Make Singapore safe for Singaporeans

Another case of a foreigner, must be another talent, a talented cook, got drunk and bashed up a taxi driver, damaged a motocycle and a taxi door. He was sentenced to a miserable 2 weeks’ jail. The foreign talent, Garfield Gordon Angove III, 38, was also fined $1,000 and had to pay $3,500 to the taxi driver for assaulting him.
 
The sheepish and timid citizens are furious. The beating of these citizens by foreigners who were given the opportunity to work and make a good living by the good grace of the govt, not necessarily of the people, has gone one too far. Too many timid citizens had been beaten by foreigners and they are not going to take it quietly any longer. They are screaming for blood. They want the court to give a heavier sentence, not a miserable 2 weeks. Is this how valuable the life of a citizen of this City, just bashed them up and 2 weeks’ jail is about it, with a few thousands to pay for medical, pain and suffering as compensation? Did the sheeples shout cheap, cheap, cheap?
 
Would the govt wake up, just like the issue of discrimination against Singaporeans by foreigners for employment, and start to take the beating of citizens seriously? Would the govt protect the citizens and take a strong stand to stop this abuse of its citizens by foreigners? If so, making an example of such rogues that were given the highly prized title of foreign talents to spite the less talented locals is in order.
 
The govt should make it clear that these foreigners are here as our guests and not here to beat up the hosts. If they do so, they should be deported immediately, within 24 hours once found guilty by the courts. How can these foreign rogues be invited here to take the jobs away from the locals, enjoy our hospitality and still go about beating up the locals and get away practically scot free?
 
The people should demand that the govt they trust to protect them, protect them from bodily harm especially from the foreigners brought in by the govt, to take a tough stand against such foreigners. It is the govt’s fault for bringing these rogues in big numbers here, and to praise them sky high as talents when many are simply rubbish, rogues, crooks and cheats, to kick them out if they beat up the citizens.
 
This is the least the govt must do for the unpopular open door policy. The people did not ask to be beaten by foreigners. Kick them out if they thrashed our hospitality. This would remind the foreigners to behave and to show some respect to the owners of this City. They are guests and can be thrown out if they misbehaved. Or shall we go all the way, since we loved the foreigners so much and so eager to please them, to throw out the citizens that made foreigners unhappy to want to beat them instead?
 
Should the govt send a strong message to foreigners that this is the home of Singaporeans? Beating Sinkies as a past time is not acceptable. Or should the govt remind the Sinkies that the foreigners are their benefactors, and it is ok to be beaten by the foreigners once a while, and stop whining? Who to trust?
 
Make Singapore safe for Singaporeans, from being beaten by foreigners? Unbelieveable! Uniquely Singapore.

UMNO leaders claim that they are natives of Malaya is utter rubish.

Like Chin Peng, Lim Chin Siong was at the forefront fighting against the British Imperialist for the independence of Singapore and Malaysia. Whether he was a communist or not  is immaterial and as many suggested he should rightfully be considered a hero and one of the founding fathers of independent Singapore.

Malays were not the first arrivals in Singapore and Malaya. The Indians and the Chinese were in Singapore and Malaya long before the Malays. The Chinese and Indians came as traders or travellers for the discovery of geographical knowledge although some Indians stayed to found small Hindu states in which they did not prejudice against other races. The Chinese in the hay day of its wealthy and mighty civilization could have occupied and colonised all the lands she discovered but she did not and that reflects the true nature of benign Chinese Civilization which always respect other people or other countries big or small. The Malays who came from different parts of Indonesia, like the Bugis from Celebes, the Boyans,Mingnankerbaus and Javanese from Java and the Bataks and Achinese from Sumatra which all came later after the Chinese and the Indians on the contrary share similar aggressive traits as the barbaric White Men - The Europeans for their chieftains were no more than pirates and robbers who occupied different parts of Malaya and founded domains or enclaves and called themselve penghulus or temenggongs . There was never a Malay state until the British Imperialist came to the scene in the late eighteen century when it occupied all the lands south of Thailand and consolidated them into one political unit called Malaya for convenience of control. So to say that the Malays are sons of the soil is all rubbish and hogwash. The original natives of the peninsula south of Thailand are the Sakais who are of Mongoloid race and they came from Southern China about ten thousand years ago.

After the Second World War the British sold out the interest of the Indians and the Chinese when it granted independence to Malaya without protecting the political rights of the Sakais, the Indians and the Chinese. Of course the Indian and Chinese leaders of the time during the negotiation for independence were downright stupid and idiotic because they cared only for their own personal narrow interest and did not consider the dire consequence of not securing the political rights of the Indians and the Chinese as well as that of the natives, the aborigines.

The second set back for the Indians and the Chinese was during the negotiation for merger with Sabah and Sarawak in 1965. At the time there were not many Malays in Sabah and Sarawak. Other than the natives who are the dayaks and the Ibans there were actually more Chinese than the Malays in the two territories prior to the merger. Why were the Indian and Chinese leaders of the time outmaneuvered by the Malay leaders to deprive the Indians and Chinese of equal political rights. As a result not only the Indians and the Chinese but also the Ibans, the dayaks and others are now suffering at the mercy of the highly racist and corrupted UMNO leaders. Generally speaking the ordinary Malays are simple,kind ,sincere and decent people. It is the pseudo  Malay leaders in UMNO  who are tainted with Pakistani, Javanese and Boyanese or Bugis blood who are ultra racist and extremist  that are now creating havoc for other races.

Population White Paper Protest 5 Oct - 4pm

Press release                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                             
A little update on our forthcoming protest this weekend at Hong Lim Part (5th Oct, 4pm).                                                                                                             
To date, we have six employers participating in the job fair offering various kinds of positions. We thank them for making the efforts to employ Singaporeans first proactively. We welcome more employers to sign up with us.                       

The employers will be there by 3.30pm to set up and prepare for the job fair.                
We also managed to gather?seven brave speakers for this event. Their names are as follows:
1. Leong Sze Hian
2. Robert Teh – retiree
3. Roy Yi Ling – blogger and health? care executive
4. Ariffin – secondary school student
5. Daryl Nihility?- interior design marketing executive
6. Fatimah Akhtar – architect
7. Alex Tan – operations executive                                                                             
Gilbert Louis will also be singing two songs during the protest.Free finger food and drinks will be offered on that day.

We have printed 100,000 flyers for distribution commencing today at various MRT stations and housing areas. The CBD area will be covered as well.                             
We have order eight hundred We Want Change tee shirts and five hundred caps for sales – please support our cause by grabbing a shirt or cap. They will be sold at a affordable price for all.                                                           

We will also dedicate one hour of the 3-hour programme to a Real Conversation whereby the people can ask our panel speakers any questions they want. They should not make a speech during the session though.                                                          

There won’t be any press conference prior to the event but there will be one after the event. Reporters please email me at gilbert@transitioning.org if you need further information on our third protest against the population white paper.         

See you soon Singapore! Be the change you want happen in our country.                                                                                                                                           
Thanks & Warmest Regards,                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Gilbert Goh                                                                                                 
President                                                                  
http://www.transitioning.org/ – unemployment support services                                       

Trust is such a difficult topic to write

I have been trying very hard to write about this new sensitivity. Everyone is talking about trust, including Hsien Loong and how important it is to gain the trust of the people. Now how should I deal with this topic? Shall I talk about the distrust the people have of the govt? Shall I talk about how the govt is losing the trust of the people? Shall I talk about what the govt can do to win back the trust of the people? Or shall I talk about how the govt tried so hard to lose the trust of the people?
 
