hsien loong: minister's pay below benchmark

hsien loong said that the minister's pay is still below the year 2000 benchmark. i will be very happy if i were a minister. can expect another pay rise to keep up with the benchmark. even if there is no pay rise, can go around telling people that ministers are under paid. either way it is good news. ministers sacrificed for lower pay! this type of noble thing can talk loudly. steve chia asked for transparency, for disclosure of minister's pay. but this was rejected. this always reminds me of means testing when the poor bugger is expected to come clean and tell everything about his shoddy financial status. whatever, i am never comfortable whenever there is no disclosure or transparency. at least the president's pay is transparent.

not many mps courting the housewives for votes

in parliament, several mps or only two mps spoke up for housewives. only irene ng made a decent plea to recognise the works of housewives. what the housewives are doing would have to be done if they stop doing it. and the works need to be paid. steve chia's explanation about national service is rather less tangible. the housewives are working and performing a job that has economic value. just so simple. but maybe the housewives are too busy staying home and will not go to the voting centres. so no need to take them seriously. if they do, make sure they vote for irene and steve chia. and where is that organisation called aware. probably they did not know that housewives worked. ya, tai tais don't work. tai tais in aware don't work. only ah sohs in the heartlands work as housewives.

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.