Celebrating Singaporeans - Professor Kishore Mahbubani

Foreign Policy Magazine Honors Professor Kishore Mahbubani as One of the World's Top 100 Global Thinkers SINGAPORE, Nov. 29, 2010 /Standard Newswire/ -- The National University of Singapore (NUS) is pleased to announce that Professor Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished diplomat and Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKY School) at NUS, has been selected by Foreign Policy magazine as one of its "Top 100 Global Thinkers in 2010", alongside prominent thinkers who shaped the world in 2010. Other prominent international global thinkers who were honored this year include Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Robert Zoellick, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, US President Barack Obama and Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan. This is the second annual list of top global thinkers who shaped the world, and half of this year's top 100 Global Thinkers hail from outside the United States. Prof Mahbubani is honored by the magazine "for being the voice of a new Asian century." .... He is in good company except for Barack Obama. He is lucky that George Bush Jr is not in the list.

Time for China to conduct naval wargames with North Korea

The US-South Korean war game in the Yellow Sea ended yesterday and immediately South Korea announced that more war games will follow. It is time that China and North Korea also conduct naval war games in the same spot and see what the US and the South Koreans will say about it. If the US and South Koreans can do it, there is no reason why China and North Korea cannot do the same.

Ng Eng Hen and Mah Bow Tan not voted into the PAP CEC?

It has been reported that Ng Eng Hen and Mah Bow Tan were both not elected into the new PAP CEC. What are the implications of their absence as both are heavy weights. Both have chalked up great works especially in the use of CPF money. Eng Hen came out with the compulsory CPF Life scheme which helps the CPF account holders to buy compulsory insurance for their retirement. Mah Bow Tan helped HDB flat owners to buy more expensive HDB flats at market price with subsidies. Both are great schemes and have been very well received. The success of the above two schemes cannot be the reason for their non election into the CEC. What else could be the cause or causes? There should be no problems with their leadership, as both are giants in their own rights. Eng Hen is perhaps the most macho and charismatic of the current PAP leaders. Mah Bow Tan even has his own column in the media to explain how great the HDB and housing prices were, and his familiar face is a already a household name. The only gut feel I have is that both may want to quit politics. Who knows, both may not run in the next GE. It will be a big loss of two super talents. But their talents will definitely be put to good use outside the govt. They will have ample opportunities to apply their great policies and formula in the private sector. They could take the same route as Chee Onn or Boon Yang and live happily ever after.

redbeanforum under spamming attacks!

redbeanforum is under heavy spamming attacks these few days. Today is the most serious with a few hundred posts splashed across every topic in the forum. What it shows is that the forum is getting its message across and some parties are getting very irritated and are going all out to make postings here tiresome. I will tell the saboteurs that it is in vain. The forum will go on posting what it knows best. We know who the saboteurs are. Anyway, thanks for the interest and confirmation that it is hurting at the right place. PS, the innocent of the spamming is as innocent as WikiLeaks. Redbean

The Americans have done it again!

The attempt to throw the world into disarray continues. Regime change, attacking countries on human rights, sanctions, exporting toxic financial products and causing a world wide financial crisis, and now WikiLeaks. The latest weapons has caused great concern, disharmony and acrimony among nations and their leaders. The information was targetted mostly at enemies or nations unfriendly to the US with a little dosage of gossips on US allies to give it a little semblance of credibility. But once the information is carefully studied and assessed, it is quite obvious where it is heading and the objectives it is trying to achieve. Well done amateurs! The world is not so dumb anymore.