Singapore Education – There is nothing wrong with it

There is a wise saying, don’t fix it if there is nothing wrong. And that is exactly what is happening to our education system. What is so wrong with our education system that needs fixing? The only thing I can see is that they are trying to do too much with our students, wanting every child to be a superman. Actually more than superman, they want them to be man of steel, can sing and can dance, can be artist, can be engineers or scientists or what not, all rolled into one. And that this not all, they want to be mountain climbers, adventurers, humanitarians and entrepreneurs.  Come off it, ask yourself if you can even be good in two of the items mentioned. What happens is that a child would not have time to be good in anything. But then that is not true either. Our children, the best of the best, are extremely talented in their pursuit of excellence. They know what they want and what matters and would not be made a fool and be misled into doing the unnecessary. Their straight As are not flukes and confirmed by all the best universities in the world.

What then is wrong with our education system and policies? No, there is nothing wrong. It is the reckless and irresponsible policies of hiring rubbish from around the world and calling them talents and treating our children as no talents. How silly can they be? We have the best universities and a no nonsense examination system that would not allow cheatings or buying of fake certificates and degrees, and we go around the world, into little villages and slum cities to dig into their dustbins to pick up the craps, bring them home and call them talents. And we replaced our own talents, strong in the hard disciplines with cheap talkers with fake degrees?

Now there is this myth that is circulating like a bad joke. Singaporeans have no talents, no skill sets, unemployable, not good enough for top management. The best are from unknown village universities. The big question is that no one, not a single turkey in authority, in the govt, in business, in the academia, not a single educator, is brave enough or sensible enough to talk back. No one thinks this nonsensical myth needs to be debunked. No one thinks it is his duty and responsibility to defend our education system, that the products of our education system are genuine, the real mccoys, no bluff, that they are really good stuff. They choose to believe in this myth, that the products of our education system are rubbish, unusable, unemployable.

When the sick jokers from the 3^rd World come here to insult and rubbish our talents, calling the products of our world class education system as duds, while the fakes are brought in to replace them, everyone nods his head like a donkey, like hearing a gospel truth.

Would there be anyone standing up to defend our education system? Would the govt put this right by new policies to ensure our best are employed in good jobs and not be turned into temporary staff or be underemployed?  If the govt also believes in this myth, that we have no talents and the products of our world best education system are duds, no amount of tweaking and magic will be able to make our students better. They are already the best of the best. But we allowed others to put a dounce hat on them and called them no talents.

Did anyone get what I am saying? Did anyone see anything wrong with our education system and policies and the stupidity of our employment policies? If they cannot see anything wrong, they would be barking up the wrong tree, blaming our education system, that the products of our education system are a waste of time and resources.

Who is responsible for this mess and to perpetuate this silly myth at the expense of our citizens and their well being?

GE2015 – Lessons learnt

The biggest lesson learnt from the GE2015 911 effect must be the importance of being relevant as opposition parties to stay in touch with issues and matters that affect the people and their interests. Chee Soon Juan caught the drift and demanded more transparency in accounting to what really happened in the hepatitis C crisis. What happened, when did it happened, who said what and when, who was informed what and when. These simple questions are going to rub some people the wrong way and instead of answering them, may be retorted with more questions or challenges.

Following closely behind the heels of Chee Soon Juan is the WP. WP had for the last few years avoided questioning the govt on current issues and adopted a strategy of looking after their constituents and their backyards. Work the ground real hard to show the people that the WP was very good in municipal affairs.

The result of the GE was punishing in a way. The WP must have done a lot of soul searching to find out what’s wrong and must have concluded that keeping quiet on current and national issues would not do. As politicians they cannot afford to shut up and only open their mouths during a GE.

And there you are, Leon Perera, the second generation leaders that would likely take over from Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim, has changed tack. They are going to speak up and take the bull by the horns. Here is a clip of what Leon Perera said on the hepatitis C crisis.

‘In the case of the Committee of Inquiry into the 15 and 17 Dec 2011 MRT breakdowns and the 8 Dec 2013 Little India Riots, the deliberations of the committee were made public so as to strengthen public confidence in the security and public transport systems respectively. In this case, we recommend that the deliberations of the committee likewise be made public. The Hepatitis C outbreak is at least as grave an incident as the MRT breakdowns and Little India riot, with serious implications for the public confidence of Singaporeans and foreign stake-holders in our vital national institutions. So as to facilitate this and in line with the norms established by the COIs relating to the MRT breakdowns and the Little India riots, we recommend that the current review committee be reconstituted as a Committee of Inquiry (COI) under the Inquiries Act.’

Yes, the new blood in the WP understood what should be done, what the people expected them to do. As opposition politicians, they must engage the ruling party all the way to the next GE on issues that affect the people. There is no running away or walking away if they want to win the hearts and minds of the people. They must continuously be there to speak up for the people, not to wait until the next GE.

The other nonsensical parties also have learnt their lessons. They are nonsensical parties and should just shut up, not be seen and not be heard, and hopefully not be seen and heard again in the next GE.

Tan Jee Say and whatever that is left in the opposition that thinks they are not nonsensical parties must also take the cue and stand up and be counted. Don’t reappear only in the next GE. The battle starts now and either they stay on to fight or take flight.

