Many retirees living off their pensions are in dire straits given the
galloping inflation rate over the last decades. Whatever pensions they
are receiving have been eroded to less than half their values and
dwindling further every day. They thought it was a great blessing to be
alive for so long. The truth, the longer they live, the worst their
financial position will be. Those who are lucky enough to have bought
properties could still live on quite comfortably. Those without would
have to make do with whatever they have, downgrading if they can. What
about those without pension, without property and with no dependents?
The plight of the oldies is not a once off thing. Those in their 40s or
50s will join this group of cursed citizens very soon. Each with a life
span of 80 or 90 years but many would have lost their jobs in their 50s.
The only saving grace is to pawn their HDB flats. But this is only
possible if they are not struck by a serious illness that pawning their
HDB flats would not be enough.
How many oldies can survive 30 or 40 years without a source of income?
Even their HDB flat cannot provide for everything as they still need a
roof over their heads. Would they all end up renting a room from other
oldies to live through their last days?
But that is not all. The escalating cost of living is going to be
accompanied by an escalating medical cost. And this one is more deadly
in the sense that no one will be exempted. They will have to pay, like
it or not, fit or unfit. The only good news is that the govt has said
the premium is going to be light on them. How light and affordable is
questionable given that they no longer have an income and with 30 or
more years to live. Many young and able could not survive without a job
for a year.
Cursed are those who have long life in this Sin City. Exceptions will be
those with many properties or with a million dollar pension. Every
oldie should be worried where to find the money to pay for Medishield
Life premiums. No where to run, no where to hide. Beh Si premium scheme,
is a payment that the oldies will have to pay for being alive. They are
so lucky to have such a caring govt.
9/06/2013
Syria - Western charade on a fleeing cause
The western media are all shouting at the top of their voices that Obama
is gaining support from the Americans at home and foreign leaders for
the impending attack on Syria. Even Putin, the adversary Number One of
the Obama Administration is claimed to be coming around. They even
quoted Putin as saying, Russia will support a UN Resolution to attack
Syria if there is watertight proof that Assad used chemical weapons on
his people. The media downplay the full text of what Putin said, that
‘he strongly warned Washington against launching military action without
UN approval, saying it would represent an aggression.
The implications of Putin’s statement is that the Americans must have near foolproof evidence which he knew would not be available as he already has in possession contrary evidence that the chemical weapons came from Saudi Arabia. Putin also knew that an UN approval is not possible with Russia and China holding two veto cards. The western media also avoided Putin’s threat of an all out invasion of Saudi Arabia if the US struck Syria against the UN Resolution.
So, how much support is Obama getting from the Russians or the international community other than France and maybe Australia offering some lip service?
But the cries of being on high moral ground continues. The world’s credibility is at stake, the American’s credibility is at stake, if Syria is not punished for using chemical weapons. Obama added that the line against the use of chemical weapons has been ratified by the world community through a chemical weapons treaty. Did the Americans sign this treaty?
Who is the biggest manufacturer of chemical weapons? Who has the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons? Who has been the supplier of chemical weapons to insurgents and countries at war? Who has used chemical weapons in warfare?
Who is the greatest hypocrite that demands no chemical weapons be used and fit the questions above to the T? If the USA is serious about banning the used of chemical weapons, they should ratify the treaty and ban the production and amassing of chemical weapons that they claimed to be so evil. They should start by destroying their stockpile and chemical weapons industry.
Why are the Americans producing and hoarding so much chemical weapons in the first place if they are not to be used? The credibility of the Americans is at stake if they did not dispose of their chemical weapons arsenal and did not stop producing and selling them.
Get off your high horse Obama. The world is watching you, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
I wrote the above yesterday. In today’s Reuter report of the G20 summit, the truth is coming out. Obama is facing pressure from world leaders to stop his attack on Syria. Other than Russian and China, the EU and Pope Francis are against armed intervention. ‘The Pope urged the leaders to “lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution”.’
