The Western model of might is right in the South China Sea

The Americans have been blastering the Chinese for claiming the islands in the South China Seas and encouraging the pesky little countries to do so promising to back them from behind. These islands were terra nullius when the Chinese claimed them. They were no man’s islands.
 
Under the old rules it was finders keepers just like all the natives of the world claiming to be the original people of the land. This rule was changed when the Europeans set out to conquer the rest of the world. They made new rules to conquer and seize countries that were already occupied with their own natives.
 
The Europeans that went to North America and Canada simply killed the natives and took over their land. Who cares if there were natives in the land. When they came to Southeast Asia, they claimed to have found Singapore, Penang, Batavia etc ignoring the presence of inhabitants in the island. Then they put a gun to the heads of the tribal chiefs demanding that they signed away their land so that they could be protected by the empires. They did the same to the Maoris in New Zealand. In Australia it was easier, just chased the aborigines into the outback and occupied whatever land they want. Australia was terra nullius. The aborigines were not human and did not count.
 
Now they are crying father and mother that China is claiming no man’s land as wrongful and instigating other countries to claim these islands as the right thing to do. Is this another aspect of American exceptionalism as well? The Empire will decide what is right and what is wrong. The only rule the Empire lives by is the rule it sets for itself and to be obeyed by other countries?
 
Now the Empire is thinking of claiming of a few pieces of the islands as well and is planning to bring in the troops like they did before in North America. China cannot avoid a war with the Americans that believe in might is right. The Americans would push for a war in the South China Sea, like it or not. It is a friendly and peaceful nation that is all out to start wars everywhere. Believe the Americans are peace loving people at your own risk.

Amos Yee’s grandmother disappointed

It was reported in the Today paper that Amos Yee’s grandmother was unhappy with his anti social behavior for spending too much time on the net. Wondering why the grandmother is now also in the picture. Would the reporters be interviewing his teacher in the kindergarten or his childhood friends to want to know how bad Amos Yee was as a child?
 
And everyone has an opinion on this boy, including religious leaders, supposedly intelligent and wise people. I have my reservation of these adults who think very highly of themselves and think they know more, betterer and wiser than Amos the kid.
Today information and knowledge are at one’s finger tips. And the children today are exposed to the libraries of the whole world and more. What a child could read, if he is interested, is unimaginable. And the knowledge they acquired could be many many times what an adult believed he knows for his 10 or 20 years in school. There is no comparison.
 
And in terms of morality, rights and wrongs, religious beliefs, who is wiser? Many religious leaders are just half past six themselves and their intellectual level may be far inferior to a bright child like Amos. And given the haziness and questionable religious beliefs, the subjectivity of rights and wrongs, good and bad, and moral righteousness, age is no criteria. A wise person is not necessary an older person, the parents or grandparents. You cannot measure them until they open their mouth to reveal their foolishness and ignorance.
 
The adults must not presume that they know best. The kids must be allowed to explore and learn as much as they could. Unless of course the adult is as wise as gods, and knows more than the child.
 
How many adults think so please kee chiu. I can only say this, don’t be too presumptious to think you know best or your right is right. How many people have the wisdom of the sages to be in a position to pass judgement on a kid? This kid Amos is a rough diamond and if polished by the able hands of wise men, could turn out to be a genius in the future. It is highly irresponsible for any adult to condemn this child for a little indiscretion at his age. The way the lynch mob went after him speaks for itself, about the emptiness in their heads. Thinking adults should not be so judgemental over a single incident like this and want to condemn and ruin the lives of this child. Ask yourself, are you fit to judge this child? Are you up to it?
 
There will be the prudes that would throw sludge at Amos, but there will be the kind souls that would offer him flowers and wanting him to grow up well. This is how controversial the incident has become. The world is not black and white but a long stretch of greys. And worst, white may be black and black is white.

America, you have it!

The Federal Court of the USA has thrown out the craps of protecting the country and allowing the intelligence agencies and the White House to cheat on the American people and to enforce draconian laws to imprison the American people. The Patriots Act, the secrecy acts of all kinds that the Bush Administration passed to check, monitor and spy on every American citizen has been challenged by the independent judiciary.
 
The courts cited Edward Snowden’s act as a revelation of the abuses of power by the President and his administration, hiding under the cry of patriotism, national security, veil of secrecy and using the intelligence services to infringe the rights of privacy of its citizens, to threaten its citizens with the weight of the law to keep them under surveillance and in compliance.
 
The comprehensive surveillance power of the intelligence agencies have overstepped their roles and their privileged status and have become the enemy of the people instead of protecting the people. When state agencies abused their power against the citizens of the state, they must be checked. It is lucky and fortuitous that the American legal system is above the politicians, cannot be manipulated and abused by the politicians to do the becks and calls of the politicians against the people.
 
