Singapore China relations

Finally, after avoiding making any comments directly on the strained relations between Singapore and China, Wang Gungwu, the Confucianist gentleman, wrote a piece in the ST on 18 Dec highlighted the 4 major events that were the roots of the problems. What he said were nothing new but a repeat of everything that had been said about the tedious and unnecessary souring of a relationship built and cultivated earnestly by Lee Kuan Yew. Lee Kuan Yew must be turning in his grave seeing his good work being dismantled and dumped as trash into the dustbin by silly politicians with egos bigger than a coconut but intellect the size of a pea.
 
With all the cock advice to put all the eggs in the American basket and thinking that it was alright to poke at the eyes of China and China would not dare to do anything, things finally came to a rude ending and Hsien Loong had no choice but to make a trip to Beijing in September to make amends. This was a serious effort at the highest level on the Singapore side and everyone hoped that relations would be back to normal. At least that was the picture painted by the Singapore side and the Singapore media. Sino Singapore relations are on the mend and everything will be warm and rosy going forward after Hsien Loong's return.
 
Even Wang Gungwu also has the same impression that things could only be better as the trip by Hsien Loong must have been made with great sincerity to bring relations to an even keel. Apparently from what I have observed, things are getting worst and not better. After relations had hit rock bottom, it could not return to normal just because Hsien Loong made that trip and had a meeting with Xi Jinping. The sincerity to improve relations must be seen to be so and Singapore would have to backup with more friendly gestures towards China. There were some signs of the media publishing more China friendly reports for a while, but somehow, the anti China articles kept coming in greater frequency as before. China could not fail to notice this lack of sincerity to get the relations back to normal, or the back to normal is to continue as before, with more anti China articles by silly academics and foreigners and dumb locals as the norm. Any China watcher could not miss the tone, nuances and the choice of articles and authors that are unfriendly to China being given greater exposure all over again.
 
Not only words but deeds would be telling of the state of Sino China relations. If my reading is correct, Singapore has taken a hardened path to move away from China and there is no turning back. The biggest pain in the arse in the geopolitical equation in the region is India, the pretentious superpower to be and its hostile and aggressive stance towards anything China. India has been flirting with the Americans, Japan and even Vietnam to be a spoiler in the region against China's interests. India had been involved in bi lateral and multi lateral war games with them around China’s coasts and the enemy is clear as daylight.
 
Though India is inconsequential to China, it is still an irritant and any country thinking that it was a good idea to invite the Indians to be more involved in the region cannot be seen as being innocent and naive and could not see the part India is playing against China. For Singapore to openly invite India to park its warships in Changi at a time like this is too obvious on the stand of Singapore and its relations with China. No amount of pleas of ignorance would be accepted and forgiven.
 
The trip by Hsien Loong to Beijing in September is as good as a bad dream, wasted, unnecessary and should not have taken. Singapore's relations with China is far from being on the mend and is fast deteriorating. Well, if that is the intent of Singapore, then there is nothing to cry about. It might as well go that way, quicker, faster and more direct. There is no need to wayang to pretend that Singapore desires to improve its relations with China.
 
Has Singapore decided to just do it and so be it? The new future of Singapore is to get closer with the pretentious power to be, India. As for the USA, Trump is unpredictable but would not turn away from American supremacy and primacy in this part of the world. In fact Trump has no interest in Singapore and probably Singapore has read this correctly and is not cosying up to Trump. Singapore would never receive the same kind of attention that Obama gave and Hsien Loong would never be able to have the same kind of rapport with Obama in Trump.
 
Looks like Singapore is going to put all its eggs in the Indian basket. This is my observation. Clever or muddy thinking?

Singapore - A proud British colony

Singapore is a proud ex British colony, is going to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the colonisation of Singapore by the British in a big way. While many ex colonies have erased everything they could from their humiliating past under the rule of colonial masters, with names like Calcutta, Bombay, Goa etc totally wiped out, Singapore retains and cherishes all the ex colonial trimmings in the island and often glorifies them. Stamford Raffles was dearly embarrassed as the white god that founded Singapore. 

