A reminder of what the yakuzas are capable of

Treaty of Shimonoseki 1895 Article 1: China recognizes definitively the full and complete independence and autonomy of Korea, and, in consequence, the payment of tribute and the performance of ceremonies and formalities by Korea to China, that are in derogation of such independence and autonomy, shall wholly cease for the future. Articles 2 & 3: China cedes to Japan in perpetuity and full sovereignty of the Penghu group, Taiwan and the eastern portion of the bay of Liaodong Peninsula together with all fortifications, arsenals and public property. Article 4: China agrees to pay to Japan as a war indemnity the sum of 200,000,000 Kuping taels. Article 6: China opens Shashih, Chungking, Soochow and Hangchow to Japan. Moreover, China is to grant Japan most-favored-nation treatment. Japan’s infamous 21 Demands on China 1915 Japan, under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu and Foreign Minister Katō Takaaki, drafted the initial list of Twenty-One Demands, which were reviewed by the genrō and Emperor Taishō, and approved by the Diet. This list was presented to Yuan Shikai on January 18, 1915, with warnings of dire consequences if China were to reject. The Twenty One Demands were grouped into five groups: • Group 1 confirmed Japan's recent acquisitions in Shandong Province, and expanded Japan's sphere of influence over the railways, coasts and major cities of the province. • Group 2 pertained to Japan's South Manchuria Railway Zone, extending the leasehold over the territory into the twenty-first century, and expanding Japan's sphere of influence in southern Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, to include rights of settlement and extraterritoriality, appointment of financial and administrative officials to the government and priority for Japanese investments in those areas. • Group 3 gave Japan control of the Hanyeping mining and metallurgical complex, already deep in debt to Japan. • Group 4 barred China from giving any further coastal or island concessions to foreign powers except for Japan. • Group 5 contained a miscellaneous set of demands, ranging from Japanese advisors appointed to the Chinese central government and to administer the Chinese police force (which would severely intrude on Chinese sovereignty) to allowing Japanese Buddhist preachers to conduct missionary activities in China. The above were copied from Wikipedia. The Treaty of Shimonoseki was what the yakuzas demanded of China then under the Qing Dynasty. And in 1915, they made the obnoxious 21 Demands which would turn China into a Japanese Protectorate like Malaya under the British. These were how atrocious the yakuzas were and will be again if they become too powerful militarily. Today they are trying to revive their glorious empire days. Unfortunately the China today is not the China they could stamp on at will. Without knowing the acts of the scoundrels then, the world may still believe that the innocent party is Japan and China is the aggressive party trying to encroach into Japanese islands. Prior to 1895, the Diaoyutai was still Chinese territory. So was the Ryukyus which is now called Okinawa. Who is the gangster?

Kwa Geok Choo

Breaking my morning silence to the passing of another historical figure in the history of Singapore. She stood shoulder to shoulder with the first generation of leaders including her husband Lee Kuan Yew and the likes of Yusof Ishak, Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Toh Chin Chye, E W Barker, and the rest of the political leaders of the founding years. Wife of a Prime Minister, mother of a Prime Minister and could be grandmother of another Prime Minister. Everything needed to be said have been said and will be said in the official media. Over the next few days Singaporeans will say farewell to this quiet pillar of strength in PAP leadership.

'Mohammed' going to the mountain

The first 'Mohammed' has gone mountain visiting. Giovanni Bisignani, the director-general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, called on LKY at the SGH yesterday. When you are the mountain, the visitors will come for their pilgrimage. They may even be willing to take a queue number for the privilege of visit. According to LKY's press secretary, ' the two men discussed key developments in the aviation industry'. Shouldn't this be discussed with the PM or with Raymond Lim, the Minister of Communications? What is happening? Looking at the betterer side of things, LKY, in his old age, in his medical condition, will not run away from work. He still works when he is sick, hospitalised, for the sake of the country. This would be part of the script when the time comes. A grea

Maids and brokers are human beans too

It is a common practice, though not prevalent, to work the maids from 5am to 12 midnight or more. I have personally hear the noises of maids working in the wee hours of the morning, or washing laundry in the late of the night. The number of hours the maids have to go through for the miserable pay of about $400pm is simply inequitable. Ok, all the employers may disagree. You have your right of views. Other than a contractual agreement which the maids signed to work as required by the employers and the compensation, which are absolutely legal, human rights or abuse of human rights is not an issue to them. I always believe that my god is bigger than your god and children of lesser gods have lesser rights. The other issue is that maids are human beans and need the time to have a break and rest. They are not machine that can go on and on. A decent break, for all the things that the body naturally needs to do is not demanding but a necessity. Only cruel and obnoxious people would ever think that human beans shall be put to work and work for long hours. It is only a decent thing to do. The SGX is pondering over a decision to scrap lunch breaks for remisiers, commonly known as brokers, to increase the volume of trades. This idea is as stupid and making students mug for longer hours to expect betterer grades. The intrincacies and complexities of the business require more than just a few words to explain. Brokers too are human beans and need all the time for the body to rest and recharge. The jokers suggesting that brokers should work without lunch break also need breaks for themselves. But they don’t because they can go on shifts, so do fund managers, dealers and house traders, who can all work in rotating teams. Oh, brokers can work in teams too and go on shifts. Unfortunately the nature of the business which is individual and client based would make such an arrangement difficult to operate. It would require a quality change in the way the business is structured, and brokers would have to form themselves into small business groups. This is best left to those supertalents being paid super salary to think about than a flimsy idea of scrapping lunch break to boost business. The bottom line is that maids, brokers and all tradesmen and professionals are basically human beans and cannot work without breaks, time for lunch and time for other social and even business related activities. It is immoral, unethical, callous and indecent to even make such a suggestion.

Every 4th person in Singapore is an Indian

With the number of settlers from India almost doubling in the last two years, every fourth person in Singapore now belongs the Indian community, which is showing much interest in setting up firms in the island state. The city has a population of 1.79 million, including expatriates, and out of that 400,000 are of Indian origin, showing a 100% increase in the community size in two years.... 1 Oct 2010 The above is quoted from The Financial Express. I am very curious with the numbers mentioned. Singapore's population is 1.79 m, including expatriates, and 400k are Indians. How do these numbers compare with our 5m population, including expatriates? And if every 1 in 4 is an Indian, there should be 1.25m Indians here. Initially I though the numbers were those in the 1960s. I just don't know. Has there at any time in our history that the Indian population hit 25%? My memory says no.