The isolation of Obama and the USA is as clear as daylight. Obama is attending a meeting without the support of nearly every one of the leaders except France. And he is now relying on Congress to approve his attack of Syria, in violation and total disregard of the UN and international law. The aggressive and warmongers will not stop at anything except to go to war at their own terms. The warlike culture of the Americans, yes, ordinary Americans that support war is now being show case. The hideous Americans and their hypocrisy of a peaceful nation is there for all to see.
The implications of Putin’s statement is that the Americans must have near foolproof evidence which he knew would not be available as he already has in possession contrary evidence that the chemical weapons came from Saudi Arabia. Putin also knew that an UN approval is not possible with Russia and China holding two veto cards. The western media also avoided Putin’s threat of an all out invasion of Saudi Arabia if the US struck Syria against the UN Resolution.
So, how much support is Obama getting from the Russians or the international community other than France and maybe Australia offering some lip service?
But the cries of being on high moral ground continues. The world’s credibility is at stake, the American’s credibility is at stake, if Syria is not punished for using chemical weapons. Obama added that the line against the use of chemical weapons has been ratified by the world community through a chemical weapons treaty. Did the Americans sign this treaty?
Who is the biggest manufacturer of chemical weapons? Who has the biggest arsenal of chemical weapons? Who has been the supplier of chemical weapons to insurgents and countries at war? Who has used chemical weapons in warfare?
Who is the greatest hypocrite that demands no chemical weapons be used and fit the questions above to the T? If the USA is serious about banning the used of chemical weapons, they should ratify the treaty and ban the production and amassing of chemical weapons that they claimed to be so evil. They should start by destroying their stockpile and chemical weapons industry.
Why are the Americans producing and hoarding so much chemical weapons in the first place if they are not to be used? The credibility of the Americans is at stake if they did not dispose of their chemical weapons arsenal and did not stop producing and selling them.
Get off your high horse Obama. The world is watching you, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
I wrote the above yesterday. In today’s Reuter report of the G20 summit, the truth is coming out. Obama is facing pressure from world leaders to stop his attack on Syria. Other than Russian and China, the EU and Pope Francis are against armed intervention. ‘The Pope urged the leaders to “lay aside the futile pursuit of a military solution”.’
The isolation of Obama and the USA is as clear as daylight. Obama is attending a meeting without the support of nearly every one of the leaders except France. And he is now relying on Congress to approve his attack of Syria, in violation and total disregard of the UN and international law. The aggressive and warmongers will not stop at anything except to go to war at their own terms. The warlike culture of the Americans, yes, ordinary Americans that support war is now being show case. The hideous Americans and their hypocrisy of a peaceful nation is there for all to see.
9/05/2013
The cursed Singaporeans
Last night’s Channel News Asia talk programme on whether the govt has
alienated the PRs with the recent housing curbs and other measures drew
out one important and very basic issue, ie, a roof over the heads of PRs
and citizens. Having a roof over the head is so basic that it should be
provided by any responsible and thinking govt. There is no need to be a
super talent to even think of this. All the participants, locals and
foreigners, agreed that a roof is a basic need.
And they also agreed on another point. How could the govt brought in so many people without thinking of the basic infrastructure, especially housing? In whatever forms, housing is a must. And they too agreed it was due to the inept policy of not building. And now we have this very serious problem of housing prices that is going to be a curse to all those with a big housing loan.
In today’s Today paper, the writer, Ku Swee Yong, was talking about buyers taking up $500k loan for a 5 rm resale HDB flat or a $1.3m loan for an EC as if it is a monopoly game. A $1.3m loan over 30 years will come to at least $2m in total payment, just for a few pieces of mortars around a small space. How much do the bricks and cement, some wirings and fittings cost?
This is a general curse on the Sinkies who were made to buy public housing at such prices and to pay using a big chunk of their income, and praying that they would be earning that income for 30 years with both not losing their jobs.
