A better use for Speakers Corner

We have just celebrated racial and religious harmony day after two incidents of religious leaders making insulting remarks at other religions and their practices. They have since repented and apologised for their wrongful acts, and hopefully they are sincere and would not do it again. I would like to suggest that anyone caught making disparaging remarks at other religions should be made to make an appearance at the Speakers Corner to explain his/her position and to make amends. This will inject more life to the sleepy corner of Hong Lim.

Our soldiers in Afghanistan!

We have a medical team in Afghanistan helping to treat the wounded under a Nato led International Security Assistance Force, a peace keeping mission. Wonder when have we become part of Nato? Our soldiers were brave. Risking their lives to save lives when artillery shelves were exploding around them. But the risk is very low, according to one of the brave soldiers. They used to say that brave soldiers are dead soldiers. But ours are alive and smart. The camp is so big, at least 11km wide. So the chances of a bomb hitting on them is very low. Maybe one in a million. I pray that none of them will get an equivalent of a purple heart. Why is this not a UN led mission but a Nato led mission? What's the difference? A UN mission is sanctioned by the UN, though the UN is not that respectable in neutrality, at least it is not part of an empire. Nato is part of an empire. And are we part of the empire? Or maybe this is a UN mission but commanded by Nato.

A once in 50 years scenario

With so many foreign workers here, all hungry and in a hurry to make the extra dollar, it is so easy for someone or some issue to agitate them into a riot. Their numbers can be frightening when organised or behave like a mob. The decent and law abiding locals will be easy meat to be hacked just like the recent case of 7 Sarawakians running amok. I just hope that no one will stand out to say that this is not expected and they were caught off guard.

We are in North Korea’s nuclear hit list

There was a very well written article in the ST yesterday written by Jeremy Auyong of SPH. It has this title, ‘A most glorious, victorious defeat’ and dressed up with a big statue of Kim Il Sung and a FIFA banner of the South African game. Half a page of the ST Life was devoted to this article. It claimed to be an intercepted report from the North Korean World Cup team to its Dear Leader. Readers are advised not to take this seriously as it was printed under the subgroup called ‘jay talking’. Let me give a little cut and paste brief of the article. It is too long for posting here. ‘All hail the Dear Leader of limitlessly rich and strong Democratic People’s Republic of Korea….On Wed, our noble team of drones stopped only a little short of a complete and total humiliation of Brazil. The final score, according to the counting system of Western liberal apologists, was Brazil cowards, 2; the great team of the People,1. …we outperform our evil scum neighbours to the south. The South Korean scoundrels managed only a miserable 2-0 scoreline against Greece, even though it is clear they were playing against a team of anti socialist conspirators that had been instructed beforehand not to try too hard…. The great victory was attained…We bowed before the life sized full colour framed portrait of Dear Leader that we have taken along at the expense of rations and a backup right back…. The noble team thank you limitlessly for authorising the temporary removal of the heavy tracking beacons that were strapped to their ankles…The players are so full of love for the Dear Leader that they now attempt to defect only once or twice a day…. As a reward for such an uplifting success, may I hereby suggest that daily team floggings be reduced from 15 strokes to 14 strokes. It would also be most magnanimous of Dear Leader if you would authorise the temporary decommissioning of the electroshock machine…. Yours humbly, Kim Jong Hun, coach of the great team of the People.’ I think it is funny and absolutely brilliant as a joke. And the editor must also agree that humour is good for the soul, never mind, the North Koreans are fun loving people and will not take offense at it. On a more serious note, if North Korea finds us singing like westerners and want to point a nuclear warhead at us, and put us in their hate list, I think we can’t blame them. They may think that we are intentionally provoking them. Maybe this is a reason why we need to fear North Korea and speak out against them at every opportune moment. After all they don’t belong to the ‘right’ camp. They are evil actually, one of the three infamous Axis of Evil that we have been told daily, and to believe it is true. We are really a blessed people with a good sense of humour. And we know how to choose the ‘right’ side. I better double check my storeroom cum bomb shelter to make sure it is same in case of a nuclear attack.

Latest technology in oil drilling

Has BP invented a new and cheaper way to drill for oil? The method is simple enough. Just plunge a hole in the sea bed and the oil will flow to the surface. Then apply a ring of vacuum cleaners and scoop up the oil into waiting tankers. Oil drilling has never been made easier.