YMCA under scrutiny

This is an interesting development and would change the nature of this episode. It is now an international issue involving the YMCA. And YMCA is now put under scrutiny. The fire is spreading and getting more difficult to control.

Here is a petition posted in TRE

Petitioning Rev. Johan Vilhelm Eltvik
http://www.change.org/p/rev-johan-vilhelm-eltvik-investigation-into-ymca-singapore-for-using-children-with-special-needs-as-human-shield-ymca-s-master-of-ceremony-shouted-we-love-our-cpf-in-presence-of-group-of-protesters-to-stir-up-anger?recruiter=42213217&utm_campaign=signature_receipt&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

This petition will be delivered to:

Secretary General, The World Alliance of YMCAs
Rev. Johan Vilhelm Eltvik

Investigation into YMCA Singapore for using children with special needs as Human Shield. YMCA’s Master of Ceremony shouted “WE LOVE OUR CPF” in presence of group of Protesters to stir up anger.

This is important because Charity Organisation supposed to help the underprivileged. Yet the action of YMCA Singapore goes against their own principle to bring social justice and peace to young people and their communities, regardless of religion, race, gender or culture.

They have placed the underprivileged kids in the line of FIRE and interfere in Politics in Singapore.

Petition by

Yee Meng Kum
新加坡, Singapore

Kopi Level - Yellow

Special Needs Children

These three words have now been used in a political battle to prove who is more caring and more like angels. Sad, very very sad that these children have become an issue in a political tussle for attention, become political tool or cannon fodder.
 
Anyone want to ask why I did not post a single photo of these children and actually refused to mention their condition? Let’s show some respect to them and their parents for a bit of privacy. I feel quite disgusted with people blowing their trumpets and carrying these Special Needs Children on their shoulders for cheap publicity and to score points for whatever agenda they have.
 
On hindsight, I love highsight, the best place to hold an event for these children, see I don’t use the phrase Special Needs Children, is the Istana ground. And the President could grace the occasion and chat with the children in full privacy from the public glare. I have been involved with many such activities in social service clubs and I am fully aware and very sensitive to these children and their families. I avoid intentionally to photograph them unless there is a very special reason to do so.
 
Let’s leave these children and their families in peace.
 
Amen.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Did the Chinese or Marco Polo discover America First?

Lessons for Asian Regional Security Today.

By MIKOspace

Did the Chinese discover America (2640BC - 2200BC) or did Marco Polo (1271AD - 1295AD)? Marco Polo used Chinese Maritime Maps from the Yuan Dynasty dating back to the 13th Century. Original Chinese Maps were much earlier. A world map published during the Chinese Ming Dynasty in 1418 also suggests that the famous Chinese Admiral Zheng He (a Muslim) and his mariners had not only sailed in the Indian Ocean but had also circumnavigated the earth.

The Chinese Classic "Shan Hai Jing" or “Mountains and Sea Classis”, written 2200 BC, reported expeditions to the ends of the earth including "Fu Sang" or “Prosperity Mountains”, refers to a beautiful land to the east of China. Evidence has been found of wrecked Chinese junks in Florida, South Carolina, New York and Canada. An archaeological site in Nova Scotia at Cape Dauphin found by Canadian architect Paul Chiasson also indicated an early Chinese settlement. Numerous evidence exists of Chinese visits to America pre-Columbus.

Implications for Asian Regional Security – Learning from History

Chinese are not colonisers.  And Native Americans DNA are not from East Asia, according to a newly sequenced genome, one-third of Native American genes come from west Eurasian people linked to the Middle East and Europe instead of East Asia ie China.

Clearly, the Chinese came to America as far back as the 2200BC, and again in circa 1491AD. They came, they traded, they did not conquer and they left.

Despite being a Maritime Power from the 13^th Century, China has never colonised any territories overseas unlike Britain, US and other European countries. Britiain projected her maritime powers to India towards East and South East Asia to build a British Empire that lasted more than 500 years from 1496-1997. The Dutch, German, Portuguese and Spanish also followed.

