Quote from Professor Christopher Balding

‘Everyone the world over, the Chinese included, acknowledge that the Chinese media is blatantly manipulated and censored. Chinese technocrats quietly admit they don’t trust their own economic data believing it to be rigged for political purposes.’ Christopher Balding

How many people believe that their country’s media, or any media, is not blatantly manipulated and censored?

What you will be getting and missing reading western media

This is what David Pilling wrote in his article, Japan, China and their ‘history problem’ in the Today paper, ‘The argument over Senkaku goes back to the start of Japanese colonialism. Japan surveyed Senkaku in 1885, … Saying that there was no sign of the islands being under anyone’s influence, it incorporated the into Japanese territory in 1895. Beijing says the islands have appeared on Chinese maps since the 16th Century. From its perspective, Japan seized the islands when it was setting off on its Western inspired colonial rampage. The islands were controlled by the Americans after the war, but returned to Tokyo in 1972 as part of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. Beijing says the US had no right to return them since they were not Washington’s to give.’

Anyone reading this piece will think nothing is wrong with the Japanese version and the return of the islands to Japan. What was missing was the acknowledgement by the Japanese Imperial govt even much earlier of Diaoyu Islands as the territorial limits of the Qing Dynasty. What was left out was the ceding of the islands in an unequal treaty after China lost a war with Japan in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. It was not an innocent act of simply incorporating other countries’ land into another country like the Western powers did during their colonization of the world. Columbus went to American and found no one owned it, so claimed that he found it. Raffles founded Singapore because no one else found it.

It also brushes aside the fact that the islands were held in trust by the Americans only and America was not the rightful owners. It also did not say anything about the post WW2 treaties for all land grabbed by Japan to be returned to China, including these islands. It also turned a blind eye to the American agenda of the Cold War conflict with China and Russia and thus conveniently ignored China’s rights to these islands.

The western media often deliberately ignored the truth and the relevant facts to show a different truth. Unwary and innocent readers would easily be made to see only their side of half truth, and lies as truth. And may daft Asians and Africans would believe these western truths and yell and cheer and embrace them like the gospel truth. Unthinking and not thinking and making an ass of themselves to serve western interests and agenda without knowing it.

China will do very well by not learning from the corrupt West

There is a Bloomberg article in the ST yesterday about the great pay gap between the American and Chinese bankers. As an example, it said that ‘For every US$1b of profit, investment bank JP Morgan, the biggest US lender, pays its chief executive and chairman Jamie Dimon US$1.21m, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s most profitable, gives its top executive Jian Jianqing US$9,400.’ Dimon’s total package last year was around US$23m while Jian was about US$300k.

The disparity is probably as wide as the income gap between the rich and poor in Sinkieland. The article also said that the gap would be narrowed in a matter of time. It would, but hopefully China would not be as crazy as to go all the way like the crazy American white collar crooks. The salary of their political leaders is another example of China refusing to do the wrong things and ape the West blindly. They are not going to restrict the number of banks and not going to let them grow to become too big to fall. This is something that will keep the Chinese income gap and inflation in an even keel. Remember, all the big money paid to top bankers, CEOs and govt leaders eventually is paid by the people. It comes from the people that they robbed indirectly.

Despite the hue and cry about property prices falling, the Chinese are not going to do the same crazy thing to let property prices go sky high. The developers are trying to frighten the govt by claiming prices would collapse. They did not know that there are more than 1.4b Chinese waiting for cheaper properties and waiting for the prices to fall. The Chinese have brilliant scholars and administrators who are studying the developments around the world and could see the pitfalls of high property prices. They are going to introduce more curbs and control measures to keep property prices low.

There are many things the Chinese are learning since they joined the world community in the last 60 years and they are very discriminating in what they would adopt and apply to their country. Heh heh, high property prices and high salaries are not in their cards, at least if the current leaders have their way. They are not daft, like Sinkies. Hope they don’t turn their stockmarkets into doubles of Wall Street, and allow computers to trade against small investors, and not to allow derivatives and snake oils to be sold in their markets. By not aping and copying the West blindly, the Chinese would do well and protect themselves from the greed that is destroying the western economies and system.

PS. For those wondering why I wrote so many articles about China, US and east and south east Asia, these are my academic interests. No man is an island and we must look beyond the little wells we live in. The world is so interconnected that everything affects us in one way or another.