There is law in America. There is justice for the people against the terrorism of the state and its insidious perpetrators that used the state machinery to victimize the people like Edward Snowden and the general public. State terrorism against the people would not be accepted and allowed to be practiced freely under the guise of national security and secrecy.
 
The American judicial system and the separation of power of the state is a shining beacon to the corrupt world, to uphold justice and to protect the citizens from the tyranny of the state, from being bullied by the state and their enforcement officers, the police, the intelligence services and the courts of law.

What is Power Logic?

Everyone is familiar with the meaning of logic as well as the term power. Logic on its own is logic but there are false logic, contrived logic, fake logic, and of course Power Logic. Simply put, power logic has two parts, power and logic. Power comes first. With power, the logic stands. Minus the power, the logic is as good as hogwash. Now you get the picture.
 
Power Logic is often used in autocratic system or by dictators. They can say anything they want, and everything they said is logic and right, as long as they are in power. A good case is Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines. When he was chased out of his country, all his Power Logics turned into abused of power, violation of power and nothing logical. They were used to charge him and to hang him. Power Logic often becomes crime and the user of Power Logic turns into criminal.
 
Power Logic is only logical within the precinct of the power wielded by the power holder. No one can challenge Power Logic or risk being charged and put behind bars, or even more serious consequences. Never play or go against Power Logic in its area of control where its power is dominant and unquestionable. The logic may be flimsy, maybe the silliest of reasons, but the power is real.
 
Out of its area of control, the same logic would make the person using it looking like a clown. Everyone word dressed up as logic, without the power, will be a joke. Power Logic can only apply against the people under its power and control. People that are not under the power, people who are free to think freely cannot miss the stupidity of Power Logic.
 
Sometimes, the users of Power Logic got so intoxicated in their logic, and after some time, after several practices, they forgot that the Power Logic was contrived and even believed in them, and may go to the world stage to expound their Power Logic as the logical way to go. They think the rest of the world could not see through the farce of Power Logic that is anything but logic.
 
One can’t use Power Logic on any reasonable thinking man unless one is so drunk in his mental state, after drinking too much Power Logic. Believe me, the practitioners of Power Logic never for a moment think that it is not logical. They sincerely, honestly and faithfully believe in the goodness and righteousness of their Power Logic. They never believe that once they lose their grips on power, the logic will be used to judge them and incarcerate them. Practitioners of Power Logic better pray they will not lose their power and not be taken to task for the farce of Power Logic.

Key skill for graduates – adaptability

My gosh, what, adaptability is going to be a key skill to be taught to the undergrads? After teaching them how to get all the As not enough and must teach them how to be adaptable? When one is growing up, is there a need to teach anyone how to eat, how to sleep, how to make babies? Isn’t adaptability the oldest life skill that allowed man to survive the millennium and the trials and tribulations of life? Adaptability is instinctive.
 
Now to think of it, it is necessary. Our brilliant jokers just cannot think other than aceing their exams. You even have to teach them how to find a boy friend or a girl friend or they would not know how and would not make babies. This is expected when you have a production line producing machine, aka robots. Unthinking but very efficiently programmed to do what they are made to do. Anything else, they are blur like sotong. They may not know how to eat and drink too.
 
Why is adaptability so important today and must be taught at university level? Oh while teaching this skill, make sure it is graded so that they can get an A for it or they would not bother to mug for it.
 
I can only think of one reason for teaching adaptability. In the past our graduates were only competing with the same people coming out from the same degree mill, all honest, straight thinking, no bullshitting, no cheating, no copying or buying their degrees. A CV submitted is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
 
In today’s context, life is much more complicated with the influx of foreigners with their queer degrees and CVs. Our graduates are to compete with these clever specimens from all corners of the world and apparently these newcomers have a string of scintillating degrees and CVs to match, much better than the straight As of our best graduates. Of course the strings of degrees of our graduates are nothing when the foreigners can buy as many as they want, of their own choosing, to be better than our locals. You just can’t beat them on papers.
 
Now what is this adaptability thing? Come on, don’t be stupid. If you want to teach our graduates life skills, survival skills, you much tell them the truth. It is not adaptability skill that is needed. It is called cheating, dishonesty, bluffology or whatever better words, but not adaptability. When everyone is cheating their way through and our naïve and innocent graduates still thinking going straight would get them the job they want despite not even being called up for interviews, you are telling them they need to be adaptable?
 
Please, the Singapore of honesty, integrity, accountability is long gone. The Singapore of today is all about cheating and fakes. To survive, you need to cheat your way through. Cheating is the new virtue, and stop calling it adaptability. You are cheating our graduates by telling them to be adaptable when others are cheating their way through. When cheating is fair game, our graduates, steep in honesty or simplicity and ignorant of the new realities, cannot compete fairly if they did not know others are cheating and do not know how to cheat. It is very unfair to them to think that being adaptable is the solution.
 
Get real.