This is a brave new change in the WP, to stand up to face the music no matter how loud or unpleasant, to fight on, to represent the people and to fight for their well being at all times. To ask unpleasant and uncomfortable questions and not to shy away from a fight is now the new strategy of the WP.

Lean-Sizing Solution for Singapore – How it Works

Going Lean - The Best Organisation for the Marketplace

By MIKOspace

 

Singapore wants to maintain a low but sustainable foreign workforce growth as she engages with increasing decline of the local labour force.   In essence, Singapore needs to learn to grow its economy and to do more with less.  It means going beyond hitherto low human productivity growth to deploy new mind-sets to unleash unconventional innovative approaches to everything that Singapore managers and workers have been accustomed to doing so far. 

 

“Problems cannot be solved with the same mind-set that created them.”

― Albert Einstein

 

The empowered lean business corporation is the proven most effective organisation. No business success is based solely on technology.  Quality people make products/services distinctive through superior quality and total customer satisfaction.  And it is their commitment, determination and resourcefulness which drive the business organisation to achieve excellence and advances in technology and systems for a sustainable excellence in the marketplace. 

 

The Secret of Successful Lean Organisations is Empowered People.

 

Empowered people in a company have a profound sense of control and ownership over their jobs.  A high-commitment human resource strategy will encourage empowered employees to take on more responsibilities, emphasising mutuality or team synergy and produces a stronger commitment to excellence.  Within such a corporate culture, and guided by leadership providing clear mission and strategic directions, your people will focus on getting the job done, and having more responsibility further makes their work more challenging and rewarding.

 

Exceptional management leadership in lean business organisations focus on corporate values such as openness, honesty, self-direction, development and the promotion of innovations in the workplace. 

 

The fundamental management task is to motivate ingenious, creative and responsible marketplace-oriented contributions from its people.

 

HOW TO BEGIN TO GO LEAN?

It starts with a strategic business review and planning to clarify the future direction and nature of the business given the increasing crunch in manpower.   Only then will it be possible to design, develop and build the most effective organisation that will “do more with less”..  "Business" and "Organisation" are not the same thing.  A Business applies resources to create superior products and services to meet the market needs; whereas Organisation is the way in which those resources are administered; referring to the systems, structure, jobs and corporate culture.

 

Companies who want to command continuously sustaining competitive positions in their current marketplace must continually renew their organisations.  They do this by changing the organisational "shape" and "size", reducing “layers” and increasing the “span” of responsibilities as well as embedding “agility” and “adaptability” in their corporate culture to engage new and dynamic challenges in the changing marketplace environments.

 

The values, beliefs and norms that constitute corporate culture also provide the cohesiveness for corporate activities and affect the implementation of the flexible corporate strategies by the language and manner that strategy is communicated from one organisational level to another, vertically as well as horizontally.  Shared values and beliefs define the fundamental character of a lean business organisation, providing that unique organisational personality that distinguishes it from all others.

 

The Human Talent Oracle empowers organisations and people with a greater awareness of your corporate values as well as helps to develop an ongoing organisational response, driven by these values, to the ever-changing and competitive business operating environment and marketplace.  The Mission as a Human Talent Oracle is to facilitate the growth of lean business organisations and empower the people inside to achieve greater effectiveness and success through understanding and discovering the value of leadership in human resource management.

 

The “Secret” in growing effective Lean Business Organisations is High-Commitment People Teams nurtured from the foundation supported by the corporate pillars of Leadership, Culture and Strategy. 

 

This is how you can “Grow Big by Going Lean”, through working on the following sequential areas:

 

[1] Culture Development & Strategic Planning

[2] Strategic Human Talent Management

[3] Lean Sizing and Organisational Development

[4] Training and Development for Fewer Jobs with Higher Pay

[5] Corporate Employee Conversations Strategy

[6] Impact Oriented Rewards Sharing System

[7] Continuous Corporate Values Reinforcement

 

 

Related:

The Secret to Lean-Size Singapore Economy

Tweaking or major changes to the Education Policy?

We have been hearing a lot of noise about what the education system should be like and how this new ideal education system will be good for the students and the future of the country.  We have had many education ministers and everyone went into the ministry, poked their fingers here and there and claimed that things would be better. The plight of our graduates not getting good jobs, not employable, dearth of talents in banking and finance, in IT and in dunno what industries speaks for itself. Can I safely say that our education system and policies to date are a big flop despite the glowing comments, achievements and accolades showered on us, and the students aceing their exams here and overseas in the best universities?

No, I am wrong, our education is the best in the world or among the best in the world? Really, then why are the new ministers talking about more changes and more good things to come? Ong Ye Kung said, ‘Singapore is in a position to develop its own system by combining the best of examples set by other countries.’ Did the past education ministers did this? No? Must be or else there is no need to talk about it now.

So, who has the best system for us to copy? The rigours of European education or the pragmatism of the American system? Actually in reality both the European and American systems are not that good except in the ranking systems and the biases built up over the years that they were good. The best education today is in India. The proof is in the pudding. Just look at the flood of Indian talents into our country. You can see them everywhere, in the private sector and the public sector, they are the leading light to bring Singapore forward to the next century. They have all the talents we need.

