Temasek Review versus Temasek Review

What is this tussle all about? A case of copy rights, a business wrangle, a political issue or what? One is an internet forum and another a corporate newsletter. Can they share the same name, or does one Temasek Review interferes with another Temasek Review? The target audience or readers are obviously different. What if one Temasek Review is registered internationally? Would it make any difference? Where is the boundary in cyberspace? I hope mysingaporenews is not being used by some other corporations. I have heard of mypaper and your news so far. Will I be looking forward to some nasty surprises from a conflicting claim? And I think redbeanforum is quite safe. At least it has no grand labels attached to it. The closest similarities are tomatoes, apples and oranges and perhaps peanuts. I hope Temasek Review may be able to squeeze some juice from it's name. Or would it be the other way round? Would the word 'pap smear' be banned?

Nobel War Prize

Ever since Obama received his Nobel Peace Prize he has been engaged in the same wars as his predecessor. He added a feather to his cap by adding 300,000 more troops to Afghanistan. And they are fighting another rag tag militia like the Vietcongs, without planes, without tanks, without sophisticated satellites and smart bombs. No Rambos or Arnie too. And the American commanders are asking for more fighting men as they can’t deal with the problem. But that is not enough for Obama. He wanted to start another war with the North Koreans by conducting provocative exercises at their doorstep. And that is still not enough. He wanted to use Asean as an excuse to start a war with the China. It is time that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to him be renamed the Nobel War Prize. If not, they need to switch the definitions for peace and war.

What a pity, No Liverpool

Peter Lim's serious and business approach to acquire Liverpool Football Club failed. They did not want his money even when he was willing to pay 60 million pounds more than the successful contender. So, was it a business decision or political decision? Was there more that we do not know? There is no corruption in fine English gentlemen. So what went wrong? Never mind. But it is a pity that he failed in his bid. Otherwise we will become famous as a football nation. Not they we can kick football, but owning a champion English football club will do the trick. Our football fans would have the chance to cheer themselves crazy every time Liverpool plays. We will fly Liverpool flags everywhere, sing Liverpool's anthem and wear Liverpool colours. Just hope they did not get carried away and change our National flag and national anthem as well. They will be prouder to call themselves Liverpudlians than Singaporeans. Whatever, a football club in big debt cannot be a profitable business except for some bought fame. I think it is good riddance that Peter Lim did not get to buy it. Why throw good money after bad money or money for a bunch of hooligans? Some will disagree and feel that this is closest to our dream of being in the World Cup. The possibility of our Liverpool team playing as our national team can be arranged, with some money in the right place. Maybe someone else has a bigger dream to make this come true.

The most enlighten article on North Korea

Doug Bandow, a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, I dunno where it is, has his article published in the ST today. Let me quote some of his ’intellectual’ comments about North Korea and Kim Jong Il. ‘The so called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the world’s first “communist monarchy”, poses no threat to America.’ Clap, clap, clap. This is ingenius observation. ‘Its economy is a wreck. Its military equips undertrained and malnourished soldiers with ancient equipment. One American aircraft carrier has more firepower than the entire North Korean military.’ This must be based on objective academic observation and empirical data. Obviously he did not see the recent parade and the well fed, well uniformed and well armed North Korean soldiers. The US should just march in like they did in Iraq and see what happens. ‘…Dear Leader Kim Jong Il is evil but not stupid. He knows that the US could wipe his nation off the map. He wants his virgins in this life, not the next, and would not waste his time attempting to pass power to his son if he planned self immolation in a pyre of fire.’ Kim is evil? How many people has he killed compared to Bush and Obama? And he wants virgins. Kim must have confided in him privately. My god, this is an academic piece of art! ‘The South’s forces are better trained and its equipment is more capable; Seoul has a much large army reserve and military industrial base. It has twice the population and upwards of 40 times the gross domestic product of the North. Moreover, neither China nor Russia, the North’s traditional allies, would support it in another war.’ Obviously this joker did not remember what happened during the Korean War. Let me remind him that the North nearly drove the South Korean army into the sea. Only the American intervention saved the South from a complete annihilation. And his simpleton’s conclusion that China and Russia would not come to the North’s aid in another war is as good as saying there is no Christmas comes December. After reading till this part, I wonder what kind of academic integrity there is in this article. This looks like a thrash written by a bigoted secondary school boy. I couldn’t bear to read further for fear of being impressed by his silliness.