Japan, the day of reckoning beckons

Flashing across several newspapers was Japan’s call on China to protect its citizens amidst public protest over the landing of Japanese nationalists in Diaoyu Island in a tit for tat move by the Japanese. This brought back vivid memories of the early 20th Century, the days of Shanghai Bund, of foreign concessions in China. During those dark days of China’s history, when foreign soldiers were stationed inside China, including several of the big cities, there were also many protests by the Chinese students and nationalists in China against foreign encroachment and aggression. Japan was one of the big powers occupying parts of China and with its own concessions.

In those days, there were no calls for protection of Japanese nationals inside China. If there were, it was the Chinese govt calling for the protection of Chinese nationals inside China from cruelties and attacks by the Japanese in particular, and the western powers in general. In those days, the Chinese citizens were victims of foreign soldiers in their own country.

Often, the Japanese would provoke incidents with the citizens and used it to attack and encroach further into China, claiming reparations and demanding compensations for Japanese military actions against the Chinese govt, and more territorial concessions as well.

The China then was a broken country, disunited, poor agricultural land that was torn apart, and with no modern industries. They don’t even have a proper army and no arms industry to produce even small arms. Today, China is a full fledge superpower that would even hold the mighty US forces at arms length. Would the Japanese dare to trigger any incident and attack China again? A united China with military forces much bigger than the Japanese in all areas is not going take any Japanese engineered incident lightly.

How genuine is this Japanese fear for the safety of its citizens inside China? Over the past decades after China became a people’s republic, there were many incidents of public protest but hardly a Japanese citizen was hurt unlike when Japan was invading China. Are the Japanese plotting new excuses to revisit the days of old Shanghai and old China? Would there be another coalition of western forces in the likes of the League of Nations to attacking China?

Would China take it like it did before, being beaten to pieces? Or would China deal a forceful blow to the invaders this time round? Would Japan be able to run free in China again? Or would Chinese troops be running free in Japan should hostility breaks out?

Time to get rid of the old and senile

Shanmugam revealed a few more details of his meeting with this elderly man, a Sinkie, who complained all things about Indians, from smell, social status and turning his flat into a squalor. Being an elderly person, and complaining about such insensitive problems, I would presume that this is another member of the lost generation, illiterate or poorly schooled, and very ignorant of anything further than the tip of his nose.

The fact that he rattled off about how ugly and smelly his Indian neighbour was without knowing that Shanmugam is also an Indian, tells a lot about the mentality of this elderly person. Is he bi polar or senile? How could a sensible person be complaining about an Indian to an Indian without thinking that the Indian he was speaking to could be offended? Maybe he is colour blind.

There will be many of such elderlies that lived in their little cocoon world. There will even be young people who may have such prejudices. Some may need to be sent to the IMH. They don’t represent the normal and the majority.

The point is that such elderlies are remnants of a past where many did not have the privilege of a decent education and have very narrow world views of things. One way is to try to understand and tolerate them in their pathetic and deprived existence. In a way like tolerating the foul smell and squalor of a dirty neighbour. Another way is to tell the world how ugly these elderlies are and dispatch them to some forsaken place to keep them away from creating trouble to the well endowed and affluent citizens. JB, Batam and Bintan look very convenient. I think the latter suggestion is a good and easy way to take care of such elderlies. This beautiful world class city of ours, with all the fine and elegant people, has no place for such laggards of the past.

Mohammed did not go to the mountain

Did the Mohammed go to the mountain or did the mountain go to Mohammed? The mountain did not need anything from Mohammed for sure. Mohammed needed to listen to God, and needed to go to the mountain for that. This cannot be too confusing right?

I heard Reach has set up many feedback platforms for the people to go and have their feedbacks heard. And the ministers would be waiting for them. Many will go to the platforms to do as told. Many will also not go to the platforms. Those who are going will fit into a certain mould, a certain kind of thinking and expectations. The feedback will be skewed towards this kind of thinking format. There will be an absence of another format of thinking which is what the feedback probably will want to hear. This kind of thinking is floating all over cyberspace, in many blogs and forum. But the mountain would not go to the forum to hear them. The mountain may just make do with whatever and whoever is willing to call at the mountain’s convenience and dictates.

