Oh poor Britain!

‘Some people say spending large sums for luxurious trips is ok for politicians. Others argue that officials have to be modest. But £100,000 for a trip is a way too much… Even for a head of the British government.

A fresh release by the Cabinet Office shows what a pretty penny cost the UK’s taxpayers overseas trips of the Prime Minister David Cameron in the period from July 2014 to March 2015.

For example, a trip to Brussels to attend European Council meetings cost £500 on average. Trips as far as to other continents, like to US or Australia, were charged a bit over £10,000.

But look at the figures, which go under description “To pay condolences following death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz”. The Prime Minister used a charter airline and his 1-day stay is valued at £101,792.’

 

The above was posted in Sputniknews. It is so sad to know that the once world super power with an Empire where the sun never set is how living like a pauper. The expenses of a few hundred or thousand pounds for the Prime Minister are now a big issue. Come off it, what is 500 pounds or 10,000 pounds? Our ministers earn that in a couple of hours. One night in a nightclub in Orchard Road or Clark Quay for a Singapore would be many times that.

 

And what is 100,000 pounds for a 1 day stay in Arabia to pay condolence to the King of a past colony? You mean the Great Britain cannot afford that? Mine, how the world has changed. Come to Sin City and see how we spend money. But of course we are different. We are rich, your former colony is rich. We have money falling out of our pockets.

 

Britain must be regretting for letting this jewel slipped out of their control. If they are still in charge, what is 100,000 pounds?I would recommend the Brits replaced their ministers with the super talents from Singapore. Then Britain would be better run, be rich like hell, oops, I mean like Sin City, and their ministers can be paid in millions of pounds. And for all you know, the PM of Britain would then say, ‘No need govt subsidies, I pay for my trips from my pocket.’

Canada pulls out of the F35 programme

‘Canadian Prime Minister designate Justin Trudeau, who was elected on Monday, said his government will pull Canada out of the US-led air operations over Syria and Iraq and will also drop out of the F-35 program.’ Sputnitnews

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/us/20151022/1028904164/canada-f35-jet-trudeau.html#ixzz3pXWOey7L

Canada was one of the 9 rich countries that could afford paying US$200m a piece for this malfunction infested fighters of the future. It had pledged to buy 65 pieces but decided that the money would be well spent elsewhere. And without having to fight a war in Syria and Iraq, there is really no need for such advanced weapons. Actually fighting the rag tag desert rats there is no need for anything so sophisticated unless the war merchants keep on arming them with more deadly and more expensive weapons.

Unless the Americans could create another high tension region or war along the Canadian coasts, there is really no better reason for Canada to want to buy such expensive war machine.

Without the Canadian’s participation, the cost per aircraft would go up by another US$1m. But those countries in the programme are all very rich and throwing away another million is chicken feed. What is clear and present danger to this programme is to make sure that the remaining countries would have good reasons to want to buy the plane. Britain is likely to follow suit as it is no longer a world policeman with Bush and Blair, and the likelihood of fighting a war in Europe is slim. Now it is a matter of time when Britain decides it has had enough of killing the Arabs in Iraq and Syria and wants its troop home, and no further need for the F35s in the drawing board.

This may cause panic in the US and they would have more urgency to start another war somewhere to ensure the remaining suckers did not pull out from the Project. They have been so successful in milking these countries that have signed on the dotted line and have been paying and paying for the development cost that somehow keeps on rising. And the best part, after sinking so much money into this bottomless pit, it would be too embarrassing to cut loss and to pull out. A war in East China Sea would definitely keep the Japanese in the game. A war in South China Sea would keep Singapore and Australia in the game too, to buy an expensive war machine to fight a war they did not want but planned for them.

How’s that for stupidity? The Americans are creating the demand for such a war machine, by raising tension and creating wars and forcing its faithful allies to dig deep into their pockets to buy expensive toys they don’t need. Without having to fight a war, which country would need such expensive toys?

Is anything good coming out of the CHC trial?

With the 10 year imprisonment terms hanging in the air or more, dark clouds are forming over the City Harvest Church but hidden by the haze. Would anything good come out from these expensive court trials ending with millions changing hands?  More than $10m was quoted and the lawyers must be smiling. Imagine how this sum of money could benefit the needy.  That is a opportunity cost gone wrong. Assuming that the prison terms are unavoidable, Changi Prison would then become home to one of the great preachers in Kong Hee and he will have his key lieutenants by his sides, like the loyal disciples at the last supper.

The presence of Kong Hee and his team in Changi must be a good thing, at least to the inmates. They would then have the service of Kong Hee in person to preach to them about the good news and to be saved.  There is a new hope for the sinners. City Harvest would have a lot of new members with another church inside Changi Prison.

Maybe this is God’s work, to bring salvation to the lost sheep in Changi. Here they will have the best to be in their service and in their company. God works in a miraculous way. There will be many more happy people in Changi singing hymns and praising the Lord.

Charity begins at home. America can wait. The Crossover Project can wait. The inmates in Changi will have priority to be saved.

Amen.

Heng ah! Transport fare down by 1.9%

Where in the world got transport price decrease one? This can only happen in Sin City, the country runs by the best super talent money can buy. Another miracle!

It really pays to pay super talents millions to show mercy to the commuters, the average people who earn just enough to get by in life, to get a fare cut. The net amount of savings per trip will vary from 1c to 4c with the majority saving 1c or 2c per trip. The Sinkies are now feeling so grateful and so ‘heng’. Imagine if they have not given the PAP a 70% majority vote, this thing will not happen, maybe even a price hike.

