4/26/2017

4 JCs to be merged, ie disappeared, redundant

Many people are aghast at the merging of 4 JCs all of a sudden. Many are still in a state of shock with mouths still unable to close, jaws locked, muscle cramped. How could this kind of things happen in this so well planned little city when every piece of stone, every single plant is carefully planted after very well conceived thoughts by our very able and proactive govt that is always looking ahead for problems? 

To make things more bizarre is the opening of Enoia (not sure if I get the spelling right) JC just a year ago and now closed shop. Anyone worry about the money wasted? We are not talking of closing of one JC but 4 JCs. Did anyone see this coming? Why, suddenly Rip Van Winkle woke up and found that there is not enough enrolment for JC classes and 4 JCs are redundant, with excess capacity that may turn out to look like ghost colleges, JCs without students?

When the MOE was split to be helmed by two full ministers, everyone would not be wrong to think that this education job is expanding, growing so big and one minister would not be able to cope with the workload. How is this closing of 4 JCs related to the need for two ministers in MOE? If there are not enough students for JCs, would it also mean that more secondary and primary schools would also be facing the same problem and more would also have to be closed or merged? Read somewhere that 28 secondary schools would also be merged.

What happened to all the students that are supposed to fill up the JC places and also the primary and secondary schools? They did not build all these schools without planning, without knowing how many students are coming on board. Did the students disappear overnight like MH370? How can, the Population Dept and MOE must have been tracking the numbers and know exactly how many students were there and how many schools and JCs would be needed. Why like dat one?

I thought about this problem very seriously and came out with a few possible answers. I am not going to blame on twits that could not plan or did not know what was happening and how many students were there that need to go to school but the twits did not know. My first thought is that the thousands of scholarships to foreign students, paid by our tax payers in the billions, must have been frozen. This could be a possibility and could explain why suddenly there is no student or not enough students overnight. Overseas students can come in or not come in like turning on/off a tap.

Another possible answer, many are going to India to have their education to make sure that they could get a decent job here after graduating from the Indian universities. Why not, all the talents here are from India and Indian universities, the professionals, the academics, the IT experts and what nots, are all from India. Their education system is world best, proven and endorsed by Singapore. So many students must have jumped ship and enrolled in Indian JCs and subsequently planning to go on to Indian universities.

Another possible reason, many may have taken the advice of our ministers that there is no need for a good degree that cannot be eaten. What is the point of a degree when one aspires to be a taxi driver or a hawker? So the parents and students are now wiser and stopped enrolling into JCs here and waste precious money or forcing their parents to sell their homes to finance their education abroad.

Maybe there are other reasons for the sudden disappearance of JC students, but these are the dumb reasons that I am able to think of for this fiasco or shall I call it miracle, another planned miracle that is uniquely Singapore? Is it so difficult to know how many students are out there that need places in schools and JCs? Would big data help?

4/25/2017

Mike Pence rounding up another Coalition of the Willing or Unwilling?

Mike Pence had visited South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and probably would be seeing some Asean countries on his get to know Asia trip. Is there more than just this that he was on a mission to garner support to attack North Korea? So far he has been threatening North Korea daily, that all options are on the table, the sword is ready etc etc, don’t threaten the US or don’t trifle with Trump. North Korea threatening or trifling with the USA and Trump, or it is the other way round? Who is sailing the biggest armada to the Korean Peninsula?
An AFP report said, ‘The United States will counter any North Korean attack with an “overwhelming and effective” response, Vice President Mike Pence vowed yesterday, as he stood on the deck of a massive American aircraft carrier docked in Japan.’ Are the North Koreans so stupid, going to attack the Americans? Or were the North Koreans forced to respond to an American attack or American provocation?  “North Korea is the most dangerous and urgent threat to peace and security in the Asia Pacific,” said Pence. Or is it the other way, that the Americans are the most dangerous and urgent threat to peace and security in the Asia Pacific and the whole world?
Would any stupid Asean country want to join the American coalition to attack another Asian country that has caused no problem to them but just testing its own defensive weapon system? Or would any silly Asian country think it is good to be on the good book of the Americans and eagerly asking to be a party to this massive genocide that the Americans are planning against North Korea that has nothing to do with them?
Please Mike Pence, please skip Singapore from your trip. Do not visit Singapore. Singapore has done enough, more than enough in the Middle East.

