What did WikiLeaks revealed?

Many believe the WiliLeak information are all truth. Some are but many are not. Some are just versions of what the US diplomats penned to feed Washington. And who knows, some are just misinformation or versions that they wanted the world to know. There are plenty of American propaganda and slanted information for the world to lap up. What is unpleasant is that the Americans failed miserably to protect the interests and reputations of national leaders who were prepared to talk to them in confidence, thinking that what they said will be kept in secret. In such a climate of trust, many world leaders were caught with their pants down, bad mouthing other leaders and countries. This is no good. It destroys the credibility of the leaders in the report. No amount of damage control can undo this ruinous act of indiscretion. One wonders why the US could not stop the leak or to block the information from being spread across the internet. Don’t they have the capability to do so? Definitely. Why didn’t they do it or is it that the leaks were more beneficial to the US than if they were kept secret? And hurting a few statesmen is also good for the US. Embarrass them to bring them down, flat on their faces? Some statesmen are now red in their faces for speaking truthfully to the Americans. They must be having sleepless nights knowing the Americans have made a mockery of their reputation and integrity.

Ye are all devils, says the devil

The astonishing result of the FIFA voting is a sign of a change of winds. Russia and Qatar were voted to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups respectively. When the results were announced, it was horrors in everyone’s face except for the winning nations. The prologue to the voting was best exemplified by the devils calling everyone devils, and the corrupts calling everyone corrupt. And the aftermath, the vitrolics were even more venomous. We were cheated, the whole voting was manipulated, bribery, cheats, etc etc. And ‘Russia, a mafia state rotten to the core with corruption; Qatar a mediaeval kingdom with no freedom of speech; Both are swimming in oil money.’ So said the righteous and wronged gentlemen. Vladimir Putin absented himself from the election parade and circus so as not to put pressure on the voting council. Others don’t. They were there in full force to influence the voting with their titles, pedigrees, and comics. The outcome turned to be in favour of those who did not do anything to try to influence the decision. But they were attacked with cheap diatribes from the well heeled but bad losers.

When gods, satans, saints and devils party together

Is this scenario possible in a world where religious purity and pedigree are reaching a stage of mutual exclusivity? Many religions still preach that theirs is the only true religion and the rest are worshipping devils or satans. Would such believers, so faithful in their beliefs, unyielding and incorrigible to the heel, go partying with those whom they believe are devils or devil worshippers? Would they be willing to hug and kiss the devil when they are expected to rid the devil? If they do, would they be compromising on their true beliefs? Or would they just be hypocritical, putting on an act that they would denounce should others do it? Or would they quickly return to their holy residents and start a frantic cleansing to be rid of the devils and the devilish stench? Yak, holding hands with the devils! Dettol will not do, only holy water can cleanse away the marks of satan. Where on earth can we see the devils, saints, satans and gods partying happily together? In realtiy, the world is just that. There must be night and day. There must be good and evil. And there must be gods, saints, satans and devils. They are all part and parcel of a big family, co existing and inseparable. Without one, they will be no the other. Actually they all have one thing in common. They were all man once.

Lai, Lai, Lai or come, come, come

Singapore is not a welfare state but the govt will keep boosting social safety net to help the poor in our community. Hsien Loong acknowledged that ‘society is feeling the strain of globalization, ageing and troubled families…but our social safety net is working well…’ What the people need is not a welfare state and neither more assistance from the govt. What the people need is self reliance, lower cost of living, jobs and good income. Good income means enough to buy a decent place to live in and decent quality of life. If the govt can provide these basic needs without straining the resources of the people, without creating more strains and hardship, that is all the people are asking for. And the people will be most happy to tell the govt to keep their welfare handouts. If the cost of living is high and people feel stressed and pressurized, it is a failure of the system. The more help the govt needs to provide, the bigger is the failure on the govt’s part. The high property prices and medical fees and cost of basic needs are harmful to the people. No need to say, come, come, come, we will help you.

