AI without intelligence

The days of planning ahead of the curve, chasing the next trend and keeping a step ahead of our neighbours were the keys to Singapore's success in the 70s and 80s. From low skill manufacturing, Singapore moved ahead into the service sectors like banking and finance, medical services and of course shopping and retail trade under the name of tourism. Somehow after jumping onto the higher skills industries and services, it seemed that the story stopped right there, or nothing of substance came on to replace the growth sectors of the early decades of rapid economic growth.

For the last couple of decades, Singapore's economy has been in a limbo, ie around 2 to 3 percent growth as against the 5 to 7 percent growth rates of other Asean countries. And this seems to be the big success of Singapore, to claim big credit for such miserly growth rates and echoing the western media to denounce the 6.5 percent growth rate of China as if the Chinese economy is about to crash. Can't imagine what was going on in those silly heads that sneered at a US$13 trillion economy growing at 6.5 percent and praising a US$200b economy struggling at 2 to 3 percent.

And to add insult to injury, the miniscule growth rate was built on immigration, growing the population but not on productivity, and on a fictitious housing bubble with a 99 year lease that is coming to an end sooner than expected when the issue was totally ignored earlier, like the proverbial monkey covering its eyes, not wanting to see or to know.

One big mistake that is showing itself today is the big failure to recognise the importance of computer science, programming, software and artificial intelligence. With a highly educated population that boasted of pursuing a knowledge based economy, about higher education and intelligence, there is no intelligence or no one thought it an intelligent thing to focus our education in computer science and technology. The consequence, we need to import such talents or trained people from third world countries that have the intelligence to educate their people to meet the demands of the 21st Century.

Didn't they know that the computer related industries, the exploitation of information technology and artificial intelligence are very well suited to a highly educated population, an industry that requires little land and space and natural resources to grow as needed in manufacturing? Didn't they know that the 4th Industrial Revolution relies mainly on a pool of well trained manpower, using only the brains to conquer the world?  Are our education system geared and transformed to go in this direction, to build a silicon valley here two decades ago?

The calls to build smart cities sounded so hollow when there are just not enough of such skilled people to take it forward as a national initiative, as the next economic engine of growth. This is an industry that a tiny island like Singapore can compete with big countries without being too badly disadvantage for short of land and natural resources. Software related products do not need large factories and warehouses to store the goods, do not need more natural resources and material to produce more products. The products are all in the air, in the clouds.

We have wasted a whole generation of people educated in the wrong fields and disciplines and are paying the price for it today. Our people are now good only as security guards and taxi drivers and table cleaners, armed with useless degrees and diplomas. The future is about AI but we don't have the intelligence to catch this early enough and are now miles behind even to third world countries. We missed the boats of googles, facebooks, twitters, whatsapp, wechats, alibaba, alipay, blockchains, uber, etc etc, and all the apps that are invading the world like a storm.

Our economy is still largely dependable on shopping malls, housing and rentals, foodcourts, hawker centres to survive. Any new ideas that could match the drive and creativity of the 70s and 80s, when the EDB and associated organisations were chasing new ideas, raring to go with big ideas of growth? Running out of ideas except spending money and resources barking at fake news?

NTUC helping out in lowering the cost of living

At least the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation can look forward to some financial relief in July till June next year. They could get their kopi or teh fixes every Wednesday for 50 cents per cup in NTUC foodcourts and Kopitiams. And for Union Members, this privilege comes earlier, in May. According to the media report, 1.7m people are going to benefit from this. If one person is to pay $1 less, that would be $1.7m less to pay every Wednesday.
 
The NTUC has responded to the fears and concerns of workers’ anxieties about the cost of living. With this discounted kopi and teh, including Kopi O, Kopi C, teh O and teh C, all at 50 cents a cup and one can drink as many cuppas as one like on every Wednesday, the whole day.
 
Think of the savings from drinking kopi or teh for the whole day, it would come to quite a substantial sum. If one just takes a cup of kopi or the each for 3 meals, it would cost only $1.50 a day. And given the price of Kopi/teh at $1.60, that is more than $3 savings a day. OK, for those millionaires and billionaires, please do not take advantage of this privilege just because there is no mean testing, go for your designer drinks at $5 or $20 a cup in the branded coffee joints. This is for workers in the Pioneer and Merdeka Generations. I will still stick to my 3 in 1 at 20 cents a pack. Hopefully they will look into the 3 in 1s and reduce the price to 10 cents per pack. Then it will be some savings for me to count on.
 
Would be nice if every Monday or Friday ‘chap chye png’ would be $1 for two veg and a meat meal. Keeping my fingers crossed that this would be next in the list to lower the cost of living for the oldie workers.
 
Thank you NTUC, you are most kind. Oops, must thank Mary Liew and Ng Chee Meng for this initiative. Every cent counts. It is heartwarming that millionaires could be caring and still think of helping the poor to save a few cents per cuppa.

Andrew Yang for President - Yang2020.com

Andrew Yang for President, not the Singapore President but the President of the USA, POTUS! Wow, is that true, fake news, or wild imagination?

Andrew Yang is the new American sensation for the yang, oops, young Americans. He is in the race out of nowhere, just like where Donald Trump hit the presidential trial, an outsider. No one serious enough would think Trump would be the POTUS then, and likewise no one would think Andrew Yang is gonna be the next POTUS. But don't be too sure.

Andrew Yang and his YangGang brand are starting to stir interest in who is this Andrew Yang. The Americans are waking up to the sound and images of an unlikely Asian candidate wanna be the President of America. Andrew Yang came from a Taiwanese immigrant family, his father an engineering professor who used to work for Ford Motors and GM and with a string of patents in his name. His brother is also a professor and his mother a medical doctor, I think. Andrew Yang was an attorney but gave up to become an entrepreneur.

His campaign cry is about Math, about numbers, using numbers to speak to his supporters. He is also the main candidate that is making full use of the internet and social media to run his campaign and is gaining ground day by day. The young Americans can identify with him. But his most powerful weapon is UBI. UBI is Universal Basic Income for every adult American 18 and above to protect them from the invasion of AI and automation that would make many Americans jobless. Many have already fell victims to unemployment cause by AI and automation and robotics.

Humanity First is his campaign logo. Here is a small 2 minute clips on who is this Andrew Yang.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRLRj6uEISU . Another clip about a rally in Boston, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiX-cs31FSs, a very stimulating 29 minutes rally worth listening on a Sunday morning.

He is fighting his campaign with new media plus the old traditional way of making town hall speeches. We used to call them political rallies, but with so many American influence, town hall meeting is now the new catchphrase.