How rich are Singaporeans?

A recent survey claimed that Singaporeans are the 4th richest in the world with net worth of US$336k each or something like that. So how to compare this money with someone with only $30k to see who is richer materially? Of course the Singaporeans have more money, big and strong Singapore currency. The deception is only beginning. Think of how hard it is to save $100k and how fast it slips through our fingers. It may take someone 5 to 10 years to save up $100k but his decision to buy that car will instantly burn every cent away. Ok, Ok, he does not need to buy a car. He can take public transport or buy a bicycle to promote green life. And a young couple saving their first $150k only to see it vanishes when they sign on the dotted line to buy that little flat, and another 30 years to slog to pay up everything. Yes, they need not have to buy. Just rent or stay with the mummy and daddy. Young couples who are able to save this kind of money cannot buy HDB flats, very likely earning more than $10k pm. It is the govt’s ruling. Then the retiree with his $200k savings! They may feel happy and secure to put such a sum of money away for their old age. However, one admission into a hospital for a serious illness, gosh, not a single cent left, nothing left for his remaining years. Are we really that rich and well off? What is the purchasing power of our strong dollar at home? A Singaporean with $50k could barely pay for his Korean car. A Singaporean with a family income of $1k-$2k may need financial help to make ends meet. So we are rich. A major economic crisis will bankrupt a large portion of the population when so many people are indebt of $500k or more. We are exposing our people to such a high and unnecessary risk which we believe will not happen. We have forgotten what happened in late 1990s. Don't they have nightmares of a crash and living in debt, unable to pay their big loans?

Chia Thye Poh deserves a Nobel Peace Prize

He is the longest surviving political prisoner in modern history, serving more years than Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned without trial for 23 years and under house arrest for another 9 years, giving a total of 32 years in detention. Mandela served 27 years in all. Wikipedia describes Chia Thye Poh as a prisoner of conscience, a person who stood firm on his belief without wavering and sacrificing his freedom and the best part of his life. If any one deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, it must be Chia Thye Poh. The politicians or political parties should nominate him as a candidate for next year’s award. He might be a communist, though he has never admitted to be one. But communist or no communist is no longer an issue with the award given to the first communist in China in Liu Xiaobo. And if the Nobel Prize committee does not know where Singapore is, it will be an advantage by telling them that Singapore is part of China. It will give the committee more reasons to give the award to Chia Thye Poh, ‘to spite China again’. And we can celebrate our own Nobel Peace Prize winner, our very own son.

The prostitution of Nobel Peace Prize

This was once highly acclaimed as a respectable honour when bestowed on a recipient. The recipient in most cases reserved such a recognition without any dispute or controversy. The first misgiving concerning the award of the Nobel Prize was when it was presented to Barack Obama, a greenhorn president that had all words and no actions during his early days as President of the USA. Everyone was embarrassed. Obama too was embarassed. For what had he done to deserve such an honour? Or was the title President of the USA be good enough for such an honour? Probably because he is the first black President of the USA and thus deserved such an honour. Regardless of the reasonings, no thinking person will think that Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. And to rubbish the award further, he went on to increase troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and to continue fighting the wars instead of looking for peace. Many more lives were lost because of his decision to extend the wars. All the previous Nobel Peace Prize recipients must be turning in their graves. And those living must have felt how cheap the award has become. Nelson Mandela was jailed for political reasons for 27 years before he was deemed fit to receive the award. Just a few days back, a Chinese national by the name of Liu Xiaobo, was also given the same honour. He was jailed for only 4 years. Would political prisoners like Chia Thye Poh and Lim Hock Siew, who have both served terms as long as Mandela be more deserving of such an award? No, the Chinaman, with 4 years of jail was chosen, in a way to spite the Chinese authority and an attempt to pressure them, to meddle with their internal affairs. No doubt Liu Xiaobo has made great sacrifices for his cause. He has given up the good life to choose imprisonment instead. But he has become a convenient political pawn for the West to attack China. It is such a shame to the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize. An award to be respected and now being prostituted for political gains.