Lee Myung Bak will be purged

All the signals are there that President Lee Myung Bak will be purged and be replaced by a military man. Lee is seen as a weakling by the US and Japan and must be removed if they want a war between the two Koreas. Retired Gen Kim Kwan Jin has been brought into the cabinet as the Defence Minister. His rethorics are pleasing to the ears of its colonial masters. The North Koreans do not have the ability to fight the South Koreans, according to this Southern Kim. If South Korea fires at the North, it will not lead to an all out war. So it is safe to attack the North. This is the thinking of a clueless soldier. He thinks he can fight a war and sure to win, and he can contain the war to his likings. He claimed superiority of air power with 490 combat aircraft and has threatened air strikes against the North. Typical brave man but short of grey matters. The Americans and Japanese are preparing all their logistics and drills to join in the killings of the North Koreans. The largest war game is now being held nearby and combat ready. Soon American and Japanese soldiers will be running the streets of Korea and killing Koreans again. I think the Koreans deserve to fight and be devastated by another war and be ruled again, completely by the Americans and the Japanese. China and Russia should stay out of the conflict and let the two Koreans go and kill themselves since they are so willing to do so. And history will repeat itself again with Korea becoming a protectorate of the peace loving Americans and Japanese. Go Korea, go. Remove Lee Myung Bak and put in a strong military man as the President and resume the Korean War. The whole world will be cheering. Your staunch allies, the US and Japan will be 100% behind you. They are more eager than you to start a war. Don't worry, the North Koreans cannot fight a war. Forget about the earlier Korean War when the South Korean soldiers were nearly chased by the North Koreans into the sea. The South Koreans are truly great soldiers. Just believe that and go for it. Strike the North with all you have.

What a WikiLeak from the US Embassy in Japan may look like.

Tokyo Embassy, USA, to the Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State. Top Secret. Subject: Korean War Sequeal The South Koreans are not biting. After blowing up the Choenan and getting our own team to fix the blame on the North Koreans they are still not declaring war with the North. In fact they are getting suspicious of the cause of the Incident. And when North Korea asked to see the evidence, they got cold feet and conducted their own investigations which revealed a lot of holes in the fabricated truths we put up as findings of an international investigation team. The South Korean public also does not believe it anymore. The situation is getting dicey. Now the good part. The artillery firing in Yeonpyeong was so close to the North and it forced them to respond furiously with artillery fire. Several soldiers and civilians in the island became war collateral. And we thought the South will now have to retaliate. The bad part is that the South Koreans still refuse to act. They are only prepared to raise the tones of their verbal protests. Even with our nudging they would not fire back at the North. The Ambassador is fuming mad at the inactions of the meek South Korean President. He appears so weak and reluctant to do anything, pleading for time to cool off. Our close ally in this game, Japan, is losing its patience. They wanted action, war, between the two Koreans. They have promised to commit weapons, men and finances, without reservations, to the conflict. And they are not asking much in return for their contributions. They only want to have a free hand in the reconstruction of the whole of Korea after the war. They want to bring in their manufacturing plants, build the infrastructure, and concessions on territorial rights from the 38th parallel to the Yalu River. Below the 38th parallel they will leave everything to us. Our Japanese ally is asking for immediate action. If Choenan does not work, if the artillery drills and war games do not work, what else shall we do to get the South Koreans fired up to want to go to war with the North? We need clear and specific instructions from Washington to proceed further on this operation urgently. Further delay will result in the tension dying down quickly, and all our effort will go to waste. Our Ambassador is suggesting to remove Lee Myung Bak with a hawkish new President. We need a military man to take charge and to declare war on the North Koreans. Embassy Tokyo.

A rude shock to American military superiority

US was surprised and shocked to see a Chinese submarine apeeared suddenly from nowhere in the midst of US / Japan naval drill in the East China Sea. The uninvited guest: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed.At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory. Uninvited guest: A Chinese Song Class submarine, like the one that sufaced by the U.S.S. Kitty HawkAmerican military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier. According to senior Nato officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy.The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age. The incident, which took place in the ocean between southern Japan and Taiwan, is a major embarrassment for the Pentagon. Battle stations: The Kitty Hawk carries 4,500 personnelThe lone Chinese vessel slipped past at least a dozen other American warships which were supposed to protect the carrier from hostile aircraft or submarines.And the rest of the costly defensive screen, which usually includes at least two U.S. submarines, was also apparently unable to detect it.According to the Nato source, the encounter has forced a serious re-think of American and Nato naval strategy as commanders reconsider the level of threat from potentially hostile Chinese submarines. It also led to tense diplomatic exchanges, with shaken American diplomats demanding to know why the submarine was "shadowing" the U.S. fleet while Beijing pleaded ignorance and dismissed the affair as coincidence. Analysts believe Beijing was sending a message to America and the West demonstrating its rapidly-growing military capability to threaten foreign powers which try to interfere in its backyard. The People's Liberation Army Navy's submarine fleet includes at least two nuclear-missile launching vessels. Its 13 Song Class submarines are extremely quiet and difficult to detect when running on electric motors. Commodore Stephen Saunders, editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, and a former Royal Navy anti-submarine specialist, said the U.S. had paid relatively little attention to this form of warfare since the end of the Cold War. He said: "It was certainly a wake-up call for the Americans. "It would tie in with what we see the Chinese trying to do, which appears to be to deter the Americans from interfering or operating in their backyard, particularly in relation to Taiwan." In January China carried a successful missile test, shooting down a satellite in orbit for the first time. The above was posted by Southglory in redbeanforum. What else does Admiral Michael Mullen wants to know from the Chinese? In this case, the Chinese is telling the American to buzz off or else...they have the capability to down the carrier if they wanted to. The Chinese could keep quiet about this technology and capability and let the Americans continue to have war games in their coastal waters or operate happily thinking that they can do it with impunity. This is a piece of friendly advice from the Chinese. Don't play in out backyard and think you can walk in and out anytime you like. The Chinese can close the door on the Americans.