Would the mountain be humble enough to go to the people, to listen to the people, to chat with the people? Would the need to listen to the people be compelling enough to move the mountain? At the moment it is unlikely. The people must go to the mountain. Fortunately there is no requirement to kneel and pray after every 3 steps on the way to the mountain.

I think the mountain would be very welcome in many blogs and forum if indeed it can move from its immovable position. It would be like calling on the people, knocking at the doors and be invited in for a chat.

It is difficult, very difficult, to think that the mountain will go to Mohammed even with the convenience of not having to move one step and at its own time, and not risk being assaulted. The sincerity of the mountain is being questioned if it did not think it necessary to go to Mohammed.

Singapore fund is $1.5B bidder for Paulson hotel group

August 22nd, 2012
Author: Online Press

Aug 20 (Reuters) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp has bid $1.5 billion for a group of bankrupt hotels owned by hedge fund Paulson & Co, including the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix and La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, California….

This seems to be the strategy of our SWF, throwing good money after bad money for high risk and high returns. On the other hand other funds are buying into Sin into good and sound companies like energy, power and the latest, a national icon in F&N.

If, I say if, the source of the funds is from the people’s savings like CPF, money that cannot lose, is this strategy a bit risky and incompatible to the risk profile of the owner of the fund? What if the strategy fails and unacceptable capital is lost and the fund owners cannot be repaid?

If the gamble turns out good, no one is complaining. If the gamble sours, who is to be responsible? This is not enough as the money must be paid. Do the owners agree or give their permission to using good money to take high risk?

USA creating war to save its ass

The Evil Empire, USA is down and out economically and financially. It
is in deep shit. It is trying to struggle its way out not through
logic and hard work but instead it resorts to creating troubles and
warfare throughout the worlespecially in non caucasian or non white
countries.

When the first wave of White men came from Europe especially from
England, France, Spain, Portugal and Holland to invade the Americas ,
they justified their invasions on religious grounds, claiming that the
native Americans were heathens and savages and did not deserve the
resource rich lands of both North and South America which their
Christian God had meant to reserve for white people. In subsequent
savage wars of aggression and conquests across the whole wide world in
Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific island kingdoms not only was
religious grounds invoked but the use of power, force and military
might was their right and prerogative and as they claimed it had the
sanctity and blessing of their Christian God ,Jesus Christ. Killings
of native Americans, Africans,Australian aborigines, New Zealand
Maoris and the wide board of Asian heathens or non believers of
Christianity and Jesus Christ was no sin but on the other hand
blessed by their Christian God, Jesus Christ. White men always quote
Chapters and verses from their Christian holy book, the Holy Bible to
justify their aggressions, conquests, atrocities, killings and
genocide of non white people or non believers of their faith . To the
whites all non believers or non Christians are heathens and devils and
should be condemned to hell while only they the clean and pure white
killers and murderers will go to heaven.

The Evil Empire, USA is determined to create troubles and wars against
China. It is cowardly using its junior Asian gang members as pawns or
proxies as front line trouble makers to create choas and destability
in Asia to contain the peaceful development of China. The Evil Empire
thinks that in curbing China's peaceful development it will preserve
its number one position in the world. It is trying in every way and
means to lure China out to fight thinking it is now or never for it
thinks China now is not as powerful as the Evil Empire and more so
when the Evil Empire doped its silly and selfish junior Asian gang
members to join force with it.

Russia is supposed to be China's friend or ally. What is Russia's
stance now in the face of the Evil Empire's latest move in East China
Sea and the South China Sea? Why is Russia not saying anything or
making any move in support of China's position? Will Russia just fold
its arms and watch the war scenario goes on as it did in the Korean
War ( 1950 - 1953 ) ?

Come what may, China must be solely and highly and powerfully self
reliant to take on the uncalled for aggressors and warmongers and
defeat them totally. China should expedite building up its economy and
armed forces equipped with the latest and most modern military systems
. China should build sufficient ICBMs, long range jet fighters and
bombers, drones and missiles equipped with nuclear weapons, nuclear
armed submarines to position in American coasts and sufficient
warships and aircraft carriers as well as best equipped cyber warfare
systems to disable and destroy the enemies' electronics and satellites
or their cyber networks.

