that is something that should rightly worry the planners in Singapore.
If they worried and keep on insisting that the China and Singapore relationship is hunky dory. Then I say to them – who the hell are you kidding? You think you’re talking to kindergarten kids?
Q: Why is this controlling aspect in managing the financing so important to China?
A: I think it would have to be very important since the AIIB is so new. They need to demonstrate not only the core competencies to be able to manage risk like maybe the World Bank or Asian Development Bank. But there are also issues concerning credibility and credit worthiness.
What you need to understand is outfits like the ADB, world bank and IMF have been around for a very long time. Governments are very familiar in dealing with these institutions. The same cannot be said about AIIB and their counterparts.
Besides what you need to appreciate is when ports and railways are built, this is really just the tip of the iceberg. There is a vast range of accoutrements that need to compliment these mega projects such as power generation, water treatment plants, energy transmission networks, highways, property development, dams, warehousing etc etc.
China already has very mature industries that can compliment many of these mega infrastructural projects – so don’t for one moment think that all they’re doing in dredging deep water harbours and laying down tracks. It’s much more than that – so what we are witnessing from the Chinese angle is the opening of new business apertures for many Chinese firms. And this is not a new economic blueprint. Not at all – that is what the Chinese have been doing in Africa since 1984. If for instance you visit Djibouti in Etiophia. You will not only see a blue water port and a railway. You will also see many Chinese banks, power generation, roads, water treatment plants and plenty of Chinese made heavy machinery and even cars and household appliance made in China – so when we speak about the economic sphere of OBOR, it is really a much bigger construct than anything that the Wall Street Journal talks about. I feel it is this aspect of trade of commerce that will eventually dominate the infrastructural sphere.
Q: Why is China so intrested in ports regionally? Why not make full use of Singapore to fulfill their energy needs?
A: At one level of understanding. We can certainly say ports are extremely important in this pursuit of regional domination. That is why if China decides to let’s say invest in port facilities in Malaysia it is definitely not a personal thing against Singapore. After all China has been making great efforts to develop and control ports in virtually ever theatre in Austrasia – Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port and Pakistan’s Gwadar Port are both China funded much to the consternation of India. So is the port in Djibouti, Africa. Within Bangladesh a Chinese “special economic zone” and port are being developed in Anwara, Chittagong. In Myanmar, China has invested in a deep-sea port on Maday Island at Kyaukphyu, to facilitate a $2.5 billion pipeline transporting oil and gas to China’s Yunnan province.
In other parts of South-East Asia, China is also seeking to dominate ports as well as shipping between ports, with Laem Chabang in Thailand, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Batam in Indonesia and Northern Sumatra. Most recently a “port alliance” has been announced between 10 Chinese ports and five Malaysian ports. The “sister port” tie ups with Kuantan, Melaka, Kedah and Port Klang in Malaysia.
Australia is also part of this maritime blueprint – The Darwin deal will provide Chinese shipping access to the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific, as well as to Indonesia and PNG.
But the question still remains why not use what is already available? That is to say why don’t the Chinese feel inclined to leverage on the current port facilities in Singapore to fulfil their current and future energy needs. You can’t say it’s because of a bottle neck or the port authorities in Singapore have no more capacity. Because they do.
I think one reason why China considers it necessary to diversify their supply chain is simply because Singapore is perceived as a reliable ally of the US.
To me it is a very simple and straightforward calculation – how do you expect the Chinese to trust Singapore when they are hosting aircraft carriers with atomics and even allowing them to launch spy missions from their airbases. That is stupid. No strategist is his right mind is going to trust Singapore. So I don’t blame the Chinese, what they are undertaking is very logical.
Because alongside this port centric agenda – there is also the string of pearls strategy that suggest these are simply to lay the ground for China’s geopolitical agenda to project into the Indian Ocean and set up a zone of denial similar to the SCS.
There is I believe some credence to this postulation because the Chinese Navy is definitely becoming more muscular and assertative in that theatre.
Q: What precisely do you mean by muscular. Can you be more specific.
A: You can subscribe to Jane’s Defence Weekly or Proceedings. To find out more. But by all intelligent accounts the Chinese would need a carrier doctrine. Beyond that I don’t wish to comment further as I only speak when I have reliable intelligence to draw sound and accurate conclusions.
Q: How will all these other ports and railways impact Singapore?
A: I think there will be an impact. But you got to understand. Trade routes whether they are maritime or land based are essentially based on economics and that is really another way of saying the customer is king. China may well be a super power but it cannot dictate to the rest of the world how they should best transport goods or even which port it can call on and not – businesses will use whatever ports they see fit and we are not just talking about bunkering facilities. It really goes much deeper to a level of sophistication that I don’t believe the lay man even quite appreciates such as financing, insuring, underwriting, risk management, off shore facilities etc etc. There is an entire pheltora of services besides shipping that goes to make up the whole port experience and Singapore is at the very top of the game.
So when people tell me just because China is investing heavily in Malaysia or planning to develop Carey Island that spells doom and gloom for Singapore. These people don’t know what they are talking about. Because the volume of trade will grow. And PSA is not going to remain the same. They will respond to all these regional emerging threats.
Having said that volume is certainly important. Because when the volume thins out then it would have a knock on effect on all these other complimentary services. They will degrade and that certainly work against competitiveness.
I think it’s too early to tell what would happen now as many of these mega projects have 10 to 15 year gestation periods and it’s very hard to predict accurately what it may all be like in the foreseeable future.
For all you know PSA may even buy equity into these regional ports.
Q: What do you see as the friction points in the Chinese drive to realise the dream of OBOR in their aggressive investments in port and rail regionally?
A: Most countries welcome direct foreign investments. Having said that it’s not merely a case of economic pluses and minuses. There is also historicism and of course politics. And this is one area that I feel China is very blasé. I don’t exactly know how they go about calculating country risk or even whether they have a risk mitigation strategy. But they should given that many of the countries they are investing in on one hand welcome FDI’s but at the same time they do harbour reservations simply because when a foreign power takes such a substantial equity in the running of a business then it can be perceived as a form of economic imperialism and a threat to even sovereignty and if we stretch that notion further it can even encroach into sectarian and race lines.
Like I said historicism certainly plays a preponderant role and it would be foolhardy to assume that China will just be able to have their way all the time without ever having to manage the local sentiments in those countries that they have invested so heavily in.
I see many friction points. Many and some of them I am a afraid will only sharpen as these investments come on line. Only because they can be politicised and weaponized for political mileage.
Q: Would you like to elaborate further on those friction points.
A: No comment.
Posted by dotseng
High Commissioner defends Singapore’s Elected President system
V Gopalan Menon, Singapore’s High Commissioner in KL, issued a rebuttal
to Utusan Melayu’s false allegations about the reserved EP for the Malay
community. Menon clarified that the President is elected with popular
mandate, plays a key role in nation building, ensuring good governance,
acts as a custodian to the nation’s reserves and also is a protector of
the integrity of its public service.
Menon went on to praise the achievements of the Malay community and the progress they have made under a rules based and meritocratic system. He went on to say this, “It is incorrect to say that non Malays in Singapore have been given ‘priority and advantages’. We certainly do not have a race based system of benefits and patronage. Singapore will not tolerate the use of race or religion to promote ill will between different segments of Singapore society, or to undermine our institutions.”
Would Menon want to rephrase his statement about ‘race based system of benefits and patronage with the change in the constitution that reserved elections for minority races based on their race? With the reserved EP only for Malays in the next EP, we do now have a race based system of benefits and patronage. No? Would the Malay race still feel as proud of their achievements without crutches now that a reserved EP is created for them to be elected based on their race? Meritocratic?
Anyone think this reserved EP is like giving the minority races a crutch that would lead to a crutch mentality in them? LKY and his peers were unyielding and firm about not providing a crutch to any groups, and not to create a crutch mentality. Nowadays no one seems to be defending this position.
What do you think?
Menon went on to praise the achievements of the Malay community and the progress they have made under a rules based and meritocratic system. He went on to say this, “It is incorrect to say that non Malays in Singapore have been given ‘priority and advantages’. We certainly do not have a race based system of benefits and patronage. Singapore will not tolerate the use of race or religion to promote ill will between different segments of Singapore society, or to undermine our institutions.”
