Chinatown hawker centre. Hawker Centres are a national heritage, selling a wide variety of food at very reasonable prices. They are spread across the whole island and is part of the Singapore way of life.
12/22/2010
More colourful words in the media
Not many days ago Tommy Koh was said to have commmented that India was half in and half out. Quite an interesting expression that left many wondering what he meant.
Today I read that India is deeper into Singapore. Hmmmm, what does that mean: )
Tomorrow the media may report that Singapore is getting wet. Too much rain in the December season I suppose. Or it may be India is pulling out!
The psychopaths in South Korea at it again
South Korea has announced that it will be holding the biggest live firing drill this Thursday 50km from the North Korean border. The scale of the drill is unprecedented. If this is not provocation, what is?
The failure to lure the North Koreans to retaliate last Monday seems to have agitated the psychopaths in South Korea to a point of frenzy. They must do more to provoke the North Koreans. These irresponsible and reckless lunatics in Seoul need to be put in an asylum for the good of the Korean people.
The UNSC must act to stop all the provocations from the South Koreans. The other two third of the evil Trinity are keeping mum. The western media are keeping mum. They are all waiting for the North Koreans to react.
I thought the insanity is over and the Korean race is safe. I am being too presumptious and too optimistic about the psychopaths in charge. When will the South Koreans rise in revolt against them? When will the UN stand up to stop this madness? Don't count on the Americans and the Japs to stop the South Koreans. They are part of the evil scheme.
Go on, blame the North Koreans!
No Yellow Ribbon for Jonathan Wong
The British court has found Jonathan Wong, a MOE scholar reading History at York University, guilty as a sex offender. What did he do? He possessed child pornography videos in his computer. I am also sure that many people watch pornography in Youtube. Are they sex offenders too? Or must one be found to have pornography in ones lap top to be considered a sex offender?
My simple understanding of a sex offender is one who committed a sexual act that is not permitted, either by force, without permission or against a minor. Did Jonathan Wong commit such an act?
Viewing pornography could be for curiosity, a process of growing up, a animal lust. Admittedly viewing child pornography is a step further to the dark side. Did Jonathan do what he did out of curiosity or a process of growing up? Or is it a sickness, a mental condition?
If it is a sickness, a disease that results in perversion, should he be treated as a sick man rather than a criminal? If it is just a case of curiosity, a temporary perversion, is the punishment too severe? Murderers or rapists could get away with their crimes on grounds of mental sickness or even an abused childhood.
The University also expelled him and prevented him from completing his studies. Now this would do more harm to him as a human bean than in helping him in any way to right his sick behavior. He has a life to live and needs to be equipped with an education to complete his life journey. Is the University being too harsh to Jonathan in this case?
Jonathan has not harmed anyone except himself. What he did is not acceptable to what society would consider as decency. But there is no need to destroy his life. He has taken his punishment. What he needs now is help to become a normal person again. Depriving him of an education is akin to hammering the nails into a coffin.
At most his act is deplorable. He did not rob, maim, kill, rape or hurt anyone. Where is the appropriateness in the punishment dealt to him? The court is fair in the six month suspended jail sentence. Is the University being fair and enlighten in expelling him? Hard core criminals are also allowed to study in prisons and sit for their examinations.
Where is the Yellow Ribbon?
12/21/2010
George Yeo pissed off with the Third Party
MSN India, 20 Dec 2010
Kolkata, Dec 20 (PTI) Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo today pitched for strong Sino-Indian ties, saying that "some" of what is being made of the "rivalry" between the two countries was in the interest of "third parties".
"Much has been made of the rivalry between China and India in the recent months, some of which no doubt is in the interest of third parties," Yeo said while speaking on ''Tagore''s Dream for Good Relations Between India and China'' at the Netaji Research Bureau here....
After being on the wrong end of the stick when Singapore's leaders were fixed nice and proper by the WikiLeaks, the normally well composed George Yeo is feeling the heat. In the above statement quoted, he lashed out at the Third Parties for causing rift between India and China.
The Third Parties have been messing around and fixing all the Asian countries to be at logger heads with each othe for a very long time. India and China were no exceptions as they were courted, conned and misled, and hit by disinformation, to end up in deep mistrust of each other.
Who are the Third Parties hiding in the dark corner, causing the rift and getting the ire of George Yeo?
A Team operating at less than full strength
When Hsien Loong took over the rein of the govt he inherited an A Team in his cabinet. Over the last few years it is obvious that the A Team is underforming. There is no doubt that he has the best of the super talents in his team. Everyone is a super talent, great leadership qualities and great abilities to run the country. In reality, many of them are not working at optimum capacity for one reason or another.
LKY is working extremely hard and is everywhere. But as the saying goes, the heart is willing but the body is not. His ram chips, hard disk and motherboard all needs to be replaced. Otherwise he will be operating on an outdated and ageing system. The speed is definitely much slower than desired.
Chok Tong, Jayakumar and Boon Heng were giants in their old days. They could do very much more. Boon Heng’s main portfolio, without a ministry, is to look after the oldies. Not sure what is Chok Tong’s main duty. Both could do very much more given their talent, youth and energy.
Hsien Loong is another case of system go but a bug is there waiting to strike. Running at full speed may risk a system crash. It’s a pity that he could not go charging down the highway in maximum power. Things would have been very different.
Kan Seng has had a very important portfolio in Home Affairs. His credibility took a disastrous hit by the Mas Selamat saga and it would take a long long time to rebuild his credential. Whatever he is doing now will always be viewed with a tinted lens. This could have affected his confidence and performance.
Boon Wan found out that he had a bad heart. The surgeons opened it up and confirmed that the heart was bad. Though he had done a major overhaul, it is not easy to turn a bad heart into a good one. He may be excused if he wants to retire and spend value time in things that are more dear to him and his family. He has done his fair share of public service and no one will blame him should he retires.
Mah Bow Tan is or was the most profitable minister and has done an excellent job in building the HDB’s coffers. And the people got to thank him for helping to raise their asset values for retirement. All they need is to downgrade or sell their properties to live out their golden years. The only little flaw is that the people’s CPF savings were depleted in exchange for the high value HDB flats.
As for the young people he is working extra hard to help them buy their first property with great success. Though he has redeemed himself, he still has a lot of explanation to do and he is doing it extra time in his column on public housing in the main paper. That takes times away from his main job. The more people misunderstood him, the more time he has to spend to try to explain his good intention and the virtues of his schemes and policies.
George Yeo the sage was doing an excellent job in Foreign Affairs until the affairs of the MFA were leaked. Now he would have to waste a lot of time in damage control. His effectiveness will depend heavily on his counterparts in the other countries. Though he is optimistic, I doubt things will be as easy as before. The third party is laughing at the dire straits he is in.
Vivian is another great surgeon, and orator. Unfortunately he made a few slips in his comments, which were not too correct politically. His image has taken a hit since then. The YOG also did not give him the lift that he needed. All those people who fouled out in the process should be kicked in their asses. Otherwise Vivian should have been very well received given his charm and articulating skills. He must be feeling pressurized. The good thing is that his hair is still not turning white or thining like the other wise men.
The rest of the A Teams are doing OK I think. Chee Hean and Tharman were the least tarnished of the Team. Oh, I almost forgot about Swee Say. He has done an excellent job in NTUC. He even leveled down to speak in worker’s lingo. He is getting betterer by the days. And the workers like him and his wise cracks. Think he is even much betterer than his predecessors.
There you are, an A Team that could have done even better if all engines are finely tuned and firing. For those that I have not mentioned, let’s take it that they are performing as expected of an A Team member. Would the next A Team be the same or betterer?
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