The statestimereview has reported, "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also announced that he will be having an undisclosed budget to “celebrate” 200th anniversary of British colonisation of Singapore in 1819:
 
“We should commemorate this bicentennial appropriately, just as we marked the 150th anniversary in 1969. It is an important milestone for Singapore; an occasion for us to reflect on how our nation came into being, how we have come this far since, and how we can go forward together.”


1819 is indeed an important milestone in the history of Singapore. The colonisation of Singapore by the British that then turned it into its colonial outpost and commercial headquarter for ruling SE Asia was the event that transformed Singapore from a fishing village to a commercial hub, a thriving entrepot of the day. That was the foundation that contributed to what Singapore is today.
 
Many Singaporeans remember and cherish that day they read in British written history books when Singapore was colonised as a glorious day. The reason must be that without the British landing here to rob the island from the native ruler Singapore would not be what it is today. A point to note here is that Singapore was returned to the native rulers when Singapore became part of Malaysia. The British in a way handed back Singapore to the Malay rulers in 1963 to square the score. The robbing of Singapore from the native ruler ended on that day.
 
With a twist of fate, the Malay rulers gave their blessing for Singapore to be an independent state to start a new chapter from a clean slate. In 1965, Singapore became an independent country, not robbed or stolen from Malaysia. The leaders of both states signed an agreement without a gun pointing at their heads.
 
In terms of significance, 1965 is more important to Singapore as an independent nation than 1819 when it became a British colony. Singapore became a free independent country with the blessing of Malaysia, no more stolen by British raj from the Malay rulers. 1819 was a milestone, a watershed in that it was colonised by the British, similar to the colonisation of Syonan-to by Imperial Japan in 1941. They are historical milestones of Singapore's history. Singaporeans should remember these dates, 1819, 1941, 1959, 1963 and 1965 and earlier days that predates to the time of the Sri Vijaya Empire and Parameswara. I hope Singapore would never think of celebrating 1941 just like naming the Ford Museum as Syonan Museum. There are days of glory and days of infamy and both must be treated accordingly.
 
1819 is controversial. Was it a day of glory to be celebrated in a big way or a day of infamy to be remembered dearly? The white Americans remember the landing of Columbus in America as a day of discovery, Thanksgiving Day, a day to be celebrated for conquering a new land. The American natives remember it as a day of infamy, a day when their forebears were massacred by the Europeans and their land stolen from them. The natives of America would not celebrate Thanksgiving Day. That day their land was stolen by the white invaders and their forefathers killed! They knew their history. They remember the day they lost their country and the massacre.
 
Singaporeans must know our history from our own perspective, not from the perspective of the colonial masters. The sillies would still have fond memories of singing God save the king or the queen and think affectionately of the times when they were British subjects and longed to be British subjects once again. Wait till they lose this country once again and become boat people, then they will know what it is like to be stateless.

2018 - A year when sick men seek to destroy human civilisation

The UN Secretary General has issued a red alert for the new year. He knew what is coming as the sick men in power are sounding out their intent to start a nuclear war that would wipe out life on earth. The sick men are so sick that they think it is possible to start a war to their enemies but not destroying the rest of the world, including their own people and themselves. This is what Antonio Guterres said and reported in Yahoo News,
 
"In his New Year message on Sunday, Guterres said the world appeared to have "gone in reverse" before adding, "On New Year's Day 2018 I am not issuing an appeal, I am issuing an alert -- a red alert for our world."
 
He continued: "As we begin 2018, I call for unity. ... We can settle conflicts, overcome hatred and defend shared values. But we can only do that together."
 
Reflecting on his January message when he assumed the secretary-general position -- in which he called for peace -- Guterres said that conflicts have deepened, global anxieties about nuclear weapons have increased, inequalities have grown and nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise."
 
The Secretary General is still fearful of naming the sick men that are plotting and planning to start this war. He was only willing to use nuances. The whole of the UN knew who is going to start this war to bring an end to civilisation. No, stupid, it is not the North Koreans. They are building their defence capability to protect themselves from being invaded. They are defensive in nature. They did not have the capability to destroy planet earth. They are rational human beans that would not bring about their own destruction by starting a war that they cannot win but certain of being annihilated. Only the stupids believe the lies of the sick men that the North Koreans are ready to start a nuclear war, for no reasons.
 
