The Western wolf pack gnarling at Putin

Shooting down a civilian aircraft and killing so many innocent people is simply unacceptable, bad. 298 passengers and crew died for nothing and someone must pay for this crime. Practically all the European leaders, including Australia, are up in arms with fingers pointing in the eyes of Vladimir Putin. Guilty! And there is Australia’s Tony Abbott jumping the gun again, making a guilty comment on the Russians without needing any confirmation of evidence.
 
More sanctions will be up against the Russians. Of course, if guilty, the Russians deserve it. They deserve world condemnation, not only from the Western powers.
 
How many million Iraqis, innocent civilians were killed by the fake invasion of Iraq on WMD charges? David Cameron is thumping down the Russians, telling the Russians, shooting down the M17 was unacceptable. Did his predecessor say anything about faking a lie to invade a country and killing millions of the innocent civilians as unacceptable? Oh, he couldn’t. He was part of the party that made the decision and invaded Iraq. Did any Western power condemn the invasion of Iraq as crimes against humanity?
 
They are going to charge Putin for crimes against humanity. No, I am not defending the Russians or Putin. They need to answer for this crime if they are guilty. Is there anyone, any Western power, standing up to point a finger at George Bush and Tony Blair for crimes against humanity for the millions of Iraqis killed and wounded. No, it was not a war. It was a framed lie to invade a country. Only Mahathir has the decency to call a spade a spade.
 
Hypocrisy? Anyone say hypocrisy? Wait till they nominate George Bush and Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace they brought to Iraq.

Kopi Level - Green

President Jokowi

I always find him a lighter version of Obama. Don’t you people think he looks like Obama? Now we have two presidents with Indonesian connections.
 
The election of Jokowi as the new President of Indonesia is the continuation of a winning streak for the country since Gus Dur. Indonesia has enjoyed the blessing of the last few presidents who were more progressive, economy driven and honourable. Yudhoyono has done very well to keep the Indonesia polity and economy on an even keel and growing in peace and stability. This election would be very different without Yudhoyono’s calming and firm hands to ensure that no dirty business was allowed to spoil the party. This is Yudhoyono’s greatest legacy in an election that started with a big dark cloud hanger in the air. Many bad and ugly things could happen and Jokowi would be in no position to do anything but to face defeat.
 
As I said earlier, when a country is blessed to do well, good men and women would step forward to lead the country. If Jokowi had lost, Indonesia would be in for a tough time, and so would be the stability of the region. Indonesia could see any term of progressive govt and policies instead of politicking and frauds.
 
Look at China and the USA. China too is blessed with a continuous string of good men and women at the helm and is growing richer by the days. China would be in deep shit if Bo Xi Lai and his gang would to be in charge today instead of Xi Jinping. On the other hand the USA is blessed with some clowns in the Presidency and teams of evil men and women till today. And the USA is going down, unstoppable. And looks like it is going to get worse with Hillary Clinton flirting to be the next President and the Americans love her. The USA deserves Hillary to bring an end to Pax Americana. That is the fate of the Americans.
 
When countries are to do well, good men and women would appear. On the contrary, when a country is on the decline, average men and women and rascals will take over the rein to hasten the fall.
 
Indonesia is lucky to have President Jokowi and a new team in charge, a clean slate not tarnish or implicated by historical baggages.

Kopi Level - Yellow

CPF savings backed by Govt’s substantial assets

This is what Tharman said about your CPF savings, ‘Singaporeans who wonder if their CPF monies are safe can rest assured, because their CPF savings are backed by a govt that has substantial assets in excess of its liabilities’. In the same line of thinking, the Americans need not worry about the debts they owed to the whole world as they are backed by substantial assets in excess of their liabilities, ie the land from LA to New York and Chicago to Houston.. When forced to pay up, they could sell their aircraft carriers and their nuclear arsenals. Or they could sell the Rocky Mountains as well. Similarly the Greece govt needs not file for bankruptcy. They could sell their islands, the ancient ruins and whatever.
 
Are we supposed to feel assured by this kind of statements and this kind of asset backings? Would we be comfortable if the CPF money is gone and the govt starts to patch up the holes by selling the power stations, the heritage sites, SIA, DBS etc etc if the Net Investment Returns Contribution(NIRC) is not enough. Oops, I forgot, we have many billions or trillions of reserves to take on the first charge.
 