The art of investigative journalism

The amount of work and effort put in by a reporter to reveal the true identiy of Dr Joseph Ong Chor Teck as the anonymous writer in Temasek Review deserves a lot of praise. Not only that it is newsworthy, it also set a new direction on what investigative journalism is all about and what it can do to tell more interesting stories about people and their backgrounds. We can expect that such important news and news trend would gain more acceptance and popularity both in the main media and in cyberspace. The other new media like TOC and TR and some others with the resources may also feel encouraged to do their own investigative journalism and tell their versions of interesting and newsworthy stories. It will add a lot of zest and jest in cyberspace and the media reporting as a whole. Great development!

Asean now a US protectorate?

Is Asean a US protectorate? From what the Americans are saying or doing, it appears so. In mypaper's front page news today, it has this, 'US: We'll protect states unnerved by China.' This statement was made in Vietnam prior to the Asia defence talks attended by all the Asean defence ministers plus China, US, Japan and other Asia countries. What did Asean do to deserve this honour? Isn't Asean professes itself to be a non aligned organisation, freeing itself from big power rivalry? How did Asean become a US protectorate. No, Asean did not ask the US to be their protector. Asean only invite the US for tea. And on entering the room the US took over the tea room. It then appointed itself as the protector of Asean with China in mind. This is much easier than setting up Seato. Here there is an organisation and the Americans just walked in, declared that it is now the boss. What is happening? If there was any invitation for the US to be the dominant power in Asean to take on China, it is likely to come from Vietnam, and very likely without the approval of the other Asean members. The possibility of confrontation and conflict is very real given the track records of Vietnam and the US, both belligerent countries and trigger happy. Would the peace in the region and Asean's neutrality be compromised and be dragged into a war it does not want? Would the region become another Middle East? In reality, Vietnam does not need Asean to take on China. It has defeated the mighty Americans in the Vietnam War. It is reputed to have taught the Chinese a lesson during their last border war. Vietnam should confront China using its own mightly army, seize the islands it claims. And if China reacts, Vietnam should conduct another border incursion into China like it did before. And now with the Americans supporting from behind, the Chinese would not be able to teach Vietnam a lesson any more. Why the need to drag in Asean into their foray? Would Asean leaders be foolish enough to turn their organisation, painfully built over the years, into another American protectorate, and be sucked into a war it does not want and is meaningless to them? Whatever, the US has now assumed the role as master of Asean. The mafia boss has shown its true intent.

An oasis for freedom of expression

I am proud to say that mysingaporenews.blogspot.com and redbeanforum.com are two rare gems where you can find freedom of expression as best as it could be. Seldom are post deleted, nor are they moderated, or subject to a moderator's whims and fancies. All posts are posted as they are. Rarely were there be exceptions, thanks to the mature bloggers posting in these the blog/forum, that the moderator would have to remove a piece. I have done it a few times on grounds of extreme vulgarities for the sake of vulgarites, or when the posts were inciting violence on religious or racial grounds. I am happy that this simple ground rule is observed by all here. Thank you and continue to post freely and sensibly. Cheers.

Is China being over assertive?