After tossing the idea around, I came back to square one. How to talk about trust with people you don’t trust? How to discuss trust with people who are lying to you with a straight face? How to believe in people, trust people when they don’t trust you and are not telling you the truth? How to trust people who are not trustworthy?
 
I give up. I think it is easier to talk to children about trust. They are so innocent and so trusting. And children don’t lie, and they did not know what is a lie, those that have yet to think and behave like lying adults. I think going to the kindergarten is the best place to talk about trust, trusting children. Unfortunately the children don’t come to my blog so it is a waste of time really, to try to write this thing call trust when trust is all about deception. Trust me only to be cheated, trust me only to be deceived.
 
How to write about trust when there is no trust, when there is nothing and no one to be trusted?

Foreign talents going home

There was a handsome Pinoy family in the paper a couple of days back. The husband was an IT talent but his application to renew his EP was rejected. The MOM has started to close the door a bit and not approving every application for EP here.
 
From the interviews of the foreigners Singapore is still a choice destination for employment. They praised not only the safe and stable living environment here. The working environment is excellent, good jobs, good pay and good prospect. But this funny part is not what Sinkies, especially the PMEs are experiencing. Why is Singapore so good for foreigners and so bad to some Sinkies is a big irony and a big mystery.
 
Say whatever you like, the govt must know our strength, how good Singapore is as a place for business and work. It is not just cheap labour. It is the whole package which is very attractive and very competitive among the first world countries. There is no comparison among the third world countries. Only fools will compare the two and tell you the third world countries are better.
 
Another astonishing truth that was revealed in the same article was the lack of IT and banking and finance professionals. According to Gerdeep Hora from Synergy HRD Consultancies in New Delhi, ‘Singapore lacks IT experts and managers in its banking and finance sectors, and employers have been hiring directly form India in these areas.’ When has India become the banking and finance and IT centres that a first world country, a regional financial centre, must go to India to recruit such experts that a regional financial centre is lacking?
 
What is happening? Employers forming a beeline to India to hire IT experts and managers in banking and finance directly? India a banking and financial centre producing all the experts that a regional banking and financial centre cannot produce?
 
Holy cow, I dunno what to say.

Tuition, the silliness of it all

There is an article in today’s ST on tuition by Nirmala, ST’s correspondent. In the article she quoted a Professor Mark Bray on some of the characteristics of East Asian societies and the growth and importance of tuition. ‘These East Asian territories are highly globalised and competitive. They stress a need for workers to remain ahead in skills and for students to acquire skills relevant to the global economy….the Singapore education system is a good one that has delivered high quality output.’ She added, ‘But Singaporean parents, like those in many other cultures, are competitive, seeking what they perceive to be the best for their children in a competitive system, and thus are trying to add more even though the school system is already delivering much that is already very good, he(Bray) said.’
 
Now what is so silly or sickening about all these comments? Did not our education system and the parents make them the best educated and skilled workers for the workforce?
 
It is not about the inequality that tuition will cause as this is a harsh reality that the poorer working class must get used to. The rich will pay for the best tutors for their children. You cannot ban tuition and tell them not to pay for tuition. Well, South Korea did ban tuition for 20 years, but has since allowed it to practice again. There were many ways to curb tuition to prevent it from worsening the inequality, which is absolutely a silly thing to do and to even think about for any govt. Forcing the people to level down is an idiotic thing to do, really, believe me.
 
Then what is so silly about tuition? With so much money and effort put in to develop the young, with such great education system and to quote, ‘They stress a need for workers to remain ahead in skills and students to acquire skills relevant to the global economy’, now can you see what is wrong or sickening?
 
Our workers lack motivation, lack drive, lack of skill, uncompetitive, lack of talent, that we need to bring in workers from third world countries without the competitive culture, without the resources and the drive to do well in education or a good education system to replace them in jobs here. They don’t even have competitive parents to make sure their children received the best education money can buy. Basically after all the stress and money spent, the startling result, our students turned workers are a useless bunch for the job market. Really, trust me.
 
What an irony? The less competitive societies and lesser equipped education system are producing all the qualified and skilled workers that our system could not produce. 

Shall I laugh or cry?
 
What is wrong, MOE, MOM?

Stop this ‘local’ shit

PRs are not locals but foreigners. Locals are the citizens. This deception of calling PRs locals to conceal the employment of citizens in the job market must cease. Let’s tell the truth. Let’s face the truth. Let’s be honest and transparent. Or else don’t talk about trust.
 
When statistics are used, when Singaporeans want to know how many citizens are employed versus foreigners, ie, PRs and non citizens, please tell us the truth. People who have been telling everyone to be honest and transparent must be honest and transparent to be believeable.
 
What is the percentage of citizens being employed in the banks, both local and foreign? The people want the truth. What is the percentage of citizens, PRs and foreigners in the various banks here?
 
Cannot tell? What is there to hide? The truth cannot be hidden for long. The citizens know what is happening. By not telling the truth it only makes thing worst and leading to mistrust. Who is standing on the roof shouting to the people about being honest and transparent?

Chin Peng, a commentary from an armchair expert

It is so easy to make comments on another historical figure with a little knowledge of the person and events. It is even easier to selectively choose information to fit into a construct that one chose to use. Chin Peng was a hero, Chin Peng was a freedom fighter, Chin Peng was a terrorist, a fanatic, a simpleton or a genius. Just take your pick. I can choose any one of these tags to write a story on Chin Peng and it would sound even more credible if I called myself an expert, a professor or add a Ph D behind my name.  Let me just give my 2 cents worth of what I know of this man from the history books, news and some self proclaimed expert knowledge on this man.
 
Chin Peng and his comrades were anti Japanese fighter first and foremost. In the 1940s, the timing and years are important as they defined who and what of a man he was. Both Singapore and Malaya were British colonies, not countries. No citizenship or rights of citizenship for the likes of Chin Peng. Their loyalty was to the Chinese civilization and an ancient China. They were also British subjects if I am not mistaken for being in Malaya.
 
There was a war of aggression in China conducted by the Japanese. Chin Peng fought under the Malayan People’s Anti Japanese Army. They were also part of Force 136 supported by and supporting the British. They were fighting on the side of the British when the Japanese invaded Malaya and Singapore. Up to this point Chin Peng and his men/women were on the right side of history, fighting an aggressor, the Japanese. He was a war hero and awarded the OBE by the British Empire. His men paraded at our Padang in a victory parade. His OBE was withdrawn when he took the side of the communist to fight an anti colonial war against the British. Chin Peng was a good man turned bad for fighting the British. If one is a member of the British Empire, Chin Peng was bad. If one was anti colonialism, Chin Peng was a patriot.
 
Communism in the early 1930s and 40s was favoured by the revolutionary Chinese over the corrupt Chinese Nationalist Party, the KMT. Chin Peng was a communist, so was bad and on the wrong side. He was good in the history books of CCP. How one looks at Chin Peng would depend on one’s political inclination.
 