OK, OK, now I am feeling quite assured. At worst, just sell a few islands or the whole island. But this is hardly possible as it is impossible to lose so much that we need to sell the whole country right? We have so many valuable assets to sell just in case. Our CPF have a lot of assets to back it up, very very safe.
 
What do you think? Safe or not?

Kopi Level - Yellow

CPF is not just a game

Chuan Jin used the analogy of a game to describe what is happening to the CPF scheme at the CPF Forum organized by the Institute of Policy Studies. He was referring to the changing conditions and said that the rules of the game had changed, conditions had changed. The CPF scheme is not about a game but about the people’s life savings for retirement. The govt must get this straight and not to confuse with govt pension schemes where the fund comes from the public coffer. The govt can change all the rules of a pension scheme, no one will care or object to it. The money in the CPF scheme comes from the pocket of the people, saving for their retirement. Please don’t suka suka change the rules without the people’s consent.
 
The compulsion to save in the first part of the people’s life, up to 55 years old, is a necessary evil. The second part or the next phase must be the return of the money to the savers. It is as simple as that. The govt has no moral right to keep the people’s money at its own pleasure. Legislating it to be legal is still not right. Taking this further, the govt might as well legislate the savings of the people in the banks, like in Greece and take a portion of it?
 
Put it simply, the money must be returned to the people at 55. Period. Given the changing circumstances and life expectancy, the younger generations may have to relook at what is a reasonable age to take back their savings. For those in their 50s and above, they should be taking back all their savings at 55. The good hearted govt can think of ways to design favourable and attractive schemes like annuity plans, or savings plans with higher interest rates to entice the people to leave their money in such schemes, VOLUNTARILY, after 55. The people must be allowed to exercise their choice on what they want to do with their money, NOT the govt’s money. This is basic human decency! Can the boys and girls understand this?
 
No more funny schemes to retain the money in the CPF compulsorily because the boys and girls said so. The govt can no longer treat the people as daft peasants of the 3rd world, unthinking, irresponsible with their money and helpless. The people are well educated, well informed and definitely not daft, definitely smarter than many of the policy makers.
 
And what is this thing that people must keep on contributing to their CPF regardless of how old they are when they have to apply or renew their licences? After certain age, it is time to take out the savings, time to stop savings for tomorrow that can really be the next day or the next hour. For those who have a lot of money, they can go on and on saving even if they are 100 years old. Those are different kind of people.
 
What say you, boys and girls?

Kopi Level - Green

SIA no longer the best airline

For so many years we have taken for granted that SIA was the best airline in the world. The latest result, SIA was not first, not second, but third best in the world. No panic, it is just one of those things. We cannot always be number One right?
 
We are slowly getting accustomed to the new normal, to be not the best, to accept errors, almost daily breakdowns of public transports as the new normal. No longer were the days when the CEOs would wet their pants when things went wrong. Would there be worrying faces among the top management in SIA or among the political leaders? Don’t think so.
 
I think there is no need to worry too. We just need to bring in more foreign talents into SIA and we will be back to number One spot soon. The problem with SIA now must be the lack of foreign talents and Singapore Girls no longer motivated to join SIA. Our Singapore Girls were once unbeatable in their graces and service. What is happening?
 
We need the foreign talents to uplift SIA and teach our local girls how to serve well and regain the top spot as the number One airline in the world. Maybe never mind, getting tired of being number One.

Kopi Leveln - Green

MH17 – A new twist

In a world dominated by big power politics and competition for control and supremacy, there is a new twist to the fate of MH17. Discussing this version of a conspiracy theory is not meant to be disrespectful to the victims and their families. It is just a theory that is making its round and with Putin making it official.

This centres around the possibility that MH17 was not shot down by a SAM but by the air to air missile of a fighter jet. Do not be surprised as this is that much more realistic and credible than a pilot wanting to fly an aircraft full of dead passengers to the Antarctic, or a commercial aircraft on its way to Beijing turned and flew on auto pilot towards the Antarctic. And the whole world is made to look like fools to believe in these stories.

What are the reasonings behind this new story of MH17? One, a SAM firing from the ground would be seen by many for miles away and must have a lot of eye witnesses to testify the sighting and possibly even with video evidence from handphones. The military would also have the missile tracked.