The Evil Empire and the Japanese must know that any illogical
unprovoked attack on China is considered an attack on Chinese people
not only in China but the world over. If that happens Chines people
all over the world must rise up against the Americans and the
Japanese and kill every one of them without mercy. China will have to
join forces with the world's anti American muslims, the Africans and
the Russians to fight off the warmongering evil Americans. President
Obama has no real power but is only a stooge of the White Americans
who will dictate to him what to say and do and he is made use by the
whites to pull wool over the Africans' eyes so that they cannot see or
remember all the evil deeds and atrocities that White men had done to
Africans in the last four or five hundrfed years.

China may not want war but all the same please be fully prepared and
well armed for the Evil Empire in collusion with its junior gang
members may out of desperation force one on China. In the meantime try
to be as patient as possible and not be lured out by the Evil Empire
for a showdown. When the right time comes and Cina is under attack ,
fight without mercy and defeat the evil forces totally and completely.
he Evil White Americans are the scourge and the curse of the earth.
They need to be cleanly obliterated from the earthly world.

An industry dying

The rot is showing and starting to hurt. The first to be axed will be the remisiers. Following closely will be the backroom staff, then the dealers and the analysts. Eventually the brokerage will simply shrink to a skeleton crew.

How could that be? With investments in the hundreds of millions for out of this world high speed computers, big funds with their high speed sophisticated machines, and product managers with their sophisticated derivatives and wonderful paper products, and with sales volume chalking up double digit gains, why is the industry drying up, and dying?

There were all kinds of gimmicks to increase sales but mostly elementary. Most of the time it is just barking up the wrong tree. What is the real problem in the stock market? Why are the gimmicks of no lunch break, continuous trading, minimal commission, minute bid sizes, cutting more commission to gain market share, sophisticated high speed computers, more derivatives, all proved unworkable? And don’t forget the setting up of many foreign funds to gamble in the stock market, with their expertise and grand machines, it is simply not working.

Does anyone know? Does anyone want to know? Does anyone bothers to know why the stock market is turning turtle? It is time to set up feedback units and ask the people to come up with the answers. Yes, more feedback is the solution.

What is at stake, 10,000 jobs? That is inconsequential. It is the whole finance and banking industry, the financial centre, the companies that needed to raise funds in the stock market that are at stake.

When the financial crisis hit the US, they scrambled for more liquidity, more Quantitative Easing, to provide money to support the industry. What was being done here? Squeeze the liquidity, cut the commission to the barest. Has anyone forgotten that the industry needs the commission to pay for the overheads, to pay for the salaries of all the staff, the fund managers etc? The industry cannot survive without the oil to lubricate the system.

Does anyone know that when commission was 1% we had the best bull run in history? What more tricks are up in the sleeves to save the dying market that no one wants to talk about? How did the industry ended up in this pathetic state? Self inflicted, ignorance or tidak apa, leave it to the experts? Bring in the gods and all will be fine.

Do not over react

This was an old joke of LKY’s time. When he opened his mouth, everyone jumped and tended to over react. Unfortunately this state of affair is still continuing till today. The Stop at Two policy lingered on for too long waiting for the man himself to say stop, but he was too busy and did not do so. So no one dared to push the button, or no one intelligent enough to see the problem coming.

In a way, the housing fiasco was also a case of over reaction, but with a clear agenda. With a surplus of more than 10,000 units of unsold flats, a happy problem, turning into a disaster that building another 50,000 units over the next two years would not be enough. In the meantime a property balloon has been created that cannot be pricked but pricked it must. Whichever way, to prick or not to prick, some parties would be hurt real bad.

Back to the population ‘crisis’. There is a shortage of babies according the economist’s formula for growth and sustainability, but not a shortage of several millions after exploding from 3m to over 5m over a decade! How can that be? And if the population has grown so fast, should there not be a huge surplus instead, like the surplus of HDB flats. Why is it that after flooding the island with 2 plus millions and there is still a huge shortage? Unbelieveable!

The last few years have led to a population explosion that has strained the whole infrastructure built for a much lesser population. The population increase over the last decade is more than what the normal growth needed for at least 10 years or 20 years of babies. No?