When jobs run out for generals

First they were first choice for ministers. Then there were offered jobs as top civil servants and CEOs. The latest offer is COO, a level or two below a CEO. What would happen when there is no more minister, top civil servant or CEO jobs for the busloads of generals retiring from the services for one reason or another? Would they become taxi drivers or more appropriately security guard chiefs, more related to their training and experience and still can wear decorated uniforms with medals hanging everywhere?

How many generals are being promoted every year and how many are being retired at the same time? Our SAF general making machine is very productive and producing generals non stop and in great numbers. But not only minister's jobs are limited, top civil servants and CEOs of GLCs are also limited, and so are COOs. There must come a time when there will be an oversupply, just like too many graduates looking for too little jobs and out of no choice they have to end up as taxi drivers or part timers.

When would a general be reemployed after leaving the service as a dept manager or a VP, sounds so much better, still sounds like a president if not of the vice upfront.

And as they said, all govt policies are double edged swords and will cut both ways, only when. The high pay for ministers, for top civil servants, for top GLCs, would eventually kill the system when they cannot find the money to pay for so many of them, or not enough to go round.  The CPF, ever increasing property prices, specifically HDB flats, high medical cost, high influx of foreigners, would eventually take their tolls on this little island economy of paying millionaires and making millionaire employees.

You cannot keep kicking the can down the road. The end is nearer than you think.

Would Heng Swee Kiat be the next PM?

This is a funny question indeed. Some may think it is mischievous. He has

just been appointed as the next DPM, the only DPM with the two incumbent DPMs

being sidelined to become senior ministers to make way for him. It is only natural

and only time is in his way to be the next PM. Everything said so far about him

is good, he has the support of Hsien Loong and his peers. The two DPMs

also have good words to say about him. His appointment as the next PM is

double or triple confirmed.

Can anyone be so certain of what tomorrow brings, what would happen

tomorrow? Man proposes, man designs, but they always say God disposes what

man proposed. There is something called destiny, fate, what is yours would

be yours, what is not yours would not be yours. If Swee Kiat is destined to

be the PM, he will be.

Until the day comes, no one can be 100% sure of this event. Should events

take an unfortunate turn and Swee Kiat’s position is challenged, who would

be the next obvious choice? Chan Chun Sing would be next in line if

according to an earlier plan. People were surprised that he was not named

the 2nd  DPM. Is there anything to read into this? And there is Chee Hian

and Tharman still hanging around. Further down the ladder there is Ye Kung

and Shanmugam.

Do not rule out the dark horses. If there is a leadership crisis at this

moment, the game is open to all, and dark horses would likely to emerge to

challenge Swee Kiat for the PM post. He is still feeling around and not

really in it yet.

Until the fat lady sings….whatever will be will be. Anwar’s position is

even nearer but still an uncertainty. He was so near yet so far. It is not

that easy to be a PM unless one has the good fortune to be one.
'A Blackbox survey commissioned by Yahoo Singapore confirmed the results of our poll. In that survey, 69 per cent of 897 respondents said they would support Tharman as a candidate to become prime minister.

Netizens responding to Tharman’s latest post echoed these sentiments as they asserted that they are ready for a non-Chinese PM. Some hoped for a “miracle” that Tharman would assume the top post as others opined that they do not like Heng as much as they like Tharman:'  Copied from theindependent.sg

In another poll from the same article said 92% was in favour of Tharman as the PM, only 8% was in favour of Swee Kiat. Maybe should rule these polls as fake news, unreliable and causing confusion.

Teymoor Nabili, a talent wasted, used in wrong areas

Keyu Jin earned her PhD from Harvard and is currently a professor of macro economics in London School of Economics. She has been giving lectures on China and understanding China, economics, social and political and anything relevant to China from a native Chinese perspective. Her views are refreshing not that Americans or the West would not see China that way, she has a very good grasp of economic issues and speaks very eloquently like an American without the Chinese accent. Google the youtube to have a different perspective of China instead of the dull and mundane silly views from the West and pseudo academics.

Two equally articulate Chinese presenters on contemporary issues concerning China and its relations with the West are the hosts of The Point programme in Tian Wei and Liu Xin. These two ladies are equally brilliant in their understanding of the issues of the day. In particular Liu Xin, she has a very professional and no nonsense approach to the issues under discussion and would brush off any silly bananas or westerners that parrot unthinkingly on stereotype western agenda, myths and smears on China.

What have they got to do with Teymoor Nabili? For those who are in the know, Teymoor Nabili is an excellent programme host/journalist on contemporary issues particularly big power relations and politics. When he first appeared on Channel News Asia, it was something good that finally happened to CNA, a very high calibre professional that could raise the standard of its programmes and someone that I would not mind listening to. This did not last long, as they said about good things.

No, he is still a presenter in CNA, but the topics he is presenting today are so tame and lame in a way. Climate change, green energy and blockchains in the Perspective programme. I would not spend more than 5 minutes on such stuff.

The big question that I am asking is why would such a gifted and talented TV host not be assigned to deal with political issues that were his forte, issues that he is very comfortable with and would generate a lot of interests among the audience? Is it because he did not give face to silly westerners and brushed them off when they started to utter nonsense, something that is unpalatable and unacceptable to western audience? I have seen and heard him did it several times to the chagrin of the westerners in the panel or in the audience. Never have silly westerners uttering their nonsense and parroting political agenda been told off or brush off so abruptly and publicly by the host of a talk show.

Perhaps his Iranian heritage may have something to do with it. The West, in particular the Americans, cannot tolerate Iranians and would not want to be seen sitting at the same table with an Iranian or an Iranian TV host. Worse, to be belittled or made to look small with their stupid comments by an Iranian is something they cannot live with.

It is a pity that Teymoor is not given more opportunity to host more contemporary political issues than talking about the environment. One thing for sure, Teymoor would never use American catchphrases like other silly presenters would do so to promote American agenda. Lame topics should be left to the academically oriented or our young local TV hosts to gain more experience and exposure before they graduate into serious and hard topics like telling the westerners off when they try to patronise the Asian audience with their myths and political agenda.

Liu Xin and Keyu Jin are in the same class as Teymoor Nabili, telling different stories from an Asian perspective that are rare in the English medium media dominated by the West and the bananas. The world needs more of them to give a more balance view of what is happening and calling a spade a spade. They should be given more space to keep the world informed and see things on a balanced perspective, not the American or western perspective that white is good and must be good, any other colours are bad.

PS. Singapore is very good in employing top professional talents, pays them like top professional talents but used them to clean the tables?  Did anyone say waste of money, waste of talent?

Why Sri Lanka a target?

More than 300 died and more than 500 hospitalised due to the latest IS bombings in Sri Lanka. Imagine the same magnitude and death toll happened in Singapore! The question of why Sri Lanka, a Buddhist majority country with only 7% Muslims. According to expert interviewed by CNA, Rohan Gunaratna said it was because Sri Lanka was a soft target. See, being soft target, even a Buddhist country with a small Muslim minority would not be spared.