4/24/2017

Wars of Aggression and US Savage Culture

America has been attacking and invading other countries since its independence in 1775. During the 242 years of its existence it has fought not less than 230 wars of aggression against others. These wars of aggression have everything to do with US savage culture and psyche of militant religious doctrines. Below in tabulated form are some of the wars fought by America.

1.    American Revolutionary Wars against England from 1775 to 1783. US declared its independence on 4th July, 1783.

2.    Wars from 1812 t0 1815 in which US forced England to give up some native self-governing lands in America. The many different native American tribes fought bravely against US invasion but eventually succumbed to US overbearing military might.

3.    The American Civil Wars 1861 to 1865.  It was a very savage war in which hundreds of thousands of African Americans were brutally butchered and their houses burnt and destroyed.

4.    From 1865 to 1890s US carried out the most brutal and wanton wars of aggression against the native American Indians. It was the beginning of US long era of colonial wars against native American states and others. These were wars of USW expansion in which native Americans were forced to give up their lands to US. The Massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 was the last native outpost to surrender.

5.    Wars against Mexico 1846 t0 1870s.  US had always coveted large swathes of Mexican lands . By imposing its imperial wars on Mexico it forced Mexico to cede Texas, Nevada, Arizonda, New Mexico, Utah and California to US.

6.    Spanish - American  War 1898.  By its victory US took over Spanish colonial territories in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam and the Philippines. Cuba eventually fought against American occupation and drove out the Americans except for Guantanamo.

7.    1898 - 1905.  US invaded Hawaii and dethroned its queen  after butchering more than two hundred thousand Hawaiian resistance fighters.

8.    World War I.  1914 to 1918.  US sided with England, France, Russia, Italy and Japan against Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey.

9.    World War II.  US sided with England , France and Russia against Germany, Italy and Japan.

10.   The Korean War 1950 to 1953.

11.   1961.  The Bay of Pigs in which US tried to invade Cuba to topple Fidel Castro.

12.   Vietnam War  1961 to 1973.US tried to impose its colonial rule on Vietnam.

13.   1965.  War on Dominican Republic to topple a leftist regime. US president was Lyndon Johnson.

14.   Lebanon 1982 - 1984.  US invaded Lebanon for regime change.

15.   Grenada  1983.  President Reagon invaded the island to overthrow a socialist government with close ties to Cuba.

16.   Panama  1991. President George H.W. Bush invaded and overthrew Manuel Noriega a drug lord who eased out CIA profitable drug trade in Panama. Bush was a former director of CIA.

17.   Gulf War  1991.  US attacked Iraq and forced it to give up Kuwait. Kuwait was formerly a province of Iraq but was taken away from Iraq after the Second World War because of its rich oil
resources.

18.   Somalia 1993. US invaded Somalia for regime change.

19.. Bosnia  1994 - 1995.  US attacked Bosnia for regime change.

20.   K0sovo 1999 US attacked Kosovo for regime change.

21.   Global war on terror  2001.

22.   Afghanistan War.  2001 - 2014 to oust the Taliban and impose American rule.

23.   Iraq War.  2003 - 2010  Regime change to topple Saddam Hussein a former CIA collaborator who helped US to overthrow President Khassem who wanted to nationalise US oil monopolistic companies.

24.   Libya.  2011 US invaded Libya to topple Gadaffi for regime change because he refused to use US dollar for trading its oil.

25.   Syria  2012. US attacked Syria in trying to topple President Assad.who refused to gang up with US and its allies against Russia.

26.   2014.  War against Islamic State which was ironically founded and nurtured by CIA against Russia.

27.   Other impending wars to topple Iran, DPRK and other countries in South America like Brazil, Venezuella, Bolivia and Ecaudor.

American savage culture definitely has a lasting insidious destructive impact and effect on US doctrine of permanent wars of aggression and invasion  and is behind the ethos and thinking of US politicians and CIA Pentagon'd nefarious activities worldwide.

Below in tabulated form are the essence of US savage culture.