With a 3m population at 2% growth or 60,000 a year, a simple extrapolation will mean 600,000 in 10 years. Even compounded it will give a number less than 1m. We now have 5.4m or an increase of 2.4m! Is this not enough, not an over reaction, that we needed less but imported more than what we needed?

Then why the hooha that the growth number is still not enough? The trick is the bigger base and a statistical formula that says no matter how big is the population, you need so much percentage of growth to be sustainable. Now the base is bigger, so with the same percentage, more and more babies are needed. Even when the population hits 10m, they would insist on a 2.1% growth rate. They forgot why French caps were invented.

And the latest message, just multiply without a care of how many. Now, if the daft Sinkies really follow the edict, and every family just reproduce 4 or more, what is going to happen? Would it lead to another over reaction, another population explosion to be followed by another Stop at Two policy? No need to bother with whether the infrastructure can support, the number of jobs needed to create, the amount of food needed to be imported and the energy and water resources needed to support a 6m or 9m population.

Over reaction without thinking and without planning? No? No? In a financial crisis, or when there is natural disaster like flood or drought, when there is a food shortage, the bigger our population, the bigger is our problem. Even with money the producing countries may not have enough or want to sell them. Forgotten about the wisdom of keeping trim and fit? Are we over reacting again?

National conversation a red herring?

There were 3 letters in the ST forum page today. In fact the whole forum, all 3 letters, were on the housing angst faced by the people. Just wondering how many letters have been written to the ST on this painful and frustrating problem the people are facing. Would the ST think it is proper, for the sake of transparency, to reveal how many letters have been written to the forum on this issue alone? Or is it so embarrassing that it is better not to tell?

Now, would these letters be regarded as feedback to the govt? Or would they be thrown away, disregarded, or nobody wants to know as they are not things that wanted to hear or to know? Or they have not been put into the proper hole called Feedback, so no need to bother?

The fact that the ST devoted the whole forum to this issue is a sign that it deems it important enough, or it is another way of saying that they have received too many letters on this issue and must air it, like it or not, for the policy makers to take note.

Is it feedback or not feedback? Or is this part of the so called national conversation that is expected? Would there be any response to these letters, as part of a dialogue? Or would the national conversation be a conversation if it fits into the agenda. Things outside the agenda not counted. Who is to determine or initiate the national conversation and the platform or venue? Can so many letters to ST forum be a starting point for a conversation? Or would they end up in the rubbish bin of the political wilderness, not something that should be talked about, just like the cost of building public flats, a taboo topic. You can have transparency in everything but not this state secret.

When they got it right

Theoretically the govt of today should be better received by the people than those of the 60s and 70s. The people are richer, better educated, better housed and the quality of life has improved. Why is it that the govt of today seems to be losing it, losing the support and confidence of the people? Maybe I am wrong and the people, or at least the majority of the people, are fully behind the govt.

In my view, there were so much respect and deference given to the first and second generation leaders than today. Life was not as good, and there were many problems that were really serious. Unemployment was a serious threat when the economy was young and small. But they worked hard to get jobs for the people. It was never a case of training or handouts or funny schemes.

Educational level was low and there were very few trained professionals to run the industries. There were hardly any industry except small businesses and cottage industries. And housing was a serious issue aggravated by the big Bukit Ho Swee fire.

What the govt did right then, when many things were uncertain, was to go to the basics. It built schools to educate the people. It created jobs and more jobs to keep the people employed. It built houses, really affordable houses for the people. Even the civil service and uniformed services prioritized the needs of their employees by given them cheap loans and priority allocations. Basically, feed the people, house the people, give them a roof over their heads, give them jobs and social mobility. And the hearts and mind of the people were solidly behind the govt.

Then things changed. It became a case of making as much money as possible from the people with the essential services that the people needed. Education was no longer cheap. Health services were killing if not, may empty the savings of the people. Jobs were aplenty for foreigners but our own people ended as taxi drivers or self employed out of no choice, out of jobs and could not get reemployed. Those above 40s were more perilous as the young employers, including HR, thought is a wise thing to discard the dried orange skins. And while the people cry for jobs, they were sent for retraining to downgrade, not to upgrade. This is uniquely Singapore, train to be downgraded! They were told not to be choosy when that was not even an issue. It applies to housing as well. Go down grade, lower expectations….