The Malayan Emergency was not a war of terrorism but a war against the colonial master. Remember, 1948, Malaya was a British colony. The natives could be fighting for their freedom from colonial rule as well. Some fought, some chose to live with the colonial master, some simply did nothing, and some worked and conspired with the British against the CPM.
 
When the British outlawed the Labour Movement and started to arrest the communist elements, the MPAJA was changed to MPABA, an anti British Army. This was subsequently changed to the Malayan Peoples Liberation Army fighting for the independence of Malaya from the British Empire.
 
History would look at Chin Peng differently if they had won and gained independence for Malaya from the British. They lost that war and signed a truce in 1955 in Baling. Malaya only gained independence from the British in 1957. The CPM withdrew to the Thai Malayan border and kept a low profile. The fact that a Thai Princess and many Thai generals paid their last respect to Chin Peng spoke of a close and friendly working relationship between them, and that Chin Peng was not a nuisance or menace to Thailand. They regarded him as a friend.
 
Chin Peng was kept away from Malaysia more because of domestic political reasons than for his revolutionary past. He could have been welcomed back as a nationalist, a hero if he was a bumiputra. He was a soldier, nothing more and nothing less. For some joker armchair critics to put him in the same league as terrorists and the bombing of America is simply a wild and cheap shot. Ever since the end of the Malayan Emergency, Chin Peng and his men lived peacefully in Thailand and probably became Thai citizens.
 
These are my comments on this historical figure of the twentieth century, one of the last survivors of those turbulent times.

Gan Kim Yong learning well from Japan

Gan Kim Yong and his teams of officials from the Health and Housing ministries have returned from their fact finding and learning mission in Japan on ageing problems. He has learnt well, many times better than Boon Heng. In yesterday’s ST he has already came out with a list of innovative initiatives learnt from Japan for implementation. He is also setting up a committee to look deeper into the ageing population problems.
 
Among the things that the team has learnt for implementations are:
 
1. A need for support services during working hours when the young are at work. Also in cases of oldies living alone, night services are also needed.
2. Medical practitioners and polyclinics should be located near the ageing population.
3. Employ the elderly, and retirement age should be raised to 67. Only the Japanese could come up with such a clever idea. Didn’t we been employing people up to 90 and onwards?
4. Need for home care and more nursing homes as our population ages. Dunno if these facilities are provided free.
5. More support to caregivers, probably salary increases.
 
The govt should send more such study trips to learn from other countries to make life better for Singaporeans. They have forgotten to send Chuan Jin and the NTUC officials to study how other countries are handling their foreign workers and immigrant problems and if foreigners were discriminating their citizens how to deal with such problems. Maybe after such an enlightening trip the MOM could introduce more effective measures or at least get enlightened.
 
Money well spent for sure, every cent of it.

Mah Bow Tan, poor thing

The thread on Mah Bow Tan in TRE is getting quite a review of the wrong kind. It was about Mah Bow Tan’s interview by Sin Min on his stepping down as a minister. Mah Bow Tan said he had given his best years to public service and it was time to make way for a better man, in Khaw Boon Wan, to take over the MND ministry.
 
Why were the comments on Mah Bow Tan so negative? He had done extremely well during his tenure in Housing and Transport. The transportation problem was nothing with SMRT running smoothly and efficiently with the woman in charge, and chalking up millions in profits every year. There were hardly any breakdowns or disruptions of services. COE prices were quite low. Look at the price of COE now, $80K+. It would not have gone up so high if Mah Bow Tan is still in charge. And SMRT would not experience so many breakdowns.
 
And housing was anything but affordable. There were some complaints but overall housing prices were affordable compare to the prices now. And Khaw has to ramp up the building programmes to meet the unstoppable demands. Looks like Khaw is not doing much better.
 
And the truth is that he was still the man to anchor his Tampines GRC team to victory. This showed that he was any time better and more popular than George Yeo, and has good ground support.
 
The views in TRE are a distortion of the truth. If Khaw Boon Wan cannot bring down housing prices to more affordable levels, Mah Bow Tan could make a come back to do what he knew best, making housing prices affordable again. Since Khaw Boon Wan took over, there seemed to be so many housing problems when there was none. The daft Sinkies just do not know how to appreciate the great contributions of Mah Bow Tan and are simply ungrateful and disgraceful.
 
Poor thing.Hsien Loong should give him a public star in the next National Day.

Halimah Yacob has spoken – more drastic measures if…

 Halimah is the next most senior politician after Chuan Jin to have spoken about the need to hire Singaporeans instead of replacing them with rubbish foreigners. She is coaxing the employers to take note of the govt’s intent towards this new policy and to act or face more drastic measures coming their way. She also asked the NTUC to be the watchdog, to monitor the situation and to squeal on the recalcitrant employers.
 
These are the right things to say given the unforgiving mood of hurt Sinkies and their hurt pocket and pride. The anger is bursting and the noise of discontent is getting louder, thanks to the internet. You don’t hear such things in the main media. Maybe the other half of Sinkies of the main media genre are very happy and comfortable with the situation and thus do not know what the fuzz is all about. The people are all very happy getting rich. No problem at all.
 
Halimah is not exactly a minister to step into this fiasco to highlight the flaws in this foreign talent nonsense, at least she carries some weight. Are the rest of the ministers in agreement with Chuan Jin and Halimah to want to support this change? Relatively we have a new and junior minister in Chuan Jin and a Speaker of the House talking about the issue. What signal is the govt sending to the employers, that this is a serious or not really that serious issue? Is this just a wayang to appease the Sinkies and not to ruffle the feathers of the employers?
 
Halimah has missed out one big employer that she has all the muscle to exert some pressure to do the right thing. She can tell the civil service, stats board and of course the GLCs to make the first move. Reading the comments in TRE, she may want to start off with DBS. The govt can issue directives to support this policy. Failing to do so will be seen as NATO.
 
When is the govt going to do something concrete and not just talk only? Or would the govt really act on this?

Singapore about to introduce a ‘living tax’

It is still work in progress, but Hsien Loong had spoken about it at the National Day Rally and he has recently confirmed it during the Ask the PM live TV chat show. This ‘living tax’, where every living citizen will have to pay for being alive is going to be implemented very soon. Only the details have yet to be finalised. From what was said, from a baby to the oldies, everyone pays. It is a kind of tax from cradle to grave!

Oh, you have not heard about it. I am telling you now, it is not called a tax and not really a tax. It is called Medishield Life, just like the CPF Minimum Sum Schemes, they are also not called tax. To be exact, it is called Medishield Life Insurance Scheme for everyone, young and old, sick or healthy, no one will be missed. It is compulsory! It is as good as till death do we part. And very likely from the very moment when a child is born. I am waiting to hear the angels sing. One can choose to buy or not to buy an insurance policy. One can choose to adapt a healthy lifestyle to avoid being robbed by the medical professionals. This one there is no such option. Healthy or sick, you pay. If it is not a tax, what is it? You tell me.

The GST is a very regressive tax where the poor actually pay more as a percentage of their income. Even those without an income have to pay the GST as long as one has to consume goods and services. But compares to the Medishield Life, GST is nothing, or at least one can be selective and opt out. One can eat or consume less or not consuming at all to avoid paying GST. In the case of Medishield Life, there is no escape.