Japanese colonization adventures began later (1938-1945) under its “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere” ideology of brutality, ethnic cleansing, rape and torture began in China.

If the Chinese had colonized America from 2200BC, what would America be liked today? They would have co-existed with Native Americans instead of killing most of them and drive them from their legacy ancestral lands. Later European arrivals would have simply settled down at their choice townships and co-exist.  African labour would have been imported to work on the lucrative cotton plantations but not as slave labour but as cheap foreign labour.  Politically, America as a Chinese colony would united under a Federation of “many systems, one China”.  And today, Chinese American would have none of the racial and class divides amidst fractious power elites that we currently witness.  A political fantasy, no less.  Because the Chinese never has, and never will have, expansionist ambitions.  Even today in Asia.  

The Chinese and Diaoyu Islands

Like many Japanese who revised history by denying neither Pearl Harbour nor the Nanjing Massacre actually happened, many "experts" chose not to attribute Diaoyu ownership to China. It was on Chinese Maritime Charts in early 13th century; but conspicuously absent on both the 1783 Japanese Maritime Charts and 1876 Official Imperial Japan Map. Japan occupied Diaoyu in 1895 after the 1st Sino-Japanese War, making it part of Okinawa. In 1900, Japan renamed it to Senkaku. In 1951, US appointed Japan to help administer Diaoyu; and in 1971, the US made Japan the Official Administrator of Diaoyu. This would not be necessary if Diaoyu actually belonged to Japan.

The resolution of Diaoyu island is key to regional security in ASEAN and the Western Pacific. US credibility is at critical stake unless the America returns Diaoyu to its rightful owner, China. The US should accept that China is not an expansionist power and honour its own terms for Japanese WW2 surrender regarding the return of all non-Japanese territories seized and occupied by Japan. It is difficult to foresee any credible role for the US in Asia Pacific, or the whole world, unless her impugned integrity and shameless injustice over Diaoyu is reversed.

Read Full Article with video and References:

Did the Chinese or Marco Polo discover America First?

‘Heckling’ at HLP – What would Ravi say?

Looks like Ravi is going have more businesses than he can handle at the rate things are happening. Roy and Han Hui Hui are going to need his help again after the ‘heckling’ incident on 27 Sep. A lot of heat has been generated and a lot of strong words have been uttered in the heat of the moment. In nature when dogs are in heat, nothing goes into the head except emotions and animal lust. Some people are going to regret for saying things they should not be saying. I am going to avoid participating and contributing more vile comments to the situation.

I was there at Hong Lim and without getting ‘emo’ and with the benefit of hindsight, I must admit I don’t have much foresight, at best not further than the tip of my nose, but I would like to pose a few questions that were shared with me by some senior gentlemen. Ok, the seniors may not be too careful and may be irresponsible with their money, but for an event like this, the wisdom of age counts, much better than boys and girls in heat, definitely.

And these are what they said, or the questions they thought Ravi would be asking should he have to appear in court on behalf of Roy and Hui Hui. Ravi would likely be asking the judge, ‘Your Honour, if a reasonable man were to know that there is going to be a mass protest in Hong Lim Park, what would he do?’

The facts are as follows: The Return Our CPF protest had ever attracted 5000 protestors and averaged about 1,000. And from hindsight, such protest can turn violent even if the participants are old uncles and aunties. They are very nice people for sure. But there is no guarantee that their behaviour would be as expected. They could be provoked by saboteurs.

‘Would anyone approve another event involving vulnerable young children and senior citizens that could add another one or two thousand people in the park? Would the organiser be putting these young children and senior citizens in a situation when their safety could be compromise?’ Remember that a friendly picnic at East Coast Park was not approved by the sensible police for fear of unexpected incident, like people rushing to meet the MP. Here we are talking about a mass protest, not a picnic.