And the foreigners, now called foreign talents, were all laughing at the silly citizens for crying our loud like pathetic and spoilt children without knowing why. To the govt, the people are getting lazy and too pampered and daft of course. How could that be when university graduates are prepared to do any jobs, manual jobs, sales representatives, driving cranes and taxis, or do temporary jobs? No the govt just cannot understand, or chose to look the other way.

And housing price keeps going up which is good for those who have bought their homes earlier but threatening the young from owning a home. And if they got one, it becomes a life time burden. And the HDB got the audacity not to build and demanded the young people to plan their lives and marriages well ahead if they want to get a flat on time, ie 4 or 5 years ahead. So easy mah.

And the cries of high prices were rubbished with the minister insisting that public housing were affordable, and even subsidized woh. And more ministers came out in full force to support the fiction with ridiculous statistics. Basically, giving the people a decently priced home is not in their minds, but how much to squeeze from the people. And if the people did not get a home, it is the people’s fault.

The people are caught in a dilemma, happy that they have bought a home before the price rocketed to the sky but worried that their children will become suckers to the ponzi scheme and indebted for life.

As for those who have lost their jobs, it is no longer the govt’s interest if they could survive by downgrading when the cost of living is up and with some having to service their mortgages and children in school. That is not the govt’s problem as long as they are sent for retraining and get a job, any job. No one cares whether citizens’ interests should come first and every joker is praising the great contributions of foreigners. Understandably foreigners are seemingly more important than citizens and they are happily employed, even ganging up to victimize the daft citizens in the daft citizens’ own country.

And what is the most important preoccupation of the politicians? Their high living and high spending lifestyle. Multi million dollar homes, overseas holidays, limousines without a care to the high cost of car ownership and whether the average Sinkies can afford the expensive housing and expensive COEs. All they know is to quip, live within your means, downgrade if you can’t.

What happens to improving the life of the people, upgrading the life of the people, housing the people? The only thing they want to upgrade is your flat and estate and you have to pay for it. The other big concern of the govt is the people’s money. This one the govt works very hard for it and regularly comes out with great schemes of things for the people to buy with their savings. The people’s savings, which for some queer reasons, the govt thinks it is alright to decide what they want to do with it, and keeping it for as long as it wants. Of course it is for the good of the people, the govt said so. The people did not believe so.

Why is the govt, so rich, the country so rich, the people so rich, living in million dollar properties and with so much money in their CPF savings, turning against the govt? Maybe I have misread the feelings of the people. Maybe I have been disconnected with the people and what I just posted is pure rubbish. The govt is well loved and supported by the people with all it good policies, people caring and people centric policies, and will be reelected again and again to rule the people. Come 2016, the ruling party will receive the biggest percentage of popular votes in its history. I am so foolish to think otherwise. And there is a national conversation for the common good of the govt and the people.

Untitled. A piece of RAR Art.

Conceived and painted by Mother Nature.

We are doing just fine

While in the church, the pigs were at their usual selves, gorging at the huge buffet spread. Napoleon looked at the table and at the other pigs and smile. ‘We are doing well, exceptionally well. Everyone agree?’ The rest of the pigs just nodded their heads without looking up, too busy feeding themselves and no time, no interest in anything else. Their hands were full, their mouths were full, their pockets were full, life was really good.

‘Oh about those noises that you heard, just tell them to live within their means and don’t over indulge in anything they can’t afford. Tell them space is a problem and flats will be smaller. We need the space for another 5 millions to ensure the buffet table is full all the time. There is no need to farce about that. We will design the small flats so well, cost a bit more money though, that they will not know the difference. In fact their quality of life will definitely not be affected. And tell them to walk, good for them. A Brompton bike is the Rolls Royce of all bicycles. Good for the bottom and riding on it for hours would not feel the strain. The bottom will feel just as good and happy. With such excellent bikes there is no need for cars. Advise them that cars are too expensive for them. Tell them to be prudent. And make sure they don’t squander away their CPF. Someone work on this, make sure their CPF savings are put to good use, for their own good.’

Nobody said anything. They continued gorging with the food, endless food and endless choices. Life was good, damn bloody good. 

Now who is complaining? Anyone not helping themselves with the buffet or not invited to the buffet only got themselves to blame, when the best will get the best. From each his best and to each his needs. Some need more, some need less.