Foreign talents in loan shark activities

Cheaper, better, faster and no strings attached. Foreign workers are now recruited to be runners for loan sharks. They are cheaper, hungrier, and nothing to lose. The last part spells big trouble. The more nothing to lose foreigners on the loose, the more dicey things will become. They will do anything. For the moment these foreign runners are still at the level of spray painting doors, locking doors and throwing shoes and slippers over the balcony. When else will they do when they graduated and move to a higher level of operation and higher risk? The police are confident that they can manage this problem. Why manage the runners when the loan sharks are the real source of the problem and weeding them out is like uprooting the grass? How many loan sharks have been caught? So far it seems that only the runners are caught. This problem does not seem to go away.

Joker of the Year - Admiral Michael Mullen

Below is a quote that warrants the award of Joker of the Year. ‘Raising a military to provide for the country’s own security, It’s own needs, that’s fine. That’s what we do. But some of the specific capabilities are very clearly focused and pointed at the USA. They are anti access capabilities. Talk to me about why you are developing these capabilities, other than thinking that we are the enemy…Those are the kinds of discussions I can’t have right now because I’m not sitting down with them. Admiral Michael Mullen. And this Joker even called on the Chinese to rein in Pyongyang. China should simply ignore him or tell him to get his 7th Fleet out of its economic zones before talking to him. China should also ask him to rein in the South Koreans from conducting provocative military exercises simulating attacks and landings on North Korean soils, and that including reining in the American forces too, from being the major partner of such exercises in the Yellow Sea. What an arrogant prick.

Celebrating Singaporeans - Professor Kishore Mahbubani

Foreign Policy Magazine Honors Professor Kishore Mahbubani as One of the World's Top 100 Global Thinkers SINGAPORE, Nov. 29, 2010 /Standard Newswire/ -- The National University of Singapore (NUS) is pleased to announce that Professor Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished diplomat and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) at NUS, has been selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its "Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2010", alongside prominent thinkers who shaped the world in 2010. Other prominent international global thinkers who were honored this year include Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Robert Zoellick, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, US President Barack Obama and Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan. This is the second annual list of top global thinkers who shaped the world, and half of this year's top 100 Global Thinkers hail from outside the United States. Prof Mahbubani is honored by the magazine "for being the voice of a new Asian century." .... He is in good company except for Barack Obama. He is lucky that George Bush Jr is not in the list.

Time for China to conduct naval wargames with North Korea

The US-South Korean war game in the Yellow Sea ended yesterday and immediately South Korea announced that more war games will follow. It is time that China and North Korea also conduct naval war games in the same spot and see what the US and the South Koreans will say about it. If the US and South Koreans can do it, there is no reason why China and North Korea cannot do the same.

Ng Eng Hen and Mah Bow Tan not voted into the PAP CEC?

It has been reported that Ng Eng Hen and Mah Bow Tan were both not elected into the new PAP CEC. What are the implications of their absence as both are heavy weights. Both have chalked up great works especially in the use of CPF money. Eng Hen came out with the compulsory CPF Life scheme which helps the CPF account holders to buy compulsory insurance for their retirement. Mah Bow Tan helped HDB flat owners to buy more expensive HDB flats at market price with subsidies. Both are great schemes and have been very well received. The success of the above two schemes cannot be the reason for their non election into the CEC. What else could be the cause or causes? There should be no problems with their leadership, as both are giants in their own rights. Eng Hen is perhaps the most macho and charismatic of the current PAP leaders. Mah Bow Tan even has his own column in the media to explain how great the HDB and housing prices were, and his familiar face is a already a household name. The only gut feel I have is that both may want to quit politics. Who knows, both may not run in the next GE. It will be a big loss of two super talents. But their talents will definitely be put to good use outside the govt. They will have ample opportunities to apply their great policies and formula in the private sector. They could take the same route as Chee Onn or Boon Yang and live happily ever after.

