The tide turning against the Americans

Afghanistan is turning out to be a short lived Vietnam for the Americans. They are now on the withdrawal phase, to get out and move their forces back to East Asia to open another theatre of war that could be more profitable. There is oil and the countries like Japan and South Korea would have the money to buy more American weapons.

While the Americans have it all planned, they did not expect that the tide is turning so rapidly against them. More and frequent attacks against them and their allied troops are seeing better results with more death. The latest attack in an air base saw 6 fighter aircraft destroyed and several allied soldiers killed. Fortunately the British heir to the throne did not get hurt.

The most damaging of the attacks is that the soldiers trained and armed by the Americans are turning their guns at their trainers, the Americans. And this is not only happening in Afghanistan, but also in the Middle East and in Libya with the killing of the American Ambassador and embassy staff.

This is something the Americans have not bargained for. The experience of training Obama and arming Saddam Hussein did not teach the Americans everything. They thought they are like the Arabs, pay them enough and they would kill among themselves, for the benefits of their paymaster, the Americans.

The tide is changing and more violence against American troops and civilians could be the new happenings in the war zone and out of the war zone. The Americans have created an enemy they cannot be defeated unless they do another Red Indian act, a concerted genocide of the Arabs and the muslims which is a near impossibility. The war has just begun.

The contradictions and fallacies showing

With each passing day, the cracks get bigger and bigger. It was only hairline cracks and could easily be covered up with another thin layer of paint. Now you could sink a whole hand into it. And you need the experts to certify that there is no danger of a collapse.

Just a few decades back, the song was, ‘We are the best, the crème of talents, the best money can buy. And we can solve all the country’s and the Sinkies’ problem. We are simply the super talents.’ With this kind of branding, everyone went gaga, and it went to the extent that the spin doctors too believed in the spin. And because the daft Sinkies would just put up with all the craps, the super talents convinced themselves that since they were the best, the best in the world, they deserved to be paid the best in the world. The rest is history.

Fast forward today, after some tears and apologies came the admission that mistakes were made. When the cracks were so huge and for all to see, you can’t say there are no cracks. The fouling up of a national home ownership scheme, the high cost of living, unbelieveable influx of foreigners as PRs and citizens, the discrimination against the citizens, a superb national savings scheme that went sour, transportation and high cost of car ownership, and many more, could not go away without an explanation.

And today, the govt is asking what the people want for their children and this country. Isn’t this the job of the govt or what the govt had been doing? What happens to the super talent tag, that the immortals knew it all and no need to listen to the people, deaf frogs are top brains? See the contradictions and fallacies? How could the super talents be seeking views and ideas from the daft and the ideas are free? Anything that does not have a price tag that is out of this world is not worthy. Remember that? You want good stuff, you must pay for it, quality education, quality healthcare, quality govt.

If the quality is a suspect, don’t pay for it. Why pay astronomical prices for things that are not worth its value? The open admission that the govt cannot solve everything, or even creating messes and messing up the people’s life, is a rude awakening. So, what about the out of this world pay when the govt is quite ordinary, really? Remember again, the huge pay for politicians is meant for top and super talents that claimed to know best and would solve all the problems of country and people, pro active, forward looking, nipping all problems in the bud before they become full bloom problems. With that kind of pay, they should be solving the problems of the world, not this tiny little island. The people will be very grateful if they did not create more problems while trying to help the people with their problems.

What an irony if the politicians, the top and super talents, are saying that they are not that good after all? Where are the immortals? Is the National Conversation an admission of a national myth?

The National Conversation so far

It was touted as the conversation for all Singaporeans to have a say in what kind of future they want for Singapore and their children. This is as national as it could get. Somehow the other part of Singapore is not being represented, the political oppositions that don’t agree with the govt’s point of view. The fact that none of them seems to be included or invited to join the conversation is beginning to tell. You cannot have a National Conversation by excluding 40 per cent or more of the population to call it a National Conversation.

And as some bloggers have pointed out, it has drifted towards a conversation of the converts, of the ‘safe’ people who share the same belief and ideology of the govt, of what the govt thinks is good for the whole population.

What makes this task predictable is that the converts would agree with the agenda and would not stray to topics or issues that have been OB marked. Some things are just not meant to be discussed and have already been pronounced as good forever, despite the claims of no stone unturned.

The National Conversation is looking like a divisive conversation dividing the ‘with us and the against us’, but including some the fence sitters. The eventual recommendations will not be too far off from the findings of the Ministerial Salary Review Committee, a recommendation that is expected and put up by like minded people. How different the recommendations would be if the members were neutral and have no political affiliation or interests.

And, how different would the findings of a committee and audience in this National Conversation when the composition of the participants already in a big way predetermined the agenda and the outcome? The future that is desired would be very similar to the future envisaged by the govt, more immigrants, bigger population, more growth, work till one drops dead, higher property prices, higher cost of living, no free lunch with some exceptions, and please, do talk or ask question about the CPF savings and its future.

A naked Japanese lie

The ownership of Diaoyutai is now the hottest topic in East Asia and could turn into an open military conflict. The conflicting claims to the island put set aside by Deng Xiaoping and the Japanese govt for the near future and to be determined by the wisdom of future generations. This brought about a period of stability when things were kept at status quo.

The latest development arose when Japan fabricated a lie, producing a Japanese owner of the island and trying to conduct a sales/purchase agreement of the island among the Japanese militants and the Japanese govt, ignoring completely the rights and interest of China and the sensitivity of the Chinese people.

Since the annexation of the island, which is a historical fact in 1895, Diaoyutai was officially taken over by the Japanese and renamed Senkaku. The Japanese even quoted its authority over the island by this official commentary, ‘Japan incorporated the Islands into Okinawa Prefecture after conducting thorough surveys from 1885 on, while ascertaining carefully that these islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of any state including China.’

The arrogant Japanese ignored completely the ownership of the island by China since the Ming Dynasty in the 15^th Century, and as they put it, since nobody was there when they conducted the survey, they could take it over. This kind of arrogant logic would allow Japan to take over any island even today if they conduct a survey and conclude by themselves that no one was controlling it. There must be plenty of islands in the Philippines and Indonesia that can be annexed by the Japanese.

Diaoyutai is no uninhabited island in the vast Pacific Ocean. It was Chinese territory since the Ming Dynasty. And Japan is claiming that those were not historical records but the annexation of the island in 1895 was. No need to look further back.

The situation has come to a boil and it may be time for China to reclaim the islands and help the Liuchiu Islanders to regain their independence from Japan. The Liuchiu Islands, annexed by Japan and called Ryukyu Islands, were an independent kingdom that paid homage to the Qing Dynasty. The islands are now sacrificed as the military base of the US and host to nuclear weapons. They would have to bear the brunt of a first attack should war breaks out. It would be opportune for the islanders to declare independence from Japan and become an independent country again, free from foreign dominations, and free from the risk of a nuclear attack.

China has sent 6 surveillance ships to patrol the Diaoyiutai and would encounter the patrol ships of the Japanese coast guard. This is no time for blinking, having come so far, with the Japanese acting more aggressively in their claim on the island. A stand off and naval clash is unavoidable with the Japanese govt officially fabricating and pushing this naked lie of ownership of the island. It is unimaginable that China would surrender its territory for a naked lie.

China would not tolerate another Marco Polo Bridge Incident again and fighting Japan is a must if the provocation continues. The wisdom of the future generations appears to be now.

The Prosecutor

A piece of rar art created by Mother Nature.