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel and hope for the best. Just adapt the Indian education system and we will have all the talents we need to bring the country forward.  Stop messing around and sending more missions overseas to study other country’s education system. We know which country has the best education system and we have been sending our recruitment agents there to get the best here.

But of course if change is a must, then think very carefully what education is all about. It would be good if education is just for education’s sake, to get an all round education. They called it holistic, hopefully not full of holes. Very few of our young have millionaire ministers as parents and can get a holistic education and no need to work after graduation. We do not need an education that produces misfits and duds that are not employable like what we are seeing today.

The most important thing said by Ong Ye Kung is this, ‘…One that requires employers, education institutions and training providers and society to more in tandem.’ What is the key missing in our education system today? Two words, employers and tandem. The educationists or MOE can have all their wet dreams of what education is all about and what they want. They can be very holistic to produce graduates who know a little of everything but in reality nothing, no skills. A wholesome person, knows a bit of this and that but no core skills that the employers want. Why would employers want such holistic graduates that did not have the skills they want? This could be the reason why the employers are going into little villages all over the 3^rd World, to dig into their dustbins, and say, these are the talents we need and want.

The employers must have a say in the education system. Or the employers must be handcuffed and told, you employ our graduates from our holistic system. Without the employers involved, without pointing a gun at the head of the employers to employ our best graduates from our world best education system, we are wasting the time and money of our children to get an education that would end up as a piece of paper, cannot be eaten.

It is ok to fool around, oops, sorry, wrong choice of words, on our education system. Let’s be real. Make sure their education ends up with good employment or make sure the employers must employ them. Be mindful of what you do to the education system and the lives of our young. This is not play play thing. Not masak masak. Many of them need to earn a living after passing out from our education system.

What do you think?

CNA hits by Pinkerton Disease?

Channel News Asia has established itself as a very credible news provider with a niche formula that is missing in a world dominated by westerners writing Asian news from the perspective of westerners. CNA engaged Asians to write their own news from an Asian perspective, eg Indians writing and reporting about India, Indonesians about Indonesia, Korean and Japanese reporting about their respective countries. This formula is not only important, it gives the readers a truly Asian perspective of what is truly Asia and not faked westerners’ view of what they think Asia should be. And there are very serious long term implications as Asians fed with a diet of potatoes and hamburgers would eventually think and behave like potatoes and hamburgers.

The integrity and respectability of CNA have taken it so far and wide with increasing readerships and popularity, with more countries being covered. The news is like a breath of fresh air setting it apart from the stale westerners talking about Asia with two fish balls in their mouths to look authentic.

I was quite surprised, shocking really, to see a Pinkerton reporting from Jakarta last evening instead of Sujadi or his colleague. I kept asking myself, no Indonesians good enough to report Indonesian news, or is it that the Pinkerton Disease, thought eradicated from CAN, is resurfacing?  They did not apply the anti fungal cream for the full two weeks to rid it for good? Is CNA suffering a relapse or someone there thought it is so sexy to flirt with Pinkerton again? When would they get rid of this colonial disease for good and be Asian, think Asian, truly Asian perspectives?

What is CNA without Asians reporting their own news? Isn’t CNA stands for Channel News Asia? Or is it Channel News Angmoh now?  Or is it that some Pinkertons are sneering at the Asian news readers for not speaking through their nose, not sounding like native Angmohs? So some Pinkerton lovers quietly sneaked in some angmohs to test water?

The CNA I enjoyed and respected is Channel News Asia, definitely not Channel News Angmoh. Why would Asians want to listen to western perspectives of Asian news and affairs? Have Asians not had enough of two centuries of western propaganda and mind games and want to pursue this line of indoctrination all over again?

China and her neighbours

China shares a common border with 17 countries and despite losing a lot of territories to them when it was semi colonized by the western powers, it only has problem with one of its neighbours on border issues. China has lost territories to Russia and Mongolia but has agreed to live with the status quo. The only other country that is giving China border problem is India, for wanting to seize the disputed territories cut away from China by the British that ended in a very embarrassing border war in 1962. In a way the humiliating defeat has kept the Indians from having more funny designs over the last 50 years and the border relatively peaceful.

If China is an expansionist country and harbouring bad intentions to covet its neighbour’s territories, China would have no peace with so many countries sharing a common border with her. And many of these are very small and militarily weak countries, like Laos, Bhutan, Nepal and bigger countries like Myanmar, Bangladesh that China could take advantage of. But no, they live in peace with no border claims issue.

And who are the countries that have border issues with China other than India? Japan is well known for stealing Chinese territories and claiming the Diaoyu Islands as Japan’s. Japan did not share a common border with China and is separated by sea. The other countries with border issues with China are like Japan, separated by sea, are Malaysia and the Philippines. And the problem arises from their claims on Chinese islands. Vietnam is also claiming Chinese islands in the South China Sea.

Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Japan are having border problems with China not because of China claiming their land but instead they are claiming China’s territories in the Seas. The accusation of China being an aggressive and expansionist country is therefore an irony, a fabrication. The problem China had with these countries is caused by these countries claiming China’s territories. These countries are the aggressive and expansionist ones, wanting to seize China’s territories, not the other way.