redbeanforum under spamming attacks!

redbeanforum is under heavy spamming attacks these few days. Today is the most serious with a few hundred posts splashed across every topic in the forum. What it shows is that the forum is getting its message across and some parties are getting very irritated and are going all out to make postings here tiresome. I will tell the saboteurs that it is in vain. The forum will go on posting what it knows best. We know who the saboteurs are. Anyway, thanks for the interest and confirmation that it is hurting at the right place. PS, the innocent of the spamming is as innocent as WikiLeaks. Redbean

The Americans have done it again!

The attempt to throw the world into disarray continues. Regime change, attacking countries on human rights, sanctions, exporting toxic financial products and causing a world wide financial crisis, and now WikiLeaks. The latest weapons has caused great concern, disharmony and acrimony among nations and their leaders. The information was targetted mostly at enemies or nations unfriendly to the US with a little dosage of gossips on US allies to give it a little semblance of credibility. But once the information is carefully studied and assessed, it is quite obvious where it is heading and the objectives it is trying to achieve. Well done amateurs! The world is not so dumb anymore.

Shhssssh…let’s tell our enemies – WikiLeaks

What shall the world make out of the WikiLeaks? So far information that was ‘leaked’ is very damaging only to Asian, African and Arab countries. Their inter state relations are going to plunge into the abyss if the leaks were real. The first casualty will be the Saudi King. He is finished with the Iraqis but safe as Saddam is already dead. But the Iranians will put out a contract on him if they took the leak seriously. North Korea will lose confidence in China as its unquestionable supporter. China will be seen by North Korea and its allies as unreliable. A huge wedge has been driven into their relationship. Singapore too will be hit by the ire of the North Koreans as well, but nothing serious as Singapore has little to do with that country. The bottom line is that many Asian, African and Arab nations will be going after each other’s jugular and their relations in a mess. What is glaringly absent in the leaks are the secrets of Israel or the US that could damage their relations with their allies. Do they have any secrets about what the US and the Israelis were saying about the Arab world? The only thing damaging and affecting the US is that it will be called an inept and a bungler at most. There is also another big hole in what the US and Japan will be saying about the stupid Koreans trying to kill each other and the role of the US and Japan in the rising tension. Oh, the White House said that the real secrets are safe. So why are these secrets circulating are only going to create turmoil among Asian, Arab and African nations, and nothing damaging to America and its allies? Strange right? The leaks seem to have a pattern, to create as much damage as possible in the camps of the US enemies. Quite brilliant actually. But Julian Assange and his men seem so genuine in their actions to expose the hypocrisy of the Evil Empire. So are they just another group of under cover moles of the US? Could be. Or they could be really on a cause. Then the US intelligence knowing what they were doing, deliberately let them fish out all the leaks that they have planted, and making the whole issue like real. Sure some of information are real. But how many are fakes? How genuine are the WikiLeaks and the secrets they have in hand, and releak to the world, is best judged by the end results. What were achieved by the leaks? Who stand to gain and who stand to lose from the so called official secret leaks? At the moment it looks like a con job. And Julian Assange and his men could just be made used by the mastermind who coordinated the whole leak, what to leak and who to suffer from the consequences. So, what else is new? It smells of another black ops.

A very desirable outcome from high property prices

High property prices make many Singaporeans happy, especially the older folks. Yes they are rich and have valuable assets to flaunt and children got to be nicer to them, and maybe one day they can get to inherit the small fortune. But this is not all, because housing is so expensive, children will now have to consider seriously the option of staying with parents. It is not cheap to live separately as some may not be able to afford it. Inadvertently, the high housing price is bringing the family closer together, with two or three generations living under one roof, one big happy family. And grandparents can help to look after grandchildren, saving on maids. Children can go to work feeling safe that their children are in good hands, no abuses or being thrown out of the flats by deranged maids. A lot of quality time with children and parents. Our traditional values of family, three generations under one roof, are back as living institutions. We won’t go the decadent ways of the West. The little catch is that new flats are getting smaller, especially the 3 and 4 rm flats. It may be a little squeeze, but a lot of savings from having to cough out another $300k or $400k to live separately from the parents. This is something that Singaporeans will get use to very quickly, spending quality time at home.

