Mischievous slant of Reuter report on China

Read the Reuter report below with its standard western slant and lies to discredit China in whatever China is trying to do to help Africa to develop and uplift the quality of life of Africans. The article started with the facts of China pouring in billions of dollars to help Africa in their badly needed infrastructure projects without which Africa would continue to be the neglected continent after being robbed and looted by the white colonialists. The colonialists came just to take from Africa for free and left the continent under developed.

China today came to offer cheap loans which the whites would not offer and to build infrastructure projects at a fraction of the cost if the whites were to do them. And in return the African states repay the loans with minerals that the whites would not want to buy. But the slant of the Reuter report is that the African states would be in huge debt that they could not pay.  The truth is that the African states are selling their minerals to China and with the money they repay China for the cheap loan. Both parties have done their sums and the payment for minerals would be enough to pay for the infrastructure projects.  The whites need not worry about the African states unable to pay or to cast doubts about their ability to pay. What is so bad about that? Why would they be in debt when they can sell their minerals that would have gone to waste if no one is buying? Why aren't the whites buying up their minerals? Oh, waiting to recolonise them again and take the minerals for free, like in Iraq?

The white colonialists did not buy the minerals. They looted them away for free from Africa. The Americans and the ex colonial powers are only interested in wars and selling weapons. China is the only country out there in Africa helping them to rebuild their countries for peace and prosperity, not wars. The real white thieves are yelling thieves. China providing cheap loans is bad?

Here is an extract of this set piece mischievous white man's article in Reuter. You can find them all over the western media with the same theme and agenda. The sub heading is already telling a mischievous lie. Loading up on Chinese debt? Why won't the Africans load up on white debt but prefer cheap Chinese debt? Either the whites refused to lend them for infrastructure projects but only to buy weapons or the white debt were too costly.

LOADING UP ON CHINESE DEBT

Africa is in the midst of a boom in infrastructure projects, managed and cheaply financed by China, part of Xi's "Belt and Road" initiative to build a transport network connecting China by land and sea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

China has pledged US$126 billion for the plan, which has been praised by its supporters as a source of vital financing for the developing world. In Senegal, Chinese loans have financed a highway linking the capital Dakar to Touba, its second main city, and part of an industrial park on the Dakar peninsula.

China's ambassador to Senegal Zhang Xun was quoted by the local press in March as saying China had invested US$100 million in Senegal in 2017.

"Senegal takes a positive view of China's role in Africa," Sall said at the news conference. "For its contribution to peace and stability and equally ... for the financing of budgets."

But critics say Africa is loading itself up on Chinese debt that it may struggle to repay, with estimates ranging in the tens of billions of dollars. That could leave African nations with no choice but to hand over controlling stakes in strategic assets to the Chinese state.

U.S. officials have warned that a port in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, a host to major U.S. and French military bases, could suffer this fate, although Djibouti rejects the fear.

In Guinea, meanwhile, one of the world's poorest nations, China is lending US$20 billion to the government in exchange for aluminium ore concessions.

Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/in-senegal--china-s-president-xi-pledges-stronger-africa-ties-10551816

Singapore's lucrative part time jobs

Many graduates from Singapore's world class universities are choosing to work part time in Singapore out of free choice because part time jobs not only give them plenty of freedom but also free time, and some to be their own bosses, driving people around at their own time. Part time jobs have indeed flourished in Singapore at least among Singaporeans as occupation of choice. I am not too sure about non Singaporean locals or foreigners. These are stupid people that want permanent jobs and could not see how good part time jobs are, and how lucrative.

The most lucrative part time job in Singapore of course is being MPs. This job is part time in many ways and still being paid $16,000 a month or thereabout.  Ok, ok, for the millionaires, this is peanuts. But this is a handsome sum of money to 90 percent of Singaporeans, highly desirable and admirable. How many Singaporeans could earn this sum of money working full time? Only the millionaire politicians would see this sum no up. And this part time MP job also means attending parliament, a very vital area of an elected MP's responsibility is also part time. Want to attend then attend. If got other more important commitments like an MP's other full time occupation, the latter would take priority because it is full time and MP is part time.

Actually there are many other higher paying part time jobs like directors of company. If a director is being paid $120k a year in director fee, you know how lucrative it is? Company directors are not full time jobs. Board of directors meeting are often held once a month or sometimes once in two or three months. Assuming it is once a month, a $120k director's fee would mean each meeting a company director is paid $10,000, for 1 or 2 hours sitting in the boardroom tweedling his thumbs or having nice snacks and coffee.

And this is not the most lucrative if you know how much the chairman of a company is paid versus that of a company director. Let's say a chairman is paid $2.4m a year, divide that by 12 assuming there were 12 monthly meetings like the directors, it would work out to $200,000 per meeting. Not bad really.  And if the company is really big, like a MNC and the chairman is paid $12m a year, it means each meeting he chairs he is being paid $1m for 1 or 2 hours of being there.