Singapore is also a soft target, with a small Muslim minority and with legs opened so wide that 10 elephants can crawl pass easily, with so many wildlife coming in and out like their hometown, do you think Singapore presents an excellent soft target for terrorist attacks? I think not, our secret weapon is Newater. I have written a piece on the unmentionable benefits of drinking Newater but have yet to post it here.

Newater is an antidote for many wildlife disorders. Wildlife that are here must have taken Newater, and that has in a way tempered their wildness. Just imagine if there is no Newater, how wild would the wildlife be. This could be a good reason why Singapore is spared, so far. Must be the Newater.

While we think we may be safe, a soft target is a soft target. And Gunaratna has warned in his interview that all govts must be on high alert especially in SE Asia when Muslims are a majority. And the silly asshole in Australia thought he could bomb mosques and killed Muslims and could get away with it. He has just stirred the hornet's nest. For every white extremist there is a Muslim extremist to match his evil and prejudiced ways. You can hit them, they can hit you.

In the Sri Lanka case, the intelligence services were warned of an impending attack but this information did not get to the govt leaders. Dunno what were they so busy about that such an important threat did not get to them in time, after 10 days. We can understand how busy our millionaire politicians are, now buried themselves with the threats from fake news. I think they should take the advice of the intelligence services seriously and give top priority to such threats even if fake news is important.

Which do you think is a bigger threat, a clear and present danger, terrorist threat or fake news? Does the govt or police have enough men and resources to attend to such deadly threats when they have to take care of fake news? Would they be spreaded so thin, just like during the Little India riot that they just don't have enough men in blue to take a hold on terrorist problem?

Is there a need to monitor and tighten the influx of potential terrorists coming in when the legs are open so widely? Would it be futile, too many but too few men to handle? Or should we have faith in our Newater that would make the terrorists lose their minds and become more docile and timid or less deadly like daft sinkies?

The Americans should continue to do what they know best

The Americans have been indulging in smear campaign against anything that China is doing. They boycotted the AIIB claiming stupidly, that there is no transparency, low standard of rules and governance etc etc as if all the countries especially the European countries participating in the AIIB are there as sleeping partners and could not do anything. Such claims insult everyone, including those that are forced to believe in the American white lies.
 
Next big hit list is the BRI. Again all the stupid comments about no transparency, unfair practices, etc etc and the added thing called debt traps. The Americans are saying that all the countries participating in the BRI are so stupid that they willingly joined the BRI to get into debt traps. And those countries that borrowed money from IMF and World Bank would not get into debt traps if they managed to get a loan in the first place. 

More than 150 countries have joined the BRI, telling the Americans that they don’t believe in their lies of debt traps and all the shit they threw at the BRI.
 
And of course the infamous attack on Huawei as a security risk but not Apple, Google or Facebook or Twitter that have been doing worse thing than what the Americans accused Huawei of. Anything Americans is safe because the Americans have planted all their spying gadgets and softwares in these systems, and users just have to accept American monitoring and spying on them, cannot question, cannot object. These are givens for those using American systems and gadgets.
 
What the Americans should be doing instead of smearing and badmouthing what China is doing for the rest of the world is to focus on what they do best, ie sanctions, regime change and wars and selling weapons of mass destruction. While China is holding annual forum to engage countries of the world in infrastructure development to boost international trade, the Americans spent all their energy just to stir shit and to condemn these economic initiatives as expanding political influence and creating debt traps.
 
The Americans could do itself a big favour by conducting more forum to be held in the US on how to conduct regime change, which country to be shortlisted for regime change, how to support terrorist organizations, how to impose economic sanctions to cripple and destroy countries and to facilitate the bringing down of govts in order to put in place American lackeys that would run and ruin the countries in favour of the Americans.
 
The Americans can also hold big arms and weapon fairs to sell their weapons for countries to conduct wars, to blow each other up, to bring economies to ruins. Not to forget, to threaten countries with wars by provocations and aggression in sailing warships and warplanes to violate on national territories under the pretext of freedom of navigation. Americans are very good at these things, no one else could be their equal or coming near. All options are on the table, said the evil men in Washington.
 
These are the forte of the Americans and they would do very well to spend more time promoting such things and selling more weapons. No need to waste time and resources attacking and badmouthing China. They don’t work, the rest of the world see more benefits in trade and economic growth, not in wars, and would continue to support the Chinese initiatives to bring peace and better lives for their people. No unnecessary wars, death and destruction.
 
Do what you do best, conduct more wars, more sanctions and more regime change and sell more weapons….and tell more white lies.
 
Oh, I almost forgot, promote more rule of law, the American style or cowboy laws, or outlaws. The BRI is about bringing nations and people together, about cooperation, about a common destiny for human kind, unlike the building of walls and Americans first policy. The Americans should continue to cling to its dwindling hegemony and Evil Empire.
 
PS. Under questioning by Senator Rand Paul, Pompeo, the former CIA director said, ‘We lied, we cheated, we stole.’ That was, is and his CIA.

More lunches stolen by wildlife

The frustrations of PMETs being marginalized

Met and heard of the frustrations of PMETs being marginalised. Pitiful cases such as a 48 year old man out of job for 1.5 years after being retrenched from his previous work in logistics. Outcompeted by foreign PMETs. He has 4 children to feed and now works odd jobs to make ends meet. Fearful, angry and afraid for his family’s future.

Surely we had enough of the policies that were the caused of this misery to our own citizens made so by a Government focused on their self-serving political interest piling up and locking our money for God knows what.

Assured him and others like him, that we must not give up and believe in the collective power in our own hands and have the courage to use it. We can take back this country from the misguided elites.
Best quote for the night, “… if LKY in opposition now, i think he too cannot make it into parliament with all the mechanism to block the opposition now in place like GRC and others…”. Oh the irony of it all…..

*Facebook post by Damanhuri Bin Abas.


Should we say that he deserved it? Or should we say that he needs to go for retraining to become cleaners since his skills is not needed or he is not better than the wildlife that stole his lunch? Or should he go overseas to steal the lunches of wildlife in their home country?

Or should we say that cannot be helped, we have already signed the CECA, so cannot back out from it or this is the new normal, foreigners are welcomed here, or will be coming here, and we cannot shut the door in the face of the onslaught of the wildlife?

We are hapless, the world is changing and we must keep up with the time. Ohhhhh, why this is not happening in other countries? Why are other countries protecting jobs for their own citizens but we cannot do so?Why are all the wildlife coming just to this little island only and in great numbers, like paradise for them, but turning the island into a future hell for its citizens?

Is this our country or the country for wildlife?