Would Menon want to rephrase his statement about ‘race based system of benefits and patronage with the change in the constitution that reserved elections for minority races based on their race? With the reserved EP only for Malays in the next EP, we do now have a race based system of benefits and patronage. No? Would the Malay race still feel as proud of their achievements without crutches now that a reserved EP is created for them to be elected based on their race? Meritocratic?
Anyone think this reserved EP is like giving the minority races a crutch that would lead to a crutch mentality in them? LKY and his peers were unyielding and firm about not providing a crutch to any groups, and not to create a crutch mentality. Nowadays no one seems to be defending this position.
What do you think?
8/18/2017
China is really powerful, according to Kazi Mahmood
Kazi Mahmood of Worldfuturetv.com’s article posted in theindependence,
‘China’s hidden hand in its manipulation of North Korea and Trump’ if
real, must be the proof that China is now the most powerful country in
the world. China can manipulate North Korea and Trump which means the
USA, to do its bidding must be quite something.
This is what Kazi Mahmood said,
‘The simple fact that China has allowed Trump to go that far in its threats against North Korea and has also allowed the North Koreans to go beyond the imaginable with its long range missile programme, are points to consider.
These are the very start of the bi-polar world that China is wishing will be forked out from a US irritation of China’s basic latent stance on North Korea.
We all know the UN sanctions voted by China at the Security Council recently is an attempt by Beijing to tell the North Koreans “we are here, we will interfere when needed hence you should continue with your long range missile plans.”’
From the above statement, China has allowed Trump to go that far, meaning China could stop Trump from what he is doing but China just folded its arms and do nothing is that China is the puppet master and Trump was just a puppet on a string. China powerful or not? How many of you think China could tell Trump to shut up and the Americans to stop what they were doing to North Korea, hands up. What grass is this Kazi smoking?
Also, China ‘has allowed the North Koreans to go beyond the imaginable with its long range missile programme’ meaning that China can control what the North Koreans are doing, like the Americans dictating to its allies and semi colonies like South Korea and Japan what they could and could not do. Is North Korea an independent sovereign state or a colony of China? Is Kim Jung Un someone that China can control and manipulate and dictate to?
And China could interfere and meddle with the UN Security Council and with the over powering and menacing presence of the Americans on behalf of the North Koreans? Didn’t China just been forced to accept the American proposed new sanctions against North Korea and China could not say no? If China is so powerful, how could the Americans force China to accept more sanctions against its ally North Korea?
What this Kazi Mahmood wrote is pure baloney. If he is to be believed, China must be the most powerful country in the world and making a fool of the Americans and Donald Trump.
How many of you think this Mahmood is talking sense or nonsense? The Americans and Trump and North Korea are so easy to be manipulated by China? Are Trump, Kim and the Americans stupid or what?
This is what Kazi Mahmood said,
‘The simple fact that China has allowed Trump to go that far in its threats against North Korea and has also allowed the North Koreans to go beyond the imaginable with its long range missile programme, are points to consider.
These are the very start of the bi-polar world that China is wishing will be forked out from a US irritation of China’s basic latent stance on North Korea.
We all know the UN sanctions voted by China at the Security Council recently is an attempt by Beijing to tell the North Koreans “we are here, we will interfere when needed hence you should continue with your long range missile plans.”’
From the above statement, China has allowed Trump to go that far, meaning China could stop Trump from what he is doing but China just folded its arms and do nothing is that China is the puppet master and Trump was just a puppet on a string. China powerful or not? How many of you think China could tell Trump to shut up and the Americans to stop what they were doing to North Korea, hands up. What grass is this Kazi smoking?
Also, China ‘has allowed the North Koreans to go beyond the imaginable with its long range missile programme’ meaning that China can control what the North Koreans are doing, like the Americans dictating to its allies and semi colonies like South Korea and Japan what they could and could not do. Is North Korea an independent sovereign state or a colony of China? Is Kim Jung Un someone that China can control and manipulate and dictate to?
And China could interfere and meddle with the UN Security Council and with the over powering and menacing presence of the Americans on behalf of the North Koreans? Didn’t China just been forced to accept the American proposed new sanctions against North Korea and China could not say no? If China is so powerful, how could the Americans force China to accept more sanctions against its ally North Korea?
What this Kazi Mahmood wrote is pure baloney. If he is to be believed, China must be the most powerful country in the world and making a fool of the Americans and Donald Trump.
How many of you think this Mahmood is talking sense or nonsense? The Americans and Trump and North Korea are so easy to be manipulated by China? Are Trump, Kim and the Americans stupid or what?
Fear not, Singapore is an infinity
I read Chee Soon Juan’s rebut to Lawrence Wong’s optimism about the
unending building programme of Singapore. Lawrence Wong’s position is
that Singapore is still building and a lot more could be built. Sure,
just pull down old inefficient buildings and build higher in an unending
cycle of build, pull down and build. Chee was worried that Singapore’s
land is finite and there was just so much that could be built, just so
much concrete to be poured onto this piece of rock.
I think Chee should not be too worried. Singapore is an infinity. Though Singapore is only 800 sq km, it has unlimited capacity to build and to populate. Chee must have heard of the sky is the limit and the Tower of Babel. Singapore not only can build towards the sky with today’s technology, it can build downwards to the core of mother earth.
Singapore’s land or space is unlimited. That is why some of the very clever people are saying Singapore can house 10m, 15m or 25m people, or may be the whole world. Nothing is impossible if we can buy all the foreign talents to show their talents and make this an infinite island.
In Singapore, everything is infinite. You think the salary of ministers is high? There are plenty of rooms for more pay hikes. And this applies to the CEOs down to the workers. We can pay all our workers higher and higher salaries than the beans of the rest of the world. Our productivity can go up and up and up to justify the high salaries of our workers and still be very competitive. They deserved every cent they are paid and are very productive.
And our properties, see how people are grabbing HDB flats and willing to pay a million dollar for them? This is the other infinity in Singapore. Property prices can only go up and up to high heavens. 99 years? Not to worry, something will happen and the property prices would still go up and up. Soon HDB flats would all be fetching millions of dollars if the trend continues. And private properties would be in hundreds of millions of dollars with workers being paid in the millions to pay for them.
What about the cost of living, the cost of everything? Sure they will go up as well. But not to worry, fear not. Singaporeans would be able to afford all the good things in life no matter how expensive they are. The salaries will just go up and up to match the up and up prices. There is no limit to infinity. Singapore is infinity.
Chee Soon Juan should not be too worried about the limitations of this little piece of rock. Everything is possible when you pay millions to the talented to come out with their miracle solutions. The impossible will become possible. Miracles would be a normal occurrence. Singapore will be a miracle city with towering blocks swinging in the clouds or winding deeply into the caverns of earth. Have faith in this miracle City of Infinity. Everything is infinite. In Singapore, everything has no limits.
I think Chee should not be too worried. Singapore is an infinity. Though Singapore is only 800 sq km, it has unlimited capacity to build and to populate. Chee must have heard of the sky is the limit and the Tower of Babel. Singapore not only can build towards the sky with today’s technology, it can build downwards to the core of mother earth.
Singapore’s land or space is unlimited. That is why some of the very clever people are saying Singapore can house 10m, 15m or 25m people, or may be the whole world. Nothing is impossible if we can buy all the foreign talents to show their talents and make this an infinite island.
In Singapore, everything is infinite. You think the salary of ministers is high? There are plenty of rooms for more pay hikes. And this applies to the CEOs down to the workers. We can pay all our workers higher and higher salaries than the beans of the rest of the world. Our productivity can go up and up and up to justify the high salaries of our workers and still be very competitive. They deserved every cent they are paid and are very productive.
And our properties, see how people are grabbing HDB flats and willing to pay a million dollar for them? This is the other infinity in Singapore. Property prices can only go up and up to high heavens. 99 years? Not to worry, something will happen and the property prices would still go up and up. Soon HDB flats would all be fetching millions of dollars if the trend continues. And private properties would be in hundreds of millions of dollars with workers being paid in the millions to pay for them.
What about the cost of living, the cost of everything? Sure they will go up as well. But not to worry, fear not. Singaporeans would be able to afford all the good things in life no matter how expensive they are. The salaries will just go up and up to match the up and up prices. There is no limit to infinity. Singapore is infinity.