It is a case of robbers calling and yelling thief. They are trying to steal China’s territories but calling China the thief. If they have no designs on China’s islands in the seas, they would have no trouble with China. They are the trouble makers for China. China is the victim of aggression by these pesky small countries, with the US poking them from behind to keep provoking China.

This is another perspective of the South China Sea problems. Ask those neighbours of China if China is expansionist and claiming their lands? Don’t ask India. India is claiming Chinese territories like some Asean countries and Japan.

Singapore will say thank you to Wee Cho Yaw

I read this comment in TRE on my post ‘The equity casino is going to draw its curtain soon’.

new world order:

October 31, 2015 at 1:07 pm  new world order(Quote)

The derivative market is worth a quadrillion dollars of bubble awaiting to burst.

When it burst, it will be the crash of all crashes.

Most of the banks will be affected, and depositor can expect their cash deposit to be used for bailing in the collapsing bank.

Therefore, you people should crash the bank before it crashes

 

The derivative game is like building a house of cards with nothing but air. It is pure shuffling of papers, printing papers as money. What it takes is for a few cards to be pulled out and the whole house of cards will simply collapse and nothing is left. The last American financial crisis did not teach them anything and the bubble is now even bigger, building the banking and financial industry with a fraudulent system is simply idiocy.  The next collapse will bring the banking and financial industry its knee.

The other lesson of too big to fail is still being followed here mindlessly like the Two Child Policy. No one had the guts and wisdom to turn it around when it was over taken by events and the changing economic needs in the island. There was the talk of Singapore could not have too many banks but one or two big banks. The lesson of too big to fail in the USA fell on deaf ears again. It was so fortunate that there was Wee Chow Yaw to resist the intent to cut down the number of local banks to one or two banks.

When the banking industry collapses due to the fictitious and fraudulent derivative trades, yes it is still bringing in big money but unsustainable, just like what is happening to the stock market. The stock market has collapsed if one is willing to see the truth. The denial that it is still healthy and kicking is irresponsible. When the derivative market crashes, all the banks now laughing at the easy profits will go bust, and so will their high net worth customers.

Then we will say thank you to Wee Cho Yaw. Because of him we still have 3 local banks and hopefully at least one or two will still be standing. Those banks still deep in derivative trades should quickly wind up their dabbling in this fraudulent instrument or at least cut down the exposure substantially to minimize the exposure should that day comes. All fraudulent schemes are like Ponzi Schemes, unsustainable and must collapse. It is a matter of when, not how. A scam is a scam.

Hopefully there will still be a UOB and a OCBC left. But they must not join the derivative band wagon and get intoxicated in the easy money. It is better to earn decent money from solid traditional banking than gambling. The banks and financial industry must not be turned into legalized casino with little or no regulations. At least the casinos are very well regulated and the risk minimized. Or at least no gambler is gullible enough to think otherwise punting in a casino. But a banking and finance industry, with deregulations and little regulations and allowing itself to turn into a casino without the strict regulations is creating a false sense of security. Everyone is pretending that it is not a casino in different forms.

The end game will come soon. There are two major risks. A highly risky banking and finance industry dabbling with derivatives and still drugged to think derivatives are the new designer’s drug for the well heeled or sophisticated clients. The other risk is too few local banks, only 3 and if 2 were to go, could even be 3, there will be nothing left.

But the experts would have everyone to believe all is fine.

The crime against the citizens

‘Acturial science graduate Michelle Lew has sent her resume to more than 100 firms since last December, hoping to land a permanent job. But almost a year later, she has not received a single job offer.

“I think it’s because the economy is bad. I’m not sure why. I’m working in an insurance firm as a temp….”’ Quoted from ST dated 2 Nov 15( Acturial should be spelt actuarial).

The difficulties in getting employment by our citizens have gone down to our young graduates. Our very own children are being employed as temp workers while hundreds of thousands of foreigners with silly degrees from silly universities are taking away their jobs. And no one is raising an eye brow, thinking that it is normal. This is a crime against our very own citizens committed by our employers and unproductive foreigner companies allowed to set up business here and to employ their own kind.

I thought after the last GE the govt will change its policies toward more pro citizens. Lim Swee Say is working hard to change the pro foreigner policies of the past to be more pro Singaporean. Hopefully this is the beginning of things getting betterer. He has started to give the breakdowns in employment statistics for citizens and PRs. But from this reported case, many Michelles are still left in the lurch. Our very own children cannot get a normal employment and we are giving hundreds of thousands of jobs to half baked foreigners.

What is happening? No, it is not the economy is bad. It is bad policies. If the economy is bad, why would so many foreigners of average or under average grades at executive and middle management or even senior management be employed and NOT Singaporeans?

Michele and her peers must not be misled to thinking it is the economy. We need to take care of our citizens first. We need to give jobs to our citizens. All the changes in education policies will be hogwash if we do not take our citizens, graduates of our education, seriously and give them jobs. We might as well close down all our universities if we continue to employ foreigners instead of our children.