It was a good opportunity to fly a false flag and to make the Russians be blamed for it. And who is the expert in false flag incidents? The messages that were floated of conversations by the rebel forces admitting that they had shot down the civilian aircraft that came out immediately was too good a coincidence. And it is only proper to question why would the rebels want to admit such a grave mistake on air and easily available for all to see?

Other than pointing the finger at the Russians and leading to a world condemnation, the incident was timed so well to coincide with the Israeli attack on Gaza, a tactical move to divert media attention on the massacre of the Palestinians.

And did anyone notice that no Americans were on board that ill fated aircraft? And why is MAS a convenient sacrificial lamb? If this theory turns out to be true, Malaysia must know that it has friends at the wrong places, or enemies. There are many other claims of evidences pointing that it was indeed another conspiracy but were too Hollywood like and a challenge on the logical mind, good fictional stuff.

The most basic question, why would the Russians or rebels want to shoot down a civilian aircraft and take the blame for it. There were rumours that MH17 flew off course or were diverted away from the main air corridor.

Russia is demanding a fair and open investigation on the incident. The investigators must not be from only one camp like the investigators on the sinking of the Cheonan Incident when only the Americans and their allies were party to it and promptly accusing the North Koreans as the culprit. Could MAS/Malaysia be the target of two conspiracy attacks?

Caught in between interstate rivalry, or a fight between the superpowers, the truth could be as unreal as fiction, or fiction could become the truth.

And Australian PM Abbott is again the spokesman for the western powers and seemed to know everything, just like the MH370 incident. It is scary when Abbott seems to appear in all the places, and acting like a smart alec.

Kopi Level - Green

A country gone money mad - $29b fine for lung cancer victim

A Florida court ordered RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company to pay compensation amounting to US$23.6b or S$29b to the wife of a smoker that died of lung cancer. What kind of judgement is that? How did the judges come to decide on such a huge sum of money as compensation? I know, life is priceless. No amount of money is good enough. The next case could be US$1 trillion!
 
I hope such madness would not be copied here. We are the wide eyed fans of the US system and many people would be rubbing their hands in glee, that such a sum of money as compensation can be used as a precedent, as a reference point for awards here. They would say the American courts have awarded S$29b, so awarding $1b or $500m would be peanuts.
 
We are excellent students of following the Americans. Whatever the Americans are doing, we will eagerly embrace with open arms as the right thing to do, the way forward.
 
Ok, lung cancer patients can now hope to strike it rich, by consuming more cigarettes. This is like a new way of striking it very very rich. Would it become the new normal here? This is definitely better than jumping into Bedok Reservoir or from a high rise flat to get their hands on their CPF savings.
 
What do you think?

Kopi Level - Green

Time to get rid of the prostitute mentality

Our immigration policy is not much different from what is happening in Geylang. Anyone can walk through the door, pay a fee, have fun and then walk away. And if one has a bit more money, can double his fun and stay longer. Anyone, regardless of nationality, can walk into a whore house and be treated very well, like a good customer, a value customer.
 
We have foreigners turning new citizens to be appointed in top jobs, in parliament as MPs and ministers. We have foreigners turning new citizens and instantly qualified to buy public flats at below market value, enjoyed medical and education subsidies, entitled to national bonuses etc etc.
 
Are we being generous, unthinking or being silly? We were once a country of immigrants, a colony of the British who did not care a damn what citizenship meant as long as it served their interests in the short term. Our forefathers were immigrants squatting in a country that was yet to be a nation, a colony actually.
 
We are now an independent state, a nation, NOT a city state still work in progress to be a nation. We cannot allow people to treat this as a non country or non nation. We are citizens of this country and we own this place as a collective people. The foreigners are outsiders. If they want to be one of us, they have to pay a price. A prostitute also demands a price. We don’t have to offer ourselves for free or worse, to give foreigners an incentive, subsidized housing, subsidies and bonuses to be one of us. Unless we are just a pariah state that no one wants to be here. Or simply a cheap prostitute.
 