Now the little problem is what would the govt do to those who really cannot pay and do not have any minimum sum locked up in their CPF to be carved away? A legalised compulsory scheme imposing on the people to pay means that not paying is an offence. It must be. Hsien Loong has mentioned about peer pressure, making your neighbours or families or friends know that you did not pay your dues, a way of shaming one in public. Would the expertise of Ah Long runners be called upon for this? Would the full force of the law be applied, with policemen knocking at your door for not paying? The evil is in the details, so they say. Wait for the details. Many are so happy about this comprehensive ‘cover all’ insurance scheme and earnestly waiting for it to be implemented. So it must be a good thing.

Poor Sinkies are going to incur another unwarranted and unwanted cost of living expenses imposed on them by the caring and paternalistic govt. The govt is very foresighted and always been thinking of how to take good care of the people, and with the people paying for whatever schemes the govt can think of. It knows the people are over reliant on the govt.

The foreigners need not have to pay for this living tax for sure. The non citizens, not sure about the PRs, are not so lucky and will not be affected. And if PRs are affected, their children and dependents who are not PRs would definitely not be affected. Heheh, being citizens has its privileges, to pay another tax.

With such a comprehensive and all encompassing scheme that makes every living citizen pays, at $1k per citizen, it will be $3.3b added to the GDP I think. If PRs were to be added, that is another 540m annually. With an unthinking population over reliant on the govt to think and plan for them, it is so easy to generate this kind of money with very little effort but a stroke of the pen. There is no need to waste time and effort selling the product. It’s a done deal and a very lucrative one. A super extraordinary salesman and his super product, exceptional talent!

Would there be a political price to pay for this living tax?  Oops, I mean compulsory Medishield Life Insurance Scheme for all citizens, or is it for locals only? One thing for sure, the cost of living of the people, especially the lower income and the ‘no income’ will just become more unbearable or simply unbearable and unaffordable.

Thank God you are alive and have the good fortune and privilege to pay for this ‘living tax’. Is this a blessing or a curse?

2% or 3% GDP growth maybe about right for a mature economy

We are going to get this kind of growth rate for a while given the maturity of our economy. Many mature economies are going at the same rate unlike the emerging countries that are talking of 5 to 10% growth rate. We had a miracle of 15% in 2011 which could be the last flash in the pan.

What is not so comfortable is that the GDP growth is attained through high population growth, inflated housing prices, high rentals and high car prices, or at least these items contributed to a large extent to provide the growth numbers.

What would happen without the influx of more migrants, if property balloon gets deflated, if a more efficient COE system is implemented to replace this highly inefficient and loaded system? Where is the growth going to come from without high inflation?

Are our industries growing and chalking up decent numbers to give the GDP a positive number? Or are we running out of steam, running out of ideas and by hook or by crook we will need to inflate the economy, bring in more head counts, retain the COE to keep car prices high, keep housing prices high, keep medical cost high and higher? And yes, introduce Medishield Life to boost the GDP and whatever that needs to be boosted.

Without these highly inflated industries what would become of the economy? Is there a growth sector that can uplift the economy to show growth?

Dubai – Food for thought for material Singapore

‘So many myopic comments here. Myanmar is a far larger and more complex country than tiny Spore. And Myanmar should not adopt Spore’s style of meritocracy and penchant for material success.
 
A better comparison is Dubai which has emerged from the bleak landscape of the desert to be a vibrant financial and tourism place. Dubai is more than 95% managed and operated by foreigners and is thriving. They also have brilliant Emerati leadership and top class CEOs.
 
Singaporeans are a very unhappy lot. They do not appreciate the journey that Spore has taken since independence and Dubai imitated Spore initially but has over-taken Spore in many aspects.’
 
The above is a comment by a Webex in TRE. For a country like Singapore to be over taken by Dubai is nothing surprising. There was really not much growth in the island for many years if we take out the elements of influx of foreigners, the housing balloon, the ever increasing high rentals, the COEs and car prices and the high medical fees. These factors alone could have wiped out all the growth there was, or negative growth in their absence. How’s that?
 
But with the example of Dubai there is real hope. Singapore should imitate Dubai to over take Dubai with our brilliant leadership, at the moment second only to Dubai. What Singapore needs is to rely more on foreigners. 50% foreigners could only bring us 2-3% growth. Dubai is managed by 95% foreigners. If we follow Dubai, we could increase our growth by 4-6%, which is good. According to a banker Mak Weijie as quoted in the Today paper, ‘As long as the person is capable enough, it doesn’t matter what nationality he is.’ (My comment: Are you a citizen or a new citizen? We have a country, not a shop)
 
And what is 6.9m? Go for it, 95% foreigners, Singaporean core reduces to 5%, and we will be so much richer as a shop, oops, I mean a country. Our population could be what, 30m? Knn, what am I thinking?

Fake degree holders – Get out while you can

The Philippines Embassy is warning its citizens here to submit only genuine degrees and certificates and avoid being caught with their pants down. It seems that they have been given notice that the MOM is coming down hard on fake degree holders. If this be the case, it means that all the embassies must also been notified of the next move by the MOM.
 
For those fakes currently under employment here, it may be wise for them to get out while they still can. The easiest thing to do is to submit their resignation and return home as soon as they can. Any day of delay will increase the risk of them being detected, caught and charge in court. The sentence could be $20k fine or up to 2 years of imprisonment.
 
The window period for those who are here under fake qualifications is closing down fast. They must know how efficient the Singapore govt is when they made up their mind to go after the culprits. They are damn good. The real Singapore talents when tasked to do a job will do it extremely well. Get out you still can and do not hesitate or waste a single day here. Never think that you have been here for many years and you can get away with it. Trust the Singapore talents to do what they are good at.
 
Good luck. And this will also apply to those who have converted to citizens or PRs using fake qualifications. You will be caught. It is a matter of when. When the Singapore govt means business it is business. You have been warned. Just because things were slack before they can be taken as slipshod and did not know what was happening. When time to be efficient, you bet they will be very efficient. Our car park attendance is a good example of how good they are.

USA, The Biggest and Most Evil Rogue State

                                                     USA  --  The Biggest Rogue State And  International Terrorist Country

It is time to carry out a regime change in USA  -  The Evil Empire which is the cause of all troubles, wars, distability and strive in all aspects of life in this world. Since the end of the Second World War, USA has wasted no time in creating endless wars and distability in various parts of the world. The biggest industry in USA is the War Industry and so The Evil Empire has always been using the medium of wars as a conduit of sustaining this industry and enriching itself by selling arms to other countries at wars incited and fomented by USA through sowing seeds of dissension , suspicion and contention among the targeted unsuspecting victimised nations. The White American concept of perpetual and permanent warfares both direct and indirect through proxy wars has been on going and institutionalised since the first year of its independence from Imperial Britain. With this insidious policy America has always used it to grab lands and resources from other countries and to hold sway and hegemony over all other countries big or small. The original USA started with thirteen states comprising a territory of about five hundred thundred thousand square miles. Then with its aggressive policy of wars of expansion it marched westward to attack, conquer and eventually annexed all the selfgoverning native American Indian states and of course after killing eighty-five million or over ninety-percent of the native American Indians. Then from 1840s to around 1890s The Evil Empire continued  its war of aggression against the Mexicans and took by force Mexican lands of about one million six hundred and fifty thousand square miles comprising the present territories of Florida, Texas, Utah,Nevada, New Mexico, Dakota and California. At present this concept of perpetual wars of aggression and expansion shows no sign of stopping. Instead it is getting hotter and more hostile as can be seen in the American fomented wars and distabilities in the Middle-East, North Africa, in East Asia, South China Sea and its surrounding countries and South Asia in India , Pakistan and South West China.