Go figure why is this the case? You vote for a govt to take care of you, at least to give you good jobs, not temp jobs, not to give jobs to foreigners and say you are not good. Fully employed citizens do not need subsidies.  Is this not a crime against our citizens, our children?

Michele and many of her peers are not lazy, choosy and stupid Singaporeans. They are graduates from our world class universities and willing to work, wanting to work. Who is there to help them, our children?

MOM could simply not approve a few more applications for EPs and there will be plenty of jobs for our citizens. These are not highly skilled and difficult jobs that need special talents.

Ong Chuan Yan, a HR major has sent out applications for more than 6 months. He said, ‘It’s quite stressful because it’s already very competitive and, on top of that, there may be a decision made not to hire anyone.’

South China Sea a win win solution for China and the USA

I wrote this article last week and this morning Today’s frontpage headline flashes this, ‘S China Sea tensions increasing demand for US presence: Pentagon’.  Our local media seem to be very happy to sing the song of the USA. Yes, after raising tensions in the South China Sea, the Americans are drumming up the story that they are needed to bring peace to the region when there was peace before, and some countries are begging them to be here, to increase their military presence in the South China Sea. It is so easily done, to manipulate the silly Asian countries to fight among themselves and to invite the Americans as their guarantor of peace.

Now my article, ‘Was it done by design or things just happened that way, the US provocation in the South China is serving the interests of both the US and China but the silly countries in the region would end up the unthinking and ignorant victims of the power game being played.

What would be the objectives of the US to want to put up a brazen challenge to China by sailing all the way from the land they stole from the Red Indians, across the Pacific Ocean, just to sail a warship outside the 12nm limit of China’s islands? Was it just a show of force to please the Pinoys that big brother is strong and reliable, and it would be better to allow big brother back into Sublc and Clark bases?

The US has bigger concerns. They need to raise tension in the region to make sure they are not driven away. The South Koreans and the Japanese did not want to be semi colonies of the Americans forever. It affects their national pride, to have foreign military bases in their country and to act as if they cannot defend themselves. The Japanese nearly conquered the whole of Asia on their own. They don’t need the Americans to shit, oops, I mean sit in their country like the yakuza and collecting protection money from the Japanese govt. Both Japan and South Korea are getting restless and wanting the Americans out of their countries. Raising tension in the South China Sea would give the Americans the reason to tell these two semi colonies that China is threatening them and they cannot survive without the American troops in their countries.

It would also frighten the shit out of the silly Asean countries. The Americans will tell them, ‘see, the Chinese are expansionist and you need big brother to be around’. And these silly countries will panic and run to America to buy more weapons of war just in case.

The Americans have all to gain and to be patrolling the South China Sea with the consent of the frightened Asean countries like they own the South China Sea. They will become the de facto policeman or gangster in the region, protecting the daft countries with a red herring demon in China. I will post another article on why this is a red herring, China and its neighbours.  The pretentious provocation only cost the Americans some allowances paid to the sailors and burning off some cheap gas.

What about China? China has all the time professed not to militarise the South China Sea. Now with the US provocation, with American warships sailing around their islands, who can tell them not to militarise the islands? They have all the legitimate rights to defend their islands in the face of a military challenge. Now China will conveniently send in all their weapons and turn them into Guam and Gan, military fortresses.  The Americans have given the Chinese the exact excuse to do what they wanted to do but holding back to avoid more accusations from the Asean states.

China must be quietly saying thank you to the Americans for doing them this great favour. Or is this the agreement between Xi Jinping and Obama in Washington during his recent trip? The two super powers putting up a show for all the silly countries in East Asia and South East Asia to see and to panic and to accept a new reality, the militarization of South China Sea and furiously buying more weapons of war from the Americans for a fake security?

The Americans and the Chinese know very well that war between them is beyond comprehension and both would avoid it by all means. Putting up a show to frighten the monkeys and both benefitting from the circus are probably agreed in Washington. The US will get to stay in the region to maintain peace and to ‘balance’ China’s rise while China got to militarise the islands in the South China Sea. And all the silly countries would have to accept American bases and turn themselves into semi American colonies and emptying their pockets to buy more war toys.

What do you think is the truth?

Provoking A Rising Dragon

The American Eagle Fails to Provoke Fight with an Ascending Dragon

By MIKOspace 

Last week and for the very first time, the United States (US) sent one of its most powerful warship, the guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen, to conduct a patrol within 12 nautical miles of a collection of islands disputed by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Phillippines, Brunei and Malaysia. The US called the mission around the disputed islands in the South China Sea "an assertion of freedom of navigation and as a means to balance power in the region".  Observers noted quickly that the USA herself is not a direct party or a party of interest over the islands per se. 

Officially, the US claimed that its first naval patrol in the area did not target China but was aimed at safeguarding the freedom of navigation on what she considered to be “international” waters. The US warship would conduct its patrol around various man-made features that China, Vietnam and the Philippines have built up in that South China Sea region.  There is however no evidence that maritime navigation or commercial shipping have been affected by the territorial claims by various countries.  As it happened, Chinese navy ships watched puzzlingly at the rather aimless manoeuvres of the US warship which lasted several hours.  It was also unclear what she had accomplished as she sailed away to return to her home port about 4,000km away at Yokosuka Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan.  