Hey, we are first world, a country with a lot of jobs and well paying jobs that made many foreigners very rich. There is a long queue waiting to come in, some paying to snake heads to be smuggled in. Why are we so silly to pay them to come in, to beg them to be nice to our people, and even deprecating ourselves to tell the foreigners they are here to help us when many are shits or beggars begging for a job?
 
It is time that we put rules and regulations on foreigners wanting to be one of us. NS is a must, if we are good enough and they are desperate enough to want to come in. No subsidies for the first 5 years or so. No public office like MPs for new citizens, only for those born here. No sensitive appointments. No top jobs unless the person is so damn good that no daft Sinkie talent is good enough to fill the job. Are there really such people around that no Sinkie is better?
 
We have seen many fakes and mediocres everywhere being carried on the shoulders as talents. What a joke? Actually the joke is on ourselves for being so silly to praise the fakes and bow before them.
Maybe everything here is fake. We are a 3rd World city in a mess. Our people are all daft and need to be helped. The foreigners are here to create jobs for us. We need to worship the foreigners like Gods.
 
Go watch the Patriot, Yue Fei showing in Channel 8. It is about an emperor that thought he was doing all for the good of the people, but actually to protect his self interest, his throne. And he was willing to kneel to the foreigners wanting to occupy his country to protect his rule.

Kopi - Level - Green

Mary Jo White – A stupid woman?

‘Mary Jo White, the SEC chairman, said on June 5 when
announcing initiatives that would increase supervision of electronic traders and dark pools that the stock market is neither broken nor rigged. Individuals are “doing better” now than they did when trading was manual, she said at a conference sponsored by Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP.’ – Bloomberg
 
If you want to know what is a stupid woman, this is one, unless of course she was saying all the above under a different agenda. Obviously she knew what she was saying was stupid but she just had to say it or else…. Dark pools and high frequency trading are under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation and New York attorney general. Is this woman saying that these agencies are stupid and doing the unnecessary, wasting their time and there is nothing to investigate. What is her agenda?
 
In the same Bloomberg report, ‘“It’s not an open market,” said Sriram Srinivasan, chief executive officer of Wall Street Investment Management in Chantilly, Virginia, and a poll respondent. “People that do not have access to the dark pools are going to lose. And it is nine out of 10 investors that are losing.”’
 
Those who are benefitting from this unfair practice and a rigged market would say they are ‘misunderstood and a target of demagoguery’. What is there to misunderstand when there are unfair advantages and lack of transparency in the way high frequency trading and dark pools are operating?
 
Unfair trading practices, lack of transparency and differential access to information are all forbidden by market rules and regulations. The SEC must provide a fair and level trading field. Traders can be charged for violation of the exchange’s rules and regulations.
 
Why are the Americans so polite and refused to call a spade a spade, a crime a crime? And why is the SEC Chairman still professing that there is nothing wrong with the two practices? The market is not rigged? Of course she is not stupid. The issue is, why is she pretending that something that is not right is right? Would she be renaming the SEC as New York’s Stock Exchange and Casino? The decadence of the American system has reached a state when regulators are prepared to allow people to cheat the system and look the other way. And many silly Asian exchanges are blindly following what the SEC is doing. It is fine for the Americans, it must be fine for us.
 
Heheh, it is fine for all the airlines to fly over Ukraine. The ICAO said so. It should be alright for us to fly there as well.

Kopi Level - Green

The most evil form of taxes

I have not seen a hospital bill for a long time. I am still wondering whether these bills are subject to GST. Anyone got any idea on this? I can’t imagine that people who are sick, some dying and seeking medical treatments would have to pay GST. I hope I am wrong, being taxed when one is sick and suffering from terminal illnesses. Such bills are often in tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. A 7% GST on $100k is $7,000!
 
What about those suffering from diabetes and kidney problems that need regular dialysis? Are they paying GST as well on their bills?
 
And with the push and pleading by the govt for more baby makings, and with a tin of baby milk powder costing $50 or more, would anyone think it is timely to remove GST from baby food at the very least.
If medical bills and baby food are still being taxed, would the prudent govt start to have a change of heart and reconsider if such life and death items be taxed exempted? Too troublesome and difficult to work out and need 56 man years?