The Evil Empire has created enough trouble, wars and miseries in this world. When can all the countries wake up and unite to put a stop to this Western carnage headed by USA? It is time the countries of the world unite to carry out regime change of the USA government, failing which it will allow The Evil Empire to drag the whole world to virtual destruction.

Southernglory1

The silly myth of bringing in better talents

The craps of not wanting to lose out on a better foreign talent is being waved by everyone especially the foreigners and foreign recruiting agencies as the excuse to bring in foreign talents. This silly reasoning must be put to a stop. I can replace every Sinkie in every profession, including ministers as there will be one better foreigner to replace him.
 
We must be very clear why we allowed foreigners to work here. We need better foreign talents, we are short of talents/professionals in some fields, but no, we don’t need to bring in another foreigner because he happens to be a little better than another Sinkie so we can replace the Sinkie.
 
Take the foreign footballers as an example. What good is there to bring in the foreign footballers? Do they make our national team better? Or should we replace everyone in our national team with these foreign footballers? In this particular case, the only reason for them to be here is to fill up the numbers in the few clubs that we have. Even this is really not necessary, unnecessary. We can still have our football league with our local boys kicking the balls around and the bets going on as usual. There is no real value add with all the foreign footballers here.
 
What is so great about having a few better accountants, managers, engineers, bankers just because they are claimed to be better? Did they change anything in the game? If they are game changers, that makes a big difference. Those are the type of talents that we need. Do we need more talented mee siam sellers to replace our mee siam sellers?
 
For practical reasons, we only need professionals to fill jobs where there is a real shortage in a particular field. Many of the professional jobs can be filled by Sinkies or by so called foreigners and nothing really changes. A good example is the way the Australians handle such economic migrants. There is a list of jobs like plumbers, sewerage engineers, carpenters, cooks, nurses etc that they need as they did not have enough Australians working in these jobs. The migrants are allowed in not because they were better plumbers, better cooks or better nurses, but because there is a shortfall.
 
If the logic is to bring in better talents in mundane routine jobs, we don’t need Sinkies anymore. And mundane routine jobs can be PME jobs. We have enough trained and qualified Sinkies for these jobs. And only stupid and irresponsible people will accept the stupid reasoning that we should replace Sinkies with foreigners because the foreigner is a better talent than the Sinkie. What difference does it make if a better foreign civil engineer or IT professional is recruited to replace a Sinkie? Nothing. They are all doing the same job, nothing more nothing less, unless the Sinkie is not qualified and cannot do the job.
 
Shouldn’t a graduate be employed to be a petrol pump attendant as he is better talented? Is he going to be more productive than a ‘boh tak cheh’ ah pek? The graduate is a talent of course, a better talent than the ah pek. So? What is the competition, competing against who and making money from where and who?
The only good reason is that we don’t have enough in the profession that we need foreigners. We don’t need foreigners so that our Sinkies can be replaced and made jobless, no matter how talented the foreigners are.
 
Stop spewing rubbish and myths to con the daft Sinkies.

Die a natural death

After some release of pent up anger, most issues raised in cyberspace would die a natural death as expected, just like sunrise and sunset. The AIM issue is long gone and forgotten. The latest ballot box issue is already on its way to history. That is the beauty of a first world society, all sensible and rational people. Everything talk only, no violence, very civilized. All they want is the right to express their unhappiness or frustration. Once this is allowed and done, anger dissipated, life goes on.
 
The govt must be comforted by this development. The earlier fear of the internet is unfounded. The freedom of expression that was more limited in the pre internet days when nothing much was heard for good reasons became a worrisome preoccupation of the govt when internet first came into the picture. How would the people react given this new freedom? Should they be controlled, should internet be controlled? How would internet interfere with the politics of the country? How would internet influence the way people think and vote?
 
The truth is that nothing really changed. In fact internet has offered an avenue for people to let off steam, vent their frustrations when they needed to and to feel good about it when done. And in most cases there is a feeling of well being when they could get things off their chest in the internet. They had their final say.
 
Tan Jee Say and Tan Cheng Bock had their pieces published in cyberspace questioning the suspicious reappearance of the ballot boxes. Having said that and done with, case closed. There seems to be a closure that the main media could not give. With internet, the injured or supposedly wrong party or victim has the right to have a last stand. This is an improvement over the old ways when these people would have to swallow whatever perceived injustice quietly as they would not be heard. And that could lead to them harbouring deep grievances that may seek an outlet sooner or later in the most unexpected way.
 
Such feelings of outrage and seething sense of injustice could be ameliorated by allowing the parties to say whatever they want, curse whoever they want, and go home and have a good sleep.
 
This is a great contribution of the internet, to defuse a time bomb, to make people feel better. Yaacob should take note of this and take his hands off the internet to let the unhappy people say what they want. Better this way than street protest and violence. With internet there would not be any Spring. People will talk about their problems and dissatisfaction verbally and better still if the govt could engage them verbally as well. Uh, they called this communication and engaging the people.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest

ASSK was under house arrest on and off for more than 10 years as a political prisoner. The authoritarian military junta in a way was quite kind, I mean relatively, to let her stay in her own house. At least she was at home most of the time and with her supporters around her. It was not the solitary confinement type, and if I am not mistaken, she was spared the rounds of torture that some political prisoners were put through in other military dictatorship or authoritarian regime.
 
And she was released and allowed to contest in a general election, and won. And she is now travelling the world as a legitimate politician, a free woman. On these points, the military junta of Myanmar is not that bad after all. And who knows what could happen in the next general election. Would she be allowed to take over the govt of Myanmar, or would the military step in and have another coup and lock her up again if her party won?
 
With Thein Sein in charge, and if he is still around, or if the other military top brass are of the same thinking, there is a high possibility that a change of govt, a civilian govt could be in place in Myanmar. This is not bad, better in many democracies that a change in govt could bring out the military to seize power.
 
What do you think? Is the Myanmese junta more liberal, less ruthless and more democratic than Singapore?

Logical deduction by selective reasoning

Logical thinking is a highly demanded skill of an individual. But it is also possible to teach people to think stupid and still logical and sounding absolutely reasonable, and can even be mathematically proven.
 
Let me try, 3 children only drink tea or coffee while a fourth drinks chicken essence. Now if the result of this fourth child is better than the other 3, then it can be concluded that drinking chicken essence indeed can improve one’s grade. It can be the other way too.
 
Another example, most male Sinkies have done NS. And if a sample study on 3 of them and a foreign student from a university is conducted and found that the foreign student did better academically, it can be concluded that doing NS is bad for academic studies. Or some may even conclude that NS men are more stupid or less smart than those who did not do NS, ie foreigners and the local girls.
 
To confirm this finding, check out on the same cohort of girls against the NS men. If the girls are doing better, one more confirmation that doing NS makes the men stupid. Then look at the foreign talents and if they are appointed or employed in top positions over those who have done NS, this is second confirmation that doing NS really made our boys stupid.
 