Chee Soon Juan should not be too worried about the limitations of this little piece of rock. Everything is possible when you pay millions to the talented to come out with their miracle solutions. The impossible will become possible. Miracles would be a normal occurrence. Singapore will be a miracle city with towering blocks swinging in the clouds or winding deeply into the caverns of earth. Have faith in this miracle City of Infinity. Everything is infinite. In Singapore, everything has no limits.
8/17/2017
The hubris of an Indian chatter in the Indian media
The Indians are now gloating about their success in standing up ‘to
defend’ a small weak state like Bhutan by sending Indian soldiers to
stop Chinese road building along the China Bhutan border. And they are
grinning from ear to ear that all China could do was to bluff that it
would teach India a second lesson while Modi ‘kept his cool, refusing to
respond to any Chinese threat, much less withdraw its forces according
to Bhrahma Chellaney in his article ‘Calling China’s bluff: Why scare
tactics won’t work’ in the Today paper on 14 August.
His reasoning, supposedly someone credible from Project Syndicate, is that China is a warmonger and trying to bluff India by using psywar. India is not afraid of China as it has many advantages and cards to play over China. China would not dare attack the Indian soldiers inside Chinese border for doing so would push India into the American embrace. India is a big market and China would not want to jeopardize it US$60b trade surplus with India. And Xi Jinping would not dare to start a war with India as it would affect his position should he lose the war. China is in a dilemma. So Xi would need India’s help to extricate himself from this stand off to protect his image as a tough leader. Basically what he said is that China is a loser in all counts in this incident.
Chellaney even said the standoff and India’s standing up to China is an important lesson to other regional states to stand up to China, to call China’s bluff as a big bully. India is setting the example for others to follow.
China is now hapless against a tough India and would eventually back off and stop its road building work in the China Bhutan border. India is well fortified, well prepared and in a militarily superior position, just like in the 1962 war.
Who is the big bully and who is going to be evicted from the border is waiting to be seen. Let’s see how long this hilarious gloating would continue, just like the early days of the 1962 Sino Indian border war when they arrogantly thought China would be a pushover and splashed across all the Indian media with their initial successes against unprepared Chinese border guards taken by surprise. By now China would have done all its preparation and waiting for an order to evict the Indian soldiers in Chinese territory.
History is going to repeat itself. The China of today is even prepared to take on the Americans together with all its allies. China hapless against India?
His reasoning, supposedly someone credible from Project Syndicate, is that China is a warmonger and trying to bluff India by using psywar. India is not afraid of China as it has many advantages and cards to play over China. China would not dare attack the Indian soldiers inside Chinese border for doing so would push India into the American embrace. India is a big market and China would not want to jeopardize it US$60b trade surplus with India. And Xi Jinping would not dare to start a war with India as it would affect his position should he lose the war. China is in a dilemma. So Xi would need India’s help to extricate himself from this stand off to protect his image as a tough leader. Basically what he said is that China is a loser in all counts in this incident.
Chellaney even said the standoff and India’s standing up to China is an important lesson to other regional states to stand up to China, to call China’s bluff as a big bully. India is setting the example for others to follow.
China is now hapless against a tough India and would eventually back off and stop its road building work in the China Bhutan border. India is well fortified, well prepared and in a militarily superior position, just like in the 1962 war.
Who is the big bully and who is going to be evicted from the border is waiting to be seen. Let’s see how long this hilarious gloating would continue, just like the early days of the 1962 Sino Indian border war when they arrogantly thought China would be a pushover and splashed across all the Indian media with their initial successes against unprepared Chinese border guards taken by surprise. By now China would have done all its preparation and waiting for an order to evict the Indian soldiers in Chinese territory.
History is going to repeat itself. The China of today is even prepared to take on the Americans together with all its allies. China hapless against India?
8/16/2017
Would the Americans sacrifice South Korea and Japan
In its single minded pursuit of the American Empire would the Americans
sacrifice the South Koreans and Japanese and provoke a war with the
North Koreans under contorted lies that the North Koreans with their two
ICBMs and unproven nuclear bombs are a real and present danger to the
Americans that possessed thousands of nuclear bombs waiting to vaporize
the North Koreans? They have been fabricating this lie for a long time
and wanting to use this lie to stamp their unchallenged position as the
top dog of the world and now is the moment to show the world that they
can do it, to decimate the North Koreans. And in the course of this
madness and delusion for power, South Korea and Japan would be the first
two sacrificial lambs offered to the altar of the hegemon god.
For decades the Americans have dragged the South Koreans by the nose to provoke the North Koreans on a daily basis and could start a war with the slightest fake excuse. Japan too played along thinking that this is just an American mind game to demonise the North Koreans and justify their military occupation of South Korea. Never would they think the Americans would be mad enough to start a nuclear war with North Korea. Now this madness is becoming a threatening nightmare and could become a reality at any moment.
The South Koreans are the first to panic. President Moon Jae in has been quoted to have said, ‘resolving North Korea’s nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully…There must be no more war on the Korean peninsula. Whatever ups and downs we face, the North Korean nuclear situation must be resolved peacefully. I am certain the United States will respond to the current situation calmly and responsibly in a stance that is equal to ours.’ Moon also said that only the South Koreans could decide to go to war. He is rather naïve to think so as the massive American military presence is beyond his control and the Americans could precipitate a war at their call. The Americans are in charge and calling the shot.
The fear and concern of Moon may be too late when a lunatic is in the White House surrounded by military hawks. The Americans have been pressing for war for a long time, not for fun, not just military exercises to threaten the North Koreans. All options are on the table, guns are loaded.
The top American general Joseph Dunford has taken note of the South Koreans’ fear and is in Seoul to reassure that war is not on the card. However, war is still an option if diplomatic and economic pressure failed ‘to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a dismantling of the regime’s ballistic missile programmes.’ This last part confirmed by both Matthis and Tillerson is the key to American’s position and this last part is not negotiable as far as the North Koreans are concerned.
The Americans are adamant to go to war as the North Koreans are not going to give up their nuclear arsenal. The assurance by Gen Dunford is as good as no assurance. It is looking very real that the South Koreans and Japanese are going to be sacrificed to serve the American hegemonic ambition. The start of a war would see South Korea and Japan as the main targets for destruction. The Americans in their homeland are safe. Would they care about what would happen to the South Koreans and the Japanese?
This is the heavy price that South Korea and Japan would have to pay for dancing and sleeping with the devil. The Americans can afford to start a war now as they probably think the North Koreans would not be able to hit homeland America and if they could, only a handful of prototype ICBMs that could be taken down quite easily. This is the time to destroy the North Korean nuclear ambition before it is too late.
Good bye South Koreans and Japanese. You have been good friends to the Americans.
Both the South Koreans and the Japanese are shitting in their pants now. This is what they get when playing with fire and conspiring with the Americans. Their lives are not important to the Americans. The memorials in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are reminders of what would happen again should the US attack N Korea. N Korea would lob as many nuclear bombs they have into American bases in Japan.
The only piece of good news yesterday was that Kim Jung Un has proven to be a reasonable and rational man, not mad like Trump as the Americans would want the world to believe it, for calling off the threat to send missiles around Guam. This move has helped to lower tension provided the mad Trump did not see this as a sign of weakness and press ahead with more provocations.
Would Trump and his mad men and women in Washington take this as a face saving move to deescalate tension in the Korean peninsula? Or would they still think of sacrificing South Korea and Japan in their hegemonic ambition to start another war in Asia, away from the American homeland?
For decades the Americans have dragged the South Koreans by the nose to provoke the North Koreans on a daily basis and could start a war with the slightest fake excuse. Japan too played along thinking that this is just an American mind game to demonise the North Koreans and justify their military occupation of South Korea. Never would they think the Americans would be mad enough to start a nuclear war with North Korea. Now this madness is becoming a threatening nightmare and could become a reality at any moment.
The South Koreans are the first to panic. President Moon Jae in has been quoted to have said, ‘resolving North Korea’s nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully…There must be no more war on the Korean peninsula. Whatever ups and downs we face, the North Korean nuclear situation must be resolved peacefully. I am certain the United States will respond to the current situation calmly and responsibly in a stance that is equal to ours.’ Moon also said that only the South Koreans could decide to go to war. He is rather naïve to think so as the massive American military presence is beyond his control and the Americans could precipitate a war at their call. The Americans are in charge and calling the shot.