The New China - The New Long March

After 150 years of falling victims to international gangsters and hyenas that tore the country apart and impoverised the govt and people, the Chinese people have clawed back, step by step, in a painful and long journey to recovery, to rebuild their country and the lives of their people. No longer is the stigma of shame associated with being Chinese, something to live with and with heads bend. The Chinese have not only stood up but found themselves, and the confidence to be among the best civilisations and states in the world. All the sanctions, blockades, isolations, banning, did not work. The Chinese people have acquired all the scientific, engineering and technological knowhows to be among the best in scientific and engineering discovery, innovation and creation.

China is undoubtedly the new superpower without having to claim to be. It is challenging the West in leading edge technology in every field and overtaking the West in many areas. No need any hype, and no amount of badmouthing and smearing and blocking would change anything. China is way ahead in the fourth industrial revolution involving artificial intelligence and communication system and technology. What Huawei and other top Chinese companies have achieved cannot be stopped by the Americans or the West.

China is on a roll, unstoppable. It would run over all the roadblocks the Americans and the West are trying to throw into its path. China is now an economic power house, a major commercial trade partner, a leading military super power, self sufficient in designing and manufacturing everything it needs in warfare. It is conquering space, for real, not Hollywood makeshift moon landings or used of CGIs.

What is more important to China is not just the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the world, the rebuilding of countries robbed, destroyed and neglected by western imperialism, colonialism and incessant warfare. China is also looking foremost at the quality of life of its people, all 1.4b of them. More than 800m Chinese have been moved up from poverty and the target is zero poverty by year 2049 with China becoming a prosperous nation for all its people.

Just 40 years ago, China was still soaking in a sea of bicycles and Mao green tunics. Poverty was everywhere with dilapidated buildings built over centuries and still standing and badly needing repairs. The poor Chinese have to live with whatever there was no matter how bad they were.

The China today is gleaming new futuristic cities with high rise buildings and superb roads and rail ways crisscrossing the country and the whole of Asia. China has rebuilt itself to become a modern nation state and with good quality homes for its people. The dull, inscrutable and hopeless faces of the Chinese sea of humanity have changed to a brightly dressed people with smiles and hopes of a brighter and better future for now and future generations to come.

Below are just a couple of pics from CNA that showed the new China and the new Chinese people, the new homes that are many times better that what they came to learn from us in the 1980s and how they have improved on them to make them better for their people. If I am not mistaken, these are the quality of their public housing.

China is a people on the march, a nation on a march. This is a New Long March of the Chinese people to the future, to live well and with confidence as descendants of the dragon, of a great Chinese Civilisation. No more slums for westerners to parade on print on their media.

They have excess new buildings, homes and cities that the East chose to highlight as ghost cities without bothering to tell the wealth and investments poured into such cities, the designs and planning that eventually would all be occupied by the farmers and peasants moving out from their villages into well planned and organised cities and homes with all the modern facilities and transportation network. The transformation of China has just begun.

A Brief Synopsis of India's China War. - 1962 (I have redone this post)

Below are some salient points and facts behind the Sino-Indian border war of 1962. A good knowledge of the historical background of the disputed boundaries is essential to the understanding of the dispute.

There are many cumulative factors that cause the Sino-Indian border war in the foothills of the Himalayas mountain ridges in 1962. There is the historical factor of British colonialism and imperialism in India expanding right into Chinese territories in Tibet, India's ambitious Forward Policy of building military outposts deep into Chinese territories far beyond the McMahon Line , a boundary illaterally drawn by the British but never recognized by China, US/UK Western political and psychological support as well as Soviet Union's behind the scene instigation and support that encouraged India to attack China. Also it was due to India's ambition of inheriting the mantle of British colonialism and imperialism at the expense of China and India's overconfidence and miscalculation that China would not fight back in the event of Indian attack on Chinese border troops , a false and fake feedback given to India by US/UK and Soviet Union that finally goaded India to attack China.

Throughout the 18th and 19th century British colonialism in India expanded maliciously towards the Chinese territories in Tibet. British expansionism incurred on Chinese territories in the Himalayas in both the north west region of Aksai Chin and the north east of southern Tibet in Tawang province.

England refused to budge from occupied Chinese territories inspite of endless years of negotiations taking advantage of a weak and decadent Chinese government then.

British failure to settle its occupation of Chinese territories before it left India laid the foundation to the border war between India and China. Nehru's India was adament in refusing to talk and negotiate with China over the Chinese lands stolen from China by the British and now inherited by India as fait accompli Indian territories. Thus India wants to inherit the mantle of British colonialism and imperialism at the expense of China.

During the same period of 18th and 19th century another European imperial power Russia was expanding into Chinese territories both in Siberia in the north up to the Pacific coast where Vladivostok ( a former Chinese city ) is and in the south and south west in Xinjiang and Tibet in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains.

Both England and Russia had the same compulsion to expansion. And wherever new territories were occupied they established military outposts to fortify and strengthen their illicit and illegal occupation and to overcome local resistance. And that was how China lost vast territories to England in the south and three million and five hundred thousand square miles of Chinese lands to Russia in the north as well as thousands of square miles of Chinese territories in the Illi region of Xinjiang.


PART TWO

On 14th March, 1899, in Peking, England agreed that the whole Karakash Valley and all Aksai Chin territory belonged to China. In the Simla Convention in 1914 Britain confirmed that Aksai Chin belonged to China. However, in 1947 when India became independent it refused to recognize Aksai Chin as Chinese territory.

When British forces reached the Himalayas it found that the states of Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan were all under some sort of Chinese suzerainty. In 1914 England illegally took the Tawang district of southern Tibet from China in which China objected and protested strongly. In 1946 an Indian map of Nehru's book "Discovery of India" 1st edition showed the Tawang province as Chinese territory. However, Britain's failure to reach an agreement with China left unresolved boundary problems to independent India in 1947, when it was granted independence on 14th August, 1947.

China had always protested the stealing of Chinese territories in Aksai Chin and Tawang and considered the Simla Convention in 1914 invalid. In October 1962 , China officially asked India to return to China a large swathe of territory from Ladakh to Assam which include Sikkim and the Darjeeling district.

India not only refused to return Tawang to China but renamed the province as the North-East Frontier Agency. India then adopted a forward policy of the British in grabbing more Chinese lands beyond the illegal McMahon Line and building military outposts to strengthen its occupation. When China called for talks and negotiations to settle the boundary issues it was always rebuffed by India which stubbornly maintained that they were Indian territories and there was nothing to talk or negotiate. India's attitude was on the model of the arrogant Americans or the west and that is 'accept what I claim or else there is nothing to talk about.'