With this astounding finding, the employers could go to the HR to demand recruiting people that have not done NS. NS makes men stupid. So all the top positions should rightfully go to foreigners or maybe girls who have not done NS.
 
See how logical the reasoning is? Nah, I don’t think this kind of thinking is being used to employ foreigners to fill up top positions in the country, both in the public and private sectors, both in govt and in the industries.
 
Logical deduction can be very misleading if the intention is to mislead. Ok, ok, this is academic or intellectual infidelity or dishonesty.

US rhetoric at UN aims at 'bullying Russia, China' into Syria resolution

This article is from  "Russia Today"


US rhetoric at UN aims at ‘bullying Russia, China’ into Syria resolution
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Published time: September 24, 2013 21:57
United States President Barack Obama waves after speaking at the 68th United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2013 in New York City. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images/AFP)



US President Barack Obama requires a “mask” to legitimize unilateral action in Syria, Brian Becker, Director of Answer Coalition, told RT. He needs Russia and China to back a resolution so it can be conducted under a UN banner rather than the US alone.

RT: Obama says the US must remain heavily engaged in the Middle East because there won’t be anyone to fill the vacuum if Washington pulls out – is that a credible claim?

Brian Becker: Well, of course the US is acting in what it perceives to be its own interests, and I would have to say these are not the interests of the American people, per se, who don’t have big oil or banking investments in the Middle East. But there are big banks and there are big oil corporations and they have global interests, and they have particular interests in the Middle East. And the US policy is to protect those interests; that’s where two thirds of the world’s oil is. 

President Obama says “we are an exceptional country,” meaning we shed our treasure and our blood for the interests of all but not for our own interests. I mean, that’s bogus, that’s completely a fraud. The US wants to dominate and it’s been the priority of its foreign policy to dominate this oil-rich region for the past 50 years.

RT: In defending past US military interventions, he also continued to build a case for regime change in Syria. How is that being received at the general assembly?

BB: I think all the countries of the world who want to be independent and sovereign countries who realize that President Obama – when he says “sovereignty cannot be a shield for tyrants” – that means the US government is arrogating to itself which regimes, which governments live, and which should be overthrown. So I think for those who are independent – they all see this as a great threat – not only to Syria, but to all those who may at some point defy the empire. Obama said in his speech “we a not an empire, it’s just useful propaganda,” but in fact the US government conduct itself exactly the way an empire does, only this time uses lofty rhetoric and noble causes as the motivation, presumably, for its interests.

US President Barack Obama proposes a toast during a luncheon at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly September 24, 2013 at the United Nations in New York. (AFP Photo/Don Emmert)

US President Barack Obama proposes a toast during a luncheon at the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly September 24, 2013 at the United Nations in New York. (AFP Photo/Don Emmert)

RT: Let’s talk about those developments in Syria: The world’s chemical weapons watchdog – it’s said that it’s already cooperating on the chemical disarmament deal – so what about this idea of a UN Security Council resolution – would that actually change anything?

BB: We have to see – what the US and France are trying to do at the Security Council is to bully Russia and bully China in order to get wording into that resolution that would authorize them to carry out a military action under the rubric of the UN. But clearly the Obama administration says it has the authority to act unilaterally, but it would like to have some sort of shield or at least mask for that sort of unilateral operation. So they want to put in language that says that there must be consequences. And President Obama in his speech said if we don’t have consequences to enforce Syria’s compliance – which apparently Syria is complying – then it shows the UN has no ability to enforce international laws in its own resolutions.

We should remind President Obama the UN passed resolution 242 that said to Israel leave the Golan Heights, leave the West Bank – that was 46 years ago. No military action against Israel, and none is in the future. It’s a double standard, it’s hypocrisy. The US is trying to bully the UN Security Council to do what it really wants to do, which is to escalate the conflict in Syria, to overthrow their government.

RT: But isn’t it a fair condition – if Syria simply doesn’t play by the rules and doesn’t comply, then surely some sort of force has got to be put on it in order to make it comply – it’s a fair call isn’t it?

BB: I don’t think so – you notice President Obama said 98 percent of humanity says chemical weapons should be banned. The United States’ principle ally, Israel, refuses to get rid of its chemical weapons stockpile, or biological weapons, or nuclear weapons, so the Obama administrations is in fact quite selective about who can have and who shouldn’t have chemical weapons. But that’s not really the point.

Chemical weapons in this instance are a pretext for an escalating intervention. The Obama administration’s hand has been steadied because of global opposition, including massive domestic opposition in the United States. They’re trying to come back but they are in a weakened position right now.

Medical appointments in world class health service

We have a world class health service, both private and public, and equivalent to the best in the developed countries. This is something we should be proud of and good for those who need medical care. This morning there is a letter in the media by a Ms Tay Soh Hoon complaining about a more than one year medical appointment for her husband with a renal specialist in a public hospital, the Singapore General Hospital, run like a private hospital as it has been privatized to be as efficient as private hospitals.
 
Now, what is it like for someone with a medical condition that is deemed serious enough to need to see a specialist, in this case is something related to the kidney? Many would be worried to death and would want an immediate appointment with the specialist. A one month appointment would be deemed too long. A one year appointment is definitely unacceptable. How many with a condition could actually get into more serious trouble or may not survive a one year wait.
 
Waiting for one year in public privatized hospitals is becoming pretty common especially for non life threatening cases like fixing a set of braces. The waiting time could be 2 or 3 years. By then the urge or itch to have a set of braces may be gone. How many cases that were reasonably serious in nature and still need to wait for months or more for an appointment? Is this something acceptable from the professional opinion of the medical practitioners? Definitely it is not desirable and unacceptable for a world class medical health care service.
 
Heard that if one is willing to pay, go to the real private hospitals and appointments could be had immediately or within a few days depending on how much or desperate one is willing to pay. Heard also that in urgent cases, the waiting period could be shortened in public privatized hospitals as well. In this particular case, after many complaints for urgency, a 16 months wait was finally shorten to a year. Should Ms Tay rejoice for the victory? Should we celebrate that we have a world class healthcare system? Or maybe world class for those who can afford to pay in hard cash in the private hospitals?
 
What is going on? What world class? Have you heard of die waiting?

Significant progress on hot button issues

In yesterday’s programme on Asking the PM, Hsien Loong was to a certain extent congratulating the govt for making significant progress on hot button issues like housing, public transport and foreigners/employment. I could not hold my eyeballs steady as they kept rolling while he was saying these things.
 
Should the people be jubilant, praise the govt for reacting to these painful issues that have hurt the people real bad for so long? How in the world could a proactive govt with its fingers on the pulse of the people allowed these problems to escalate to a point of losing control is amazing. And who the hell created all these problems in the first place?
 
My eyeballs rolled faster when he talked about the sense of identity, strengthening the Singaporean core, about individual citizens sacrificing for the national goals and blaming this generation for being different and less sacrificing than the early generations.
Somehow I got this feeling that citizens and the interests of citizens were cast aside in the mercenary pursuit for economic growth at all cost over the last decade or so when foreigners were brought in to replace citizens in nearly every aspect of life in the island. 

The housing problem is a big shit that could not be unwound with the people all deep in debt. The employment scene when foreigners are happily employed by the millions and poor Sinkies ended jobless or underemployed or even being discriminated to favour employment of foreigners did not happen yesterday. How come the govt allowed it to happen, or the govt did not know?
 