Kopi Level - Green

Healthcare: I’m thankful we have a prudent SG govt

“No matter how much the government raises taxes, there is no consolidating the budget unless social welfare spending is curbed,” said Robert Feldman, head of Japan economic research at Morgan Stanley MUFG in Tokyo. “If the government continues to let the spending swell, it will get out of control.”….
National budget outlays on social welfare spanning health care to pensions climbed 23 percent over the five fiscal years through March 2015. Medical-related spending, which accounted for 32 percent of social welfare outlays in fiscal 2012, is forecast to soar 54 percent to 54 trillion yen in fiscal 2025, according to the welfare ministry.
Abe needs to put more priority on social-welfare reform to prevent the system from becoming unsustainable, said Hitoshi Suzuki, a senior researcher of Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo….
I am thankful that we have a very prudent govt in Singapore. You should all be thankful too. Our govt spend prudently and ensure that basic healthcare services are provided without burdening the whole system.

By Concerned Citizen on unfettered bashing of our govt

This Concerned Citizen wrote an article posted in the TRE with the above heading on the excessive healthcare spending by the Japanese govt. He quoted a Washington Post/Bloomberg post with the above comments. The gist is that Japan was overspending on healthcare and this is becoming unsustainable even if taxes continue to go up. And this is the reason why this Concerned Citizen felt so appreciative of our Govt for not overspending in healthcare. He is very concerned that our Govt will go down the road of welfarism.

I can share his concern and agree with him that we have such a prudent govt that did not spend excessively in healthcare. But he is only right in knowing a little of the truth. Our Govt had sent two study missions to Japan led by Boon Heng and Gan Kim Yong, one to study how to solve the ageing problem and the other about healthcare. From the dearth of information on these two trips after their returns, I can only hazard a guess that they found that there was nothing much that we could learn from the Japanese.

The revelation by Concerned Citizen and the Bloomberg report confirmed that the Japanese experience was nothing useful and maybe irrelevant to our case. If the report is true, then Japan is facing a crisis that would get graver by the days. We must not go along that path. And we don’t have to. We are in a very superior position financially as we did not spend much in healthcare. The people are paying their own medical bills. Now the Medishield Life Scheme will make sure that the people would foot their own bills without burdening the Govt.

The end result is that the Govt would have a lot of money for other pursuits from the savings in healthcare. We are so comfortable that we could use the money to party and party like there is no tomorrow. Next year we could see the country partying the whole year round, with big budgets for celebrations within the country and with countries around the world. We can invite foreign dignitaries here to party and they will invite us over to party in their countries.

We are very rich. We have so much money to spend on happy things. We could spend billions and billions on mega projects that would require hundreds of millions of dollars for annual maintenance. We bought top universities almost lock, stock and barrel. We owned think tank schools with scholars from the world, paid by us handsomely of course, to come here to think.

Notice that I use the word, ‘We’? Yes, we the people are paying for it. See how comfortable we are? We could have such a good healthcare scheme and with so much money to spend in other good to have glorious and fun stuff. Wait for the next National Day when we parade the F35s and our aircraft carriers.

By being prudent in healthcare spending, we can afford not to be prudent in other areas. Don’t worry, be happy. Money is not an issue. Prudence? When we have so much money to spend, there is no need to be prudent. We only have to be prudent in healthcare.

Kopi Level - Green

Ee Hoe Hean Club - Pioneers Memorial Hall

I visited a few millionaire clubs in Chinatown with a few friends yesterday. The most famous of these clubs is the Ee Hoe Hean Club at Bukit Pasoh. This is the place where many political activities took place in the early 1900s and during the 2nd World War. Tan Kah Kee made this his centre for the anti Japanese movement and to raise fund for the Nationalist army fighting the Japanese in China. This was where he hid during the Japanese Occupation before escaping overseas.

In honour of Tan Kah Kee and the pioneers, the Club has converted the ground floor into a museum called the Pioneers' Memorial Hall. Tan Lark Sye, the founder of Nantah and who contributed a handsome sum of $5m at that time to the University, Lee Kong Chian and several others were mentioned with exhibits of their history in display. Below are some photos that I took during the brief visit.

The pics from top to bottom. The Club Building, Main Entrance used for the Pioneer's Memorial Hall, Side Entrance to the Ee Hoe Hean Club, Tan Kah Kee exhibits, Tan Lark Sye and Lee Kong Chian exhibits, Other Pioneers, Plague on the Pioneer's Memorial Hall. The last pic shows visitors taking photo with a wax figure of Tan Kah Kee in the Hall.