‘A second question your Honour, would it be so easy and appropriate to inform the second party applying to hold their event that the park was already booked for another mass event?’

Would someone think it is wise, if Han Hui Hui was the subsequent applicant, to tell here to book another date? There was no strong reason for her to die die must hold it on the 27 Sep to clash with the other event. Did someone bother to tell her that the other group were vulnerable people that could even be scare of big crowds and loud noise? If she were to know that such an event was being held, it was likely that she would change the date of her event.

Or, if the organiser of the event for children and seniors were to know that there was a protest on the same day, would it not be reasonable for them to avoid taking any undue risk and change to another date? Would they think that the safety of the children and seniors are paramount and they could not afford to expose them to unnecessary risk?

I think these are very straight forward and simple questions that Ravi would likely ask if he were to be in court for this ‘heckling’ incident. Ravi does not even need to think like a genius to ask these simple and reasonable questions. If ordinary senior citizens could ask such questions, any reasonable person would be able to ask them as well. And the answers are obvious, and the two events would never have been allowed to be held at the same time and same place, and riskimg some uncomfortable and unacceptable incident to happen.

And Ravi will say to the Honour after asking the questions, ‘I rest my case your Honour’.

Coming back to the wild and mischievous accusations and condemnations, were those people there to know what was going on at ground zero? There were plenty of police officers there and if there see anything going out of hand, they would have stop them there and then and may even make arrests on the spot. And Ser Luck was the best person to give the order. He was right in the centre of the ‘heckling’.

Are the boys and girls with their loose mouths saying that they knew better than Ser Luck when they were not even at the scene? Ser Luck is not a greenhorn politician and must be fully aware of what could happen and mentally prepared to take swift and appropriate actions. He did not and the atmosphere was cordial. You want me to post a few photos of Ser Luck walking around with a smile on his face immediately after the ‘heckling’?

Boys and girls are best to behave like boys and girls and not to cry father and mother without knowing the real situation.

Kopi Level - Yellow

OPG? Only heard of OPM

I confess that I have not heard of this OPG. I thought it would be something like Other People’s God, Other People’s Govt, Other People’s Gas, or something like that. Actually this is an official public institution to protect the people, to look after the welfare of the people. It is called Office of Public Guardian.

The OPG has lodged a police report against Yang Yin after the news broke of the tour guide boasting after increasing his wealth to $50 million on line, and this is after he obtained a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) to take charge of Madam Chung Khin Chun’s assets. ‘We reported this to the Commercial Affairs Department highlighting our concern of possible financial abuse.’ Public Guardian Daniel Koh said.

Now that the OPG has come into the picture, Madam Chung’s asset could be safer from her guardian holding the LPA. Thank God we have such an institution to protect the people. Maybe the OPG can do something to protect the oldies’ CPF money as well if they go and complain of being robbed.

Daniel Koh also mentioned that the LPA scheme was launched only 4 years ago and there had been no problems until this Yang Yin’s case.  And he assured the public that ‘there are enough safeguards to prevent abuse of the LPA scheme. Not only do LPAs have to be certified by experts – such as a doctor or a lawyer – and approved by the OPG, but the body also has the powers to investigate complaints of abuse.’

Daniel Koh ‘also made it plain that the onus was on LPA applicants to make sure they pick a trustworthy guardian – it is not the OPG’s responsibility to judge “the quality” of the decision’.  In the Yang Yin’s case, presumably he had gone throw the whole process, the LPA was certified by a doctor or a lawyer, or could it be both, and then approved by the OPG.  And no one can blame the OPG as it is not its ‘responsibility to judge the quality of the decision of an LPA applicant. But they could investigate when things go wrong and they are investigating now. Good work OPG. OPG has also sent its staff to visit Madam Chung and found her well.

I think the OPG would have a lot of investigation to do when more oldies got cheated of their CPF monies and start to complain.  Anyway good to know that there is an OPG institution to protect the people.

Kopi Level - Green