And as the surrounding ASEAN countries watched the political show out of bemused amazement and unfunny concern, it was abundantly clear that the US’ move was designed to harass so as provoke an irritated response from the Chinese, who of course did not take the bait of a rather childish faux pas.  No one thought that the USA had any intention to launch a military clash with China over a region where she has no specific interests at stake.   Perhaps, this warship sideshow was somehow timed and planned to ease the passage for a Defense Spending Bill where the delusion of a “looming and imminent war” with China would provide the much needed boost to the US military industrial complex in the absence of their 2 highly “profitable” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.     

The US was actually warned to stay away from Chinese territorial waters by virtue of the other islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands under her undisputed control. Neither has China broken any international laws in building structures  and land reclamation around 2 of the disputed reefs. Other countries in the dispute have already embarked on various civil constructions before the Chinese.  China's construction work in the area is completely legal and the US would grudgingly acknowledge that.  Never mind US fears that the changing geopolitical situation in the area could be changed following China's island reclamation and that China would gain the advantage for control of all the Nansha Islands and the adjacent seas.  In the event however, no US interest would be affected or harmed.   

From a regional security perspective, ASEAN countries watched with utter disbelief to behold a military superpower like the USA flexing its maritime muscles in such blatant display of irresponsible brinkmanship.  There was nothing to be gained by it and nothing was gained.  And the US also lost tremendous prestige to have her modern warship “retreating” with her flag literally between her propellers.   

Entirely of her own making, the proud American Eagle was thoroughly humiliated and routed by a smarter Ascendent Dragon who refused to play the silly and childish game of “Gotcha”.    

In stark contrast, the US did not display such “righteous” belligerence when her prestige and interests were actually challenged by the Russian Bear in March 2015 when Russia forcibly annexes the Crimea peninsula of Ukraine.  Three US Presidents, who are all alive today – Clinton, Bush and Obama, all reiterated and emphasised US power to safeguard the territorial integrity of Ukraine.  This was in support of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, a political agreement signed with Russia and the United Kingdom in Budapest, Hungary, providing security assurance guarantees for its sovereignty and territorial integrity to then newly formed Ukraine. 

Today, Crimea remained annexed to Russia. No US naval ships challenged the internationally condemned annexation by sailing into Crimean waters, nor did US warplanes fly into Ukraine airspace above Crimea.  Effectively, in spite of the words and promises of three US Presidents, the US had simply abrogated its promises and turned its back on Ukraine.  In March 2015, the American Eagle chose not to confront but to surrender without a fight to the Russian Bear over Ukraine where it had definitive interests as NATO backyard; yet, it chose to provoke but fail to arouse the Chinese Dragon in a region where it has no specific vested interests.  Such is the shameful failure of American Foreign Policy – the absence of clear interests, the ambiguity of her values and the lack of decisive leadership to act and lead where they matter.  

Americans and their leaders apparently have forgotten the words of a former arch-enemy, Japan: "I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve” said by Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, upon learning of Japan’s successful attack that he masterminded on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 killing more than 1,400 Americans and wounding another 1,200.

Beware awaking the Ascendent Dragon and fill her with a terrible resolve.

Related:

Beware Awaking A Rising Dragon

LKY’s Timeless Advice on East Asia

APEC Without Japan    

Work place exercise

There is a saying, if you love your work, you don’t have to work a single day. These words are becoming truer today just be a little tweaking in the work place and helping employees to do their work differently. Read in the media that Sheng Siong, the supermarket is teaching its staff how to live well and how to work well, how to stand, how to bend, how to carry things the right way. This reminds me of the elderly woman that picks cardboard for a living and in the process she is doing some exercise at the same time. This is killing two birds with one stone, working and exercising, or like not working but just enjoying an exercise regime.

It would not be a bad idea if organizations with manual workers redesign the way they work, how to carry things, lift things, put things up and down or moving around and turn them into an exercise routine. The staff could be strutting around in style, or doing short sprints in the warehouse or supermarket. There are plenty of space to do such exercises. Maybe change their uniforms to sports gear and instead of dragging their feet, they could be jogging or sprinting. These routines are good for health too and can keep the staff happily engaged in positive thinking, not working.

And yes, add in the music to go with it. The organizations would have happy and jovial people, physically fit and healthy, working and exercising at the same time. I am exercising the joints of my fingers at the moment. I also practice exercising my eye muscles by looking at the screens. I also exercise my mind to prevent dementia setting in. How nice, doing so many exercise at the same time punching the keys on the keyboard.

Now is this not thinking out of the box, turning boring routines in the workplace into exercises and the workplace a nice gym for the staff?

Oh, if there is a train break down, make a public announcement that it is exercise time. The commuters must be told to lug along their jogging gear. And they can change into them and start jogging to their destinations and can thank the MRT for the opportunity to jog. It is all in the mind. Get fit, go green ya?

The Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Manifest Destiny

Why did the West go on the rampage to terrorise the world with merciless killings, genocide, aggression and conquest during the last one thousand years. To understand this psyche of Western Christiandom aggression and expansion we need to know the insidious doctrine they practise. The West strongly believe in their Doctrine of Christian Discovery which later sprouted into the American Doctrine of Manifest Destiny to justify the White American destruction and conquest  of Native American Indians as well as the eventual conquest of Mexican lands, Hawaii, Guam and other Island kingdoms in the Pacific Ocean.