In September 1962, India arm forces pressed forward in the western sector of Aksai Chin and the eastern sector - the North East Frontier Agency ( NEFA ). Thus it was India's forward policy which led to war. India believed and the belief was strengthened and assured by UK,US and Soviet Union that China would not fight back if India pressed forward and attack Chinese troops at the border. This strong conviction that China would not retaliate in the face of Indian attack encouraged India to continue its attack on China more aggressively from 6th October, 1962.

In the meantime China appealeed to India to talk and negotiate a peaceful settlement instead of resorting to fighting. However, India's attitude meant that settlement must be on India's terms.. When India continued to attack China finally had to retaliate and pushed back Indian forces. It was then that India shamefully claimed that China had carried out an unprovoked attack on India.

India had committed aggression against China but was quick to reversely put the blame on China for attacking India.It was a terrible shameful lie. It showed how dishonourable India can be.

India turned panicky with the disastrous defeat of its armies in the border war. Nehru appealed to America and England for military aid. India gave a list of the weaponeries it required from USA . On 29th October, 1962, Nehru accepted US military aid. This exposed India's false and fake non-alignment policy. India was looking at war with China as hours of greatness. From the 12th to 16th November,1962, India carried out large scale attack on Chinese forces in the north-east, NEFA. Again Indian forces were routed by the Chinese peasant armies.

On the night of 20th November, 1962, Nehru appealed for US intervention to bomb Chinese forces and also requested for US to despatch an aircraft carrier to the Bay of Bengal.

PART THREE

China declared unilateral ceasefire

On 20th November, 1962, China announced to the world of its unilateral ceasefire and withdrawal to 20KM behind the line of actual control which existed between China and India on 7th November, 1959 - The McMahon Line which China had never recognized.

China's army had advanced into the territory south of the McMahon Line , "in order to thoroughly rout the Indian reactionaries and to shatter their plan of altering the border status quo by armed force and to create conditions for a negotiated settlement. It was the first time in recorded history that a great power has not exploited military success by demanding something more." ( Quote from Neville Maxwell ) . China could have marched easily into into New Delhi, India's capital.

China repatriated to India all 6,000 Indian prisoners together with all their guns, mortars, artilleries, brand new American automatic rifles and a Russian helicopter in serviceable condition.

China called for talks and negotiations again but was constantly rebuffed by India despite appeal by some Afro-Asian nations viz Egypt,UAR and Sri Lanka. Instead India in 1963 conducted a joint Anglo-American air exercise with long range fighter aircraft flying in to operate from Indian Air Force bases. Nehru had in November, 1962 called for Anglo-American intervention in the Sino-Indian border war. It was a betrayal of the Afro-Asian non-aligned neutral spirit. Further India also called for Soviet Union's help to build up her defenses.

It was India's intransigence in refusing to talking peace through negotiations that the borders were therefore settled down into an armed truce and diplomatic relations between China and India were frozen in limbo. In 1969 a suggestion by Mrs Indira Ghandi to mend diplomatic relations with China was rejected by Congress.

Nevertheless, China's long standing offer to negotiate a boundary settlement on the basis of the status quo when India is ready to do so still stands.


PART FOUR

In September, 1971, Neville Maxwell's book on India's China War had aroused a hostile uproar in India. Led by politicians and parliamentarians the public demanded punitive action against the publisher and the writer, Blames for the defeat of the border war were hurled and levelled at each other between and among the different groups of politicians, parliamentarians, Indian Intelligence Bureau and the military.

Subsequently the retired army general - General Thapar broke his silence and in an article in the Statesman of 9th January, 1971 blamed the civilian defense minister , the director of Indian Intelligence Bureau and the civilian government not only for interference in purely military matters on flimsy political grounds but also for provoking the border war, when the defense minister ordered the army to evict the Chinese from Thag La ridge and other border areas both in the west and the east despite General Thapar's misgivings regarding Chinese reactions and its consequences.

It was generally believed by Nehru , his cabinet and his generals that China would not react strongly to India's forward policy and to India's attack on Chinese border troops. General Kaul was a warhawk who persuaded Nehru and the parliamentarians to strongly support the forward policy and eviction of Chinese troops from their outposts that led the Indian army to establish advance checkposts to outflank Chinese positions. Further India supported the CIA armed Tibetan emigres to foment and organize a separatist armed rebellion in Tibet . In fact Mullit the director of India's Intelligence Bureau and Nehru as well as many Indian generals and parliamentarians believe that India's national security can only be preserved by either India's occupation of Tibet or by helping to establish an independent Tibet state subservient to India. This has become a permanent feature of India's foreign policy.


Foot note:

This synopsis base on Neville Maxwell's book, " India's China War " is written to present the truths elicited from facts to refute the false and fake representations by some overseas - ASEAN Indian intellectuals who still hold strong social and emotional ties to India that they cannot overcome their Psychological pain of India's defeat in the Sino-Indian war of 1962. Therefore they pretentiously claimed innocense of India and blame China for the border war. Thus for years they persistently and consistantly talk, speak and write damaging articles to disparage and demonise China to give China a bad image. They are also quick to condemn China in any dispute between China and other countries viz US, Japan, Vietnam or the Philippines without any logical basis other than their chronic pathological hatred for China .

Hopefully this brief synopsis will set them in the right perspective of historical truth and not base on their irrational thinking arising out of their emotional ethnic ties to India.


Southernglory1

Wednesday, 11th July,2018

Raising the quality of doctors

SINGAPORE: Starting 2020, the list of overseas medical schools whose graduates can practise in Singapore will shrink from 160 to 103.

This comes after the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) reviewed the overseas medical schools with registrable basic medical qualifications, it said in a joint press release with the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Apr 18).

The changes come as the need to recruit overseas-trained doctors abates, with total annual intakes from local medical schools rising from 300 in 2010 to about 500 in 2018....

Responding to CNA's queries, MOH and SMC said that in recent years, it registered about 120 doctors annually who had trained at the affected medical schools. Of those, about 30 were Singaporean or Permanent Residents.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/moh-cuts-overseas-medical-schools-approved-for-practise-in-11459004

In recent years Singapore had registered about 120 doctors from the delisted list of medical schools or about 1,200 for a 10 year period or 2,400 if over 20 years. The big question everyone will be asking would be the standard of medical practitioners from the delisted list and whether they have compromised the overall quality of medical services here. Hypothetically, if the approved list is equated to be the A list, the delisted list could be B or C list. So those from the B or C list that have gone through the gates would still be practising here due to our shortages of doctors.

Hopefully all is well and there is really nothing to worry about. Oh, would India sue the Singapore Govt because not all Indian doctors would be allowed to practise here?

Apparently from the above step taken by SMC and MOH, not all medical schools are the same or of the same standard or standard that are deemed acceptable to Singapore. Would this reasoning be the same for all other disciplines like engineering, science, law, finance, commerce etc etc? Or the difference in standards in these other disciplines would not be too deadly compare to medicine so never mind? Would slip shod engineering work, architectural work, civil engineering or even finance be deadly enough and result in loss of life as well?