When your heart beats with the rhythm of the drum

This phrase from the French Revolution song strikes a cord to many oppressed people around the world for decades and will go on to drum the heartbeats of more oppressed people in the future.

When your heat beats with the rhythm of the drums in The Miserables is like the mass consciousness coming together to think like one and act as one. When the consciousness of the people becomes one, an uncoordinated thought of the people somehow becomes the thought of everyone in the masses, it is a kind of mass awakening. It is a rare event, but often happened in the historical pasts to move a people in a common direction, with a common purpose, for a common goal.

The actions of the unruly and uncoordinated masses gelled together with an unconscious consciousness of what is best to do and what is the right thing to do. No one could envisage what really went on in the minds of the people in the Hougang and Punggol East by elections. No one was there to tell the people how to vote for the best result for the interests of the masses. Even if someone tried, the people would not necessarily do as told.

The strange thing about Hougang and Punggol East was that they all thought and acted in the same way, as one people in a calculated move of sophistication. The way the masses came together to vote in a similar manner, as if they were thinking as one, was a very powerful force. It was like the force was with them and they were the force.

When the unconsciousness of the people is one, their hearts beat with the rhythm of the drums and they move as one, act as one. The unconsciousness is emerging and becoming clearer as the people becomes one people. Some call it people power. It is here and growing, a strange phenomenon that arises like being guided by the invisible hand. The force is here, you can feel it in the air. The moment has come for a momentous change.

Kopi Level - Yellow

3rd World saving 1st World jokes

Chris K:
 

A retired German engineer told me last month that he could not believe that a first world infrastructure is being serviced and maintained by cheap third world workers. They do not have the necessary skills or standards of diligence, he said. Can’t but keep laughing these days as these apologists are scrapping the bottom of the barrel by comparing us to third world standards in their pathetic attempts to hold up the government’s well-remunerated posteriors.

The above joke was posted by Chris K in TRE. Let me reword the above quotes to apply to the 1^st World Singapore. Some super talented politicians here said this 1^st World city must import 3^rd World talents to run its 1^st World banking and finance and IT industries. And they have the necessary skills and standards of diligence to take over from the 1^st World Singaporeans.

And some also said, the 3^rd World talents are here to help the 1^st World talents and to create jobs for them.

And some 3^rd World recruiting agencies were quoted to have said they could not find the talents needed for this 1^st World city from its 1^st World talent pool, graduated from its world class 1^st World universities, but could find all the talents from 3^rd World countries with the skill sets and experience to fill the 1^st World jobs in this 1^st World city. And none of the first world super talents would stand up to object to this silly thought. Maybe they agee and believe that it is not silly.

Now tell me which is the better joke? 

Kopi Level - Green

MH17 – The wisdom of hindsight

Many questions are being asked about why MAS continued to fly the route taken by MH17 when there is a war going on. Until it was shot down, no one was clever enough to ask such questions. And everyone, including ICAO, thought it was safe to fly that route.  Today paper reported, ‘“We’ve flown this route for many years; it’s safe and that’s the reason we are taking this route,” said Mr Liow Tiong Lai at a news conference in which reporters questioned why the airline had chosen to fly over a war zone.’ What else could he say?

Liow Tiong Lai is not going to get away from this explanation. So would the MAS when the mood is to find a scapegoat, when all the clever fingers were pointing at everyone that could possibly take the blame. I would not blame anyone of them.

Everyone was just following the conventional wisdom. If one monkey can do it, so can all the monkeys. No all the monkeys are scattering for safety. This kind of group think can justify murders in broad daylight as well. You often heard of govts justifying their actions because one monkey was found to be eating shit, so they made use of that solitary example to make their people eat shit as well. What’s wrong, so and so had done it. We are not the first one to do it.

It is not often that a maverick would stand out to say something different. When the chief monkey said so, all the monkeys would join in to sing the same song. Look at all the clowns involved in the search for MH370, they still believe that a crazy pilot or an aircraft on autopilot would fly it to the Antarctic. Can you believe it? And the second theory is that it must be done by the mad pilot. Why would he want to fly to that God forsaken place? Oh, to bury the aircraft so that no one could find it? Is that a reasonable explanation? And how could a single pilot managed to control an aircraft full of passengers and crew and even prevented them from making a single call out? Can a single pilot do that?