History repeating itself

When 14 Chinese landed in Diaoyutai, a Chinese island, they were arrested by the Japanese coast guards. And Japan retaliated by allowing 14 Japanese to land at the island to plant the Japanese flags. And China is as helpless as before, like in the19th and early 20^th centuries when Japan violated China proper. And what could China do? The old China govt protested vehemently. So did the old Chinese of yesteryears. That did not stop the Japanese from encroaching and seizing more and more concessions and land from China, including war damages.

The Chinese govt and the Chinese people today are protesting like their past govt and past Chinese over this recent incident. And the Japanese continue to violate Chinese territories and refused to return the islands they conquered from China. History is repeating itself all over again. Would the ending be the same, with the Chinese rubbing their backside and walk away, humiliated by the Little Japan?

Protests have broken up in many Chinese cities to boycott Japanese goods. No protest from Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora yet. It is acceptable for Sinkie Chinese not to join the PRC Chinese as the forefathers of Sinkie Chinese did not come from China, probably from the USA or UK. But how could Taiwan step aside and pretend that it has nothing to do with it? Didn’t it claimed to be the govt of China once, and didn’t it claim to own Diaoyu and the surrounding islands?

It would be quite different if Taiwan and the Chinese across the world boycotted Japanese products like they did during the Second World War. It would be better if the Koreans also join in the boycott. The result this time would then be very different. Though China is good enough to deal the Japanese a bloody nose, it is restraining itself for the time being. If the Japanese continue their foolishness, this time China should exact a replica of the 21 Demands from the Japanese, plus interests.

Would there be a worldwide boycott of Japanese goods by Chinese around the world? No need to count on Sinkieland.

Another way to deal with the Japanese farce is to let 40 fishing boats from China and Taiwan to sail to Diaoyu. China and Taiwan would then send a fleet of coast guard ships to prevent those in the fishing boats to land on Diaoyu, but land they would with the coast guard boats doing a big wayang. But they must approach fully armed and ready for battle with the Japanese coast guards.

Just a photograph for viewing pleasure

A miracle happened

Yes, I was told a miracle happened last week. Many were living witnesses to this one in 2000 years event. I was told that someone died. Everyone knew about it but would not say it out. But news spread like wildfire through words of mouth and the new media, twitter etc. It was the biggest open secret. It was no hoax.

He died and was resurrected on the third day! Then again no one was there to witness the resurrection. Then he walked into a big party to the surprise of everyone. And it put to rest all the doubting Thomases and the disbelievers, he has risen and was seen by many. 

He is the One. He has come. The second coming is here. Go forth and spread the good news. The One shall henceforth live forever.

Happy Hari Raya Aidilfitri to everyone

Wanton killings of Chinese by White Americans

Readers if you have other knowledge of white people's atrocities and killings against Chinese people in other parts of the world please add in to this blog.


August 13, 2012, 5:00 am12 Comments
Picturing the Remnants of Anti-Chinese Violence
By DAVID W. CHEN

Many people try to pay homage to historic sites by preserving or taking stock of whatever remains. Tim Greyhavens, a photojournalist from Seattle, wants to highlight a slice of history by challenging his audience to fill in the blanks.

For a new online project, Mr. Greyhavens pinpointed, based on records and interviews, the locations of dozens of anti-Chinese incidents in the American West that occurred more than 100 years ago. After traveling to those locations, he then photographed whatever exists there now.

The exhibit offers an entry point into a little-known and ignominious chapter of ethnic cleansing in American history that, viewed more than a century later, seems stunning for the sheer breadth and brazenness of racially motivated violence.

From the mid-1800s until the early part of the 20th century, towns up and down the Western Seaboard, stretching into Wyoming and Colorado, lashed out against Chinese immigrants by rounding them up, often at gunpoint, and kicking them out. Dozens were killed and injured, and houses were set on fire.

Sometimes, the aggressors — who included mayors, judges and businessmen — acted out of economic fears. Sometimes, they acted out of cultural fears. But the Chinese also fought back, filing lawsuits and organizing boycotts, among other means. Yet much of that history is now largely unknown, even in the places where the violence transpired.

