Can good intention justify murder?

Many well intended and well meaning people welcome the compulsory annuity proposal as a good scheme. I also think so. But what is wrong or why so many people are against it? I will spare the effort on the goodness of the scheme as these are apparent and already made known. The gist of the scheme is that it is compulsory and taking people's money from their pockets against their will. This is first degree violation of a person's right to his property. Some may call it in stronger terms. The next objection is that not many people will need it. Not many. So why compel all the people when it is so good and no takers? It is like telling people heaven is a good place. And to ensure that everyone will go to heaven, all the people must donate a sum of their wealth for this cause. It is compulsory. The people cannot decide whether they want to go to heaven or somewhere else. Can people get it? It is compulsion. It is the people's money. If it comes from the pocket of the do gooders, well, everyone will be for it. Just because someone dreams of doing something good, he has the blank cheque to force everyone to go along with him? Can we accept that? I want to build a paradise. Can I demand everyone to put aside 10% of their income as prerequisite for entry to my paradise? Life insurance is a very good thing. Can it be made compulsory?

The Odex saga

What this saga revealed is how frightening Singapore has become after all the years of unthinking pursuit of money and materialism. We have turned ourselves from warm feeling humans to cold calculative and unfeeling machines. And we don't even know or wonder why or how. In the Odex case or in some other cases of violation of the law, Singaporeans are proud and aloof and quick to pronounce that the law is the law. We are a country that runs on the rule of law. So anyone who crosses the line got nicked. Period. Our law is blind. When humans refused to think, refused to use their humaness to differentiate, and apply the law blindly, we are not longer humans. We become part of the matrix. We exist and thinking that that is our real purpose in life. Now Odex. Many of those who infringed on the law on intellectual properties by downloading anime pics are children. They are wrong. Absolutely. But do we need to apply the law blindly on everyone of them? When life were simpler, people were more simple, and people were paid a few dollars to pass their days, applying the law simply might be acceptable. They were not paid to think too much. The money did not justify the tediousity of it all. But today, when the whole system of living is so complicated, and people are paid very generously for what they are doing, we must expect people to think more carefully to justify what they are being paid. We don't have terms like child, children, kids for nothing. They are simply at a stage of life where they are learning to reason, to know right and wrong and to grow up to accept the norms of society. That is why the courts have exceptions for children in many areas. Is it reasonable and healthy to slam children with the whole weight of the law? Threatening and frightening children with the law! Is it a responsible act to demand from children whose pocket money could be only $10 a month, to pay $3000 or $5000 for their childish innocence? Teaching them to learn the hard way? Oh, the parents can afford to pay. What kind of society and values are we evolving into? Do we think anymore? Do we really care anymore? Do we really have compassion? Or everything is just lip service. Or are we programmed to repeat such phrases without feeling for them or with no intention to mean it? Just saying without meaning.

Myth 159 Stay healthy no hospital bills

Stay healthy no hospital bills This is what Singaporeans believe or were told to believe. Stay healthy, lead a healthy life style and cut down on medical or hospitalisation bill. Now take a deep breath and think about this carefully. You imagine that you are healthy, have a clean bill of health. So you don't spend anything on medication or medical bills. You save on hospital bills. Is that what you believe in? You are dead wrong. The reality is that Singaporeans are paying their hospital bills in advance. How much? It depends on how much you have in your Medisave. That is money you have paid in advance. Many have paid $30k without being sick or being admitted to a hospital. Advance Medical Directives? This is advanced payment of medical bills, in a way. For you cannot touch the money unless you pay it out. Otherwise, if you have dependents they will hopefully inherit them after your death. There is no fixed date for withdrawal unlike the minimum sum or annuity. And if you have no dependents, tough.

Teaching the soldiers to think

The Army is going to teach the soldiers to think, according to the Chief of Army Maj Gen Neo kian Hong. The Army needs thinking soldiers. It is about time that we teach our boys to think. Looks like our world class schools did not include this in their syllabus. Any organisation that needs thinking workers must start a course to teach them how to think. And for those who have not been taught to think, especially those in the 50s, 60s and 70s, maybe it is time to teach them to think also. Then the govt will not have to worry about them squandering their retirement money away. It will save the govt a lot of work and trouble trying to manage their lives, and all the agonising that these people cannot look after themselves.

Oh, Talibans are not savage after all

Yes the Talibans have released the S Korean hostages. They are not blood thirsty savages after all. There is hope that they can be saved. And now that they are not going to kill hostages, maybe more missionary groups can be organised to save them huh? One good thing coming out from this is that countries that were coerced to join the coalition of the willing by the US can use this method to withdraw from the conflict. Just send a mission there, get them arrested by the Talibans, negotiate and pledge to withdraw all their troops and activities there and promise not to set foot there anymore. And all their boys can go home. And they can tell the Americans, look, we have a deal with the Talibans. And what the heck. The Americans will not do anything if their people are taken as hostages.