The Western media has been drumming up this tune, that China is being over assertive and bullying its smaller neighbours. Really? China has been a victim of aggression for several centuries. Some of its territories are still in the hands of the colonialists. It suffered trade sanctions, economic embargoes, containment, threats of nuclear attacks, unfair trade practices, isolations etc etc. Then it wakes up one day and sees aggressive countries still conducting war games in its courtyards and backyards. And there are big powers forming military alliances at its front doors with its neighbours. And little upstarts also trying to claim its territories when the territories belong to China for centuries, centuries before these little upstart countries could call themselves countries. Is it wrong for China to drive away the bullies and retake what historically belonged to China? Turn it the other way round, how would the Western countries react if China were to form military alliances with their immediate neighbours, conduct war games in the Carribeans or the Mediterraneans, send spy planes across Europe and the USA? What or how would the West responds or reacts? How would the Americans and Europeans react if China were to incite their neighbours to champion their rights? China should work with the Red Indians and aborigines to defend their rights, reclaim ownership of their land, and ask the perdatangs to go home to Europe. Would that be seen as being assertive? Is reclaiming their rights and land from the robbers, yakuzas, gangsters and frivolous opportunists assertive? Is telling the marauding hordes of hyenas swarming around their homeland and territorial waters assertive?

Trivialising a mistake!

The same attitude emerging. So what if the swimmers did not compete in the finals of the men's 4x200m relay? They are not medal contenders anyway, and swimming in the final or not swimming in the final would not make any difference. Really, why are we sending athletes and swimmers to the game for? Participation, sportsmanship, learning, experience and exposure to an international meet is it not? And, shsssshh, why are we spending all the money to send our swimmers there if participation is not important when they are not going to win a medal? I want my money back. Please don't waste public money like that. And in the next international meet, please do not send any athletes when they do not stand a chance to win a medal.

The third scenario

I have posted two possibilities of how the govt could be like after the next GE. The first is to increase the number of MPs to 100, plus more ministries and ministers, to keep pace with the changes and developments of the island. If this path is taken, we will have a bloated govt and the people will have to sacrifice another 3 plates of char kway teow to feed them. The next option is a lean and young govt, cutting away all the fats and waste. Then the people may be able to save on a plate of char kway teow and still having a govt to run the place. The third option which is highly likely is that there will be hardly any changes except for the inevitables and cosmetics. For sure LKY will not be in the next govt. So Chok Tong may be elevated to the revered title of Minister Mentor. Hsien Loong may want to move up to become SM and Chee Hean the next PM. The rest of the changes would be the normal self renewal with some oldies stepping down, and some with serious medical conditions may as well call it a day before it is too late. With the third option, basically nothing changes.

A Sunday morning mood

I have not had a Sunday morning mood for a long time, the kind of feeling or sensation of doing nothing or just relaxing and smell the roses. Browsing through the Sunday Times this morning did that. It actually tells me to reframe my mindset into the less serious or more pleasant things, like food and food and how in the hands of genius chefs, simple stuff could be turned into something so appetising and mouth watering, even a sight to behold. There were plentiful of articles about food this morning. Or perhaps I shall reflect on the number of top notch gyms and their programmes or where they are located and how they could have such a great influence on the people’s lives. And there is the iphone and ipad to marvel at the wonder of technology and how to live my life around them. They make the best companion in a modern world, so nice to have, so nice to hold. Now I understand why so many people are hooked on to playing games or watching movies in the trains and buses. Maybe I shall take the train and go malls counting. It can be a delightful past time for an oldie that has nothing better to do. They can exercise the mental by trying to do some calculation on how many malls are necessary and efficient to serving the population. Oh, there is an interesting article that made me turn a little serious. It is about expert advice to the widows and widowers who are griefing over the loss of their life long partners. The recommendation points to the visit to a shrink, or a psychiatrist, or is it psychologist, to help them overcome the difficult period of grief. Other than trying to share their grief, ask them to cry it out, talk about it, go out and mix around, try a new lifestyle, even relocation, not to live in the same room, house or location, professional help is still the best answer. And another advice, don’t throw away the deceased personal belongings too quickly, they bear many memories for the surviving spouses. Good, now I know what to do to help the grieving spouses, especially the older ones. The older they are, the more help they needed. The Sunday Times can be very educational on a Sunday morning.