1.   The culture of instilling fear and intimidation.

2.   The culture of plundering, robbing, thieving and pilfering.

3.   The culture of aggression , occupation and invasion.

4.   The culture of US state terrorism against other countries.

5.   The culture of power and might.

6.   The culture of control, domination and hegemony.

7.   The culture of sowing discord, disunity and hatred among other countries.

8.   Culture of instigating distability, rebellion, and separatism among other countries.

9.   Culture of sowing disinformation, misinformation and confusion.

10.  Culture of  propaganda in telling lies, half truths and evil insinuations

11.  Culture of racism and white supremacist.


Southernglory1

Monday, 4th April, 2017

Asset enhancement - a uniquely Singapore miracle

Singaporeans are so blessed with a very clever govt that could devise such a miraculous scheme call asset enhancement. The scheme revolves around the buying of 99 year lease public flats built by the govt at relatively low price and the owner could eventually sell it at a hugely inflated price, to receive an expected windfall along the way. It is a sure win formula and many Singaporeans are now very wealthy landlord in a way, sitting on a public flat that is worth at least $300k for the smallest unit in the open market and some worth more than a million for the bigger units. As in all sure win schemes, there is a caveat of course.

Here is how the price sure go up scheme works.

Year 1 - Buy a public flat from the govt, say at $250k.
Year 5 - Eligible to sell in the open market at asking price of $350k.
Year 10 - Open market price could be $450k.
Year 20 - Open market price could be $550k
Year 30 - Open market price goes higher to $650k.
Year 40 - $750k!
Year 60 - $800k!
Year 80 - $850k!
Year 90 - $850!
Year 100 - $0!

Every flat owner could look at this guide to see the price of his flat could go up and up all the years. Notice the caveat, make sure they are not holding on to the flat at year 100.

The scheme is very favourable to those who sell the flats at a profit in the first 50 to 60 years. Singaporeans could go for a second bite of the cherry to buy another public flat from the govt to restart the cycle. Foreigners could only buy from the open market so the margin of profit cannot be as high as the Singaporeans buying direct from the govt. But they are still guaranteed of a reasonable profit.

For those new citizens who bought and sold and bought again and sold to return to their original country, this scheme is highly favourable to them as they would not hold on to the flat till year 100. I might say a bit sorry for those who have to hold on to their flats till the very end, its miraculous price would miraculously become 0, no value, just like Cinderella when the clock struck midnight and everything turned into smokes..

This is quite like the magician turning a piece of paper into money only for the money to be turned into worthless paper at the end of the game. Be clever to cash out when you can or your store of value will vanish into thin air.

4/23/2017

Cynical Investor laughing at Amos Yee

This is what Cynical Investor wrote in his piece, ‘Black Saturday: a great day to laugh at Amos’ stupidity’.
 

‘Today is Black Saturday or Holy Saturday, a really sad day in the Church calender because Jesus died on Good Friday and was entombed on Saturday and his followers at the time didn’t know that he would be resurrected tomorrow, Easter.
 

So it’s a great day to sneer and laugh at Amos because by the end of today US time, Amos would have spent 124 days in jail in the land of the free, where the buffalo roam.
 

Add that to his jail time of 50 days here, he would have spent 174 days in custody.
What a born loser.’
 

I would not dispute with Cynical Investor on the things he said about Amos Yee being locked up for 174 days. Those were indisputable facts.  Whether Amos is a born loser is hard to say as, just like Jesus, Jesus was hung for committing no crime and did he ended up as a loser?
 

The Christians would definitely said Jesus was and is a big winner, with hundreds of millions of believers today. So being wronged for a time does not mean that the wrong cannot be put right. One day Amos may rise again and many would believe in him though many today did not believe him, just like the Jesus' disciples and followers at that time did not believe he would rise again. I did not say this, I just quoted what Cynical Investor said, ‘and his followers at the time didn’t know that he would be resurrected tomorrow, Easter.’
 

Some want to split hair with me by saying that Cynical Investor did not say they did not believe in what Jesus said but just ‘didn’t know’.  Didn’t Jesus tell them but also told them in public, that he would rise again? No? How come even the non believers then knew about this but his fellow disciples and believers did not? If Jesus did tell them, how could they claim not to know as what Cynical Investor said? Are they deaf, dumb or simply did not want to believe in what Jesus said?
 

This is funny stuff. Jesus’ disciple’s did not believe him or did not know what he said. It is funnier that his believers today still did not believe in a lot of things Jesus said. Jesus said he ‘was sent only for the lost sheep of Israel’. How many of his believers believe him or did not believe him? Jesus said that on Judgement Day he shall come and judge, and some will go to heaven, some will be burn in the sea of fire. How many of the believers believe in Judgement Day, that Jesus would come down to judge them and only then the righteous or those judged by Jesus could go to heaven? How many of the believers did not believe in this and claimed that they can go to heaven before Judgement Day, before Jesus judge them?
 

Who are the born losers, those who believe in what Jesus said or those who don’t believe in what Jesus said?