ah bian and american deceit

the americans have all the reasons to want an independent taiwan. and that suits ah bian very well. behind the facade of trying to rein in ah bian, the american's hand behind ah bian's every move is very clear. and there is also the billions of dollars of military hardware that the americans wanted to sell to him. this immediate need is more urgent as it means money in the pocket for a lot of people. so ah bian will be allowed to play around a little while longer with the tacit support of the americans. and the chinese are seeing the whole picture simple and clear. they are not pushing the americans and ah bian very hard to avoid a flare up. but if things are allowed to go on this way, with the americans thinking that they could dupe the chinese by their neither here nor there comments on ah bian, they are just as foolish as george bush is. probably only george bush believes that the chinese believes in what he is saying. the strangling and hanging of ah bian is a matter of time. and time is running out. the kmt will not allow ah bian to throw money at the americans and provoke a conflict that will eclipse their growing economy. we should be seeing some actions from the chinese side very soon, though not in the nature of aggravating into an arms conflict, but at least some firm actions to tell ah bian and the americans that they mean business. this time ah bian has stepped too close to the red line and the chinese cannot afford not to do something. they would also want to remove the mask of deceit of the americans. maybe the chinese are waiting for georgie to put a foot into iran before raising the temperature a little. that will keep the americans busy and georgie crazy.

mrt lines having problems?

our mrt lines, northsouth and eastwest seem to be having problems for the last two mornings. people are complaining about the slowing down and the repeated announcements of technical faults. just when they think everything is going satisfactorily, it is getting its hitch, and during peak morning traffic. two days in a row. let's not make it three. would tomorrow be normal, without hitch?

soo khoon bangging the kangaroos

i am not sure if tan soo khoon is in the sia board, but so far he is the only mp to speak up against the aussies. we have been cut off because of protectionism. the mightly australian is shivering at the sight of sia. i hope the barrier was raised throught genuine fear that the qantas is incompetent and unable to fight against the giant of sia. what a grandiose thought from a little red dot. but the aussies have never been known to be competitive anyway, with the unions tying a knot around the management. but then this rejection of sia, could it be linked to what howard had warned after the hanging of the australian national hero, the drug trafficker, that they will do something as a result of their displeasure? let's hope the aussies will not stoop that low. again the protection of qantas is unacceptable when free trade and open sky policies are what western democracies have been harping about. shall we send our warships to open up australia? just joking. don't be serious on this. maybe an organised demo outside australian embassy will be a good show. we deserve something after helping to grease their way into asean.

are we becoming a police state?

there is a big article in the straits times on youth loitering after 11pm. and loitering after this hour is a no, according to the police definition. these youths were found either drinking or chit chatting or some even attempting mischief. on first thought, all youth should be tucked in bed by this hour. or they should be mugging their books. no reason to be wasting their time outside or being tempted to try the unacceptable. yes, these youth must be controlled and sent home. now, by who? who is responsible for their nocturnal activities? what if the parents allowed them to do so? some may not and did not know. do we want all our children to be in bed by 11pm? is it wrong, if parents allowed it, for children to hang out after 11pm? now what's wrong with that? what's wrong with a city that does not sleep? do we really need the police to go about rounding up children and packing them home? are we afraid of the children's safety or the safety of others at the hands of these children? there are bound to be some who are up to no good. guilty till proven innocent or innocent till proven guilty? if the police shall go around checking on children, would it amount to guilty till proven innocent? or does it mean that loitering around after 11pm is a violation of some sort? and the police is in the thick of things. i have a very funny feeling about this.

workfare bonus: different views

some pap mps were concerned about the expectation of the bonus by the people. opposition mps were against it as an election gimmick. so don't have workfare bonus! uh huh. there are always different ways of looking at it. understandable for opposition to whack it as another form of pork barrel politics. understandable for mps to raise concerns that people will expect more of it in the future. but whatever, it is the people's money. it is profit from investing the people's money. and there is no better way than to return them to the people, and make the people feel that they are part owner of the nation's wealth. what other nonsensible ways to dispose of the money? pay big fat bonuses to the managers of the nation's reserve? give away to foreign talents like mercenary footballers? splash them to make beautiful parks or landscapes, pay more to political leaders, give the presidency another perk? or what? there are many ways to waste the money. it is sinful to just keep the money and not benefitting the people. it is all how to explain and package it. the best way is to link it as returns from investment and treat every citizen as a shareholder of the nation's reserve. and to return to the shareholders when there is a surplus. have a transparent formula so that people know what to expect. and don't do away with it because mps are very rich and don't need the money. the people, many of them, need every cent that they can lay their hands on. ok, rich mps, please back off.