But instead of depicting that violence, Mr. Greyhavens opts for a minimalist approach. There are no people in his photos. No historical markers noting that thousands of Chinese immigrants were expelled or killed. Just frame after frame of seemingly mundane rail yards, downtown intersections, industrial zones and more, in the hauntingly titled exhibit, “No Place for Your Kind.”

“I wanted these photos to represent that all these people had been removed,” Mr. Greyhavens said in an interview. “Here’s something where time has passed, and what was there before was just gone. How do you represent something that’s not there? And what is there that can possibly be visually interesting, especially in these dull urban landscapes?”

Mr. Greyhavens began his project in 2008, when he stumbled upon a reference to a place called “Chinese Massacre Cove” in Hells Canyon along the Oregon-Idaho border. After reading up on the events, he began to “notice parallels between what happened then. and what is taking place in our country right now,” he explains in the exhibit. “Both periods are marked by a widespread lack of understanding of other cultures.”

The project’s name comes from a newspaper article from the time, describing one of the incidents. A map of the Western United States serves as an index, allowing viewers to click specific locations and read short historical summaries.

The clearest juxtaposition between past and present is his entry for Eureka, Calif., which offers images from 2011 and 1885 of Eureka’s former Chinatown. Mr. Greyhavens’s favorite photo, perhaps, depicts the only surviving home from a former Chinatown in Rock Springs, Wyo. Tensions between white and Chinese mine workers at the Union Pacific coal mine led to the destruction of 79 homes owned or occupied by Chinese.

“There is nothing about that picture that says, ‘Oh, I want to live there, even now,’ ” said Bob Nelson, museum coordinator of the Rock Springs Historical Museum, who assisted Mr. Greyhavens. “It just needs to be recognized, so it never happens again. People knew about it here, and they’re embarrassed, and I think they’re trying to atone.” 


PS. More details of the atrocities committed by the White Americans are posted in www.redbeanforum.com under the same heading in the World/International Affairs column.

Apathy, disinterest or a case of empty heads

There appears to be a closure to the cleaner woman case against the PM on the requirements to call for an election when an MP vacated his seat during his term of his office. After a long wait and full of anxiety, the case ended like being doused with a pail of cold water. The Judge Pillai ruled that there was no need for the PM to call for a by election to fill an empty MP seat. It is the PM’s absolute discretion when to hold it and can actually delay and not holding it at all. And it seems that this is final and, other than getting the law amended, that’s it.

From a layman’s point of view, there appears to be many loopholes in the judge’s interpretation of the law. But layman’s opinion does not mean anything to the court. The thing is whether the legal profession see anything wrong with the judge’s interpretation of the law or fully agree that the brilliant judge’s ruling is clinically perfect, flawless? If this is the reason, then no one can find fault with the law and the legal fraternity. But if it is a case of apathy, disinterest, not my business, or full of empty heads, then it is a sad ending.

Nothing of this case was heard till this morning when Elgin Toh wrote his commentary in the ST. He dealt with the legal and political implications and consequences of the ruling. The ruling that the PM has absolute discretionary power when to hold a by election is as good as saying no by election, and no MP for the constituents if he so decided. Definitely this must not be the intention and spirit of the law. And political expediency would mean that the constituents may have to go about their affairs without an MP which is unsatisfactory and undemocratic.

The basis of a democratic system is to have an elected representative of the people to be in parliament to be their spokesperson, to speak on their behalf and to cast votes on their behalf. In reality the last bit is of course a myth as MPs normaly do not ask their constituents on how to vote. They vote according to the dictates of their parties.  But this must not rob the people of their right to have a MP of their choice in parliament. The ruling implies that a PM can deny the people this right, albeit indirectly and irresponsibly.

Then again, if the view of a lawyer MP is right, the election is to elect a govt, and when a govt is in place, having or not having an MP is superfluous, secondary, not necessary. Is this really the spirit and intention of the constitution on election laws?

Would there be further discussions from the elite and the brilliant and learned counsels trained in law, and politicians who believe in democracy and democratic processes on this matter? Getting the constitution amended to patch up this hole or anomaly is as good as fat hope under the current political climate.

The silence, the fait accompli, seems to suggest that this matter is closed, or not important or relevant to worth further discourse from our thinkers and elite. Hopefully Elgin Toh’s probing article would stimulate some interest and a new enlightenment in this election law, in the constitution and in practice.