The fear and concern of Moon may be too late when a lunatic is in the White House surrounded by military hawks. The Americans have been pressing for war for a long time, not for fun, not just military exercises to threaten the North Koreans. All options are on the table, guns are loaded.
The top American general Joseph Dunford has taken note of the South Koreans’ fear and is in Seoul to reassure that war is not on the card. However, war is still an option if diplomatic and economic pressure failed ‘to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and a dismantling of the regime’s ballistic missile programmes.’ This last part confirmed by both Matthis and Tillerson is the key to American’s position and this last part is not negotiable as far as the North Koreans are concerned.
The Americans are adamant to go to war as the North Koreans are not going to give up their nuclear arsenal. The assurance by Gen Dunford is as good as no assurance. It is looking very real that the South Koreans and Japanese are going to be sacrificed to serve the American hegemonic ambition. The start of a war would see South Korea and Japan as the main targets for destruction. The Americans in their homeland are safe. Would they care about what would happen to the South Koreans and the Japanese?
This is the heavy price that South Korea and Japan would have to pay for dancing and sleeping with the devil. The Americans can afford to start a war now as they probably think the North Koreans would not be able to hit homeland America and if they could, only a handful of prototype ICBMs that could be taken down quite easily. This is the time to destroy the North Korean nuclear ambition before it is too late.
Good bye South Koreans and Japanese. You have been good friends to the Americans.
Both the South Koreans and the Japanese are shitting in their pants now. This is what they get when playing with fire and conspiring with the Americans. Their lives are not important to the Americans. The memorials in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are reminders of what would happen again should the US attack N Korea. N Korea would lob as many nuclear bombs they have into American bases in Japan.
The only piece of good news yesterday was that Kim Jung Un has proven to be a reasonable and rational man, not mad like Trump as the Americans would want the world to believe it, for calling off the threat to send missiles around Guam. This move has helped to lower tension provided the mad Trump did not see this as a sign of weakness and press ahead with more provocations.
Would Trump and his mad men and women in Washington take this as a face saving move to deescalate tension in the Korean peninsula? Or would they still think of sacrificing South Korea and Japan in their hegemonic ambition to start another war in Asia, away from the American homeland?
8/15/2017
What is a Rogue Empire?
This phrase is quite familiar and similar to what is a rogue govt. A
Rogue Empire will never tell you that it is rogue. In fact it would tell
you they are angels of God, out to do good, to protect you, to save
you, you needed them for your own good while they eat your lunch.
After being fed a life time by western media, believing in the Americans and the West as the saviours of human kind, the white gods, is understandable. The glory of the Americans has its roots in the victory over evil Germany and Japan and the rebuilding of Europe with the Marshall Plan for Europeans, and a new world order that allowed the rest of the world to have peace and stability to rebuild themselves. The peace was not that the Americans willed it but there were no evil Japan and Germany to want to conquer the world. The Americans were in fact conducting another war with the Communist bloc, the Cold War. When this war ended, the Americans continue with more wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East.
The Americans today are living on these past glories and nothing more. Since then, they have been engrossed in building and preserving their Empire by building military bases all over the world and oppressing and destroying any country that did not bow to the will of the Empire like Korea, Vietnam and the Arab countries.
They waved the flags of freedom, international responsibility and rule of law but violated every one of these ideals in the interests of the Empire. They conducted tens of regime change, destabilized countries, invasion, conducting wars, and creating instability all over the world using these as justifications.
In the name of freedom and international responsibility, they have invaded countries and destroyed the lives of many people since the end of WW2. In the name of rule of law, they have violated all the international laws to dominate the world. They ignored these laws and would not be bound by these laws but used these laws to threaten and bully other nation states. They talked about saving the world but would not rectify the Paris Climate Change agreements. They talked about respecting international laws but would not rectify UNCLOS. They talked about being responsible international citizens but created all kinds of fake excuses to invade countries, support and breeding terrorist organizations.
They talked about free trade but killed the TPP, a supposedly trade pact for free trade at least within the pact countries and turned towards an isolationist trade policy. In the name of peace they started wars in all corners of the world.
The Americans break all international laws, they are above the laws, they are lawless, they are the outlaws. They expect all countries to observe international norms and laws except themselves, and elevated themselves as the Number One International Outlaw.
This is what a Rogue Empire is all about. They used all kinds of laws to bully other nation states, twisted the interpretation of laws to their own interest. Used the rule of law and international organizations to threaten and attack other nation states.
Think about it. Remove your blinkers and call a spade a spade. A Rogue Empire is a Rogue Empire. Their only reason to exist is to protect the Empire, to rule the world by destabilizing the world to support their only industry, the war industry and their war machine. They have nothing else useful to contribute to the world. They needed a chaotic world to divide the world for world supremacy, to justify the US$600 billion budget and more than 1000 military bases around the world.
This is as stark and as real as you can get, The USA is a Rogue Empire.
After being fed a life time by western media, believing in the Americans and the West as the saviours of human kind, the white gods, is understandable. The glory of the Americans has its roots in the victory over evil Germany and Japan and the rebuilding of Europe with the Marshall Plan for Europeans, and a new world order that allowed the rest of the world to have peace and stability to rebuild themselves. The peace was not that the Americans willed it but there were no evil Japan and Germany to want to conquer the world. The Americans were in fact conducting another war with the Communist bloc, the Cold War. When this war ended, the Americans continue with more wars in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East.
The Americans today are living on these past glories and nothing more. Since then, they have been engrossed in building and preserving their Empire by building military bases all over the world and oppressing and destroying any country that did not bow to the will of the Empire like Korea, Vietnam and the Arab countries.
They waved the flags of freedom, international responsibility and rule of law but violated every one of these ideals in the interests of the Empire. They conducted tens of regime change, destabilized countries, invasion, conducting wars, and creating instability all over the world using these as justifications.
In the name of freedom and international responsibility, they have invaded countries and destroyed the lives of many people since the end of WW2. In the name of rule of law, they have violated all the international laws to dominate the world. They ignored these laws and would not be bound by these laws but used these laws to threaten and bully other nation states. They talked about saving the world but would not rectify the Paris Climate Change agreements. They talked about respecting international laws but would not rectify UNCLOS. They talked about being responsible international citizens but created all kinds of fake excuses to invade countries, support and breeding terrorist organizations.
They talked about free trade but killed the TPP, a supposedly trade pact for free trade at least within the pact countries and turned towards an isolationist trade policy. In the name of peace they started wars in all corners of the world.
The Americans break all international laws, they are above the laws, they are lawless, they are the outlaws. They expect all countries to observe international norms and laws except themselves, and elevated themselves as the Number One International Outlaw.
This is what a Rogue Empire is all about. They used all kinds of laws to bully other nation states, twisted the interpretation of laws to their own interest. Used the rule of law and international organizations to threaten and attack other nation states.
Think about it. Remove your blinkers and call a spade a spade. A Rogue Empire is a Rogue Empire. Their only reason to exist is to protect the Empire, to rule the world by destabilizing the world to support their only industry, the war industry and their war machine. They have nothing else useful to contribute to the world. They needed a chaotic world to divide the world for world supremacy, to justify the US$600 billion budget and more than 1000 military bases around the world.
This is as stark and as real as you can get, The USA is a Rogue Empire.
8/14/2017
NUS – Singaporeans growing confidence in Singaporeans
The latest appointment of another Singaporean to be the dean of NUS
School of Public Health is a sign that Singaporeans have started to
rediscover themselves and growing more confident in their own abilities
after a couple of decades of worshipping fake and dubious foreign
talents. For two or three decades there was this sinking feeling that
Singaporeans are really daft and useless people despite their claims of
aceing their academic tests from the best universities in the world. As a
result of this self doubt, not sure which donkey started this myth and
trend, many foreigners were brought in as foreign talents to replace
Singaporeans in many top appointments, including the academia. Today,
NTU and to a lesser extent NUS has a predominant foreign presence that
did not augur well for the future of Singaporean talents. If the trend
continues, one day a minister would say they have started a programme to
train Singaporean academics and it would take another 50 years for them
to be ready.
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President, has been reported to say that NUS went on a world tour of sort, to look for the best in the world to fill the position of the dean of Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health only to find that the incumbent vice dean Professor Teo Yik Ying is still the best man in the world, to be the dean of the School. Should there be a sigh of relief that Singaporeans are now confident enough to look at themselves and confidently tell themselves that we are really the best in the world and not second liners to foreigners?
