Which country is threatening freedom of navigation?

The US has been telling the world that China is threatening freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Where is the evidence? Is China preventing any country from using the sea lanes, or is China arresting the fishing boats and fishermen in the South China Sea? Only countries that go around using their naval warships to harass and arrest ships and fishing boats are the ones that threaten freedom of navigations.

The Philippines have been doing it all the time, arresting Chinese fishing boats and fishermen. The latest incident which some called it a stand off, the Philippines were again at it, trying to bully Chinese fishermen with their biggest piece of floating antique. My apologies, they called it their biggest warship. The Chinese had to send in their civilian surveillance ships to stop them from doing it. Was it a stand off? Far from it. It was like an old hag waving his fist at some grown up men and thinking he would frighten them off. It was a mismatch in all counts.

The main point is that the real countries that are threatening freedom of navigation and raising tension in the South China Sea are the little pesky countries and their master pulling the strings from behind. Freedom of navigation in the region has never been an issue until the little pests start to throw their weights around, arresting Chinese fishermen. And they have to be kicked in the butt to stop them from being a nuisance to everyone in the region. These are the real trouble makers. And there is the international gangster from afar plonking his warships here in the name of peace but instigating war.

When angels speak…

The angels are up in arms to protect the oldies. They are all claiming that health insurance for the oldies is not enough. The cost of healthcare for the oldies is just too high and the payout of Eldershield, another automatic compulsory scheme that I just heard of, unless one opted out at 40 from his Medishield, is paying only half of what is needed. And the insurance man roared in approval. Yes, yes, not enough. The govt must do more and provide the direction…for more insurance?

First thing, why is healthcare so expensive? Why is the cost not coming down especially for the oldiers? If the cost is not coming down, who can afford to pay an insurance premium that is running along with higher medical cost, like two devils waltzing happily to the tune of The Last Waltz?

The second point is that many simply cannot afford to pay and pay. With so many big ticket items, high cost of living and expenses, high protection money locked up in CPF, where got money to pay for more insurance and more premiums? And oldies got no income you know.

The third point, please lah, many oldies’ lives are already so miserable that there is no need to prolong their agony and suffering on earth. Many would long to die and go to heaven. What more health care and more money to perpetuate their misery?

What is the real problem? What should be done? It is not a money problem. It is only a money problem for those who sees money to be made and the poor buggers, all with pockets already empty, are being targeted to pay more when there is heaven waiting. Why stop these oldies from going home to be with the Lord?

The expensive insurance schemes to take care of oldies till they are one hundred years old should be personal, individualized and never be compulsory or across the board. For those who are living a life of heaven on earth, go and ask them to pay more for their precious life. Leave those who cannot afford it to live in peace and return to the Lord soonest. Don’t rob them again when they are all dying and waiting to go home.

When angels are out to help, be frighten, be very frighten.

Crying for leadership

The state and health of the international financial system is so deplorable. Expecting the US to throw out a leader to challenge the scoundrels of Wall Street is like asking for heaven. With Congress being in the pockets of the white collar crooks, there is no possibility of any one of substance to break through the layers of bureaucratic corruption to do what is right and save the financial system. Corruption and mismanagement in the system have been institutionalized and legalized, and copied by many western countries. Period.

While nothing can be done to stop the rot in Wall Street, what other countries could hope for is to stop the rot at their doorstep, to keep the rot out of their national system. The Chinese are defending their infant financial system and are threading very carefully to avoid the pitfalls. But the sexiness and attraction of instant wealth for some are too tempting to resist. When there are so much to gain personally, people become blind to the flaws and the consequences to the country and other people. And if the Americans and the Europeans are doing it, it cannot be too wrong. Or at least they can point the finger to the Americans to justify their crimes. They are putting on the same blinkers not to see the rot. The Chinese are veering towards a tipping point to embrace the failed American financial system of computer and algo trading plus all the derivatives and toxic notes and currency manipulation.

Hongkong is equally cautious. There are brighter people there who could smell a rat and are resisting from falling into the abyss. They are not easily conned by a few westerners who came claiming to know it all and were able to show the way…to oblivion.

At a time like this, when everyone is selling snake oil as the panacea to immortality, it needs a very strong leader with the wisdom to know what is going on to say no. Is there no one out there who is thinking and can see the flaws in the whole financial system? The thinkers, the financial experts, must seriously look at the system and, if things are not right, to say so. Many are so bogged down with their own preoccupation and the money grabbing past time that no one has the time to take the pulse or to diagnose the sickness. There is an urgent need for someone to do this. Someone must have the conviction, and the power to go with, to say the system stinks and needs to be stopped and revamped.