The biggest group that is cursed is those Singaporeans that were barred from buying public housing through all the spurious reasoning. With private properties at more than a million, how could they force citizens to buy private properties and not be allowed to buy public housing that are also not cheap? And why should citizens be made to buy from resale market like PRs and pay another few hundred thousands more for the same flat? Any Singaporean that is not allowed to buy public housing is as good as being cursed when foreigners turned new citizens could do so.
The govt owes every Singaporean a right, yes the right to buy a public housing flat. The govt has a case to answer to these Singaporeans who are disallowed to buy public housing as the problem is caused by under building and nothing else.
And they also agreed on another point. How could the govt brought in so many people without thinking of the basic infrastructure, especially housing? In whatever forms, housing is a must. And they too agreed it was due to the inept policy of not building. And now we have this very serious problem of housing prices that is going to be a curse to all those with a big housing loan.
In today’s Today paper, the writer, Ku Swee Yong, was talking about buyers taking up $500k loan for a 5 rm resale HDB flat or a $1.3m loan for an EC as if it is a monopoly game. A $1.3m loan over 30 years will come to at least $2m in total payment, just for a few pieces of mortars around a small space. How much do the bricks and cement, some wirings and fittings cost?
This is a general curse on the Sinkies who were made to buy public housing at such prices and to pay using a big chunk of their income, and praying that they would be earning that income for 30 years with both not losing their jobs.
The biggest group that is cursed is those Singaporeans that were barred from buying public housing through all the spurious reasoning. With private properties at more than a million, how could they force citizens to buy private properties and not be allowed to buy public housing that are also not cheap? And why should citizens be made to buy from resale market like PRs and pay another few hundred thousands more for the same flat? Any Singaporean that is not allowed to buy public housing is as good as being cursed when foreigners turned new citizens could do so.
The govt owes every Singaporean a right, yes the right to buy a public housing flat. The govt has a case to answer to these Singaporeans who are disallowed to buy public housing as the problem is caused by under building and nothing else.
Alienation of the oldies
Many of our parents and grandparents were ostracized or sidelined when
dialect was banned from SBC, from radio or TV broadcast. Their world
just closed down on them and they would have to go around finding people
who could talk to them in dialects. The grandchildren would be distant
aliens as they too did not speak dialects but English and Mandarin. The
Malays, Indians and Eurasians faced smaller problems than the Chinese.
With the stroke of a pen, a whole generation of oldies became foreigners
in their own country and in their homes.
It was a ruthless policy that was not phased in over a period of time. It just cut into their lives overnight. They were not prepared for the change, they were not integrated into the community but simply ex communicado, as simple as that. Who cared how they would cope or able to cope with the change? Were they provided with any alternative sources of information and entertainments over the air?
Soon we are going to see another batch of oldies going ex communicado. The Mediacorp is terminating the teletext services. No more information on TV for stocks, for airport arrival and departure schedules and no more what not that the oldies have become dependent on. The oldies are old dogs that managed to learn the trick of operating the remote controller to view the teletext. This could be the last trick they are capable to learn without straining the grey matter as many are computer illiterate or have not access to a computer.
The rationale for the withdrawal of the teletext services is that the advancement of technology has made such information available in many places and from service providers. The teletext is obsolete and need not provide such a service anymore. Those who need to read the teletext should be able to get their information from other sources. This is the biggest assumption which may not be valid.
Many of the oldiest could not handle the computer or smartphones or ipad. So, how are they going to get their information? Are they obsolete too and their interests no longer important? I bet many of the oldies and aunties are punting the stock market and are relying heavily on the teletext for stock quotes. Sure, they can always call their brokers for quotes. Telephone calls are free right? Wrong?
The brokers should be happy to hear their phone ringing when these oldies have to start calling them again. Only slight problem, many would feel pai seh calling their brokers every now and then without making any trades. With the teletext they could flip to their hearts’ content without disturbing anyone.
Now, would these old dogs want and can learn any trick, like operating the computers? If not, another piece of their world will be cut off from them. Who cares.