When gods must also die

Would the demise of Balaji and Kwa Geok Choo make any difference to the political landscape of the future? Balaji was 55 and Geok Choo was 89. This simple statement could make some open their eyes a little to the fragility of life, that between 55 and 90, one could be called home with very short notice. Gods or immortals, no exceptions, no wonder drugs could prevent this eventuality from taking its natural course. Would those who have plentiful of wealth sit back and relax and say, what’s all the money if at the end of it they could not spend a cent on themselves? Would they decide to call it a day and enjoy the time with the wealth they have accumulated in abundance, to lead a life of their own choosing, at their own pace, without having to watch the clock or appease anyone? Life can be a very pleasant experience to those with the means. And it could be heaven on earth if they want it to be. But how they create this heaven is very individual. Some may find peace in solitude, free from the worries of daily living. Some may want to frolic with the nubile kind, of wine, women and song. Some will find contentment with their children and grandchildren, some with a book in a lonely beach. And there are some who would want to continue with the banter and battering of life till their legs no longer run. One possibility is the acceptance of a new political reality, with the oldies calling it a day, not wanting to be in the thick of things, not wanting to waste public resources for doing so little and collecting so much. We could have a trim and lean, and younger govt in charge. Hsien Loong could wipe the slate clean, no more MM or SMs, or ministers without portfolio in the PM’s office, except for the traditional Labour Chief. Even at the MP level, it could be more refreshing to see new and younger faces that are filled with energy than the lethargy of old have beens. It could be a welcoming breath of fresh air for a new beginning if these changes would to take place after the great revelation that life must come to an end for everyone, even to pseudo immortals…unless they prefer the existence of being I, Robot.

Michelle Obama is world's most powerful woman!

Really? What did she do to deserve that title? Does she run the state of USA and make decision for the country? All I know is that she is the wife of the President and maybe decide what food the President eats and what clothes he wears. Does she have any executive power, other than pillow talk? And second most powerful place goes to a food manufacturer, Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods. Third to a talk show host called Oprah Winfrey, then Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and then Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State of the US. All these is bull. The woman that I think should deserve the honour is none other than Ho Ching. Who in the top 10 list manages a few hundred billions, maybe one trillion dollars in hard cash and has the power to decide on how to invest this sum of money? None of them comes near to Ho Ching. The people producing the ranking must either be ignorant or biased. oh yea, they have their own criteria, influence on the American public opinion is a major factor huh? My vote goes to Ho Ching, the world's most powerful woman, not that she is the wife of the world's highest paid Prime Minister, but truly on her own merit, as the person in charge of a war chest that could be $1 trillion in size or there about. And the authority to decide on how the money is to be used. That is real power.

Do we need more MPs and Ministers?

My answer to this is an unequivocal yes. Look, our population has almost doubled, land size increased by at least 20%, economy tripled, oldies quadrupled, foreigners almost half of the population, and many more. With all the big developments, we could easily need double the current MPs. We can start off in the next election by having 100 MPs. And with more MPs, we should increase the number of mayors and town council CEOS as well. That will make our constituencies better managed and with better facilities. My other consideration for this is to separate the roles so that more people can enjoy such quality jobs with quality pay. Also, we do not want to over work our MPs to death do we? With more MPs, there should be more ministers too. I can see the need for a minister for the islands and islanders when they are occupied, a minister for public housing and one for private housing. With hospitals doubling, and the bill size unimaginable, we can afford to have a minister just to take charge of hospitals and manage the revenue. We need a minister for foreigners and foreign workers for sure, in view of their size and importance. The job of looking after the oldies shall be formalized with a minister for the oldies as this is becoming a bigger issue over time. The ministry of Home Affairs will need a minister to take care of terrorism. Transportation too needs another minister as the job is getting too big for one minister to handle. So does education with more universities coming up. With more ministers and ministries, we will need to have more coordinating ministers to prevent the same problem happening again, when one ministry is doing something while other ministries are sleeping or have no clue of what is going on and ended with big uncoordinated problems. We deserve to have the best govt. And big is good.