Where is the leadership, the man to call a spade a spade, and want to change and save the system from sliding to self destruct? For the moment the jokers are having a great time, like Nero, fiddling on the roof while Rome burned. There is no one brave enough, knowledgeable enough, to challenge the snake oil salesmen?

High population is good. High property prices are good. High car prices are good. The stock market is in the pink of health. Just believe.

No let up in push for 6m population

Another big convincing article in the ST, and in other news media, telling how precarious the country will be if there is no intake of immigrants. The need for population growth or replacement is a critical issue and without growth or at least replacement it is like we are going to perish. This one track mind on population growth and economic growth will not change and will be the basis for all other policies of the country.

Why must there be population growth to survive? The fact is that if every country goes on this path, the world will come to an end faster. This world, and this island, needs lesser population growth. Lesser population and less growth in economic numbers do not directly lead to lower quality of life. We were 1m and 2m before. We survived very well. Why a need for 6m or 10m? Better economic growth? More people, more demand for goods and services, more jobs, more housing, but lesser space for everyone. And replacing Sinkies with foreigners so that the country can be proud of great economic numbers?

If we have lesser people, if the world has lesser people, there will be lesser demand and pressure for production of goods and services and lesser or slower depletion of the limited resources available. We don’t need to empty the oceans of fishes. There is no need to dig out everything from the earth, no need to burn away fossil fuel at such a rapid rate. They will be more spaces and resources for everyone.

This world and this island need to downsize the population to be sustainable. It is like chasing high property prices and ever increasing salaries but ending like a dog chasing its own tail. It is a circus, a joke. With lesser population, there is no need to build up every little space we got. There will be more people able to own cars and drive around, and living in bigger homes. There is no need for more departmental stores, shopping complexes, more food courts and more housing and more housing. There is a need to rethink this economic growth strategy and ask what is the ultimate objective for all this growth? What kind of life and what quality of life?

We are laughing at the Japanese for no growth and an ageing population. But their quality of life has not gone down despite lower economic growth. And with a smaller population, they will live better and the world will be safer, the whales and tunas will live freer and longer.

Do we really cannot survive without population growth, without more immigrants? Can someone think out of the box please and stop chiding people for not able to think out of the box. This one track mindset is going to destroy our quality of life instead of making it better. The thinkers and policy makers mindset is so fixated and nothing else can do except more people. So what if property prices fall with lesser people and lesser demand? So what if rentals of commercial spaces fall with lesser demand? Who needs to buy so many property and commercial spaces and ended the people being squeezed in every aspect of their lives?

Gintai’s article on Singaporeans being priced out

Gintai wrote an article on how our system benefitted the PRs most in terms of housing. The main point is that the PRs have an option to cash out at the end of the day, carry his pot of gold back to his home country to live like a rich landlord. This is fact!

The poor Sinkies would have to face the ever increasing cost of living, higher property prices, higher car prices, higher everything, and his savings waiting to vanish anytime, not enough to buy a car, not enough to pay for medical, not even to pay for retirement.

Didn’t anyone see this Hobson’s choice for the Sinkies, to be fixed into such a disadvantageous position? Didn’t the policy makers look ahead, plan ahead, and see the problems over the horizon? Maybe this is not a problem. Very likely, given their super talents, they knew what is coming up. But they need the Sinkies to pay for all the expensive and good stuff and good life, and their super salaries. The PRs can go home and downgrade to a landed property in their kampongs. Here we can enjoy our 650 sq ft million dollar flat and live in a first world city with all the convenience that money can afford to pay.

It is all in the plan. The Sinkies are captive customers, no way to run and no way to hike. Just con them with a few good sounding words and they will buy in the story. Singapore is home, the best place to be in, and good things have a price. Be happy and be contented. Why be envious of the PRs? They did not have such a brilliant and caring govt that will look after them from birth to death. And when they cash out, they will downgrade the quality of living. They are returning to stone age.

Count your blessings. Be thankful of what you got. A forumer is so pleased with the way we handled the train breakdown problems that he wrote to the ST to share his admiration. This is so much better than Mumbai. And he is so grateful to be here. He is right to think so. Singapore city is build by the best brains, engineers, architects, civil servants, all so talented, and a disciplined workforce.

But this is changing. There are no longer any talents here. The talents are in Mumbai. Singapore is sending delegations after delegations to Mumbai to recruit the talents to help to make this city better than Mumbai.