myth 6

'People who voted for the opposition will be penalised.' The evidence so far is that no one has ever been penalised for voting against the PAP. And also everyone, from the govt to the opposition, is saying that the vote is secret. Well, it seems that this myth is advantageous to some and disadvantageous to others.

Telling the truth like they never did before.

Lately I can sense a shift in the way truth is being generated in the media. Our local press are now churning a different kind of truth from the west after a series of rubbish from the Robert Kagan type. Today there is a shift, a paradigm shift of a sort, from Tom Plate, who once used to churn up Kagan type of craps. He wrote a piece in the Straits Times looking at the American hang up over an emerging China. He was equally appalled and astonished that the Americans did not know why the Chinese have a need to beef up their military capabilities while the Americans kept on 'warning regularly, through periodic reports and episodic statements, about its(China) relentless ferocity.' And he pointedly say it in no simpler terms why the Chinese need to build up. "What precise theory of exceptionalism would allow the US to forge ahead militarily, spending far more of its national treasure on arms both proportionately and aggregately than other countries, but would also forbid other nations from doing the same?....Is it that it is okay for the US to possess a vast stockpile of weapons but it is not okay that others have them, precisely because the US would never use them but the others might?...Guess which superpower has consistently refused to offer the world a 'no first use' policy?( ie first to use nuclear weapons)" His final statement, a simple advice to the American leaders, is "If we want others to build down their forces, then we have to downsize ours too so that we can then righteously insist that others follow our lead." He should have asked the Americans to revisit the SALTs they had with the Soviet Union in the 60s and 70s, and the underlying principle behind the SALT talks.

defiance in cyberspace

What was not said. What was not heard. The loud applause and chest thumping. Yes, there was an open defiance of the authority during the election. Podcast and video streaming were banned. But they continued to cast and stream, with not regard to the ban. Bloggers were told to register. But none did. Though MICA's late statement that only those who were told to register only need to register, I doubt any blogger did. This is quite a challenge in cyberspace against the authority. Taken in the wrong light and under different circumstances, woe will befall those who dare to disobey, to ignore the law. Now the govt's position has soften. It is a triumph of a sort. The cyber citizens have defended their ground well. They have protected their right to freedom of expression in cyberspace. A freedom that rightly belong to every human in every corner of the world. Well done bloggers, forumers and podcasters and videostreamers.

da vinci code. a follow up discussion

Below is a follow up to the above discussion posted in redbeanforum. Unless it is such an excellent lie that the average guy could not see truth from fiction, the censors should let it pass. As both of you agree, there is so much hogwash, so much fiction that people cannot mistaken it, then the human race will be hopeless if we fear that our children cannot see it that way too, and believe it to be truth. If we do not expose thrash to our children, how would they know what is thrash? If we do not think our children are well brought up to be able to discern truth from falsehood, then the whole education system and ourselves as parents have failed miserably. Then we do not deserve the honour to bring up our children. But the book or movie itself, I will treat it as a very good piece of entertainment. And it forces people to take notice of things, to be curious and to want to know more. The other day there was a documentary on Opus Dei. And they admitted that there was a rising awareness of what Opus Dei is all about and a lot of interest to want to know more. And I think it also affects various aspects of the faith and believers were forced to read up more to clear their doubts. On this ground alone, the book and movie have done a great service to broaden the knowledge of people who are interested in the subject.

myth 4 and 5

Myth 4: We are better than our neighbours. Contributed by Darth Revan. Myth 5 Fortune cookies can win elections. The SDA tried it this time. And they got Potong Pasir but not the rest. Again, it is the half full or half empty theory. Those who believe in it will say it works. Those who don't will say it doesn't. Some may say fortune cookies not attractive enough as an inducement. Upgrade it to say a sweat band. Anyway sweat band serves a purpose as opposition candidates are made to sweat a lot. Or better still, have a party quartz watch with party logo on it as a souvenir or collectible. It is quite cheap to produce and can charge with a little profit as well. Along this line of thinking, many things can be given away without falling into the bribery trap. Next election will be souvenir galore time.