Should the people pat the govt for doing a good job or whack it with a big stick? The FCF that is being rolled out is greeted with a lot of mixed feelings, sneers and suspicion that it is going to be another wayang. This tells a lot about the trust the people have on the govt. No need to say more. How did the govt reach just a state of distrust if it has been doing all the good things for the people? The people are daft and ungrateful?
 
Solving problems together, the govt thinking ahead and the people not thinking ahead? What was the govt thinking and saying when the people were crying out loud about the housing problems? No housing problem, no need to build more, housing was affordable, where got problem? If the people have not screamed their heads off in cyberspace about the employment shit when citizens were booted out of their jobs to be replaced by the foreigners, would the govt look up and listen, and take note?
 
Actually all the problems in a way were faked, over blown in cyberspace. If there is no internet and social media, there will be no problem at all. Nothing would be heard. The netizens are a nuisance, creating false and imaginary problems and giving the govt a hard time for no good reasons.
 
Now that the govt has acknowledge some of the problems raised, now that the MOM has started to do something about it, let’s hope the cynicism of the people does not turn out to be true, that it was all a wayang. The govt needs to rebuild its trust by the people if it is to stay relevant and believeable and be re elected. The people are watching with a very critical and cynical mindset. They are not going to take the words of the govt for granted. They want to see actions and real results that favour citizens, not locals.
 
So? Where do we go from here? Does the govt know that a medical appointment with the specialist in govt privatised hospitals can take more than a year? Is this an acceptable state of affair?

Material Singapore kena slap, slap

The 5 day visit by Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi ended yesterday with a confirmed slap slap on materialistic Singapore. Many Singaporeans must be squeezing to get up close with this lady from a Third World country, economically and materially, with a whole list of what Singapore can do for Myanmar. Come see this Singapore and that Singapore. Come see Orchard Road and Sentosa, Changi Airport, HDB flats…. We can build industrial parks for Myanmar, airports, sea ports, shopping centres, artificial gardens, artificial beaches and parks, and yes HDB flats. We can teach Myanmar, plenty of things, and plenty of things for Myanmar to learn from us.
 
Aung San Suu Kyi was more amused than anything. What is there to learn from Singapore except materialism, mad rush, rat race. She was quoted to say, ‘That made me think, what is work all about? What are human beings for? What are human lives for? The Singapore answer will be to work, work and work. Work is everything, work is pride and dignity.
 
To this lady of international fame for fighting for democracy and human rights, there is more to just work and money, and work and work. There is a life worth living for. The quality of life is not just about materialism. She conceded that there are things that Myanmar could learn from Singapore but definitely not to copy our model of work, work and work. Myanmar would want to walk its own path to find its own way and happiness.
 
Her parting shot to Singapore, ‘Perhaps Singapore could learn from us a more relaxed way of life. Perhaps warmer and closer family relationships. I think we have much to offer you, you come and find out.’ Oooh la lah… This must be shocking to many successful Singaporeans with a lot of cash to paste on their faces. This woman from Myanmar wanted to teach us? How can?
 
Aung San Suu Kyi lives a life to improve lives, for freedom and human rights. We live a life of materialism, money and work. We even have to pay the govt for visiting our parents or our friends in their HDB flats. How is that for building kampong spirit and building a warmer relationship with friends and dear ones? We pay for everything and thus have to work and work to pay and pay.
 
Well, it is a matter of opinion and expectation of life. We still want to pay that hundred or two hundred thousand bucks to the hospitals to keep us alive to 100 years when we are 90. We need to find more money to live to 100 years. Thank God there is this god sent Medishield Life to help the Singaporeans to live a good life.

The Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) consideration

The much awaited policy change from Chuan Jin has finally arrived. As usual this is received with much trepidation, scepticism and jubilation. Some welcomed it as something that has to be done, better late than never, some dismissed it as too little too late, and why must it take another year to be implemented. Reactions from the employers are muted but fairly agreeable except for the recalcitrant companies that are keeping mum for their indiscretion over the years.
 
Singaporeans should welcome this move or gesture as a step in the right direction. It may seem too little and lacking in what it intends to achieve, but like the atrocious housing problem that was left to ferment and rot for too long, the problem is so immense and widespread that a simple policy change like this would not do very much and cannot do very much. We should give Chuan Jin some time to fine tune this change along the way. And he has mentioned that there will be close monitoring and follow up measures to rein in the culprits that are taking advantage of the generosity of Singapore and Singaporeans.
 
What can also be done is to look at some other measures that could compliment the works of MOM. Patrick Tay of NTUC is still mooting over the introduction of dependency ratio or quota for the employment of PMEs. Let’s make this very clear as some are still talking about foreign workers. This is an issue that concerns PMEs and the policy change should be confined to this sector. For those still sleeping, please leave out the issue of foreign workers from this discussion. They are a different matter to be dealt with separately. NTUC should not miss the chance to take the initiative to reinforce the FCF with their own recommendations to give more meat to this change and make it look real and not wayanging. It would lose its credibility as a national institution for not looking after the interests of Singaporeans.
 
What could also be done is to dovetail this process by overhauling the HR practices of Ministries, stats boards and the civil service, and GLCs. Chuan Jin may want to give these organizations the same one year grace to put their house in order. Govt service, ministries and stats boards should be the employer of citizens and PRs only, and the ratio could be 70:30 for PME positions. There is no need for foreigners to be in such services unless some jokers believe that there are no Singaporeans that can do the job. Only nuts will believe in such nonsense. There are exceptions where specialists or professionals are needed due to their special skills or a shortage in the industry. Exceptions can always be handled separately.
 
In the case of GLCs, these are also within the control of the govt, and not market forces like the housing farce, the dependency ratio could be 70:20:10 for PMEs ie citizens, PRs and non citizens. I need to emphasise PMEs again and again to make sure idiots do not start uttering about foreign workers in the same breath.
 
In both the govt service and GLCs, the ratios quoted are only a guide and could be toggled and fine tuned to meet the realities of needs and supply and demand. For a start, all HR positions in govt service and GLCs must be filled by a Singaporean to protect the interests of Singaporeans. There is absolutely no need for HR positions to be filled by a foreigner. And to avoid people gaming the system, new citizens of less than 5 years should not be allowed to fill such a position.
 
Get our own house in order first, ie govt service and GLCs. The MNCs and private organizations can be tackled at a different pace with a lighter touch, but a dependency ratio is still needed.
 
Chuan Jin and the MOM staff have worked hard for this change. And they did not waste time and money going on overseas trips to learn from other countries to come up with the measures. This only shows that they meant business and not thinking of ‘jia hong’ and another wayang. Let them do the job and make changes along the way. Many things have to change for this Singapore Spring to take place within the govt, with govt support and the will to see it through.

HEALTH ALERT - Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption

HEALTH ALERT -- Processed Meats Declared Too Dangerous for Human Consumption

By Mike Adams

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has just completed a detailed review of more than 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer.  Its conclusion is rocking the health world with startling bluntness: processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption.  Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.  Processed meats include bacon, sausage, hotdogs, sandwich meat, packaged ham, pepperoni, salami and virtually all red meat used in frozen prepared meals.

