SIA was just so lucky

According to all the information floating around, an SIA plane, ‘SQ 351 was 25km or just 1min 40sec behind MH 17 at 777′s cruise speed of 905km/h’. Whew! I doubt the rebels were monitoring the IFF or transponders codes the aircraft was sending out. Why did they shoot at MH17 and not other aircraft? One theory, they were aiming at Putin’s aircraft that was expected to be there about the same time. If that was the case, it could not be the works of the rebels as they are pro Russians. Here’s the Freudian Slip.

If it was the work of the rebels, and if they have IFF equipment, it is unlikely for them to want to shoot down a Malaysian aircraft. Malaysia is on friendly terms with the Russians. Any agency with IFF capability would know what they were shooting at and could decide otherwise. For any agency knowing that it was MH17, and to shoot it down, it must be done on purpose.

The other scenario that they just shoot at anything that was moving without knowing what it was could be a possibility. But would the culprits, whichever party, be so reckless to shoot at anything that moved and risked shooting down a friendly aircraft? It all points to the possibility that the culprit knew who they were shooting at.

If it was pure chance, trigger happy reckless rebels that did not care what they were shooting, what the hell was going on, then SIA was just sooooo lucky and MAS was just soooo unlucky. This is not a mindless and purposeless war, anarchy, with everyone was just shooting for the sake of shooting. No, do not think the people involved are stupid, did not know what they were doing. Give them some respect and credit for knowing what they were doing.

Could such a decision to shoot down an aircraft, possibly a civilian aircraft on a know flight corridor be made without thinking, without knowing what aircraft it was? The people with an agenda would want the world to believe what they want to make out of it.

Like the sinking of the Choenan, who would be blame for the downing and who would gain from it? These may give some idea as who could be behind it.

Kopi Level - Green

Cost of land of HDB flat

Roy Ngerng wrote in his latest article claiming that the cost of land of an average HDB flat is about $200,000 for a $300,000 flat. This will be raised in the 3rd ‘Return Our CPF’ protest rally at Hong Lim on 23 Aug. I am not sure how Roy derived at this number. Taking it as a good estimate, presuming Roy has done his homework, let’s see what this figure means?
 
Assuming that Roy is talking about a 1000 sq ft flat. And assuming that the block is 24 storey high. Now multiply that $200,000 by 24, it will give $4.8m. It will mean that each sq ft of the land will cost $4,800. Is this a reasonable sum to pay for a 99 year lease land on which a 99 year lease flat is built on? And the figure will be a staggering $6,000 per sq ft if it is a 30 storey high block of flats, and more if higher.
 
How much is the land cost in the private sector? Looks like Roy’s number is too high, or is it another undiscovered truth that Roy is going to talk about?

Kopi Level - Green

Getting tough on the US isn’t easy

William Pesek wrote an article in the Today paper titled, ‘Getting tough on China isn’t easy’ on 22 Jul. He quoted Hillary Clinton’s statement in 2009, ‘How do you deal toughly with your banker?’ I have thus redirected the same question and ask, ‘How do you deal toughly with your gangster debtor?’
 
China has bought up over US$1.3 trillion of Treasury Bills and in a way financing and paying for the Americans’ extravagance that often ended in China bashing. Most of America’s international policies were targeted at China and backed up by a huge military expenditure, to contain China, ironically paid by China. And the Americans are complaining about China, how to contain China to prevent it from overtaking the Americans as the world’s number One economy and military power.
 
This is the strangest relationship of the 21st Century. China paying the Americans to support a huge military force that they used to threaten China in every disagreement, dispute or contested situation, ranging from economics, trade deficits to regional squabbles far away from the American continent.
 
And the best part, the US is trying to get tough with China, talking tough with China and very eager to use force against China to prove who is in charge, financed by China. And China is paying for the aggressive and provocative stance of the Americans. The Americans are the friendly party, the non provocative one. The Chinese are the aggressive one, the provocateur. And the Americans are sending its military everywhere to confront the Chinese in business suits and bags of goods to trade.
 