Would this appoint of Professor Teo be a revival of faith and trust in Singaporean talents and their ability as among the best in the world and the stupidity of thinking that any foreigner, with dubious backgrounds and qualifications that could not be verified or unknown to us, is the best man to helm our institutions? Would there be a soul searching in the top circle of Singapore elite to reflect on this silliness over the last two decades to adore everything foreign and start to have faith in Singaporeans?
We built many great organizations and institutions only to import foreigners to take them over and to replace more Singaporeans with their respective foreigners, leaving Singaporeans in the lurch, destroying their faith and confidence in the process and resign to the fate of being security guards and taxi drivers or temp workers.
If Singaporeans have no faith in Singaporeans and their abilities, Singaporeans will be the ones that will destroy Singapore by importing dubious foreigners that could not build their own countries, failures in their own countries, to take over this island, the island built by Singaporeans.
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, NUS President, has been reported to say that NUS went on a world tour of sort, to look for the best in the world to fill the position of the dean of Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health only to find that the incumbent vice dean Professor Teo Yik Ying is still the best man in the world, to be the dean of the School. Should there be a sigh of relief that Singaporeans are now confident enough to look at themselves and confidently tell themselves that we are really the best in the world and not second liners to foreigners?
Would this appoint of Professor Teo be a revival of faith and trust in Singaporean talents and their ability as among the best in the world and the stupidity of thinking that any foreigner, with dubious backgrounds and qualifications that could not be verified or unknown to us, is the best man to helm our institutions? Would there be a soul searching in the top circle of Singapore elite to reflect on this silliness over the last two decades to adore everything foreign and start to have faith in Singaporeans?
We built many great organizations and institutions only to import foreigners to take them over and to replace more Singaporeans with their respective foreigners, leaving Singaporeans in the lurch, destroying their faith and confidence in the process and resign to the fate of being security guards and taxi drivers or temp workers.
If Singaporeans have no faith in Singaporeans and their abilities, Singaporeans will be the ones that will destroy Singapore by importing dubious foreigners that could not build their own countries, failures in their own countries, to take over this island, the island built by Singaporeans.
8/13/2017
Racist F&B outlet replied S'pore is not Saudi Arabia when asked if they were halal
This guy Chun message an F&B outlet selling pork dishes and asked if
the outlet was halal. The outlet replied and this guy went on to accuse
the outlet for being racist. Who do you think is the racist and the
mischievous one? Ask an outlet selling pork if it is halal is like
asking a Muslim outlet if it is halal and the reply could be more curd
than this one. To me this twit was asking for it.
What do you think? Below is his post in All Singapore Stuff.
Was actually happy when they reopened, because my fiance and I used to frequent them before they disappeared for awhile without any notice. It really seems as per what a customer said in an earlier review - that they do not take pride in their eatery nor value their customers.
Yesterday I facebook messaged them (Sunset Grill & Pub Pte Ltd) to ask if they are Halal certified. My message was simple: "Hi are you guys halal certified?"
The reply was shocking and upsetting: "Hi Chun. Why do you ask such a question. This is Singapore not Saudi Arabia. Anyway. You'll be pleased to know that we are a pork loving restaurant. Peace be with you."
What do you think? Below is his post in All Singapore Stuff.
Was actually happy when they reopened, because my fiance and I used to frequent them before they disappeared for awhile without any notice. It really seems as per what a customer said in an earlier review - that they do not take pride in their eatery nor value their customers.
Yesterday I facebook messaged them (Sunset Grill & Pub Pte Ltd) to ask if they are Halal certified. My message was simple: "Hi are you guys halal certified?"
The reply was shocking and upsetting: "Hi Chun. Why do you ask such a question. This is Singapore not Saudi Arabia. Anyway. You'll be pleased to know that we are a pork loving restaurant. Peace be with you."
8/12/2017
Attacking N Korea could be a disguise to attacking China and Russia
The raising of tension by Trump and his threat to attack N Korea must not be seen in isolation. Attention for the moment has been directed at a possible attack on N Korea with little thought on what if this is only a disguise, and excuse to launch American nuclear weapons to attack China and Russia? Let everyone be alerted to the possibility that ICBMs flying towards N Korea could be diverted once at the border of China and Russia and both countries would have no time to react and be blown to pieces before they know what was happening.
American ICBMs cruising towards N Korea are as good as cruising towards China and Russia. Both countries are in the same flight path, same trajectory path. What better excuse would the Americans have to launch ICBMs with the Chinese and Russians misled into thinking that the ICBMs are heading towards N Korea when the real targets are China and Russia? At certain range from the borders of Russia and China, in fact once it is launched, and if China and Russia did not launch them as the same time towards the USA, the two countries are as good as cooked.
Would the military strategists and military commanders allow the Americans to launch their ICBMs towards N Korea when there is no guarantee that they would not change course in mid space? Would China and Russia trust the Americans firing their nuclear tipped ICBMs in their direction and think all is fine when the consequences could be the end of China and Russia?
China and Russia may tolerate a conventional war in the Korean Peninsula and play along as long as the war can be contained, limited. But once ICBMs are flying, it is all a different proposition altogether. When the Americans fired their ICBMs, there is no option left for China and Russia not to fire theirs at the Americans. There is no fail safe when the ICBMs are launched and no room for error.
The whole N Korean crisis could be an American ploy to lull everyone into a state of complacency. The main objective could be an all out attack against China, Russia and all other nuclear powers, to wipe them out without them knowing what hit them until it is too late..
Would the number one outlaw masquerading as the world's policeman be arrested before they commit the final crime against civilisation and the human race? This outlaw is an international terrorist on all counts and must be stopped immediately.
American ICBMs cruising towards N Korea are as good as cruising towards China and Russia. Both countries are in the same flight path, same trajectory path. What better excuse would the Americans have to launch ICBMs with the Chinese and Russians misled into thinking that the ICBMs are heading towards N Korea when the real targets are China and Russia? At certain range from the borders of Russia and China, in fact once it is launched, and if China and Russia did not launch them as the same time towards the USA, the two countries are as good as cooked.
Would the military strategists and military commanders allow the Americans to launch their ICBMs towards N Korea when there is no guarantee that they would not change course in mid space? Would China and Russia trust the Americans firing their nuclear tipped ICBMs in their direction and think all is fine when the consequences could be the end of China and Russia?
China and Russia may tolerate a conventional war in the Korean Peninsula and play along as long as the war can be contained, limited. But once ICBMs are flying, it is all a different proposition altogether. When the Americans fired their ICBMs, there is no option left for China and Russia not to fire theirs at the Americans. There is no fail safe when the ICBMs are launched and no room for error.
The whole N Korean crisis could be an American ploy to lull everyone into a state of complacency. The main objective could be an all out attack against China, Russia and all other nuclear powers, to wipe them out without them knowing what hit them until it is too late..
Would the number one outlaw masquerading as the world's policeman be arrested before they commit the final crime against civilisation and the human race? This outlaw is an international terrorist on all counts and must be stopped immediately.
There is nothing wrong with Singapore being pro Americans
Singapore or any country is constantly being pressured by circumstances to make choices especially in its relations with the big powers and with its neighbours. These are realities that Singapore has to live with and ignoring them blindly would court disasters to the country and people.
Singapore for many years has been sleeping with the Americans for good reasons. No need to explain this further. The problem facing Singapore today is the increasing demands by the Americans in their quest for world domination, to control the world by creating trouble spots all over the world. As long as the rest of the world is in trouble and bogged down by conflicts, these countries would not be a threat to the American hegemony and even have to depend on the Americans for mercies. This is the American game plan.
As such, Singapore has increasingly being dragged into the deep end and increasingly losing its own bearing and control of its own future. Singapore’s neutrality and national interest have been compromised by the Americans. Singapore is being cornered to become enemies of Americans’ enemies and unable to extricate itself from the quicksand. The Americans are very happy to be squeezing Singapore by its balls.
The earlier position of Singapore balancing between the big powers is past. Singapore no longer has this privilege to balance especially in its relations with China and the US. Though Singapore has been spurting about not being influenced by foreign powers, the overwhelming influence by the Americans on Singapore’s policies and decision is stark and very unfavourable to Singapore.