It was a ruthless policy that was not phased in over a period of time. It just cut into their lives overnight. They were not prepared for the change, they were not integrated into the community but simply ex communicado, as simple as that. Who cared how they would cope or able to cope with the change? Were they provided with any alternative sources of information and entertainments over the air?
Soon we are going to see another batch of oldies going ex communicado. The Mediacorp is terminating the teletext services. No more information on TV for stocks, for airport arrival and departure schedules and no more what not that the oldies have become dependent on. The oldies are old dogs that managed to learn the trick of operating the remote controller to view the teletext. This could be the last trick they are capable to learn without straining the grey matter as many are computer illiterate or have not access to a computer.
The rationale for the withdrawal of the teletext services is that the advancement of technology has made such information available in many places and from service providers. The teletext is obsolete and need not provide such a service anymore. Those who need to read the teletext should be able to get their information from other sources. This is the biggest assumption which may not be valid.
Many of the oldiest could not handle the computer or smartphones or ipad. So, how are they going to get their information? Are they obsolete too and their interests no longer important? I bet many of the oldies and aunties are punting the stock market and are relying heavily on the teletext for stock quotes. Sure, they can always call their brokers for quotes. Telephone calls are free right? Wrong?
The brokers should be happy to hear their phone ringing when these oldies have to start calling them again. Only slight problem, many would feel pai seh calling their brokers every now and then without making any trades. With the teletext they could flip to their hearts’ content without disturbing anyone.
Now, would these old dogs want and can learn any trick, like operating the computers? If not, another piece of their world will be cut off from them. Who cares.
9/04/2013
The West headed by America exploit the religious divide of the Middle-East countries.
The West headed by the Evil Empire exploit to the full endlessly the religious divide of the Middle -East countries.
Religion is only a belief and every individual should be free to believe in any religion he chooses and not be forced to believe in a religion dictated by the state or religious body. Religious leaders since time immemorial always make use of religion to
further their own end to grab political power and not because they sincerely and strongly believe in the God of their religion. With the people beguiled into a common faith or religion the evil political cum religious leaders will then exploit to maximum
psychological effect that the people and the leaders share the same destiny in their common identity and fate. Having grabbed both political and religious leadership these evil leaders will proceed to grab economic and financial power. and once this is
achieved they will thus have complete total authoritarian power and with that they can dictate or do any thing good or evil according to their whims and fancies.
Are the Middle-East countries cursed by their own Gods? It shouldn't be since they are bestowed by nature with abundant natural resources especially oil. Then why are they so divided and their history is one of tumultuous twist and turns especially
in this modern scientific era of great technological advances. It has got to do with their religious cum political leaders greed and creed. Aren't they all muslims following the teaching of the great founder. of their religion? They may belong to different
sects of Islam but still they are muslims and that's the important point. Then why are they so divided. It has got to do with what I have already pointed out . It is personal greed for power both religious, political cum economic and financial power. Thus
because of their own internal religious strive it lends itself to handy evil exploitation by the Western countries headed by the Evil Empire - USA. The West has been exploiting the Middle - East to the full for total control of its mineral resources
especially , oil. USA is able to do this because it sinisterly psycho one Middle-East country against another and in the end all the Middle-East countries are on each other's throats. The greatest traitor to the Middle -East cause is the King cum religious
leader of Saudi Arabia. The king of Saudi Arabia is so beholden to USA that he has no qualms in destroying his other Islamic or brethern Arab countries under the aegis of the Evil Empire.I can never understand why Saudi Arabia allows itself to be used
by the Christian West headed by America to create choas, distability and wars of destruction among the Middle-East Islamic countries . Instead Saudi Arabia should work cohesively with Egypt, Iran, Syria, Turkey and other Middle East countries
against the Western countries and drive these westerners forever out of the Middle-East. Turkey a more pseudo European country than islamic should be destroyed too.
Southernglory1
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