Some ungratefuls are still complaining that the price of oil has gone down by 50%, how come only 1.9% cut? Some even pointed out that in April there was a hike of 2.8% even when the price of oil was already down more than 30%. So, give you fare cut you still not happy ya? Be grateful man, be very grateful.

Now with such a great gesture, it is time the people should reciprocate and reward the ministers with a little pay hike as well. How about a 1.9% hike for the ministers? Why so little? Let me see, a million dollar salary, a 1.9% hike will mean how much? $19,000 only! Ya too little. To be meaningful, maybe 5%, not too big, not too small. After all for three years the minister did not get a pay hike and times must be hard on them. A 5% hike should come to $50,000 or about $4,000 pm. Not very much, but it will be a good gesture in return for the 1.9% fare cut.

What do you think? Got come, got go, they give you some, you give them some. Win win.

Geopolitics – Who to balance who?

In his article appearing in the ST on 23 Oct 15, Luhut B Pandjaitan, the Corodinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs of Indonesia discussed the role of Indonesia as a regional power and where it should stand in big power politics. He hoped that Indonesia should not be put in a position to take sides between China and Japan or between China and the USA. This is about the only sensible thing that he said before turning into another parrot repeating the views of the western world. The lack of original strategic thinking is evident when he aped the West in talking about the need for the USA to balance the rise of China.

What is wrong with this concept of the American Empire, the world’s Number One superpower having to act as a balance against a much weaker rising power in China? In the first place, the USA is the undisputed supreme military power as well as economic power. The USA can do as it likes, can bulldoze its way against any country, including China. If it comes to shove, the Americans could simply walk all over China. What is this talk about balancing a rising China?

In most cases it is the smaller power that needs to get together to balance an abusing superpower. And this was admitted by Lihut himself when he wrote,   ‘inspite of their reservations about the way in which American power has been used sometimes, in the middle East, for example.’ Was he being polite or being a cock to say that sometimes the Americans abused their power? The Americans have always been abusing their superpower status to whack any country they so desired without the need for consultation, Indonesia included. Could not this Lihut see any need to balance the overwhelming power of the Americans to prevent the Americans from becoming a trigger happy gangster?  

The intervention of Putin in Syria was exactly for this purpose, to balance the power of the Americans from killing more Arab and Muslim leaders called regime change. The Russians have stopped the Americans from doing exactly this and save Assad from the same fate as Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. The rise of China would fill the same void in Asia, to balance the overbearing power of the Americans not to run wild and bully Asian countries one by one. It is the power of the Americans that needs to be balanced, not China, an emerging power that is very much weaker than the Americans. Without the rise of China, all the Asian and Southeast Asian countries will be treated and bullied by the Americans like the Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East. Indonesia is a Muslim country, remember that.

China’s claim on the South China Sea islands is within its historical right and is not the business of the new South East Asian states. It becomes an issue only when these new states started to counter claim these islands as theirs. If China were as powerful as the Americans, it would show its fingers to these pretenders to think they have a rightful claim to the islands in the South China Sea. China is not making wild claims against the territories of any Asean states. When China was sailing the high seas and marking all these islands, there was no Vietnam, no Philippines, Malaysia or Indonesia to talk about.

Would a war start in the South China Sea? Sure, when these new states are audacious enough to want to claim islands already claimed by China several centuries ago when they were not states in South East Asia but villages and tribal chieftains. Where was Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia or Indonesia?

The Americans too would want a war in the South China Sea to allow them to put a foot into the region and control over the South East Asian states by raising China as their enemy. It would then do the necessary to push China back with its superior and unchallenged military might.

The countries in East Asia and South East Asia are too used to be bullied by the Americans, with the Americans calling the shot and threatening them with interference in their internal affairs and even regime change. If these countries did not create an enemy out of China by wanting to claim Chinese territories, China would be their friend to counter American hegemony in the region and to stand up for them when the Americans try to meddle with their internal affairs or even changing their govt.

The rise of China is a balancing force for the smaller and mid size countries to stop the Americans from bullying them and taking them for granted. It is a smaller power ganging up with other smaller countries to balance the might of a super power, not a super power balancing the power of a smaller rising power.

South East Asia must not become another Middle East with the Americans calling the shot and be deceived into endless warfare, to be taken down one by one by the Americans, divide and rule, remember?

Do the British need to bring in the Americans to balance against a rising China in Europe? Isn’t the British using China to balance against the power and dominance of the USA?

On the same page of the ST there was an article by Jean Pierre Lehmann on Britain and China relations and Jean wrote, ‘That was in the “good old times”, when it was “Great” Britain that ruled the waves and pretty much acted throughout the world as a bully – as all (no exception) “great” powers are prone to do – for example, the US in Iraq, Russia in Ukraine.’

Luhut better prayed that the USA would not turn Indonesia into another Iraq. And Lihut is best advised to read what Jean Pierre wrote about the idiot called Charles who ‘boycotted the opening Buckingham Palace banquet, apparently because of “Tibet”. This idiot Charles’ knowledge of history is as far as his nose, and Jean Pierre in his article chastised him for his snobbish royal ignorance of British misdeeds in China. Actually it wasn’t ignorance but a lack of intellect to grasp history, or maybe he had no time to read them.

Can Southeast Asian leaders think? Or they allowed the Americans to think for them, to shape their thinking of what is good or bad in the interests of the Americans?