There is nothing wrong with Singapore being closely allied to the Americans. The caveat, it must not be compromised to become an American stooge and make enemies of China and Russia or neighbouring countries. Singapore must tell the Americans that there are certain positions that it must not take. It is like freedom. Singapore’s freedom or alignment with the Americans goes as far as it does not harm its relations with other countries or compromise the interest of other countries. The Americans, if they valued Singapore as a friend, an ally, must give space for Singapore to navigate in turbulent waters.
Singapore must not think that it has no leverage against the Americans and must be beholden to the Americans and do the will of the Americans. The Americans have no friends in the region. Many of the regional countries have fundamental differences with the Americans and American way of life in being Muslim countries. These countries are not reliable as long term allies of the Americans. Singapore is the only exception that can be closed to the Americans and be durable friends provided the Americans did not fixed Singapore to a point that it is forced to make a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
The Americans need Singapore more than Singapore needs the Americans. The Americans need Singapore to protect their interest in the region, to protect their Empire and to rule the world. Without Singapore, the Americans would not have a secure foothold in the region to promote their interests and project American power.
This is the bargaining chip for Singapore. Singapore can be good to the Americans but the Americans must also be good to Singapore and allowed Singapore room to breathe. Silly Singaporeans that chose to bury themselves together with the Americans and to become enemies of other countries are short sighted and dangerous. The future of Singapore is to be as neutral as possible while aligning with the Americans. Once Singapore forgot this basic principle, it is asking for its own irrelevance in being an important player in the region.
Would Singapore make itself relevant or allowed the Americans to make it irrelevant in realpolitik? Who is really influencing and pressurizing Singapore against Singapore’s interests? Some daft and shallow thinking Singaporeans would want Singapore to become little USA thinking that sitting on the shoulder of an evil Empire would allow them to talk like an arrogant spoilt brat. This is a very dangerous position for Singapore to take and has no room to escape when things turned bad.
Singapore for many years has been sleeping with the Americans for good reasons. No need to explain this further. The problem facing Singapore today is the increasing demands by the Americans in their quest for world domination, to control the world by creating trouble spots all over the world. As long as the rest of the world is in trouble and bogged down by conflicts, these countries would not be a threat to the American hegemony and even have to depend on the Americans for mercies. This is the American game plan.
As such, Singapore has increasingly being dragged into the deep end and increasingly losing its own bearing and control of its own future. Singapore’s neutrality and national interest have been compromised by the Americans. Singapore is being cornered to become enemies of Americans’ enemies and unable to extricate itself from the quicksand. The Americans are very happy to be squeezing Singapore by its balls.
The earlier position of Singapore balancing between the big powers is past. Singapore no longer has this privilege to balance especially in its relations with China and the US. Though Singapore has been spurting about not being influenced by foreign powers, the overwhelming influence by the Americans on Singapore’s policies and decision is stark and very unfavourable to Singapore.
There is nothing wrong with Singapore being closely allied to the Americans. The caveat, it must not be compromised to become an American stooge and make enemies of China and Russia or neighbouring countries. Singapore must tell the Americans that there are certain positions that it must not take. It is like freedom. Singapore’s freedom or alignment with the Americans goes as far as it does not harm its relations with other countries or compromise the interest of other countries. The Americans, if they valued Singapore as a friend, an ally, must give space for Singapore to navigate in turbulent waters.
Singapore must not think that it has no leverage against the Americans and must be beholden to the Americans and do the will of the Americans. The Americans have no friends in the region. Many of the regional countries have fundamental differences with the Americans and American way of life in being Muslim countries. These countries are not reliable as long term allies of the Americans. Singapore is the only exception that can be closed to the Americans and be durable friends provided the Americans did not fixed Singapore to a point that it is forced to make a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
The Americans need Singapore more than Singapore needs the Americans. The Americans need Singapore to protect their interest in the region, to protect their Empire and to rule the world. Without Singapore, the Americans would not have a secure foothold in the region to promote their interests and project American power.
This is the bargaining chip for Singapore. Singapore can be good to the Americans but the Americans must also be good to Singapore and allowed Singapore room to breathe. Silly Singaporeans that chose to bury themselves together with the Americans and to become enemies of other countries are short sighted and dangerous. The future of Singapore is to be as neutral as possible while aligning with the Americans. Once Singapore forgot this basic principle, it is asking for its own irrelevance in being an important player in the region.
Would Singapore make itself relevant or allowed the Americans to make it irrelevant in realpolitik? Who is really influencing and pressurizing Singapore against Singapore’s interests? Some daft and shallow thinking Singaporeans would want Singapore to become little USA thinking that sitting on the shoulder of an evil Empire would allow them to talk like an arrogant spoilt brat. This is a very dangerous position for Singapore to take and has no room to escape when things turned bad.
8/11/2017
Western media and their distorted news to influence the unwary
Yesterday’s headlines, ‘N Korea threatens to strike Guam’ in most
western media and Little USA’s media have this as their front page news.
This is the distorted truth that they want their readers to read to
form the impression that it is the N Koreans that are threatening the
Americans.
The truth that they refused to tell is that it was Trump, the Americans, that are raising tension and threatening war against the North Koreans. The Americans have consistently and repeatedly said all options are on the table, including a nuclear strike. And Trump added recklessly by saying that N Korea would face fire and fury and American power the world has not seen before.
North Korea’s threat to strike Guam is in response to the American threat of fire and fury and American power. It is a reaction to an imminent threat of war, an attack by the Americans. This fact is not reported and would not be reported in western biased media. They would not want to give the impression that the Americans are the ones that are threatening war against the N Koreans.
And the innocent and unwary readers, especially unthinking Singaporeans, would yell it is the N Koreans that are threatening to attack the Americans. Are the N Koreans as daft as the daft Singaporeans to think that it is a good thing to attack the Americans without being wiped out from the surface of this earth? How silly are these unthinking people?
Who is threatening war everyday? Which is capable of war and thinking that it could get away with it? The most evil one of course, the world’s number one outlaw country, the USA. The thing they forgot is that it is a different thing altogether to threaten another nuclear power that can hit back.
The more the American despot threatens the N Koreans, there would be more likelihood for the N Koreans to make a misstep and launch their nuclear weapons against the Americans. And they have all the reasons to assume an American preemptive strike and could miscalculate or misread a wrong move and all hell would break loose.
The silly Americans should zip their gaps before they invite calamity to the American people by their stupidity and rhetoric. The N Koreans are on tenterhook and could jump the gun. And if they do so, it is the fault of the Americans for raising tension beyond the level of rationality. And stop flying nuclear bombers over the Korean Peninsula to threaten the N Koreans. An edgy soldier might pull the trigger and poops, down comes one nuclear bomber and the beginning of armaggeddon.
Today’s headline, “North Korea plans to fire missiles near Guam ‘in days’” Now the N Koreans are fully in the game of chicken. The Americans flew nuclear bombers over the Korean Peninsula as a right and now threatening to shoot down N Korean missiles landing around Guam. Should the N Koreans threaten to shoot down the nuclear bombers over flying the Korean Peninsula?
The Americans have been threatening to attack every country with no one talking back. Russia, China and even Iran have kept mum and refused to engage in American war of words. The Americans have found a match in the N Koreans, meeting them word for word, threat for threat.
How now American cow?
The truth that they refused to tell is that it was Trump, the Americans, that are raising tension and threatening war against the North Koreans. The Americans have consistently and repeatedly said all options are on the table, including a nuclear strike. And Trump added recklessly by saying that N Korea would face fire and fury and American power the world has not seen before.
North Korea’s threat to strike Guam is in response to the American threat of fire and fury and American power. It is a reaction to an imminent threat of war, an attack by the Americans. This fact is not reported and would not be reported in western biased media. They would not want to give the impression that the Americans are the ones that are threatening war against the N Koreans.
And the innocent and unwary readers, especially unthinking Singaporeans, would yell it is the N Koreans that are threatening to attack the Americans. Are the N Koreans as daft as the daft Singaporeans to think that it is a good thing to attack the Americans without being wiped out from the surface of this earth? How silly are these unthinking people?
Who is threatening war everyday? Which is capable of war and thinking that it could get away with it? The most evil one of course, the world’s number one outlaw country, the USA. The thing they forgot is that it is a different thing altogether to threaten another nuclear power that can hit back.
