Notion of aggression not defined – Shinzo Abe

When Abe was asked the question of Japan’s aggression in Korea, China and the rest of South East Asia in the Second World War, his reply was that ‘the notion of aggression was not defined’. What he meant must be that while the countries invaded was screaming aggression, just like a sexually violated victim shouting rape, the Japanese do not see it that way. To him, it was not aggression, but probably liberation. They were liberating the colonized countries to free them so that Japan can rule over them under the East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere. So where got aggression? It is for the mutual benefit and prosperity of Japan and all the countries they invaded.
 
How many Asian countries would believe this man? Can this man and Japan be trusted to revive its military and aggressive past as a military power? Abe is now visiting some of the countries that were victims of Japanese aggression which he did not agree and offering another version of the East Asian Co Prosperity formula. Japan is going to be the same old Imperial power to lead these countries under Japan. Japan is going tear away its pacifist constitution, rearmed like it used to be, a military power, and to be the leader of Asian countries once again.
 
It is increasing its military budget, acquiring more arms, involved in military adventures, offering to help the Philippines fight against China. It is behaving aggressively and provoking China and Korea and still making devious moves to continue to stake claims to the territories of Korea and China.
 
Would Asian countries be stupid enough to buy this Japanese lie that the remilitarization of Japan is for peace and for the good of Asia? Have these countries forgotten what a beast Japan was and could be again when it becomes an aggressive military power once again? Can Abe and Japan be trusted?

Before the state of paralysis, STOP

At the rate we are building more flats and buildings across the island, when every little nook and corner will be scraped so that something can be built on it, it is frightening. We are going to run out of space for buildings if we go on clearing and building. We are going to run out of space for roads and transportation. We are going to be jammed and paralysed if we don’t stop pumping more people into this small piece of rock. We are encroaching into nature, robbing every inch of land available for this thing called economic growth.

Stop while we still can. Stop while we still have the time to ponder and to save our little land from further exploitation and conversion into concrete and humanly made objects.

If we need productivity and economic growth, it must be through other means, through science and technology, through creativity and inventions, definitely not through adding more people or using up more of whatever land that is left.

While the rest of the world is crying to save Gaia, we need to cry to save Singapore before it is plundered to a state of paralysis through a state of over building and over population. Stop before the state of mortis rigor sets in. It must not be allowed to, we must not go that way. Stop while we still can.

What is the point of building and building and to trade our precious land for cash? What is the point of stuffing this island with more and more people? Are we insane? Or who is insane?

Our transportation is going to be a gridlock with too many vehicles and too few roads to drive. Increasing and improving public transportation are not the solutions if we don’t stop the flow of more people into the island. Keep raising COE and ERP charges, are they really the solutions? We are painting ourselves into a tight corner and no where to move.

What is economic growth when our lifestyle is being constraint by rising cost and diminishing space? There is no need to turn the island into a Peking duck, to be stuffed to the fullest.

The Singapore recycling formula

One outstanding achievement of this city that has been overlooked by the rest of the world is its recycling formula. No, I am not talking about pulling down good buildings only to rebuild them, or scrapping cars that were in good working conditions and less than 10 years old. These are very wasteful things to do and we failed miserably in both areas. Our successful recycling process is not about little old people picking up drink cans or carton boxes or encouraging people not to use plastic bags.
 
The most successful recycling effort is the recycling human resources into the economy. We are making practically everyone that is economically active into the workforce. Mothers are encouraged to work to contribute to the economy too. Motherhood, raising children and providing a cosy and warm home for the family is secondary. Every adult is usefully employed. There is no waste.
 
What is more is that the work life of the adults has been extended to beyond 70 or 80. Many oldies that would normally be out of the workforce, retired by 55 or 60, are now recycled into the economy to be gainfully employed. Soon everyone will likely to be working till 80 or 90 years old.
 