In the past, Singaporeans seeking a university education overseas would be very careful to identify only the reputable ones or those recognised by the Govt. This may seem to be history and nowadays everything goes as long as it is printed on good quality papers, would be acceptable in our globalised city where wildlife are preferred than the locals, where funny degrees from funny universities are seen as better than our world class universities, where many of our graduates from our world class universities are answerable or have to report to superiors with funny degrees from funny universities.

Should the Govt think that it is high time that it also do a spring cleaning like the SMC and MOH to list and delist universities of dubious credentials? Or the problem will be so humongous, especially with so many private universities commercialising education and selling degrees of all kinds here and all over the world?

What do you think?

US Destruction of Socialist Countries worldwide

          It is so disgusting that many naive or ignorant politicians in Asean countries are constantly asking the Evil Empire to come to Asia particularly South East Asia to provide a strategic balance to the region. They should know the United States has for centuries been creating choas, trouble, instabilities, corruption and wars of conquest and domination wherever it goes.

The native Americans never invite the Europeans, the Spanish, the British, France and Portugal to their countries. Nevertheless they went uninvited. What did they do then? For hundreds of years they went on a rampage to tear their lands and countries asunder, to rob, to kill, to destroy their culture, to genocide and to take possession of their lands and countries. Go and read to find out about the atrocities they committed against the natives of America. Africa, Australia and New Zealand. They said that happened in the past. How stupid can they be to say that. Don't they know the West especially the Evil Empire wicked deeds have never stopped and are still continuing.

The Evil Empire, the United States is the most wicked country on earth. It is a rogue terrorist state. It posts a dire threat to all people and all life due to its insidious drive for world hegemony.To ask the
Evil Empire to come to South East Asia is to court with death unnecessarily. The Hawaiians had learnt it in a hard way. They allowed the white Americans into the country too freely. The Americans grabbed all the best lands to plant thousands of acres of fruit trees. They exploited the Hawaiian labours to the bone with very meagre or low pay. When the local Hawiaan government wanted to tax their companies they refused to pay. They made things difficult for the Hawiian people and government. When the Hawiaan government threatened to nationalise their American United Fruit Company they called in the American military to overthrown the Hawiaan kingdom. The rest is all history for Hawaii became an American colony in 1905 and was annexed by America on the 21st August, 1959 against the wishes of the Hawiaans. The island is now flooded with white Americans the population of which is many times more than the local Haiwaiians. However the local Hawaiians have never given up their hope of fighting for their own independence. In this fight they need the help of all countries and the United Nations Organisation.

In the 1890s the United States undertook to help Cuba and the Philippines to fight for independence against Spanish rule. The fight against Spain ended with both Cuba and Philippines became the colonies of the Evil Empire, a change of colonial and imperial master. Both Cuba and the Philippines resisted fiercely against the Americans but to no avail against superior American military might. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans and Philippinos were brutally slaughtered by the savage Americans. Due to continuous fierce resistance from the Cubans the Evil Empire found it hard to retain its rule. It yielded to Cuba's independence but retain a province in Guantanamo as US military base and concentration camps. The Philippines got its quasi independence in 1948 after the Second World War for the Evil Empire continued to hold many strategic Philippine ports for its military bases.

In 1961 the Evil Empire again tried to invade Cuba to topple the socialist government of Fidel Castro. It was resoundly defeated by the Cubans in the Bay of Pigs.

The Evil Empire will attack and destroy small or weak countries with a socialist or leftist government whether  they are democratically elected or a leftist dictatorship. They hate countries with socialist governments that give no chance for American capitalists to exploit.

Thus from 1961 to 1973 United States tried to gain control over Vietnam by taking over the colonial war from France but was badly defeated by the Vietnamese.

US persistently tried to regime change of countries which do not toe its dictates.It attacked and invaded the Dominican Republic in 1965 to topple its leftist regime. In 1983 it attacked Grenada to topple a socialist government which was very close to Cuba.

In 1953 US overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh of Iran in a military coup after he threatened to nationalize British Petroleum  and replaced him with a pro US dictator, the Shah of Iran.

In 1954 US overthrew the democratically elected government of Jacob Arbenz of Guatemala in a CIA supported military coup because he wanted to nationalise the United Fruit Company owned by Rockefeller . CIA replaced Jacob Arbenz with pro US brutal dictators who killed over one hundred thousand Guatemalans.

Similarly democratically elected governments of Ecaudor, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and  Haiti were replaced or regime changed by CIA supported military coups and replaced with pro-US brutal dictators.

One of the most wicked and brutal plot of CIA in regime change in South America took place in Chile in1973. In that year CIA overthrew and assassinated Salvador Allende , Latin America first democratically elected socialist leader as president. When Allende's socialist government nationalized USA's exploitative companies in Chile, CIA planned a coup and replaced him with CIA backed General Augusto Pinochet who tortured and murdered thousands of Chileans in a crackdown on labour leaders and the socialist political parties.

But the most gruesome and most brutal regime change carried out by CIA happened in a South East Asia country. President Sukarno of Indonesia had trusted the Americans too much so that over the years CIA infiltrated the Indonesian government administration deeply especially in the military. Then in 1965 CIA overthrew Sukarno with a military coup . In fact since 1957 , CIA had been trying to eliminate Sukarno with several attempted assassinations. CIA replaced Sukarno with a staunchly pro-US traitor General Suharto who to maintain and sustain his rule brutally murdered more than a million to two million civilians , a large proportion of which were Indonesian Chinese. It was the CIA which provided Suharto with the list of names of those countless suspects of being socialists or leftists politically.

At present in South East Asia the next target for regime change by the Evil Empire is the Duterte government of the Philippines. President Duterte had declared war on the international drug and narcotic traffickers whose illicit trafficking of drugs in the Phillipines had destroyed thousands of Philippinos every year and milked billions of dollars out of the Phillippines in foreign exchange. Of course the biggest and greatest drug rings and narcotic traffickers in the Philippines are run by CIA in cahoot with corrupted officials in the police and military and with the help of local runners. Thus the Evil Empire is not happy with the lost of billions of dollars from secret illicit drug and narcotic  businesss in the Philippines due to President Duterte.s crackdown on the illicit trade. President Duterte has to be very careful for CIA will never give up assassination attempts on him to replace him with a Pro-US dictator like the previous corrupted  dictator president Marcos who ruled from 1950s to around mid 1970s.

Now the Evil Empire is intent on creating choas, instabilities, trouble dissensions  and wars between Asean countries and China under the falsehood and guise of freedom of navigation and to provide balance of power in the region. Basically there was peace and tranquility in the South China Sea region until the Evil Empire pivot into the region with clandestine activities.