Another clean sweep for PAP

The next GE is looking like another walkover. The economy has hit an all time high which means everyone is going to get a big big angpow soon. Full employment, property prices making all the property owners smiling everyday. And another slate of the best talents have been chosen and ready to hit the election road. No more problems. Mas Selamat safely back in the cell. Loan sharks and little gangsters on the run. The Chinese used to say, 'tian xia tai ping' or all peace under heaven. The two IRs are bringing in more tourists here while world best investments are also flowing in, including a lot of hot money. It is a shame if Singaporeans miss this great opportunity to make a bundle for themselves. It is truly a golden year.

Contradictions of South Korean military supremacy

The South Koreans think they could thrash the North Koreans when there is a military conflict. They keep saying that they will respond with punitive measures. And because of their superior armed forces, they took liberty to conduct war games, simulating an attack on North Korea in the islands closest to the North. The Yeonpyeong is only 7 miles or 12 km from the North Korean coast. Why is there a need to bring in the Americans and the Japanese if the South Koreans think that they are the superior force? They could do it single handedly and wipe the North Koreans clean, and even reunite the two parts of Korea. The North Koreans will love them and their riches, and a better life. Since they are so superior, and so gutsy in wanting a war with the North, conducting war games so close to the North’s border, they should just do it. There is no point in conducting provocative war games to draw military fires from the North, and do nothing. The sabre rattling only means something if they dare to follow it through. Go, South Koreans, no need to wait for Uncle Sam or Uncle Nihon to back up. The North Koreans are hungry and poor soldiers, easy meat, a piece of cake. Why wait? If the South Koreans and Americans are sincere in not wanting a war, not wanting to provoke a war, they should refrain from conducting war games at North Korea’s front yard. But the western world refuses to see these acts of provocation and proclaims that the South Koreans and the Americans are all angels and walking with a halo on their heads. To maintain peace and peaceful coexistence, all the countries, including North Korea, shall not conduct any military exercises 200 km from their land and sea borders. Would the South Koreans do that, would the Americans do that? The useless UN should make a stand on this and tell all the countries to abide by such a position. Then we can see clearly who is or are the real provocateurs. In the meantime Japan is an eager friend to want to help the South Koreans kill the North Koreans. Seiji Maehara has called for a meeting with the South Korean President on how to deal with the North Koreans together. Lee Myung Bak is gearing up to be a Korean murderer.

Time to sell your properties

'Soaring property valuations have sent the net wealth of households in Singapore rocketing to an all-time high of S$1.16 trillion (US$886 billion) in the third quarter of this year. That is 29 percent up from the height of the financial crisis early last year, and higher than the S$1 trillion that households registered a year ago, itself a record.' This is a piece of good news that is in the media. The bad news is COV is coming down and prices of resale flats are also sliding down. And the full impact of the control measures have not taken effect yet. This is the time to sell high and buy when property prices come tumbling down. When property prices peaked, it is time for it to wind down. The cycle always repeat itself. Looks like a $1m 3rm HDB flat is not going to be. With the projected price hike of 2 to 3% annually, it will take donkey years to reach this number. My dream of being an emperor in Lijiang is fading away. For those who are not selling, they can keep smiling while the price is still high.

The enlightening rant of Yuriko Koike

She has an article in the Comment and Analysis page of Today. She started with the usual North Korea slant, a nation that is so poor that even its soldiers have not enough food to eat, a nation that is crazy for international attention, even blowing up Choenan and firing artillery shells into Yeonpyeong without any reasons or provocations. The rest you can just skip, as there were nothing new. Even Matilah can add more juicy stuff than her. The gem of her article is this and I quote: 'Much, then depends on the Chinese, whose self defeating regional diplomacy has managed to push a listless and defence-shy Japanese govt into closer cooperation with the US on security matters and has inspired South Korea to seek out strategic partnerships with other Asian powers, including India.' Here is the unintentional leak of what the US, Japan and South Korea are up to. So it is China's fault for the strategic alliance between the US and its two semi colonies, and now India coming into the picture. And China must join the alliance to condemn North Korea. Oh no, 'And China is keen to draw South Korea closer in the game of regional rivalries. The result could be a new round of efforts by China to manipulate regional suspicion - or worse.' Heh heh, they say pretty women are very innocent and harmless: ) So all the problems in the Korean Peninsula is created by China, and North Korea is a colony of China. China can tell North Korea what to do like the US telling Japan and South Korea, and its allies. How many of you believe so? And Japan is such a mild country, and it is growing its military force so huge that it can overrun Southeast Asia once again if it only adds on a few aircraft carriers. Japan is listless and defence shy!!!??? Remove the mask of militarism please. I really enjoy her rant. Looking forward for more of her writings. I am worn over by her pretty face.