Kim Jong Un has sent a message to South Korea for talks and his intent to send a team to participate in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Let’s hope the Koreans would not be fixed up by the sick men in Washington and Tokyo to start to kill themselves for the perpetuation of the evil Empire.
 
By now it is obvious who these sick men are. They have the capability and a nuclear arsenal that they are ready to use. They know that no one would dare to take them on as they are the number One super power and can obliterate anyone that resists. Have no doubt about it, the USA is the number warmongering nation that is bent on war and would risk a nuclear war with North Korea for the sake of their evil Empire. They flaunt their overwhelming military superiority over the North Koreans to give themselves a false confidence that all can be controlled, that they could wipe out the nuclear facilities of the North Koreans before they are launched. They are sounding out this intention to all the countries that mattered, to Russia, to China and to their allies in Europe, Japan and South Korea. Everything is on the table. They forgot the lives of all the Americans and the rest of the world are also on the table if they gamble on this abominable crime against civilisation.
 
The world enters 2018 with this threat of a nuclear world as clear and present danger, scripted and produced by the evil Empire, the USA, and waiting to be executed. And all the UN Secretary General could do was to issue a red alert. And what about the other key person that is preaching peace around the world, like the mad and sick men in Washington, the one in white robe in Vatican City? He too spoke about the dangers facing the world but unable to name the warmongers. And the warmongers continue to preach peace but planning to destroy the earth and all its people.
 
When would the rest of the world stand up to this evil bully to stop it from starting a nuclear holocaust? When would the leaders of the world come together to tell the evil warmongers to stop doing what they are planning to do? Appealing to the American people to stop their mad leaders is equally hopeless. They think it is ok to attack and destroy small and weak nations and people as long as they came out victorious, to celebrate their victory. Only when they know that their lives and homes are also on the table in a game of 'all in' and both winners and losers would lose everything would they wake up to the folly of their mad leaders.
 
Prepare for the worse to come in 2018. Unfortunately there is no where to run. The lives of the rest of the world are also on the table. The stupid allies are too oblivious of the danger facing them should the sick men in Washington press the button. Kim Jong Un has given notice that his fingers are also on the button and will respond in kind when needed. He is not going to press first. He will only respond to the sick men in Washington, the warmongers, to start this war.
 
Without an invasion of North Korea to slaughter the North Koreans, Kim Jong Un is doing a pretty good job in raising the standard of living of his people, building a new nation from scratch after the complete devastating destruction of his country by carpet bombings by the Americans during the Korean War that destroyed all infrastructure and natural features leading to droughts and famine and killing millions of his people. Without war, North Korea would be the next economic miracle in East Asia, like South Korea.
 
The crime of the Americans was conveniently passed to the North Korean govt for mismanagement when the truth was that the country was totally destroyed, and the evil Americans have on many occasions bragged about nothing man made was left standing, above 3 feet from the ground when the war came to a truce. That was how bad the country was.
 
The evil Americans are planning to repeat this dreaded feat once again, except that this time it would be nothing would be standing one feet from ground zero. And the fate would apply to some American cities. Kim Jong Un has prepared for that day with his fingers on the buttons.

How to wish everyone Happy New Year when the threat of a nuclear holocaust is awaiting everyone and doom is hanging over their heads?

Truth and Spirituality for 2018

Truth and Spirituality for 2018

By MIKOspace

Spiritual awakening begins from wisdom.  With wisdom comes understanding [1Cor14:20]. Wisdom comes with age, at least for some.  Others choose to remain as immature children [1Cor 13:11].  Those who dare to go forth, grapple with and engage the mysteries of creation and divine intentions, will discover a spiritual awakening as they mature towards a fuller understanding when living in truth and spirituality [Eph 4:13].

The expansion of consciousness involved grounding in realistic truths.  Of the perennial persistence of good and evil; of the very human tendency to act in greed and selfishness instead of love, compassion and grace; of the very unequal power balance between those with abundance and those who hungered for a small share of that abundance; of the hypocrisy of religious leaders in promoting their own interests of wealth, power and influence instead of lifting up and enhancing the lives of their followers; of the blatant exploitation by huge corporate powers to monetise the valuable labour surplus of the poor and vulnerable; of international institutions like the United Nations and international trading blocs who legitimise increasing poverty and ignore the self-evident plights of refugees from wars, child soldiers, victims of children and women trafficking, subjugation and dehumanisation of women in the name of culture, tradition and religions. 