From China’s perspective, it must be very tough lending so much money to a thug, an international gangster that only believed in the use of force and went about carry guns and bombs instead of peaceful negotiation. And this thug is threatening not to pay what he owes to China and devising all kinds of schemes to wash away its debt, printing money and more money that China cannot do anything about. Would China be able to get its money back if this gangster borrower decides not to pay? It is really very tough when the gangster puts his big gun on the table in every discussion as a show of force.
 
China is really finding it very difficult to get tough with this borrower, with debt up to his eyebrows, and demanding to borrow more when it does not have the same big gun to bring to the table to say no. Isn’t it precarious to lend so much money to a thug that China has no means of overpowering and worst, the thug is challenging the lender to a fight whenever an opportunity presents itself? It is playing wargames in China’s courtyard and telling China what can you do about it.

Who is finding it tough with who?

Kopi Level - Green. Nearly Blue. Thank you and kopi on me on 23 Aug at Hong Lim.

CPF – What is there to tweak?

To many CPF members, all they want is to get their money back at 55. What is there to tweak? To the govt, it could mean a few things. They believe they were doing all the right things and could afford to be deaf. Now when the muffler had be snatched away, they found the noise too painful to bear, and with a lot of genuine complaints that cannot be ignored, that what the govt was doing to the CPF was unacceptable. Apparently the govt is acknowledging that not all is well.
 
Credit must go to Roy and Hui Hui and their team of speakers, not forgetting the protestors that spent time and money to get to Hong Lim, rain or shine. No one can keep a rotting carcass in a box forever without the stench reaching out to hit everyone.
 
Now is tweaking time instead of scheming time. And the govt is going to tweak the CPF, but it is still not going to return the money to the people at 55. This part die die cannot be tweaked. So, would all the impending tweaks mean anything or change anything?
 
What is the main issue? What is the main bugbear? Would the tweaking deal with the real problem, the real unhappiness of the people?
 
What do you think? Roy, please tell them the truths, gently, nicely. If they don’t understand or don’t want to understand, keep repeating, keep repeating.
 
The govt is still practicing selective listening. The part on returning the money at 55 is still not heard, would not be heard.

Kopi Level - Green. Nearly Blue. Thank you. Kopi for those going to Hong Lim on 23 Aug on me.

The Western wolf pack gnarling at Putin

Shooting down a civilian aircraft and killing so many innocent people is simply unacceptable, bad. 298 passengers and crew died for nothing and someone must pay for this crime. Practically all the European leaders, including Australia, are up in arms with fingers pointing in the eyes of Vladimir Putin. Guilty! And there is Australia’s Tony Abbott jumping the gun again, making a guilty comment on the Russians without needing any confirmation of evidence.
 
More sanctions will be up against the Russians. Of course, if guilty, the Russians deserve it. They deserve world condemnation, not only from the Western powers.
 
How many million Iraqis, innocent civilians were killed by the fake invasion of Iraq on WMD charges? David Cameron is thumping down the Russians, telling the Russians, shooting down the M17 was unacceptable. Did his predecessor say anything about faking a lie to invade a country and killing millions of the innocent civilians as unacceptable? Oh, he couldn’t. He was part of the party that made the decision and invaded Iraq. Did any Western power condemn the invasion of Iraq as crimes against humanity?
 
They are going to charge Putin for crimes against humanity. No, I am not defending the Russians or Putin. They need to answer for this crime if they are guilty. Is there anyone, any Western power, standing up to point a finger at George Bush and Tony Blair for crimes against humanity for the millions of Iraqis killed and wounded. No, it was not a war. It was a framed lie to invade a country. Only Mahathir has the decency to call a spade a spade.
 
Hypocrisy? Anyone say hypocrisy? Wait till they nominate George Bush and Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace they brought to Iraq.

Kopi Level - Green