Asean countries must have the wisdom not to fall into the American trap of providing help and assistance in whatever circumstance because it is always a death trap and a sure way to lose your freedom and national sovereignty.

The above are only some examples of socialist countries destroyed by the United States. There are many ,more  countless socialist countries or countries refusing to toe US line being destroyed in Africa, Middle-East and Southern Europe.

NB : To get a better perspective of world affairs Netizens should go into these websites, the articles of which are being written by non-bias professors and academics, renowned journalists and authors.

The websites are :   1.  Counterpunch.Org  2. New Eastern Outlook.  3.  Strategic Culture Foundation.  4.  Press TV.  5.  Russia Insider.  6.  Global Times  and  7.  The 4th Media

Southernglory 1

Friday, 19th April, 2019

Indian professor explaining the 1962 Sino Indian War

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb46KBaj54U

Mr. Nitin Shastree is a scholar about Indo-China war of 1962. He explains

the incidents of war in English language. Interviewer : Prof. Mahesh

Kulkarni.

I came across the above clip and quote where two Indian professors were explaining the Indian side of the story of the Sino Indian border war and how the Indians fought bravely and gloriously against the PLA. In one incident, the Indian soldiers ran out of ammunition. So they mounted their bayonets, all 90 of them and managed to kill 600 PLA soldiers as a result. Another glorious incident was how one Indian soldier fought and held out one battalion of PLA soldiers, singlehandedly.

Today is Good Friday, enjoy the short video. Happy Good Friday to all the believers.

Fake news or the real stuff?

'At end of China visit, DPM Teo highlights good relations and commonalities between Singapore and China'

Mr Teo said the visit was a good opportunity to reunite with longtime friends, forge new relationship ties, as well as to discover new ways for cooperation between the two nations, including a new bilateral council to be established in Shanghai for the purpose of exploring new paths of engagement for Singapore and Shanghai....

 Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean was jubilant in expressing his satisfaction in the country’s dealings with China as according to him,  “Bilateral relations between China and Singapore have grown from strength to strength in the past year.” He further said that Singapore’s relationship with China has progressed “very well” over the past year and hopes this can be taken further in 2019.
On his six-day visit to China, DPM Teo was welcomed by top Chinese anti-graft official Zhao Leji at the Great Hall of the People where both men reaffirmed the two countries’ “excellent state of bilateral relations.”....

The officials from both countries were one in their opinion that Singapore-China relations have been “progressive, forward-looking and strategic,” and they have committed to working closer together in a wide range of areas, from science and technology to trade and culture...

They also vowed to keep to the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.'

How many of you reading the above will say this is fake news, or how many of you will say this is real? What if I say the above is copied from a social media site, theindependent.sg, would this fact helps one to decide whether this is real or fake news?

Although many people in high places have been badmouthing social media as the source of fake news, unreliable, undependable, I think this is real, after discounting the dark days of fake courts of UN in the Hague ruling on the South China Sea claim by the Philippines, the Terrex affair, the rules of laws, the principle stand of not allowing foreigners to influence the policies of the govt, the regularity of unkind news about China, and the brazen 'Gang of Four' attacks on China, I must confirm that Singapore's relations have always been very good, excellent, with China.

Nowadays, because of the fake news law, I have this habit of asking people to feel free to disagree with me, especially my opinions posted here.

Oh, with Singapore China relations in such an excellent state, I think in the not too distance future Singapore would likely sign a CECA with China and also offer Chinese naval ships to make permanent calls at Changi Naval Base, to balance against the American Empire instead of to balance against Chinese presence in the region. Then the excellent relationship will be elevated to a strategic partnership level.

What do you think?

Foreign academics concerned about fake news law in Singapore

'Nearly 100 academics worldwide have expressed concern over Singapore’s proposed law against “fake news”, warning it could threaten academic freedom and hurt the city-state’s ambition to become a global education hub.

The government this month unveiled a bill containing tough measures, including powers for ministers to order sites like Facebook, Google and Twitter to put warnings next to posts authorities deem false, and extreme cases, to take them down.

If an action is deemed malicious and damaging to Singapore’s interests, companies could be hit with fines of up to Sg$1 million ($740,000), while individuals could face jail terms of up to 10 years.

Authorities in the tightly-controlled country insist the measures are necessary to prevent online falsehoods sowing social divisions, but the move has sparked anger from press freedom groups and tech giants such as Facebook and Google.

Now ninety-seven academics from around the world with expertise in Singapore and Asia have signed a letter warning the proposed legislation “may deter scholarship and set precedents harmful to global academia”.'

The above is part of an AFP article posted in theindependent,sg.

What is the problem? I could not see any. Any of you see any problem with fake news and fake news law? I have my reasons to say that there is no problem, all fake news or violation of fake news law would be carefully scrutinised by Shanmugam and he has expressed in Parliament that he would take undue care to make sure fake news are fake news and no unnecessary abuse of law will take place. Not to worry, trust our leaders. No one in the world has there be such a pool of honourable and righteous leaders, men and women of unquestionable integrity, to govern the people and to take care of the people for the good of the people. If such incorruptible individuals cannot be trusted with the implementation of a simple law like fake news, then no govt leaders in any part of the world can be trusted. We have the best govt in the whole world with the brightest and good as priests and priestess people in the govt. What more can you ask for. They are near to infallible, like they said, immortals.

Another way to look at this is to look at the American govt. They are not only the policemen of the world but also defenders of human rights and freedom of speech and expression. If the Americans did not protest, did not see anything wrong, then it can be safely concluded that the fake news law must be good and unquestionable. We are a rule of law country and we maintain our laws judiciously and we respect our laws more than the Ten Commandments. Throughout our history there has been no cases of abuse of the law, abuse of our laws by the ruling govts of the day. Is that not good enough proof and assurance that this law is good law and good people will make sure the law will be used only when necessary.

I think everything is crying wolf, just like the Americans warning the world that Huawei is dangerous or Chinese loans will only lead to debt traps and nothing else. It is all hypes and fear mongering when really there  is absolutely no problem at all.

What do you think? OK you may disagree with me, I know many of you will. I only use my freedom of expression to say what I think is right.  See, there is freedom of expression and the fake news law will just be used against people that misuse the freedom of expression to spread fake news. As long as you are telling the truth, like I just did, you can be sure you will be safe from the fake news law.

Do not be surprised the Americans or Donald Trump will come out in support of our fake news law.

Boy PM biting more than he can chew

The highly controversial and political detention of Meng Wanzhou by the boy PM in Canada is still unresolved. China would not take it without giving the boy PM a kick in the ass. Other than a few Canadians being arrested and one sentenced to death, China is adding more economic pressure on Canada. Let me just talked a bit about the drug trafficker that was sentenced to death in China.
 