The greatest truth of realism is that good only triumphs over evil in movies and story books; never and only occasionally, in real life.

        

I cannot remember exactly when my spiritual awakening journey actually began.  I first wrote about it around my birthday in 2004, a few years after the darkness from the passing of my beloved wife Rosie of 14 years in 1999.  Marrying the wonderfully beautiful Pingping in 2012 began a new celestial galactic cycle according to the ancient Mayan calendar, as eternity continues to unfold and expand my consciousness by revealing new truths.

For a vast majority of Christian believers, the “abundant” life promised in [John 10:10] is characterised by poverty, want, pain and disappointments.   They are lulled and deluded by their priests and pastors, often using human psychological sciences and the science of economic, to blame themselves for their conditions.  They blind their believers to the obvious and glaring abundance enjoyed by priests and pastors, unbelievers as well as others who are less righteous and criminals, and the gullible and naïve mass of believers accept their fate to be vastly poorer and hungrier believers to value instead the divine promise that “the poor will inherit the kingdom of God” [Luke 6:20].   Indeed, the poor has inherited the trash, sand, mud, wastelands and deserts, while every resources, food and built infrastructures are owned and controlled by the powerful others.    

The conventional human wisdom is that religion today has made mankind better.  One easily points to World Vision and other similar Christian organisations whose humanitarian work among refugees, children, women and the sick, setting up food distributions, hospitals and establishing missions as evidence of beneficial religiosity without being spiritual or evangelistic.  Indeed, they are essentially human enterprises, being spiritually Christian only in name or association, but who understand the real human condition only too well. 

Strangely, the “success” of philanthropic Christian organisations adds little to empower and embolden a deeper spirituality in Christians who yearn, naturally, for a more intimate connection to something or someone greater then themselves. 

Religious work does not add to Christian spirituality, which is the original intention of God’s revelation as the human Jesus Christ. Religious transcendence over spirituality makes religion both anti-God and anti-Christ.  In truth, religion - in its self-focus and self-importance - denies God as the source and essence of all goodness and the motivator of all things loving and healing.  Religion is therefore anti-spirituality.  

Spirituality is diluted and overwhelmed by religion. Spiritual awakening re-establishes the deep sense of authentic identity in every human being.  The immediate evidence is the realisation and discovery of eternity, a sense of timelessness, which in turn acts to transform daily living and relationships with new ways and experiences.  St Paul also refers to this sensation as “the peace that surpassed understanding” [Phil 4:7].

Spirituality cannot be understood by conventional human logic or scientific reason.  In this sense, spirituality is supernatural.  Insofar as our spiritual awakening unfolds, the new realities shall emerge gradually in our consciousness, and our own construction of new social realities quickly manifested in changed behaviors becomes self-evident to others around us. True spiritual growth results in personal development as one expresses the new realities unfolding in our sub-conscience made self-aware by a heightened consciousness.

Spiritual inspiration provokes new understanding of the universe which would fire the human imagination for creative outcomes.  Truths are revealed as the Holy Spirit teaches and provides profound understanding to revisit our knowledge in new perspectives.  New and revised truths immediately set free the human consciousness hitherto trapped in a self-imposed prison constructed with man-made religious and human worldviews to be able to see things “as directed with God’s eyes” [Psalm 32:8].  Suddenly, the enlightened universe lights up as the Holy Spirit lifts you out of human ignorance into divine illumination. Trust me, I know.

Spirituality is individual [Job 33:4].  Collective or communal spirituality, even in a gathering of self-proclaimed spiritual people, does not exist.   Spiritual persons are naturally anti-religion since religion is essentially anti-spiritual.  

Living with spirituality means drawing upon God’s own creative essence – His Spirit [or “ruach” in Hebrew] – for the energy, inspiration and motivation in living the eternity life here at this time.  A wise man chooses only to live a spiritual life.  For him or her, religion is optional and often unnecessary. 