The more the American despot threatens the N Koreans, there would be more likelihood for the N Koreans to make a misstep and launch their nuclear weapons against the Americans. And they have all the reasons to assume an American preemptive strike and could miscalculate or misread a wrong move and all hell would break loose.
The silly Americans should zip their gaps before they invite calamity to the American people by their stupidity and rhetoric. The N Koreans are on tenterhook and could jump the gun. And if they do so, it is the fault of the Americans for raising tension beyond the level of rationality. And stop flying nuclear bombers over the Korean Peninsula to threaten the N Koreans. An edgy soldier might pull the trigger and poops, down comes one nuclear bomber and the beginning of armaggeddon.
Today’s headline, “North Korea plans to fire missiles near Guam ‘in days’” Now the N Koreans are fully in the game of chicken. The Americans flew nuclear bombers over the Korean Peninsula as a right and now threatening to shoot down N Korean missiles landing around Guam. Should the N Koreans threaten to shoot down the nuclear bombers over flying the Korean Peninsula?
The Americans have been threatening to attack every country with no one talking back. Russia, China and even Iran have kept mum and refused to engage in American war of words. The Americans have found a match in the N Koreans, meeting them word for word, threat for threat.
How now American cow?
8/10/2017
John G Roberts Jr, American Chief Justice’s commencement speech at Cardigan Mountain School
We welcomed The Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of the
United States, as our Commencement speaker. Father to Jack Roberts ’17,
Chief Justice Roberts addressed his son’s class with advice for the
future.
“From time to time, in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice,” he said.
“I hope you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time, so that you don’t take friends for granted.
I wish you bad luck again, from time to time, so that you will be conscious of the roll of chance in life, and understand that your success is not completely deserved, and the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then your opponent will gloat over your failure.
It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.
I hope you will be ignored, so you know the importance of listening to others, and
I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
Whether I wish these things or not they’re going to happen, and whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon you ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
PS. This is a speech about humility that the high and mighty that think they would never fail, never fall and always have good luck smiling at them should read and ponder. No one is infallible and luck would run out one day. It is only when.
“From time to time, in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice,” he said.
“I hope you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty.
Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time, so that you don’t take friends for granted.
I wish you bad luck again, from time to time, so that you will be conscious of the roll of chance in life, and understand that your success is not completely deserved, and the failure of others is not completely deserved either.
And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then your opponent will gloat over your failure.
It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship.
I hope you will be ignored, so you know the importance of listening to others, and
I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion.
Whether I wish these things or not they’re going to happen, and whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon you ability to see the message in your misfortunes.”
PS. This is a speech about humility that the high and mighty that think they would never fail, never fall and always have good luck smiling at them should read and ponder. No one is infallible and luck would run out one day. It is only when.
8/09/2017
US The Evil Empire is the World's Number One Rogue and Terrorist Country.
It is shocking to learn that the United Security Council under the behest of US has imposed more stringent sanctions on DPRK. Even China and Russia have succumbed to US baloney. China and Russia and other countries which supported US actions against North Korea ( DPRK ) will soon regret as events eventually unfold to reveal the real evil intentions of US.
They should know that US has never have any real interest and intention to have world peace. Creating wars and distabilities in other countries is US lifelong policy.
US is bogged down by serious financial and economic disaster of their own making and by the burden of insolvable heavy debt of about twenty-six trillion dollars which they will not be able to pay even for the next hundred years. It is surviving on the manipulated fake petrol dollar. Once the fake petrol dollar is taken down US will fall like a pack of cards.
Nevertheless US has to find a solution to its debt problem through permanent wars which it constantly created so that it can make hundreds of billions of dollars by selling weapons to unsuspecting warring factions and thus also enable a continuous support to its humongous military industrial complex of the Pentagon.
Sanctions is the mainstay of US chicanery policy to rake in cheap and easy money from other countries. By adopting the medium of sanctions US is intentionally using it as a tool to blackmail countries which breached the sanctions by giving itself illateral extraterrestorial power and rights to summon the breaching countries before US judiciary with ludicrous fines of billions of dollars. US is shamefully accustommed to this cheap and easy way of extorting humongous some of money from other countries under the guise of sanctions. It is time the United Nations take up the cudgel of demolishing the evil and insidious practice of US sanctions and stop its blackmailing practice once and for all. Or inversely the world must unite and give US its own medicine and sanction US on whatever it may be.
After the Second World War US wanted to bring the whole world under its total control and hegemony. Russia and China were in its path to prevent it from happening. This resulted in a Cold War whereby tens of millions of people died in proxy wars in other countries while US escaped unscathed both in death and destruction.
It is illogical for US and its allies to call DPRK rogue country and its testing of rockets and missiles as hostile and provocative. DPRK is driven and forced to take such preventive actions for its own security because of the ever pervading US threat. DPRK like all of us know US can never be trusted in any talks or treaties. As the native American Indians said, " Whitemen speak with fork tongues and can never be trusted."
Talks and treaties is US strategy to dull the opponents in a stage of unpreparedness before US mounts a sudden attack at its time of choosing and convenience. In the case of North Korea, US will definitely attack and subject it to regime change just as it did in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and earlier in Persia ( Iran ) in 1973, Indonesia in 1965, Egypt, Chile, Panama, Honduras, and Bolivia. Only Syria is saved by Russia's timely intervention.
It is ironical that DPRK with no military stations or military bases outside its own country, never attack other countries, never conduct any military drills outside its borders and never interfere in the affairs of other countries is called a rogue country and its actions provocative. On the other hand US has always meddled badly in other countries internal affairs, conduct regime change, build over a thousand military bases all over the world in Europe, Africa, Asia, North and South America, Australia and Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean, Guam and Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean and frequently and continuously conduct very hostile and provocative military drills around Russia, China and North Korea. Is US an angelic country or is it in essence a natural rogue and terrorist country?
The trouble and disorder US is causing in Korea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Ukraine and Middle East are side issues and not the main motive and target of US warmongering. This is only a precursor, a preamble to US ultimate aim and target of conducting war and destruction against Russia and China which have been the hindrance to US ambition of achieving world domination and hegemony.
US wild dreams of world domination and hegemony will eventually cause Armageddon and the entire destruction of mankind on earth.
The world will never have peace so long as US continues its evil pervading policy of aggression and permanent wars. It is time for peace loving people and countries all over the world to unite and bring down US, the Evil Empire.
Southernglory1
Is a mule a horse or a donkey?
A mule is fathered by a male donkey and a female horse. And there is
another permutation, a hinny is the offspring of a male horse and a
female donkey. There is a distinction, a material distinction to have
the cross breed known either as a mule or a hinny.
So is a mule/hinny a horse or a donkey? Using normal human convention, the offspring is normally referred to as of the same breed or lineage as the father. So if a father is a Chinese, Indian or Malay, the offspring will be known as a Chinese, Indian or Malay respectively. A mule should thus be called a donkey, to take the breed of the father.
And in the same manner, a hinny should be called a horse, to take the lineage of the father. In some ethnic groups, the lineage comes from the maternal side. So a mule would be called a horse and a hinny be called a donkey. Very flexible cultural practices.
No one bothers to ask a mule or hinny what they are or what they would like to be. Would a mule choose to be called a horse or a donkey, and likewise would a hinny choose to be called a horse or a donkey? What would they choose?
Under normal circumstances both would say anything also can. Can call them donkey, horse or mule or dinny, it does not matter. But when it does matter say there is a prize or a 5 year supply of the best apple or carrot to be called a horse or a donkey, would the mule or hinny choose to be identified as a horse or a donkey?
Things are normally very simple until conditions are changed when there are benefits or disadvantages attached to it.
So, is a mule or hinny a horse or a donkey? Answer, it depends.
If the prize is meaningful, substantial, and will go to a donkey or a horse, not only mule or hinny would want to be called a donkey, all the horses would also want to be called a donkey or vice versa. Pragmatism anyone?
So is a mule/hinny a horse or a donkey? Using normal human convention, the offspring is normally referred to as of the same breed or lineage as the father. So if a father is a Chinese, Indian or Malay, the offspring will be known as a Chinese, Indian or Malay respectively. A mule should thus be called a donkey, to take the breed of the father.
And in the same manner, a hinny should be called a horse, to take the lineage of the father. In some ethnic groups, the lineage comes from the maternal side. So a mule would be called a horse and a hinny be called a donkey. Very flexible cultural practices.