When relations were good, China could be very lenient to Canadians breaking Chinese laws. The Canadian drug trafficker was caught for trying to smuggle a quarter ton of drugs to Australia. Mind you, smuggling a quarter of an ounce of drugs in China will get the death sentence. His lawyer arrogantly appealed against the 15 year jail term, hoping for a lesser sentence. He could get his way when China was treating Canada as a very good friend. Unfortunately after the appealed, boy PM went crazy to arrest Meng Wanzhou under the instruction of the Americans and stubbornly and stupidly claiming that it was all a matter of rule of law, ie Canada is a country that respect law and China has no laws or does not respect law despite behaving like a gangster in arresting Meng Wanzhou, a top Huawei executive that did not commit any crime in Canada.
 
With such stupidity, the poor drug trafficker found himself in the centre of an unnecessary political conflict and ended not only failing in his appeal but the lenient 15 year sentence was converted to what he should be given in the first place, a death sentence.
 
In the economic front, China has discouraged its citizens from visiting Canada as tourists, stopped importing Canadian Canola oil resulting in Canada losing tens of billions of dollars and more when salmon, seafood, rapeseed, and other agricultural goods were also banned from the Chinese market. 250,000 Canadian workers are risking losing their jobs because of the stupidity of the boy PM who is still clinging to his stupid rule of law garbage and refusing to admit that he has turned himself into a pawn of Donald Trump, and Canada and Canadian farmers are paying heavily for it.
 
When would this stupid boy come to his senses and walk away from his stupidity? The farmers are crying and screaming and making many appeals in the Parliament demanding the boy PM to resolve the issue but in vain. As long as the stupid boy PM, incidentally his credential to be a PM was being the son of the former PM and a drama school teacher, he is probably thinking that all the drama is just another great performance and nothing serious, it was all play acting.
 
Do the Canadians deserve such a silly PM and his equally silly Foreign Minister, another little girl whose expertise is literature? Just imagine if the Americans settle their trade deal with China with the Americans agreeing to drop all charges against Meng Wanzhou and China continues to ban all imports of Canadian products even if Meng Wanzhou is released since there will be no more cases against her?
 
Where would the boy PM and girly FM going to hide their faces?

Graduated to Unemployement...and disappointment

'It is such a crying shame if many of our PEI graduates eventually end up as another private car driver or “protection officers” who are really just security guards. These is a grim situation against a backdrop of thousands of foreigners who are holding Employment Passes and S-passes in Singapore
Singaporeans must pay dearly in different ways when they elect an incompetent government that is unable to create any more opportunities for its people. Our citizens must by now realised that there are heavy prices that they must pay for electing a useless PAP government who cannot fly any higher or any further anymore.'

The above pic and comments were in an article posted by Simon Lim in TRE.


The Graduation Ceremony used to be the pride of parents and their children, the event to ended a regime of self sacrifices, regimentation and financial expenses and the beginning of hope of a better future.

Is this true today? How many of the graduates are walking into the adult's world armed with their degrees and diploma and hope of a good job and better future and to doing their parents proud?

How many would be wallowing in self pity, loss of confidence and in financial straits, unable to repay their loans or their parents for paying for their expensive tertiary education when funny graduates from cheap funny universities overseas are beating them to the valued jobs and leaving them jobless? Who is to be blamed for their plight, the highly disturbing CECA, or the people that signed the CECA or allowed it to happen to seal the fate of our young people?

What do you think? Do our young deserve this bleak future, when Graduation Day is the day they graduated to join the ranks of the unemployed? How pathetic can our young be? Who cares, who did they vote for to deserve this?

MIG 21 shot down F16, MIG did not shoot down F16….shot down, did not….

There is a heated debate going on in the internet about the Indian Air Force MIG 21 shooting down a Pakistani F16.  Many wonderful stories were spun about how this Korean War relic could shoot down one of the most advanced 4^th generation aircraft are worth reading if one is in need of some laughters or cannot fall asleep. One version, the Pakistani pilot was a kopi licensed pilot and thought he was on vacation, or was snoozing when the Indian pilot closed in on him and shot him down with a catapult. Another version, the Indian pilot was so well trained that the Pakistani pilot was no match despite having a more advanced and modern aircraft. There are many fascinating stories of this dog fight, some claiming to have videos showing how it went.

The consequences of this modern myth, or was it a fake story, are more interesting. Lockheed Martin, the maker of F16 is going bankrupt as all orders for F16s were cancelled. F16s are now selling in the black market for the price of a song, like junks and no takers. All the American allies that have bought the F16s are retiring their fleet and moving them to the museums. No pilots would want to be seen flying a F16 for the fear of their lives.

On the other side of the coin, closed down MIG factories are roaring to life. Orders are coming in for more MIG 21s. Delivery time is 3 years from date of purchase order. The factories are running over time, working round the clock to reproduce these antiques that are now highly desired by many air forces for their air superiority, to be able to shoot down F16s. This is really a cheap and good story. But the prices would not hold for long as the demands outstripped the supplies and prices are shooting through the roof. Who cares about F16s or F22s or even F35s when all they need is MIG 21s?

Would Singapore be cancelling its buy orders for four F35s and ordering 200 MIG 21s instead for the same money? With the crash of the Japanese F35, Turkey is the first to chicken out and has cancelled its order for F35s and switching to SU 57s. Other European countries are also thinking of doing the same. Lockheed Martin is going to face the same fate as Boeing with more orders cancelled.

Actually I have another version of the truth. When the Pakistani pilot saw the MIG 21 he thought he was dreaming. Where on earth could one find such a relic flying, where was he, watching a Bollywood movie? It could not be true, no modern air forces in the world is flying such antique aircraft anymore. China has converted their MIGs to drones, fly by wire. The Pakistani pilot was in a daze. So, while he was musing about what he was seeing, he forgot that he was in a war zone and at war. So he was shot down before he knew what was happening.

And the shot was so accurate because he was not taking evasive action, and was so near he was blown to pieces, literary turned to dust, and his body could not be found, untraceable. If he was shot down like the MIG 21 by Pakistan, he would be able to bale out in time and be caught like Wing Commander Ahbinandan when he landed on his parachute. And he could then be sent home and received a hero’s welcome for being shot down and captured by the enemies and survived. And the remains of the wreckage would be found and filmed as proof.

This episode has given a big boost to Russian MIG aircraft manufacturer and big profits. There is no better advertisement than an antique shooting down a modern and advanced aircraft that cost a fortune to buy. The most unhappy people must be the Americans, unable to sell their modern aircraft anymore. Who would want to waste money buying expensive American aircraft that could easily be shot down by Russian antiques that could be bought for a song?

The above article first appeared in redbean’s Sunday tabloid.