Read a post by a Gabriel Bai posted in The Real Singapore of a student
whose mobile battery ran out and thought it was ok to get it charged
while in a MRT platform. She was caught by a train officer and charged
in court.
‘The first time she went to court, the judge advised her to write a
letter to appeal to SMRT, considering how minor this issue was. The
appeal failed, and the second time she went to court, she was then fined
$400.
I just felt really unfair for her, considering the fact that she has no
idea the sockets could not be used (there were no warnings, or labels
that the public cannot use them). It was also her first offence, and
that she is still
a student working part-time to support herself.’
Should an incident like this committed by a young student that often
than not did it without any malice, just a bit unthoughtful, be treated
as a crime? Or should an adult of a big business be more generous and
forgiving to just tell the student not to do it again? Why is the SMRT
so harsh in its dealing with a young student that there was no room for a
little kindness and forgiveness when the Judge had already indicated
that a little human kindness was called for?
Ok, some asshole will say a crime is a crime, an offence is an offence. I
accept that there are assholes that would think and react this way. But
personally I would have let the student go with the most a warning.
Unless there is more to this case and this was a repeat offender, then I
can understand the need to make it an offence. But to charge a student
in court for such a minor infringement is beyond me.
Well there are immortals and some are more righteous and less tolerant
of the young. Some will just throw the book at anyone and hide behind
the law. A little discretion is warranted in the enforcement of rules
and regulations and even the law. Yes, when you only have a hammer,
everything is a nail to be hammered.
This is the kind of sick society we have become in the way we deal with
our young and fellow citizens. Oh remember, ‘Our apologies for the
slight delay. This train will be delayed due to a technical fault’. And
the commuters are expected to be forgiving. And ’19,000 stranded by
third train delay in a week’. So, should the public throw the book at
the SMRT? Or should the public be forgiving, kind and understanding?
The poor student would now have to put in his/her CV, charged in court
for an offence. How would this minor indiscretion that ended with a
guilty judgement in court affect this young person’s life? Where is the
kindness and generosity when it is expected from the adults? Or should
we applaud the SMRT for being very proper, an offence is an offence, a
mistake is a mistake?
1/21/2014
Thaksin’s ghost would not go away
He was ousted in 2006 by a military coup during his second term in
office. 8 years have gone by while he lives in exile with a big
corruption tag on his head and a jail sentence. His Puea Thai Party has
since been winning elections after elections and is the standing govt
that the protesters in Bangkok are trying to dislodge from office.
Yingluck has been accused of all kinds of crimes and the latest for
corruption related to her rice policy for the Thai farmers.
Under pressure from the protesters who were pointing the corruption finger at her, she called for a general election to vote her out. The Democrats refused to participate knowing that they would lose again. Why would a political party with so much power behind it and claiming to represent the majority of the Thais afraid to fight a general election and so convinced that it would lose?
Do they believe in their accusations against the Yingluck govt for being corrupt and that the Thai voters are not stupid to want to vote a corrupt govt back into power again and again? Or the majority of the Thais do not believe anything the Democrats and the protest leaders are leveling against the Yingluck govt? Or they believe that the Democrats and the Bangkok elite are more corrupt instead?
Thaksin has been away for so long. If he and his sister are so corrupt, why would the Thais keep voting them back to power? Why would he not go away? The majority of the Thais are stupid?
Why would the Thais want to continue to support the Thaksin and Yingluck party? Do they know what is good for them and which party is against their interests? They cannot be voting for a party and leaders that are corrupt can they?
What is the truth? The Yellow Shirts and Suthep are claiming on moral high ground but still believe that they would not be voted in by the majority of the Thais. He even declared a victory day ‘more than 5 times’ but no confident to fight a general election. Funny isn’t it?
They said you cannot bluff all the people all the time. 8 years have passed and Thaksin is still a popular leader of the Thai people. He and Yingluck must have done something right or his corruption tag would have finished him off, and Yingluck as well. Who is being conned, the simple rural farmers or the educated Bangkok city folks?
