The last Christmas present for the year

HDB households will get up to $190 in utility rebates starting in January 2011. A second tranche will be paid in July to offset the hike in electricity tariffs. 1 roomers could get as high as $190 while those in Executive flats will get $45. Interviews conducted show that HDB dwellers are very thankful for this money falling down from the sky. Not many countries in the world will have govts giving money to their people to offset hikes in prices of goods or services. I believe this will go down well with the people and will be a good point to raise in the next general election.

Electricitiy tariffs hike

Electricity tariffs will go up by 3.3% for Jan to Mar 2011. Data reported in the Today paper shows that there was a 5.4% hike for Jan to Mar 2010, 3% for Apr to Jun, 2.42% for Jul to Sep, a fall of 3.3% for Oct to Dec resulting in a total hike of 7.5% for year 2010. It was also reported that the decrease of 3.3% was due to oil price falling from $102.35 to $95.41 in the third quarter. Since then oil prices have been hovering around $90 or below. Oil price for the last few days maintained at $90 but not exceeding $92. This is still below the $95.41 high in the third quarter. If oil price is holding below the $95.41 mark, why is there a need to raise it by 3.3%? Funny right? I am a little confused.

The paradox of political change

Jeffrey D Sachs, Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University has an interesting article in the Today paper titled, America’s political class struggle comes to a head. The key points he raised in the articles were about how deep America has dug itself into the abyss of self destruction. Yes, America did it all by itself. It all boils down to ‘America’s corrupted politics and loss of civic morality.’ Nothing new and very familiar. For once, an American professor is talking about corruption in America and in high places. Thought corruption is only a hallmark of Asian countries like India and China. He said, ‘The level of political corruption in America is staggering. Everything is about money to run political campaigns, which have become incredibly expensive.’ He also said that ‘Amazingly, the richest 1 per cent of American households now has a higher net worth than the bottom 90 per cent.’ I think this could also be true in paradise. And the govt is going for more tax cuts for the rich to protect the rich and their wealth. At the same time, the govt is wasting huge money fighting ‘useless wars in Afghanistan’ and unnecessary weapons systems, but cutting education, health, and other benefits for the poor and the working class. ‘With their backs against the wall, I(Sachs) predict, poor and working class Americans will begin to agitate for social justice.’ He added that, ‘If this continues, a third party will emerge, committed to cleaning up American politics and restoring a measure of decency and fairness.’ Though he admitted that it would take time, he fell short of saying that America is ripe for a Communist Revolution where the poor working class will rise to over throw the elite class. It sounds ridiculous, unbelievable, but if the greenback turns into banana currency, if the working class Americans could no longer afford even to buy cheap goods from China, who knows what will happen. A Communist America and a Capitalist China by the mid 21st Century! Can you believe in that? Anything is possible. The Sick Man of Asia is now the main contender to be the Number One super power and is the main financier of America, and also giving loans to save Euro zone countries. And America is deep in debt that it knows it cannot pay except for printing more money. And this will naturally lead the way to a banana currency. $200 buck for a bottle of coke is on the way. Viva la America!

Loan shark country as told by the victims

I can’t believe my eyes to read this in the forum page of the ST. Amine Delage’s family has been the victims of loan sharks harassment for 6 long years. And their only crime was to buy a HDB flat whose previous owner owed money to loan sharks. For 6 long years they suffered verbal abuses and defacement of their flats. And nothing could be done! Yes, the law could not apprehend the loan sharks. And now we have this public appeal for help! In the meantime they have to leave their children in the homes of their in laws for fear of harassment or harm. Unbelieveable but true. It is real! I lower my head in shame to think that this is first world country.

Western thinking in a Chinaman’s head

China is the most irresponsible emerging power for its failure to rein in the belligerent North Korea. It did not punish North Korea after the sinking of the Choenan as told by the Americans. (In this incident the West has already convicted the North Koreans of the crime but not allowing it to defend itself. The North Koreans have admitted the firing into Yeonpyeong but denied its role in Choenan and wanted an independent investigation to view the evidence. The South Koreans and its allies who conducted the one sided investigation pointedly refused to let them. There is no reason why the North Koreans needed to deny the shooting if they did it. There is no reason to deny an independent investigation if the evidence is convincing.) Every country wants to be friendly with China but it was China that is behaving aggressively. All Asian countries are viewing China’s rise with suspicion and fear. And China is rapidly beefing up its military forces and getting more aggressive in its disputes with its neighbours. The above is standard western American and western views. But inside many Asian heads, including the heads of WOGs and westernized Chinamen, this is the prevailing view that coloured their thinking process. Oops, I meant whiten their coloured minds. No one questions the role of the Americans, Japanese and South Koreans in provoking the North Koreans. No one wants to know the truth in the sinking of the Choenan. No one wants to know how the Americans have been orchestrating and creating the tension in the Korean Peninsula. No one wants to tell the South Koreans to stop their war mongering war games in the front yard of the North Koreans. Now that the Americans has given the green light to unleash the monster of the WW2, to allow Japan to rearm and become another military power, this idea will be accepted as the correct way to go by these Asians with western thinkings in their heads. The remilitarization of Japan is a very dangerous development. The beast in the Japanese people has not gone away and will resurface itself to terrorise the Asian countries and people. Is America just a peace loving country? A sweet darling to sleep in bed with? Nicholas D Kristof has an article to describe the modus operandi of the Americans which he titled ‘Military force is not effective at solving modern problems’. This is what he said, ‘The US spends nearly as much on military power as every other country in the world combined, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. It says we spend more than six times as much as the country with the next highest Budget, China. The US maintains troops at more than 560 bases and other sites abroad, many of them a legacy of a world war that ended 65 years ago….The US will spend more on the war in Afghanistan this year, adjusting for inflation, than we spend on the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican American War, the Civil War and the Spanish American War combined.’ Is this a benign and friendly super power? Why does it invest so much money and resources in the weapons of war and keeping so many military bases? For tea parties? This is the way the Americans choose to deal with countries that do not tow its lines. It will use force to deal with them. And it will do it again and again, as it has the monopoly of power. Ahh, the aircraft carriers and their fire power! But the silly Asian heads, thinking American or Western, took all this for granted as the order of the day. The flexing of American military muscles and starting wars is a peace loving thing. It is America’s right to instigate and start wars. America is a benign and peaceful power. China is a belligerent power. When America schemed and orchestrated the tension in Korea, it is China’s responsibility to defuse it. By not doing anything, China is irresponsible! What kind of silly heads will think like this?