6/25/2007

Another frivolous pursuit

An 86 year old auntie signed on the dotted line to pay $52k for a slimming regime and her daughters are crying foul. Should they or are they being unreasonable? The auntie is not of unsound mind and wants to look slim and pretty. She was not coerced to sign and pay. She did it with eyes open wide wide. The daughter are complaining to CASE for a refund. Hey, it is caveat emptor. Or should we expect a slimming centre to tell a 86 year auntie that she shouldn't waste her money at her age? Is it the duty of a commercial slimming centre not to sell their products? They are there to promote and sell their products for profit. And if there is no misrepresentation, then there is no foul. Quite frivolous in all ways.

The St John Hospital case

This is simply a case of a CEO being underpaid. so he helped himself to the money to adjust his own pay. All the charity organisations should quickly do a salary review and make sure that their employees, especially the mangement teams, are amply rewarded at market rate. They can chose to peg themselves with other big charity organisations. How can they forgot about how Singapore or Singaporeans tick? Money and more money if they are to prevent such things from happening.

CPF, circular logic at works

Swee Say said, later retirement and extension of withdrawal age is not to lock up your CPF money. And that is the truth. Another truth is that your money will be locked up for another 3 years. I am confuse as to which is the greater truth. And this Michael Chwee said, 'If you want workers to work longer, we must have extra savings...' What is he talking? If a worker is employed to his last day of life, eg 85, he is expected to have a decent income till that day. Why should he need more savings? Only those that are not working and has no income need to have more savings. Once the retirement end is extened from 62 to 65, the workers are working 3 extra years, earning 3 more years of income. So his needed savings should go down by 3 more years. Is this reasoning so difficult to understand? And I am referring to people who are not working and have no income. Many may not be working but still have income. I do not buy the argument that the whole concept of filial piety or to take care of your parents, or just to give them a little pocket money are a total washout. If that is the case, our education has failed miserably and we should scrap teaching such concepts in schools immediately. It is a total waste of time and effort. A big farce. A big failure.

6/24/2007

60 good men and women

To start with, 60 good men and women may be enough to present themselves as a credible political alternative. And it is not difficult to find 60 of them in this little island. There are many highly trained professionals and successful people available to form the core for a good alternative party. There are many who have made a name in the industries and are financially independent to be free from any kinds of threats, including those who are supposed to have retired. If these men/women would to offer themselves seriously to the people, and play the political game correctly, they may stand a chance. For it is not easy to run down 60 good men and women at one go with frivolous accusations. Any wrong move would antagonise the families, relations, friends and associates of these 60 people. And being successful people in their own right, they will have a fairly wide network to fall back on. And they could finance their own political battle or be able to canvass for funds to support their political cause. It is quite easy when the time is ripe for true leaders to appear to lead the nation for a better tomorrow.

Sunday best for frivolous pursuits

What shall we talk about on Sunday? I read about ladies being insulted because they were more than 36 years old. And the reason, they were not seen as useful to attract men to frolic or spend money in drinks on them. And socialites all dressed up to their nines for a night out ended being humiliated in public. Please don't come even if you put on several thousand bucks of hardware on their expensively treated skins. They are not going to waste a couple of free drinks on them. No deserving, past their prime. I am sure the ladies did not go to public entertainment places to be insulted. Then the beautiful below 36s. Would they feel elated that their youth is good enough to be given free drinks? Or would they be equally insulted that the free drinks were given to them as cheap rewards to attract customers to the joints. Were they exploited? Would they not feel cheated? Just for a few free drinks, they are paraded as commercial adverts and they have no inkling about it? All for a few free handouts?