The credibility of media and reporters

Many media pride themselves as serious and credible institutions reporting and producing news that are reliable and newsworthy. But when it comes to political agenda, many drop their guards and went on a rampage printing silly news, ridiculous news, unsubstantiated housewives gossips etc etc. The darling of such gossips and petty news, if they are news, is North Korea and its leaders. It is almost a daily occurrence, and the source is often western, and often reproduced in silly Asian media, things like the successor of Kim Il Sung has gone for a plastic surgery to look like his grandpa? Or Kim Il Sung is buying French wines etc etc. How credible are such media and their reporters when they resort to petty gossips of little minds and published them as news! At best it makes their newspaper like evening tabloids famed for scandals or comic strips. At worst, it puts off serious readers for insulting their intelligence. Why would serious and reputable media willing to put up such craps as news? Do they have a special agenda or are they paid to do so?

What's there to grief?

Human beans have made progress in many fields, in leaps and bounds. The one area that is most neglected is life's journey, living and dying. All the best brains do not think the understanding of the meaning of life is that rewarding and devote their energy in science and technology and in fields that are more rewarding in material comfort. What ended up is that the meaning of life is left to many rascals and half literates to interpret and formulate for the rest of the beans to observe and follow. Why should there be grief when someone passes away to start another journey in a different realm of existence? For those who believe that dying is the end and nothing happens after that, dust to dust, I can accept their belief. I can also accept whatever beliefs about life after death. My belief is that there is life after death and living is just a short sojourn on earth. No need to go into big argument about the different beliefs here. My question is that why should there be sorrow and pain when someone has lived a good life, a life of abundance, a life of comfort and luxury, having everything there is to have? There could be some sadness for the living that the deceased will not be around anymore. But it is nothing more than going on a long vacation. Grief and sorrow are understandable for the down trodden who did not live a good life, depending on one's individual interpretation of good and bad of course. The deprived, the people who are struggling to have the minimum of material comfort and necessities, full of wants but not having them, those who died living behind dependents to eke out a living on their own, those who left behind young and helpless children, those who have many unfulfilled dreams, unfinished tasks, there are reasons to grief and to be sorrowful about. The Chinese custom also acknowledges that people who lived a good life calls for a celebration. The green joss sticks were changed to red joss sticks. There will even be live shows and orchestras at the funeral. Such death is called 'hee song', meaning happiness cum sadness, a mixed of both. But in most instances like this, the family is well off, abundance of children and wealth, and the deceased live through a ripe age, generally above 80 with at least three generations of family relations, and passed away peacefully. It is time to understand and appreciate life and what is a good life. It is time to re edit the customs to see life in another perspective, and call for celebration in recognition of a life well lived.

Indonesia an up and coming big power?

Indonesia's aspiration of becoming a respectable big power took a knock in Holland yesterday. Yudhoyono had to cancel his 3 day state visit for fear of being arrested by the Dutch court. The court was to hear a trial against him lodged by the separatists from the Maluku Islands. Another reason quoted was the indignity of the trial of an Indonesian President in its former colonial master's court. Is Indonesia still a colony of Holland? Or what audacity would the Dutch court think that it has the jurisdiction to trial an Indonesian President or even an Indonesian citizen? The whole issue is so absurb that at best it was a rude reminder to the Indonesians who their master was. The Dutch court is totally ridiculous and pretentious to think that it is proper to put an Indonesian President on trial. The Dutch govt is wholely arrogant and disrespectful to even allow the trial to go on. Indonesia is no longer a Dutch colony. But the colonial mentality and mindset is still prevalent among the Dutch. So what if Indonesia is being dined and wined in the White House? It is still regarded as a colony or at best a pariah state in the eyes of the western powers. What aspirations of greatness is poof poof and smoke in the air. Yudhoyono should just go ahead with the visit and tell his rude host to get lost in their face if Indonesia is to be respected as an equal to Holland. It is unimaginable that the Dutch would dare to touch him or arrest him in Holland. And to conduct the trial during his state visit is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face of Yudhoyono and all Indonesians.