They are usually manufactured with a carcinogenic ingredient known as sodium nitrite.  This is used as a colour fixer by meat companies to turn packaged meats a bright red colour so they look fresh. Unfortunately, sodium nitrite also results in the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines in the human body. And this leads to a sharp increase in cancer risk for those who eat them.

A 2005 University of Hawaii study found that processed meats increase the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67 per cent. Another study revealed that every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 50 per cent. These are alarming numbers. Note that these cancer risks do not come from eating fresh, non-processed meats. They only appear in people who regularly consume processed meat products containing sodium nitrite.

Sodium nitrite appears predominantly in red meat products (you won't find it in chicken or fish products). Here's a short list of food items to check carefully for sodium nitrite and monosodium glutamate (MSG), another dangerous additive:
* Beef jerky
* Bacon
* Sausage
* Hot dogs
* Sandwich meat
* Frozen pizza with meat
* Canned soups with meat
* Frozen meals with meat
* Ravioli and meat pasta foods
* Kid's meals containing red meat
* Sandwich meat used at popular restaurants
* Nearly all red meats sold at public schools, restaurants, hospitals, hotels and theme parks

If sodium nitrite is so dangerous to humans, why do the FDA and USDA continue to allow this cancer-causing chemical to be used? The answer, of course, is that food industry interests now dominate the actions by U.S. government regulators. The USDA, for example, tried to ban sodium nitrite in the late 1970's but was overridden by the meat industry. It insisted the chemical was safe and accused the USDA of trying to "ban bacon."

Today, the corporations that dominate American food and agricultural interests hold tremendous influence over the FDA and USDA. Consumers are offered no real protection from dangerous chemicals intentionally added to foods, medicines and personal care products.

You can protect yourself and your family from the dangers of processed meats by following a few simple rules:
1. Always read ingredient labels.
2. Don't buy anything made with sodium nitrite or monosodium glutamate.
3. Don't eat red meats served by restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels or other institutions.

And finally, eat more fresh produce with every meal. There is evidence that natural vitamin C found in citrus fruits and exotic berries (like camu camu) helps prevent the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines, protecting you from the devastating health effects of sodium nitrite in processed meats. The best defence, of course, is to avoid eating processed meats altogether.

[Ed. Note: Mike Adams, the Health Ranger a leading authority on healthy living -- is on a mission: to explore, uncover and share the truth about harmful foods and beverages, prescription drugs, medical practices and the dishonest marketing practices that drive these industries. For his latest findings, click here.]

Bo Xilai, the man who could be President

Seeing this man in handcuffs is creepy. He was the forerunner to be the President of China. He was charismatic and had a string of records in public administration, taking on tough appointments and the triads in his last appointment. A bright rising star eclipsed at the peak of his power.
 
China has just brought down one of the most power man in the Communist Party, stripped off his post and sentenced to life imprisonment for corruption and abused of power. His wife is serving a suspended death sentence for the murder of a British, Neil Heywood, whom they trusted and entrusted with the well being of their son and their overseas investments. This story is a repeated of the colonial days when the decadent rich sucked up to the foreigners to guard their ill gotten wealth and eventually got ripped off by them. History is repeating with the pathetic Chinese rich not learning the lessons of the past.
 
This is perhaps the biggest story of modern China, to take down one of their close comrades at such a high level, put him on trial and ended with a life sentence. The evidence was so overwhelming that justice was served in accordance with the rule of law and the rumour of a revolt by the supporters of Bo fizzled out quietly.
 
There were fears of a coup of sort or instability. They were fears that justice would not be served. The trials of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai were a showcase of modern Chinese legal system and transparency. It was also a statement that corruption would be dealt with even at the highest place of power. This is not seen in many countries, including Asean.
 
The verdict on Bo Xilai is a signal the Xi Jinping leadership is sending to the Chinese bureaucracy that corruption and abuse of power will not be tolerated. Would this lead to more heads being rolled? Given the prevalence of corruption at high places, this is only the beginning, an unnecessary evil that has to be done and seen to be done to keep China on an even keel and prevent it from collapsing prematurely.
 
Xi Jinping needs to run a tight ship to keep the Chinese govt in a healthy state for the future. Allowing corruption to sink roots and corrupt officials to run the country would see the growth of China going down quickly as predicted by many doomsayers in the West. The taking down of Bo Xilai is a gingerly step forward and more needs to be done to prevent China going back to its decadent past.

India should not worry about university rankings

While Sinkies are all over trying to grasp the value and place for tuition, heard in the news that India is worried that none of its universities is among the top 200 universities in the world. And maybe they are going to game the system by bringing in more foreign students and lecturers to boost their rankings. I think this whole ranking thing is a farce and a paper victory and did not reflect the reality and quality of the products of the universities. In a way the good grades of students only tell one side of the story of the student’s ability with many things left untold.
 
The facts are contradictory and disappointing as far as university rankings are concerned. The inputs are variables, the factors are subjective and everything else are but a constrained effort to think they matter. Take the case of Singapore universities versus Indian universities. Oh, we are so proud of the top rankings of NUS and NTU while India has none. Then look at the employment opportunities of Indian graduates and our graduates and their employability in top management positions in MNCs and the govt and govt linked companies. The products of Indian universities put us to shame. Pandit used to be the top man in Citibank Group. And there are many like him in America and Europe. Can we find a Singapore graduate in such rarefied position? None!
 
Indian graduates are in demand and highly regarded in America and Europe and definitely in Singapore. Singapore even signed a free trade agreement that includes opening the door to practically all Indian graduates. As such they are gradually easing out the local graduates in top management positions in our home ground. Indian graduates are highly sought after here. Where do the graduates of our world class universities stand?
 
I will advise India not to waste time, money and resources to game a system that is hardly of value except on paper. Look at the reality here if not in Europe and the USA. Indian graduates beat Singapore graduates hands down. Still thinking of wasting money on some rubbish rankings?
 
Indian graduates are among the best in the world of banking and finance and IT. So, why this urge to want to look good in some make belief rankings that are worth only on papers and ended paying obscenely for the presence of foreigners in the universities? A farce is a farce. A good university or a good graduate is a good one regardless of whether the university is rank at the top or at the bottom. Maybe if the ranking is done by God it may mean something.

Raising the quality of private tutors

 

Someone saw this coming. Since private tuition is so prevalent and necessary, let’s make sure that the standards are high and private tutors are qualified. For a start, all private tutors must be registered with a professional body and have their qualifications and experience certified. So we need a professional body or something like that to certify them.

Private tuition must be conducted in a proper and conducive environment, not below the staircase or in the void deck. Not in the homes also, to give an image of professionalism and respectability.

There must be some regulations or self regulating bodies to maintain a certain standard for the tuition giver. Not everyone can give tuition without the approval of these bodies or organisations. They may have to sit for a test to be issued with a certificate to tutor students.

Tutors are not allowed to anyhow paste little slips of papers on letter boxes or walls for their services like unauthorised agents. Not good for public image and professionalism.

See, we have a new industry in the making. And tutors, please declare your income and pay your taxes, and rentals and fees to your professional bodies, and the media for advertisements. Tutors will henceforth be known as professional tutors and can print name cards with PT added to their names.

This is a multi million dollar industry and deserves some recognition as many tutors are paid much better than school teachers, a choice profession that is highly regarded for the best in the industry. How about a specialist Tuition Centre like Mount Elizabeth equivalent for medical services?