This recycling of the oldies have extended the useful economic lifespan of the people by 30 to 40 years, which means that the people have practically made themselves useful for double the time they used to be. Or the workforce is actually doubled in a way. And if we include the normally economically inactive womenfolk, the recycling is even more successful.
 
Isn’ t this a great achievement? We never waste our people. Some are squeezed and squeezed to get every drop of juice from them. Some are so talented that it would be a waste to put them away. So they are reused and reapplied to share their talents and experience for the good of the country and its people, I supposed.
 
PS, We are even recycling the rejects from New York and London and all the Third World countries.

Biden calls for lowering of tension

The American VP visited several Asian and South East Asian countries and make an appeal for all to lessen the heightening tension in East and South China Seas. How much to believe him when everyone knows that he was on a mission to sign military alliances to contain China and to counter China’s claims to the disputed islands in the two seas?
 
There was no tension, or at least the tension in the two seas were minimal with all sides not trying to provoke each other or trying to out shout the other and brandishing their guns. East Asia and South East Asia have a span of 35 years of peace after the Americans evacuated from the war in Indochina. The Americans have been fighting one war after another from the Korean War, Vietnam War, wars in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria, in Bosnia and in Latin America since the end of World War Two. Wherever there is war, you can find the Americans as the main combatants or supporting and financing the war. The track records of the USA is about wars, making wars, provoking and inciting wars.
 
Now the Americans are coming back to Asia and moving ahead of their arrival is heightened tension and increasing prospect for wars. Are these just mere coincidences or an indication that the Americans are behind all the tension? And they are calling the Asian countries to lower tension!? What hypocrits!
 
Every country in Asia knows that the Americans are the main cause of increasing tension and behind all the provocative acts of otherwise docile little countries. Today they are all talking like they are America, the number One superpower and happily challenging a bigger country like China to war. Without the Americans instigating behind the scene, would these pesky little countries dare to act in such ways? With American backing they are going to challenge China in all kinds of claims as they have nothing to lose. But I am not too sure about this nothing to lose mentality.
 
Who is raising tension to incite wars? One thing for sure, when there is war, the Americans will be around and will be a major player. And the USA is on the other side of the Pacific Ocean but is deploying its armed forces in many bases on the western Pacific, for peace so it claims.

The open door immigration policy of UK under attack

Immigration in many countries used to be a natural thing when the number is small, manageable and at the comfort of the host country. The host country will determine who can come in, how many and from where. When immigration becomes a kind of economic pep pills to boost a country’s economy and the number allowed in has reached a level that is uncomfortable to the natives, immigration will gradually become a sore point. It affects the social and economic fabric of a country and its people. It will become a full blown political issue.
 
Britain, being an ex empire, has been quite liberal with its immigrant policy with respect to its ex colonies. Many have since made Britain their new found home with new found hope and a better life materially. But things are not looking good now and the Brits are starting to protest and demanding a slowing down in the import of foreign labour through immigration.
 
The Govt complied by making promises and announcing policy changes to tighten immigration. On the ground, the number of immigrants continues to swell and the Brits are not stupid not to notice the ever rising presence of more immigrants. Now they don’t even believe their govt and the statistics the govt puts up.
 
Let me quote Chris Bryant, an opposition Labour MP. ‘…the report showed the govt’s assertions on immigration could not be trusted. We should be able to count people in and out of this country…If the govt is going to boast about having cut net migration then you would think that the statistics would be reliable ones. The truth is, they’re not.’
 
How could govt statistics be not reliable, untruth? It cannot be, the govt are made up of righteous and honourable people with great dignity and trustworthiness. How can they not be trusted? The govt should be even more reliable than the main media as they are the govt, people of high morals and conscience. How can the people say the govt statistics cannot be trusted?
 
But that is Britain. Our govt statistics definitely can be trusted. Our main media too, producing news by professional journalists and reporters, men and women with great integrity, well trained and with reliable sources, and with facts and data vetted and double and triple check for accuracy. But we are Singapore and they are Britain. We can be trusted, they cannot.
 
How can they rank our media at 149th? They must be joking.