Kopi level - Green
Under pressure from the protesters who were pointing the corruption finger at her, she called for a general election to vote her out. The Democrats refused to participate knowing that they would lose again. Why would a political party with so much power behind it and claiming to represent the majority of the Thais afraid to fight a general election and so convinced that it would lose?
Do they believe in their accusations against the Yingluck govt for being corrupt and that the Thai voters are not stupid to want to vote a corrupt govt back into power again and again? Or the majority of the Thais do not believe anything the Democrats and the protest leaders are leveling against the Yingluck govt? Or they believe that the Democrats and the Bangkok elite are more corrupt instead?
Thaksin has been away for so long. If he and his sister are so corrupt, why would the Thais keep voting them back to power? Why would he not go away? The majority of the Thais are stupid?
Why would the Thais want to continue to support the Thaksin and Yingluck party? Do they know what is good for them and which party is against their interests? They cannot be voting for a party and leaders that are corrupt can they?
What is the truth? The Yellow Shirts and Suthep are claiming on moral high ground but still believe that they would not be voted in by the majority of the Thais. He even declared a victory day ‘more than 5 times’ but no confident to fight a general election. Funny isn’t it?
They said you cannot bluff all the people all the time. 8 years have passed and Thaksin is still a popular leader of the Thai people. He and Yingluck must have done something right or his corruption tag would have finished him off, and Yingluck as well. Who is being conned, the simple rural farmers or the educated Bangkok city folks?
Kopi level - Green
American’s cheap drone war
The Americans have been fighting wars after wars non stop since WW2, and
often several wars at the same time. They have learnt valuable lessons
in the areas of strategies, tactics and cost effectiveness. The latest
concept is drone wars.
The Americans must have taken quite a toll in the lost of expensive aircraft and lives of pilots, even though they have so many available, that using expensive aircraft and risking the lives of pilots are a no go and very costly in all fronts.
The cheap drones are safe and effective. The expensive leading edge technology of the best, most sophisticated and most advanced and most expensive fighters are just for show, a PR job to demoralize the enemy. The real war is fought by drones. The days of Battle of Britain and having the fastest and best aircraft for air superiority is over. Today there are cruise missiles and anti aircraft missiles that would make sophisticated and expensive aircraft irrelevant.
There is nothing secretive or surprising about the F35s. It is another con game that only a super power with bottomless funds can afford to play. Who are we bluffing that we need the most sophisticated and problem plagued and most expensive fighter aircraft when drones will do? Why do we need the most expensive aircraft to fight who? And don’t forget, to fly such sophisticated aircraft we need near supermen and women to operate them. Putting an idiot or monkey on the pilot seat will not do justice to such a piece of technology shit. At that speed the intelligence level and reaction time falls drastically and put on a lot of stress on the pilots. A super aircraft is only as good as the technicians and the quality of the pilots. Lousy technicians and pilots would undermine the capability that was paid for.
In the case of drones, you can fly them by school children with fast fingers on the ground. Warfare has moved on and the Americans know what they are doing. Are we still stuck in our old mindset of fighting wars with pilots and more and more sophisticated machines when the Americans have abandoned such a military strategy?
With the money to be spent on sophisticated piloted aircraft, we can have a few hundreds or thousands of drones or cruise missiles at our disposal. And training the boys and girls to fly them would be a piece of cake, with practically no war casualty. On the defensive part there are the famous and highly rated Patriot Missile System or the even better Iron Dome of Israel to take down the best fighter aircraft.
What is the better war strategy? Ask the Americans why they are using drones instead. In many ways, the F35 is another Ponzi Scheme to make the participants in the programme pay and pay when they have already committed money out front and very painful to cut losses at this point in time.
Kopi level - Green
The Americans must have taken quite a toll in the lost of expensive aircraft and lives of pilots, even though they have so many available, that using expensive aircraft and risking the lives of pilots are a no go and very costly in all fronts.
