8/26/2016

Donald Trump the only sensible man in the West

This is a report from Germany calling for its people to stock up food and basic necessities in case of a catastrophe. What catastrophe, war with Russia?  Read below:

Germany is planning to urge its citizens to stockpile food, water and other supplies in the event of a catastrophe or armed attack.

According to a report by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), citing the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper, the move would be the first of its kind since the end of the Cold War.

The proposal is reportedly contained in a government civil-defense-strategy document, which says that people should stock 10 days worth of food and a sufficient supply of water, energy, money and medicine that would allow them to stay put long enough for the government to respond.

The mood in Germany has been unsettled recently following a number of horrific incidents. In the latest violence, on July 24, a Syrian suicide bomber injured 15 people at a music festival in the central German town of Ansbach. The same day, a Syrian refugee killed a woman and injured two others with a machete in Reutlingen. Just days previous, an ISIS-inspired attacker was shot dead after stabbing several people on a train in the south of the country.

The huge influx of refugees — Germany accepted more than a million last year — has sparked fears among many Germans that terrorists have entered the country under the guise of seeking asylum.

And they are calling for European govts to take in more refugees knowing what could happen if only a small percentage of the refugees are terrorists in disguise. And many would even call for more refugees to prove that they are not afraid, to prove that they are doing the right thing, to prove that they are simply stupid beyond redemption. This is an inevitable trend of event that would lead to the destruction and an end to the European civilization, the destruction of Europe as a modern, orderly and peaceful place to live and to work in.

Only Donald Trump is sensible enough to know what the hell is going on and how to stop it, to save America.

8/25/2016

Bukit Batok does not want to go away

Remember the rats incident? Remember the by election? Now it is about TB and how children in a kindergarten were exposed when a FT teacher has active TB. Active hor, infectious. Now the children had to be screened and for a few to be infected is very likely.

How many more children will be exposed to this almost non existent disease in this island? How widespread or serious is TB in this island today?

With more than 2 million foreigners here, with many now citizens or PRs, what kind of risk are we exposed to? TB is only one such risk. How many other kinds of biological and non biological risks that would have a long term health effect on the population and is this a fair price to pay for the large presence of foreigners from third world countries being invited here?

There is a price to pay for everything. It is not always free for the benefits we are deriving from them. How to vet the 2 million foreigners here? Were they vetted before entry?

Singapore more united in August

The month of August has been good for nation building and bringing Singaporeans closer as one united people. Thanks to Joseph Schooling and his Olympic Gold Medal. The Singaporeans of all races cheered when this hero returned from Rio and all felt very proud to be a part of his achievement.

Today we have another occasion for the people to be united as one people to mourn the passing away of SR Nathan and a state funeral for people to come together to show their respect for the past president.

Singapore needs more of such occasions to give a boost to the spirit of nationhood after the battering by the influx of foreigners that diluted the core built up over 40 long years of nation building. Schooling can be expected to bring in more gold medals in the near future. Oops, cannot wish for more state funerals. No more past presidents available. All our past presidents are dead. Maybe state funerals for past PMs but this will be a long wait if the expected lifespan of the elite is above 90.

Would there be other occasions to gel the people together? A terrorist attack, a war?

8/24/2016

Elected President – What is the truth?

Hsien Loong has said it many times. I did not say the govt said it many times because no one else seems to be saying anything about the impending changes to the process of electing the President. Hsien Loong gave three reasons for the changes to the rules. 1. The EP is not just ceremonial but has a very important function to guard the reserves and to approve senior appointments in the Civil Service and uniformed services. 2. The person qualified to be the President must be able to make difficult decisions on financial matters and a stringent set of criteria must be met like managing a multi million organization to the tune of $200m, top civil servants or ministers. 3. The system must be changed to allow minority Presidents to be elected.

The above are the official reasons for this big constitutional change to enshrine racial considerations and elements into the office of the EP when race will be a factor in choosing the EP. Racial politics enshrined into the constitution a good thing, a progressive or regressive thing?

The unofficial version or reasons for the changes to the EP process in everyone’s lips is about keeping Tan Cheng Bock out of the race. Whether one subscribe to this view, whether one believes this is the real reason, this is what everyone is talking about. True or not, depends on who you want to believe.  If the govt is to amend the rules to bar the majority Chinese from the next EP election, saying that it is recommended by the Constitutional Commission, and applies this, then Cheng Bock would be locked out from the race and it would only confirm what the people feared and believed in.

And to add another barrier to people like Cheng Bock, the bar was raised higher, that the person must have managed an organization of more than $200m instead of $100m to take in inflation and the increasing value of the reserves.  So Cheng Bock’s previous organization would not be big enough and thus not eligible. This reason may be too flimsy to hold water as the inflation should also applies to the value of organizations at different times. Thus Cheng Bock’s $100m organization then would be revalued to $200m at today’s value, if there is no nitpicking. He was eligible then and should be now.

So, what is the real reason for the changes to the EP process? It depends on who you are and who you want to believe. Oops, please ignore those jesters recommending that there should be more than one EP at one time. They think Singapore is their grandfather’s company and money is no problem, can anyhow pay. And they may also be thinking Singapore is the biggest country in the whole world, bigger than USA and China combined, so need a few flower vases in the Istana, and pay them by the millions because their jobs are more important and difficult than the PM and ministers running ministries.

I got this funny feeling when I think of these extraordinary criteria for a non executive president. Should not these criteria or more stringent criteria be applied to people wanting to be PMs and ministers, the people that really wield great powers in managing the affairs of the state? Or are the PM and minister’s jobs easier than the EP so anyone can become a PM or minister without having to run a $200m company, just manage a town council will do? Make sense?

Oops, I digress. How many of you believe in the Hsien Loong’s version for the need to change the constitution on EP? How many of you believe the talk of the town, that the changes are rushed to keep Tan Cheng Bock out of the Istana? This one not I say one, everyone is saying this is the real reason.

At this moment, one thing is looking quite certain. The new conditions would mean that Tan Cheng Bock would not be qualified to stand in the next EP. What are the bookies stand on this? 1000 to 1 that Tan Cheng Bock would not qualify?

I think the bookies would even chicken out on such a bet.

8/23/2016

SR Nathan – Another stalwart passes away

Singapore will have another state funeral with the passing of SR Nathan at the age of 92. There are not many of such ancients of a passing era left in Singapore. This is another man that had lived a very good life and passed away peacefully leaving behind a big family and family wealth that would last for generations.

Nathan is a typical relic of a time when life was tough and hard. Many of his generations starting life with nothing and tried all means to survive, to make a living. Nathan has made it good, very good, from the time he was a runaway, homeless and squatting in the attap house of his aunt. Now he lived in Ceylon Road, some said the whole or nearly the whole of Ceylon Road belongs to him.

Singaporeans would be lining the streets on Friday to send this man away in his last journey on mother earth.

RIP.