Anyway, sometimes it is a blessing to have someone who could think differently, who could challenge conventional wisdom, proactive thinking, without being a genius, to avoid a crisis. Often such a person would face a lot of opposition and resistance from the conventional thinkers and may even be seen as a trouble maker with whimsical thoughts that is best to be ignored.

The blame game will go on and on and will be repeated over and over again. No one would want to think tangentially, or to think unconventionally. The MH370 party is the best example. Everyone is still listening to the chief clown. No one is willing to think different and look at alternative and more logical explanations. Yes, they will continue to waste time and precious resources playing in the Antarctic like silly boys in search of a red herring.

Kopi Level - Green

Hsien Loong – Spore to learn from China

China has been learning from Singapore for the last few decades and has surpassed the master to go on to become the world’s second largest economy with modern cities cropping up all over, each one bigger than Singapore. It is time the master learns from the disciple that learnt his lesson well.
 
But there is one thing that China had failed to learn, would not learn and would learn only to its detriment, that is the Instant Tree strategy or Money can buy anything to solve problems. Singapore has excelled in the application of this strategy to solve all its problems. It was even suggested to bring the World Cup home by using money to buy a team of world class footballers. Anything that can be solved by money, can be bought by money, is not a problem.
 
We bought the best talents from all over the world to fill up the vacancies in top jobs that we could not fill. We brought in academics from the best universities in the US to fill up a university and more universities. We fill up all the vacancies with people from across the world. It is like planting trees, instant trees. Any barren stretch of land, parcel of land, can be turned into a garden or tropical jungle within a matter of days by filling up with instant trees of choice. It is a matter of time when we buy a PM from overseas if we can’t find anyone better here.
 
Just cannot imagine China adopting this policy of Instant Trees with money. If China would to do it, China could have bought up all the super talents in the whole world with its war chest. But China would have a problem with its more than 1 billion people and would not be able to turn them into billionaires and top scientists and engineers. Their citizens will have to return to farming, be poor peasants once again,
 
Conversely, can we learn this Instant Tree strategy from China? We may have all the money, but not everything can be bought or should be bought. China knew about this great strategy of ours but refused to adapt it. China could have solved its corruption problem if it applies this theory of money can buy anything, including civil servants and political leaders that would not be corrupt. There will be no corrupt leaders and civil servants in China, as clean as us, corruption free. But China would not be as rich and prosperous as it is today if it simply learns and copies everything we do. It would not have enough money to pay their officials and leaders to be not corrupt. It will be a China with foreigners running all the businesses, as CEOs, and Chinese as workers everywhere.
 
Would Singapore learn from China, to use its indigenous citizens and not be dependent on foreigners? Probably not. There are just no local talents except in politics.

Kopi Level - Green

MAS – Another tragedy

Another MAS B777 plane crashed in Ukraine killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. This time there was no mystery. It was likely to be shot down by the forces fighting in the area. This is like lightning striking twice, a series of bad luck hitting MAS.
 
MAS’s image is going to be hit hard this time through no fault of theirs. Maybe they should stop flying across Ukraine, do a diversion from the war zone. Maybe get the bomohs to pray and drive the bad luck away.
 
Another sad story and many people hurt and grieving.

Kopi Level - Green

How to unscrew a bad image?

The PAP’s image has taken a big hit with its handling of the CPF money. Netizens are making all kinds of suspicious and derogatory remarks of the PAP and forming a very negative impression of what it is doing with their money. Yes, it is a perception, but it is a very bad perception that the PAP has to live with. Can it ignore such a perception and think that everything will be fine and the next GE will just be fine without doing anything to clear the damaging image, without correcting the impression?
 