The cheap drones are safe and effective. The expensive leading edge technology of the best, most sophisticated and most advanced and most expensive fighters are just for show, a PR job to demoralize the enemy. The real war is fought by drones. The days of Battle of Britain and having the fastest and best aircraft for air superiority is over. Today there are cruise missiles and anti aircraft missiles that would make sophisticated and expensive aircraft irrelevant.
There is nothing secretive or surprising about the F35s. It is another con game that only a super power with bottomless funds can afford to play. Who are we bluffing that we need the most sophisticated and problem plagued and most expensive fighter aircraft when drones will do? Why do we need the most expensive aircraft to fight who? And don’t forget, to fly such sophisticated aircraft we need near supermen and women to operate them. Putting an idiot or monkey on the pilot seat will not do justice to such a piece of technology shit. At that speed the intelligence level and reaction time falls drastically and put on a lot of stress on the pilots. A super aircraft is only as good as the technicians and the quality of the pilots. Lousy technicians and pilots would undermine the capability that was paid for.
In the case of drones, you can fly them by school children with fast fingers on the ground. Warfare has moved on and the Americans know what they are doing. Are we still stuck in our old mindset of fighting wars with pilots and more and more sophisticated machines when the Americans have abandoned such a military strategy?
With the money to be spent on sophisticated piloted aircraft, we can have a few hundreds or thousands of drones or cruise missiles at our disposal. And training the boys and girls to fly them would be a piece of cake, with practically no war casualty. On the defensive part there are the famous and highly rated Patriot Missile System or the even better Iron Dome of Israel to take down the best fighter aircraft.
What is the better war strategy? Ask the Americans why they are using drones instead. In many ways, the F35 is another Ponzi Scheme to make the participants in the programme pay and pay when they have already committed money out front and very painful to cut losses at this point in time.
Kopi level - Green
1/20/2014
Susie Lingham – Nurturing a local talent
In the realms of the esoterics, an area called arts, the big names are
often Europeans. The big galleries and museums are managed and fronted
by big European names. The few big local names in arts are generally
confined to music and dance. We do have a few painters of international
standing.
The gurus or regents of running art houses and museums are never Singaporeans. Fortunately in this area, we have not sold ourselves cheap by importing foreign talents except for one, if I am not mistaken. The National Museum, the National Art Gallery and the National Heritage Board are all helmed by locals. Cannot imagine the National Heritage Board being helmed by a foreigner. But it looks quite natural given our colonial history to have an angmoh to sit there, even if he is 30 year old who did not know what colonial Singapore was. We were once owned by angmohs and so it becomes a natural right of passage of sort to have an angmoh to look authentic or international.
Good God, they appointed a local lass in Susie Singham to head the Singapore Arts Museum. I am sure there must be thousands of better qualified foreigners with great CVs, authentic ones I am sure, to put Susie Singham in a corner. The decision to put Susie there must be a national one, one of pride and confidence that we are as good as the best in the world. How else are we going to have a good representation in this field if we keep hiring foreigners to screw the local talents? The locals will have no chance to be trained, to gain the experience and credentials to write in their CVs that they have taken such an appointment.
I hope our local institutions will take the cue from our arts institutions to go local and nurture out local talents to be there with the best in the world. If we don’t train our locals, if we don’t give them a chance, who will?
The painful part is to place a foreign fake to helm our national institutions and deprive our own from having a go at these positions. New pink ICs are just as sick and fake.
Hope the daft in charge are taking the hints and do not be stubborn to go foreign to prove how inadequate and incompetent they are. It would not be funny for MOM to turn out a few foreign fakes at the highest level and kicking local asses.
By the way, the title of an article on Susie Singham by Huang Lijie is titled, ‘A heart for the arts’. Luckily the heart is in the right place and not misplaced.