Every Christian has direct access to Jesus and God, who are both one and the same.  There is no need for pastors, priests and “saints” to be intermediaries with God.  Quite contrary to man-made religious teachings, each individual Christian is a “temple” of God and that the “Spirit of God dwells” in him or her [1Cor 3:16].   Since the Holy Spirit exists in every Christian, there is no need to build human structures, however grandeur, as testaments to the Creator God.  Man is God’s greatest creation and mankind is his lasting crowning testament. Therefore, “collective” worship is laudable but not mandatory. And the bible establishes a group of only three to be sufficient for communal worship [Matt 18:20].  

Ultimately, it is the individual Christian who is responsible and held accountable to God, not the collective “Church” [Rom 14:12].

Change is fundamental in living the eternal life.  The future is constantly unveiling itself.  The universe is in a constant state of change.   Meaning, life and everything around us are in a perpetual process of unveiling and evolving, of becoming into some eventual final state. Religion however teaches constancy as the key characteristic of the universe.  Living with spirituality means living with the certainty of change but without the fear of the unknown because the Holy Spirit – God Himself – will empower the believer with the knowledge of things to come [John 16:13].  Know again that in Christianity, there is absolutely no need for pastors, priests or “saints” to be intermediaries with God.  

A calm sense of the unknown follows spiritual awakening and spiritual inspiration leads to wisdom.   Wisdom is the principle of living in complete spiritual awareness that God is the guiding principle in living the eternal life to grow, lead and act with the highest endowed human potential.  For me, spiritual awakening parallels my life of service.  I realise that living the eternal life in the present in truth and spirituality is hard work and active.  It is not armchair activism.  Nor is it simply attending church services and praying that “God, the mission need is great, please send the other guys and I shall pray for them!”    

True spirituality empowers you to nurture compassion, and develop in others a greater capacity for love and for you to receive their love in turn. When you are at your best authentic self as you live in truth and spirituality, you will enjoy the eternal life in the present without fear or limit to bring out the spirituality in others as well. 

Readers are invited to share in the “expansion of consciousness” experience in 2018. 

  .

Best social political blog and blogger

This is the time of the year when people sit back to relax and to reflect on the happenings of the year. The main media and several industries and organizations have been holding events to honour their champions, like best journalists, best actor and actress, best author etc etc. It has been nearly two decades since social media burst into the scene of news reporting, reporting news of the people, news that the people think are relevant and interesting to them, soldiering tirelessly without any form of financial reward. Just think of the hundreds of thousands that are being paid to full time news makers and reporters and the pittance or zero being paid to part time social political writers in the social media, it is like what they said, a thankless task and with the risks of being on the wrong side of the political divide and ending up behind bars or bankrupt or run road.
 
Perhaps it is time that social media readers and bloggers do something to honour this group of tireless soldiers banging away at the keyboards to air what the main media would not want to print. I was hoping that the bigger and more popular sites like TRE, Statestimereview or TOC would do the honour to put up some awards to give recognition to the relentless efforts of the bloggers, to keep the social and political news flowing to satisfy readers hungry for alternative news.
 
While waiting for them to come up with something in this line of thought, I would like to suggest two awards, one for the Best Social Political Blog and one for the Best Social Political blogger. Readers here can submit the names of their favourite blogs and bloggers and we can hold a small survey to honour them. The rewards would not be any monetary kind, just a name, Best Social Political Blog and Best Social Political Blogger. For the latter I have a few suggestions, Phillip Ang, Cynical Investor, Leong Sze Hian to start the ball rolling.
 
As I am initiating this project, mysingaporenews and redbean should be excluded from the nomination as there is an issue of conflict of interest. There are many blogs and bloggers out there to be recognised and honoured for keeping the readers informed of the real and important stuff that one would not read in the main media. This is a highly essential role that must be filled if the people are to be kept well informed and not be misled by fake news or biased news from the main media. These bloggers keep a balance of what is real and what is unreal and maintain a sense of sanity in this world of fabricated truths.
 
This is an effort to honour the people that are really making the news out of a genuine interest to produce news that affect our country and people, unlike those that did it for financial rewards. Not that it is wrong to do so for monetary benefits or for a living. It is that much more meaningful doing it out of passion, justice and righteousness.
 
Many bloggers and blogs must have contributed to the readers knowledge of current affairs and helped them to form clearer and informed views of things and events. They deserved your support and recognition. Please get the ball rolling.