No one bothers to ask a mule or hinny what they are or what they would like to be. Would a mule choose to be called a horse or a donkey, and likewise would a hinny choose to be called a horse or a donkey? What would they choose?
Under normal circumstances both would say anything also can. Can call them donkey, horse or mule or dinny, it does not matter. But when it does matter say there is a prize or a 5 year supply of the best apple or carrot to be called a horse or a donkey, would the mule or hinny choose to be identified as a horse or a donkey?
Things are normally very simple until conditions are changed when there are benefits or disadvantages attached to it.
So, is a mule or hinny a horse or a donkey? Answer, it depends.
If the prize is meaningful, substantial, and will go to a donkey or a horse, not only mule or hinny would want to be called a donkey, all the horses would also want to be called a donkey or vice versa. Pragmatism anyone?
8/08/2017
PAP’s noble intent in the EP going awry
With all noble and good intention, the PAP went out of its way to change
the Constitution, gathered some of the most prominent citizens in a
Constitutional Commission to sanction the need for a Malay President and
how important and critical this is for a multi racial Singapore.
Unfortunately this whole scheme is looking to go astray and turning
sour. The ground is so uncomfortable and the only people that did not
see any problem with this whole thing are you know who.
The constitutional change is to ensure that a Malay will be elected as the next President, or an ethnic minority, after a lapse of 5 terms. And in this coming election it is loud and clear that it is the turn for the Malay community to elect one of their kind to be the next President of this island.
The change brought along high hopes in the Malay community that at last another Malay would be the President after a long lapse since Yusof Ishak was the first and last Malay President. There was exuberance in the community but with some reservations that the crutch mentality is going to plague them once again. But never mind, it is not their fault as the community did not ask for it. It was all the initiative of the govt of the day that wants to provide this crutch to give the community a lift.
All seems well and good until the search of a Malay candidate begins. And to the horror of the Malay community, they could not find an ethnic Malay qualified to stand for this election, at least till now. And all the three candidates were not Malay ethnically or were more dominant in their ethnic lineages in other races.
How would this EP go along when it is reserved specially for the Malay community, to be represented by a Malay, other ethnic communities not allowed to compete in this race, but in the end no Malay candidate is up for election? An election reserved for Malays but no Malay candidate except mixed blood Malays or even Pakistani!
How pathetic can this be? How ludicrous! How farcical! The whole scheme is to appease the Malay community, to make them feel that the community is not left out in the cold, they are not forgotten. Would the outcome of the EP election bring comfort to the Malay community if the elected President is anything but a Malay?
The constitutional change is to ensure that a Malay will be elected as the next President, or an ethnic minority, after a lapse of 5 terms. And in this coming election it is loud and clear that it is the turn for the Malay community to elect one of their kind to be the next President of this island.
The change brought along high hopes in the Malay community that at last another Malay would be the President after a long lapse since Yusof Ishak was the first and last Malay President. There was exuberance in the community but with some reservations that the crutch mentality is going to plague them once again. But never mind, it is not their fault as the community did not ask for it. It was all the initiative of the govt of the day that wants to provide this crutch to give the community a lift.
All seems well and good until the search of a Malay candidate begins. And to the horror of the Malay community, they could not find an ethnic Malay qualified to stand for this election, at least till now. And all the three candidates were not Malay ethnically or were more dominant in their ethnic lineages in other races.
How would this EP go along when it is reserved specially for the Malay community, to be represented by a Malay, other ethnic communities not allowed to compete in this race, but in the end no Malay candidate is up for election? An election reserved for Malays but no Malay candidate except mixed blood Malays or even Pakistani!
How pathetic can this be? How ludicrous! How farcical! The whole scheme is to appease the Malay community, to make them feel that the community is not left out in the cold, they are not forgotten. Would the outcome of the EP election bring comfort to the Malay community if the elected President is anything but a Malay?
8/07/2017
Foreign powers are pressurizing Singapore to do their will
A few days back Chan Chun Sing was quoted to have said that some foreign
powers are putting pressure on Singapore to undermine Singapore’s
interests. When asked, Chan Chun Sing said it was inconvenient to
mention who was that foreign power. This was what he said,
“Singaporeans must be vigilant about any potential attempts by foreign
parties to influence local politics and undermine the democratic
process.
Foreign interference in domestic politics and electoral processes cannot be underestimated and must always be factored into our social and psychological defence. History has shown that bigger and more powerful states will seek to advance their interests by projecting their influence on usually smaller or less organised ones via all instruments of power.”
Foreign powers are not only undermining our domestic politics but also to advance their interests by projecting their influence and power. On 4 Aug, it was reported in the main media that the Americans were ‘pressing Southeast Asian countries to “downgrade diplomatic engagements and exchanges” with North Korea as it seeks to build a “chorus of condemnation” ahead of the Asean Regional Forum(ARF) in Manila.”’
And just not too far in the recent past, the Singapore govt had made public statements that it would speak out against big powers on grounds of principle and our national interests when they sought to bully small countries into acquiescence. Would Singapore stand up to this pressure by the Americans bullying and pressuring small states to do its will? Or this American action is in line with Singapore’s interests and instead Singapore should support the American position?
Last Friday Singapore opened its card to expel Huang Jing and wife for trying to influence its foreign policies. While influence the policies of nation states is part and parcel of diplomacy, there are OB markers that should not be crossed. All govts and diplomats are involved in influencing policies of other states to favour them. All the superpowers are doing the same except in different ways. The Americans and its intelligence services have been doing this for ages even to the extend of espionage, assassination, regime change and war. The flurry of belligerent activities against the North Koreans is a case in point when the resort to war is on the table as far as this outlaw Empire is concerned. China on the other hand is talking about negotiation and peaceful settlements of differences.
Asean and China has just concluded a foreign ministers meeting in Manila and agreed to seek peaceful negotiation on their difference. The South China Sea dispute has returned to sanity with Asean telling the Americans to get lost and not to meddle with issues that do not concern the Americans to the ire of the Americans. For good riddance, peace has returned to the South China Sea and the region with the nation stakes ignoring the agitation for war in the region by the Americans.
The Americans are not giving up and will continue to push and coerce the Asean countries to be embroiled in a war they are cooking in the Korean Peninsula. How many Asean states would be dragged into this war that has nothing to do with them and their national security?
Foreign interference in domestic politics and electoral processes cannot be underestimated and must always be factored into our social and psychological defence. History has shown that bigger and more powerful states will seek to advance their interests by projecting their influence on usually smaller or less organised ones via all instruments of power.”
Foreign powers are not only undermining our domestic politics but also to advance their interests by projecting their influence and power. On 4 Aug, it was reported in the main media that the Americans were ‘pressing Southeast Asian countries to “downgrade diplomatic engagements and exchanges” with North Korea as it seeks to build a “chorus of condemnation” ahead of the Asean Regional Forum(ARF) in Manila.”’
And just not too far in the recent past, the Singapore govt had made public statements that it would speak out against big powers on grounds of principle and our national interests when they sought to bully small countries into acquiescence. Would Singapore stand up to this pressure by the Americans bullying and pressuring small states to do its will? Or this American action is in line with Singapore’s interests and instead Singapore should support the American position?
Last Friday Singapore opened its card to expel Huang Jing and wife for trying to influence its foreign policies. While influence the policies of nation states is part and parcel of diplomacy, there are OB markers that should not be crossed. All govts and diplomats are involved in influencing policies of other states to favour them. All the superpowers are doing the same except in different ways. The Americans and its intelligence services have been doing this for ages even to the extend of espionage, assassination, regime change and war. The flurry of belligerent activities against the North Koreans is a case in point when the resort to war is on the table as far as this outlaw Empire is concerned. China on the other hand is talking about negotiation and peaceful settlements of differences.
Asean and China has just concluded a foreign ministers meeting in Manila and agreed to seek peaceful negotiation on their difference. The South China Sea dispute has returned to sanity with Asean telling the Americans to get lost and not to meddle with issues that do not concern the Americans to the ire of the Americans. For good riddance, peace has returned to the South China Sea and the region with the nation stakes ignoring the agitation for war in the region by the Americans.
The Americans are not giving up and will continue to push and coerce the Asean countries to be embroiled in a war they are cooking in the Korean Peninsula. How many Asean states would be dragged into this war that has nothing to do with them and their national security?
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