What is this Doctrine of Christian Discovery? This is a very ancient Catholic doctrine and it goes back to  the year 1095, at the beginning of the Crusades. The doctrine is based on the edicts issued by the Popes. In that year 1095 Pope Urban the Second issued an edict called the Papal Bull Terra Nullius. This edict gave the Christian kings and princes of Europe the right to conquer lands from non-Christians
wherever they may be. And in 1492 Pope Nicholas V issued the Bull Romanus Pontifex, declaring war  against all non-Christians throughout the world and authorizing the conquest of their nations and territories. These edicts proclaimed that non-Christians are uncivilized and subhuman and therefore have no rights to any land or nation. The Popes and all the Christian leaders claimed that their Christian God had given the Christians the right to take control of all lands . Armed with these ancient Papal edicts the European Christian countries used them to justify their wars of aggression , colonization, killings and genocide and even trafficked in human slavery.

With this Doctrine of Discovery Christopher Columbus set sail for America in 1492. On the very first day when he set foot on America he performed the ceremony  to immediately  acquire all the lands of the natives for the king of Spain.The following year 1493, Pope Alexander Vl issued the bull Inter Cetera, granting Spain the right to conquer all the lands in America.

By around 1600 , The Doctrine of Discovery was deeply rooted in the Western minds of Christian kingdoms and this led to the conquest of non-Christian lands and people in every part of the world. The concept that white people and Christians have certain divine rights was so ingrained in American national policies that others like the black people of Africa  and the native Americans were treated as subhuman. This enable the white men and the Christians to justify their treatment of black  people with violence and enslavement and the theft of Native American lands with impunity and justification.In 1823, the Doctrine of Discovery was written into U.S. law as a way to deny land rights to Native Americans .  And in 1845 the Doctrine of Discovery was further refined by the Americans with uniquely American flavour with a new term called Manifest Destiny to justify and defend U.S. expansion and claims to new territories. Under the principles of  Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny the Americans adopted very fierce policy of land acquisition and expansion which proved disastrous to Native Americans, African Americans, Mexicans and others abroad like Hawaii, Guam and other Pacific Ocean islanders. Thus wherever white American Christians go there goes genocide. European Americans had genocided almost ninety-five percent of Native Americans and about seventy to eighty percent natives of Hawaii and Guam.
 
The effects of Manifest Destiny continues today in new extended forms. Under Manifest Destiny America claims the right to impose its democracy on other countries and to carry out regime change on foreign governments which do not toe the American line. American talk about globalization, preemptive war and the responsibilities of U.S. as the world's only superpower reflects the principles of Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny.
When America carried out regime change in former Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Iraq , Libya  and Afghanistan it reflected its Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny in action. American interference in the South China Sea issues is part of its Manifest Destiny in action. Lastly by using the principles of Manifest Destiny America justifies its actions in interfering in the internal affairs of many other countries in this world especially in South America and in dangerously trying to topple the governments of Iran, North Korea, Russia and China.

The Doctrine of Christian Discovery holds a world view that Christians (European Christians) have a right sanctioned by God to take non-Christian lands and property and assert political control over the indigenous inhabitants living in those lands based on their different religious beliefs The Doctrine of Discovery grows out from a perverted understanding of God's designation of a chosen people that has god's blessing or heavenly sanction to do un-God-like acts in the name of God.Columbus and other European explorers depended on this concept to justify their invasion and conquest of Indigenous lands in both North and South America, Africa, Australia,Asia and New Zealand. The Doctrine of Christian Discovery originated from a Catholic Popes's edict , 'Dum Diversas'   The edict 'Dum Diversas' states that, " We grant you [ Kings of Spain and Portugal ] by these present documents , with our Apostolic Authority, full and free permission to invade, search out, capture and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers and enemies of Christ wherever they may be , as well as their kingdoms , duchies, counties , principalities and other property  ... and to reduce their persons into perpetual slavery. " Here we see the Doctrine of Christian Discovery embodies and sanction the evil code  which condones the domination of one people by another. In invoking the Doctrine of Discovery Spain in 1513, made used of it to justify the assertion that " God through historical Saint Peter and appointed Papal successors, held authority as ruler over the entire Earth, and that Inter Caetera Papal Bull, of May1493 by Pope AlexanderVI, conferred title over all the Americas to the Spanish monarchs. "  Armed with this Doctrine all subsequent European Christian countries asserted the right that with the help of God they would enter any pagan land to make conquest and subjugate the people to slavery.

The present ill-effects of the Doctrine of Discovery and subsequent off shoot the American Manifest Destiny is that they tend to label non-Christians as subhuman and therefore deprive them of Human Rights, thus giving the white men and the Americans the justification to attack, invade and deprive indigenous people of their lands.The evil and insidious Doctrine of Discovery and the American Manifest Destiny have been the cause of most of the past and present world conflicts and violence. America is using its Manifest Destiny to justify its  intereference with other countries internal affairs, to topple governments and carry out regime change, to defraud the world in the monetary affairs of currency and finance via the banks and stock exchange , to cheat on international trade under its hidden agenda and to destabilise countries that serve the American purpose of asserting hegemony over all countries and all peoples.