Here is an example posted by a blogger in TRE,
 
• pioneer_generation:
July 11, 2014 at 8:21 am (Quote)
 
The PAP just cannot keep their grubby hands off any money belonging to the citizens. The excess premiums are desperately needed to make up for all their poor investments and losses after being cheated and easily swindled by the banks, crooks and sweet talkers. They are like little spoilt children in a toy store. I want, I want,I want…… without ever to have to pay for it. Now they find the cupboard bare, so they have to retain the citizen’s CPF, rob their medisave funds and sell them grossly inflated HDB flats to make up the shortfalls. We are really in a fix! Fixed by the PAP! We have to unfix ourselves by kicking them out so that later generations can have a fresh start. Never again should we give any political party unlimited and uncontrolled power. After all they are only humans. They cheat, lie, screw around like anybody else.
 
The strong words used and the thinking behind the words speak a lot about what the blogger thinks. And if more and more people are thinking this way, PAP will have a tough time living it up and living up to this image.
 
How would the PAP’s PR team tackle this adverse publicity and a perception that will be costly if not explained away? It would take a very stubborn or confident PAP to think that they can live with it and continue to do as they think right, be like deaf frogs and keep on climbing up the mountain, ignoring all the noises from the lunatic fringe. It will take a very brave man, or a very stupid one, to think all is fine. Just keep delaying the return of the CPF money under all the good and caring excuses. Just keep loading up on the premiums for the Medishield Life for all contingencies and for the rainy days of tomorrow. The people will understand and accept them quietly like in the past and will keep on voting for the party and all its good policies.

Kopi Level - Green

Lawlessness in Singapore

An angry driver cut into the path of a public bus in the middle of the road to block the bus. The driver came out to challenge the bus driver but in vain as the latter remained in the bus. Oops, he was trying to sweet talk the bus driver to come down to have a friendly chat in the middle of the road. He must be influenced by the kindness movement. Failing in his attempt to woo the bus driver, the angry driver then stood there, made a phone call, left the car stranded, and waiting for the sun to set.
 
Later the police came and told both parties ‘not to breach the peace’. It was reported that ‘No further police action was required’. So, what did that mean? The angry driver was told to move off and all back to normal? Our police officers are so civil and polite, another sign that the kindness movement is getting its message to the people, including the police. This is the new way of handling angry people in a first world country when kindness is the order of the day. Be very nice. Little India? Nice rioters? Police cars burnt, kenna bokok bokok nevermind.
 
Can a driver simply park his car in the middle of the road? Can a driver block the path of a public bus at his own fancy? No offence? The police that came did not see anything wrong? They did not bother to inform the traffic police of any offence, or they did? If anyone thinks there is an offence they should take the initiative to report to the traffic police. It is not the duty of the normal police officers to deal with a traffic offence or violation or disrupting traffic, only if threatening peace? I stand corrected as the police officer present could have taken down the particulars of the angry driver and passed it to the traffic police to follow up.
 
Maybe the police is right. There is nothing to it. Just like the angmoh cyclist stopping in the middle of the road to threaten a woman driver. This is the new kindness movement. There are all trying to communicate to one another in a better way. No offence, no one is hurt. No traffic offence also. This is the new normal. Everything is fine. Everything is so nice, everyone is so nice.
 
This is the new paradise. Who is complaining about lawlessness?

Kopi Level - Green

The chances of Singapore repeating what it achieved in the last 50 years are zero.

This was what Kishore said in his article last Saturday, and a forumer by the name of Yeoh refuted this in the ST yesterday. In Yeoh’s view, Singapore is just beginning and there are many more good years to come, and Singapore will only get better.
 
I must disappoint Kishore and agree with Yeoh on this. Singapore can only get better with the Gov’t’s policy of meritocracy and bringing all the best talents in the world to be here. In the last 50 years we achieved with no talent or daft Sinkies to become a first world country. Now, with the Govt opening the door to all the talents, how can we do worse than before?
 
Is Kishore saying that this open door prostitution is bad and a wrong policy? Is he saying that all the foreign talents we brought in will only make Singapore worse than before? Cannot be, right? With so many talents here, especially the best from the 3rd World, hungry and willing to work harder, and are bragging how good they are and how they sacrificed for coming here to help us and not their motherland, Singapore can only prosper and get better, in leaps and bounds. Even if we don’t have faith in these fake or funny talents, surely we must have 100% faith in our super talents paid in millions to bring us up another level right?
 
Unless Kishore knows something, that these talents are fake talents, useless bums that would only bring us down, then I can agree with him. There is really no future with so many fakes here, or is there?
Who is right? What do you think?

Kopi Level - Green