The gurus or regents of running art houses and museums are never Singaporeans. Fortunately in this area, we have not sold ourselves cheap by importing foreign talents except for one, if I am not mistaken. The National Museum, the National Art Gallery and the National Heritage Board are all helmed by locals. Cannot imagine the National Heritage Board being helmed by a foreigner. But it looks quite natural given our colonial history to have an angmoh to sit there, even if he is 30 year old who did not know what colonial Singapore was. We were once owned by angmohs and so it becomes a natural right of passage of sort to have an angmoh to look authentic or international.
Good God, they appointed a local lass in Susie Singham to head the Singapore Arts Museum. I am sure there must be thousands of better qualified foreigners with great CVs, authentic ones I am sure, to put Susie Singham in a corner. The decision to put Susie there must be a national one, one of pride and confidence that we are as good as the best in the world. How else are we going to have a good representation in this field if we keep hiring foreigners to screw the local talents? The locals will have no chance to be trained, to gain the experience and credentials to write in their CVs that they have taken such an appointment.
I hope our local institutions will take the cue from our arts institutions to go local and nurture out local talents to be there with the best in the world. If we don’t train our locals, if we don’t give them a chance, who will?
The painful part is to place a foreign fake to helm our national institutions and deprive our own from having a go at these positions. New pink ICs are just as sick and fake.
Hope the daft in charge are taking the hints and do not be stubborn to go foreign to prove how inadequate and incompetent they are. It would not be funny for MOM to turn out a few foreign fakes at the highest level and kicking local asses.
By the way, the title of an article on Susie Singham by Huang Lijie is titled, ‘A heart for the arts’. Luckily the heart is in the right place and not misplaced.
Bounty schemes for hunting down cheats
The announcement by MOM on hiring an Indian company to check on the CVs
and qualifications of Indian PMEs here is throwing up a lot of
meaningful and effective suggestions from cyberspace. So don’t say
bloggers only criticize and did not offer solutions. Instead of throwing
good money after bad money, some bloggers commented it is an absolute
stupidity, brainless piece of work, it should be one based on rewards
like the bounty hunters.
The bounty hunter scheme does not pay blindly and useless and unfruitful work, like a bottomless pit, for bull shitting works that yielded no results. It pays for results. The hunters are paid for every head they brought in. A range of $200 to $10,000 can be offered as reward according to the income or seniority of the cheat. This will incentivize the hunters to go for the kill, the biggies. Then the bill can be presented to the company that did the hiring as fines. Make the companies responsible for the cost incurred.
Under the present scheme, an agency could go through the motion and collect $100 each without producing any result or doing anything. Just file the reports with fictitious work done. Don’t worry, they have honed this cheating game to fine arts and know exactly how to fool the super talents here. After all they have been doing it all these years and with a few hundred thousand cheats working here as PMEs.
Go for the real stuff and stop monkeying around and wasting public money. Oops, I don’t think the bloggers are smart enough to come out with anything better than the present scheme of MOM.
I apologise on behalf of all the daft bloggers and their daft suggestions. A thousand apologies.
The bounty hunter scheme does not pay blindly and useless and unfruitful work, like a bottomless pit, for bull shitting works that yielded no results. It pays for results. The hunters are paid for every head they brought in. A range of $200 to $10,000 can be offered as reward according to the income or seniority of the cheat. This will incentivize the hunters to go for the kill, the biggies. Then the bill can be presented to the company that did the hiring as fines. Make the companies responsible for the cost incurred.
Under the present scheme, an agency could go through the motion and collect $100 each without producing any result or doing anything. Just file the reports with fictitious work done. Don’t worry, they have honed this cheating game to fine arts and know exactly how to fool the super talents here. After all they have been doing it all these years and with a few hundred thousand cheats working here as PMEs.
Go for the real stuff and stop monkeying around and wasting public money. Oops, I don’t think the bloggers are smart enough to come out with anything better than the present scheme of MOM.
I apologise on behalf of all the daft bloggers and their daft suggestions. A thousand apologies.
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