The Doctrine of Discovery and the Manifest Destiny are so evil that the United Nations should officially denounced them and make the countries responsible for the doctrines renounce them and revoke them. Only when this is done , the world will be safer and have more peace.


 Southernglory  1

PS. The western media and powers would not want to be reminded of this shameful and inhuman Doctrine against the people of the world that were colonised, raped and killed by them in the name of God. The current Pope and many western intellectuals have recognised the evilness of their forefathers and are too embarrassed by their actions. Some understood the hypocrisy of the Americans touting human rights and all the shit but many American leaders are still unrepentant and still pushing their hypocrisy to the unthinking coloured people of the world. The saddest thing is that many coloured people of the world refused to see this hypocrisy and insisted that there is no such things, they did not want to know. And they insisted on believing the Great White God and the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and American Manifest Destiny. Many of these coloured people are in Southeast Asia and many are in the little Red Dot. Some are regulars in this blog.

It is so pathetic.

Redbean

The Great White God

To the believers, the unthinking believers, the Great White God is all goodness, fair, just, compassionate, loving, caring, a protector, the virtues of all virtues. They blindly believe so and refuse to see the real Great White God. They would not want to know the evilness of the Great White God even when all the evidence of wickedness is staring right in front of their eyes.

The Great White God is kind and loving and generous but with many conditions. You must respect and honour him, pledge to love him, obey him, prostrate in front of him, praise him and do as he pleases, and cannot believe in another God. The Great White God has decreed all other Gods as Satan and evil. Love no other God except me, the one and only Great White God.

What about the evil things done by the wicked Great White God? No, he does not do evil, he is all wholesome goodness! Remove the blinkers and see the truth, see the ugly truths and be set free from the evil Great White God. I know the silly and unthinking believers would not want to know the evil deeds of the Great White God. They just want to hear the good stuff and stuffed their ears with shit so that they would not hear the truth, the bad stuff of the Great White God.

But I must tell, to wake these shitty unthinking believers of the Evil One and thinking he is the Great White God.

Ask the Great White God how he came to live in the Promised Land, how the Promised Land is now the land of the Great White God? Were there inhabitants in the Promised Land and what happened to the inhabitants? How many were there and how many left after the butchering, under the Great White Decree to kill all the natives? How many million natives were murdered by the Great White God?

Ask the Great White God what he used to be the beasts of burden, to plough and toil the land, to water his trees, and to pluck the cotton in the cotton fields? Ask the Great White God how he amused himself with the women he called slaves, treated them as their comfort women, to entertain their guests, to make merry, only to dump them in the squatters after used, to seek solace with the beasts of burden.

Where did the beasts of burden come from? How manly millions of beasts of burden were hunted down, captured and transported to the Promised Land to toil the land for the good of the Great White God? How many died in the Great Exodus from Africa to the Promised Land of the Great White God in chains? How many died from beating, from hunger, from over exertion, from being kept tightly together in cages? Where is Kunta Kinte?

Ask the Great White God how much land they took from the Mexicans by pointing a gun at them? Ask the Great White God how they came to acquire so many islands in the Pacific Ocean? By showering the natives with love and kindness, or by grace, or by the gun and killings?

Ask the Great White God how many Pinoys they killed after getting rid of the Spanish God to occupy the Philippines?

Ask the Great White God how many Japanese were killed by the wrath of God when two A bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing young and old, male and female, no female left to be slaves?

Ask the Great White God how many Koreans and Vietnamese were killed in God’s righteous and holy war against the non believers? Ask the Great White God how many tons of Agent Orange and other chemical agents were scattered over Vietnam to fertilise the land? Heard of children of Agent Orange?

Ask the Great White God how many other Gods they murdered, killed or assassinated in the name of peace and harmony?

Ask the Great White God how many innocent Arabs, the heathens, were killed by the great flood of bombs raining from the sky by the chariots of the Great White God? Didn’t the Great White God find any Arabs virtuous enough to be spared to live in the Garden of Eden? Didn’t the Great White God want to keep the women as slaves anymore?

Collateral? What is that? Should ask Saddam Hussein and Mahmood Gaddafi or Osama? What is the difference between God Obama and Satan Osama, who killed and maimed more people?

Ask the Great White God what is he doing in the South China Sea, to bring peace on earth or to start another war? The Great White God has been fighting unceasing wars since the end of the WW2 in the name of peace and continue to kill and maim the heathen, the unthinking coloured people.

Now I want to ask the unthinking and blind believers, did they find a new truth, that the Great White God is not all kindness, love, and peace. He is just as evil as he accused Satan of.  Actually he is many many times more evil than Satan, killing more people in his wars of peace and freedom.  Remove your blinkers and seek the truth. The truth shall set you free, from the evil Great White God. His mission is to create wars and to kill and kill, the unthinking coloured people that refused to worship him. 

Do not be deceived. Do not deceived yourself and be blinded by the deceit of the Great White God.