When a country is no longer a country

I have been pondering over the erosion of the concept of statehood. This use to come with a lot of pre conditions and obligations from the ruler and the ruled. At the rate we are going, soon statehood or nationhood will be a thing of the past. Yes Singapore Inc. Everything will be run in a businesslike manner. No obligations other than contractual. No ownership, no emotional attachment. Everything is in the price. Everything has a price. And for those who are against National Service, the day will come when private agencies will recruit their own military men to offer their services at a price. It has started. The national security of a nation can be farmed out to non citizens to run roughshod over citizens. Sorry, no more citizens but production digits. The Americans are also recruiting non citizens to fight in Iraq. It is time to change the titles of the head of state and govt. The private sector has taken the lead. Every organisation has their presidents and vice presidents. The state should also change and have Chairmans and Managing Directors and Directors.

1 man, 3 HDB flats, 10 wives, 64 children and incest

I have refrained from touching on this topic to steer clear of some primordial sensitivities. There are things in life that are left best unsaid or the otherwise sensible and clear thinking men and women could be consumed by irrational rage and tear down a whole nation. Why do they have to report this in the main stream media? It is no secret, and has been going for years, all 10 wives and 64 children are living monuments that paraded the streets daily. Why now and why make it as if it is great news? Obviously many must have thought that there was nothing wrong and tolerable. In a small little compact country like us, such things cannot escape the eyes of those who need to know. Where is the fault? Don't blame the authority. Everyone is at fault. When able men and women, some have strings of straight As, are prepared to sit in front of a charlatan, probably even failed his PSLE, and listen to his craps every week, and are afraid to disagree with him, that is the fault. It transcends all religions and races. I was reading this 'highly acclaimed book by a highly acclaimed man' called 'Jerusalem Countdown', and my immediate reaction was that this is probably the third most dangerous book ever written. The influence of this book has led to powerful personalities living their lives and dictating national policies based on the reasonings in the book. And they set out to kill and destroy and believing that it was all faithful duty and destiny. The authority of course does not come from this book, but from more dangerous books written in ancient times. And they believe it is all about righteousness, about a divine order, to kill other fellow men and women, young and old, to fulfil a prophecy. When would modern people be sane or confident enough to ask the right questions and debunk all the dangerous ancient myths that common sense would say are simply wrong? Is the fear of God a sign of wisdom or a sign of naivity?

Maslow's 5th level of Needs - Self Delusion

Maslow's 5th level of Needs - Self Delusion Have we crossed the rubicon? The staunch supporters of PAP, some MPs and Ministers, adamantly said no and are sticking to their guns. This is the best policy, though a giant bitter pill to swallow. This is reality. People loves money and will work only for money. They would even go to the extend of paying even more as the formula is deemed the correct formula and the answers coming out from the formula must be correct. A cold calculative method, delinked from any emotional attachment and sentiments. Another GIGO. Can political decisions be made by a mathematical formula that does not take into consideration all the sensitivities of politics? Why is there a need to get our best minds to be in Humanities? Maybe this is a case of too much hard sciences and engineering. The lack of the human element is so glaring. Just hear the responses from the ground as reported in the Straits Times. 1. The numbers just don't look good, laments Nee Soon South grassroots leader Poh Phien Seah....he is finding it almost impossible to explain to constituents why the same govt that this week said it was necessary to raise ministers' salaries to $1.6 million, also refused to raise the public assistance allowance for its poorest citizens by more than $30 a month. 2. The disparity is so great...says Mr Poh, who owns a logistics business. 3. People ask me, why not do more for the poor, especially in their twilight years? I don't know how to explain to them...grassroot leaders 4. Shanmugam, ...the decision was bound to strain the social compact. This is one of those policies on which political capital has to be spent. 5. Medical practitioner Edith Quah, a grassroots leader in Chong Pang, warns that some community volunteers are so disillusioned by the Govt's decision, they might stop helping out. I am talking about very loyal grassroots people who are saying this. Why? Because they see the fragmentation in society. We feel this move is a bit self serving and the timing is very insensitive. Here you have people struggling to buy school books and uniforms for their children. Despite such negative feedbacks, is there any minister who will say that it is a bad thing to do? Or how many MPs will still insist that it is a right thing to do? Or would they have stuck to the position if they were not ministers or MPs? Do they really believe in what they are saying if they were not in the same camp? Here comes the self delusion. At this stage, no decision can be wrong. Every decision is the best decision and must be right. Like it or not, it has been decided and it is for the good of the people and country. The people are just too ignorant to understand the goodness and wisdom of the decision. I know best. And they will forget when the next election comes. Or when the economy is good the decision will be vindicated. The people appreciate the Govt's transparency and intention and are probably more receptive to the proposal now. Presumably some bought the arguments.... The people will just move on because there is nothing much they can do except to register in private ways their disquiet. Where it matters, at election time, Singaporeans will not judge the PAP govt on this issue only. I think the next election will be just another walkover. Just paste a dollar sign on the candidate's face and nothing more needs to be said.

Is this debate worth it?

Is this debate worth it? A definite yes from the PAP's point of view. It is an opportunity to air all the misconceptions and misunderstanding about the pay rise. It is all about transparency and that they have nothing to hide. And the PAP has achieved its objectives of explaining to the people and the people are satisfied with the explanation and justification for the formula and the pay rise. My impression is totally reverse. I think this is a serious tactical mistake on the part of the PAP. Once the formula is out for the airing, it was torn to pieces by everyone, the men on the street as well as inside Parliament. Only the converted will still want to believe that everything is alright and the formula is still worthy of what it was set out to be. The presentation of the charts etc did more harm than good to its cause. The whole debate is not only creating a big doubt. It confirms a lot of things which the people were not happy about. It reinforces the cynicism and scepticism that were once only heard in whispers. Now it is spoken loud and clear in Parliament and in prints in the MSM. Anyone agree or disagree with my assessment?

myth 131

Beware of your supporters! This guy dug a hole in the middle of the road. Then he went to his master and assured him the road ahead was all rosy. And together with a few more followers they cheered their master as he gingerly tip toed ahead towards the hole.