How many chairman are full time? Mostly chairman are part time job. See how lucrative part time jobs can be? Ok, Ok, forget about the graduates that ended in part time jobs because the good permanent jobs are filled by foreigners. Not all part time jobs are desirable or lucrative. Only very selective part time jobs are lucrative and highly desirable and enviable. Some people are just so lucky to end up with such cushy and super well paid part time jobs and doing or contributing you know what.

Elon Musk is bringing Tesla to China

Elon Musk has just signed an agreement in China to build a giant factory to manufacture electric cars. Yes, he is going against Trump’s America First, by turning away from the USA to Made In China. Harley Davidson is also doing the same by moving its factory to Mexico. Both quoted that for their companies to survive they must be in China. Leaving China would kill their businesses.
 
By moving production to China, Elon Musk is capitalizing on a skilled and discipline workforce that is paid one quarter of what he would have to pay an American worker. And he would also have a market of 1.4b people waiting to buy his cars. His cars would be produced much cheaper and could be sold cheaper or with bigger profit margin. To produce his cars in the USA would be suicidal as his cars would be too expensive and the profit margin too thin to be profitable.
 
India has been courting Elon Musk for a while to produce his cars in Make In India, even allocating a piece of land for the Tesla factory. The news of Tesla’s giant factory in China is making the Indians very angry, not at Elon Musk but at China. This is typical Indian anti China mentality. China is competing for business and would give the best terms to any investor and Elon Musk is the one that made the final decision choosing China instead of India. Why the hysteria and mass protest to hate China for a decision made by Tesla, the investor? India should compete by being more competitive than China if it wants Tesla or any investor to produce in India.
 
Trump is dumbfounded with the decision of Elon Musk that is a slap in his face. He should be the one that should be very angry with Elon Musk, but he for once is keeping his mouth shut. Any big American business following Trump’s American first policy is going to die cock standing in the international market of fierce competition. The cost of production in America is just insanely too expensive to be competitive in the international market. But that is another Trump card to bring down the American Empire.
 
Free trade is here to stay.

To Buy or not to Buy Life Insurance is Individuals' Prerogative Rights.

To buy or not to buy life insurance policies is an individual's prerogative right. No one should be allowed to trample on this sacred human right on whatever the pretext. No insurance companies or corporations or conglomerates or insurance agents should have the right to force the people to buy life policies. No one in his right mind should be allowed to override this basic inherent human right.

Majority of working class people can hardly earn enough to sustain their every day life sustenance. Yet they have to be compulsorily forced to pay for their CPF. Do they still have enough cash left to be forced again into buying irrelevant life insurance schemes. If buying life insurance policies is made compulsory into a national commercial policy it is tantamount to stepping on an individual's basic human right.

There is no problem with the elites one percent or upper middle class ten percent population who earn hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars every year so they can buy any number of life policies they want to which ironically they do not need to except perhaps out of greed.

Big insurance companies anywhere in the world earn hundreds of millions or billions every year. But how much do they dispense due to claims, very minimal not even five percent or at most hardly ten percent .

CPF which is supposed to be an individual's life savings but has been hijacked into some sort of insurance schemes like Medisave, Medishield and Eldershield. Eldershield hardly dispense more than a few percent in claims out of the billions it has raked in as profit. And now the working class people are again forced to pay the compulsory Care Shield Life Insurance. How many more billions will this Care Shield Life Insurance squeeze from the people? And how does it intend to really dispense for subscribers when their needs arise without trying to give excuses of not paying out with illogical rules like what is happening with Elder Shield in which you can draw from the scheme only when you are bedridden, when you can't feed yourself, when you can't bathe yourself, when you are handicapped with only one eye or one leg or one arm. This is really atrocious. In other words they will dispense your claims only in the last episode of your life in the last few days, few weeks or few months of your life. Why can't they kick in the payment earlier to make the difference when an individual's life can still be saved?

So this sort of  insurance scheme is very mercendary. The scheme is only concerned with making more and more money and yet it is claimed that the scheme is good for the people. Therefore the authority must not arrogate to itself the right to impose the scheme on the people. The people's interest must not be subservient and subsumed to the profit oriented interest of the insurance company or companies. Must the people continue to be conned and block chained?

For fair play the people must be given some leeway or else it is going to be troublesome when many really cannot afford to pay.

Southernglory1

The Singapore govt insurance business or racket?

The Singapore govt is going into the insurance business in a big way. After the trial run of two compulsory schemes, CPF Life and Medishield Life and facing no objection and opposition, it now feels free and unrestrained to legislate more compulsory insurance schemes for the people using their CPF savings. Now there are Eldershield Life, Careshield Life and dunno what more are in the pipeline.
 
Is this a business or a racket? What I would consider or define as a racket is a scheme that the buyer does not want, does not need, cannot afford but still forced into buying it, compulsory, cannot say no.
 
How many people need or want to buy so many insurance schemes when they could not even afford to live decently, not having three good meals, everyday trying to make ends meet?
 
How many people can afford to pay for so many insurance when life is a financial struggle?
 
How many people would want to empty or deplete their diminishing life savings in the CPF due to inflation, high property prices to buy and buy, pay and pay, for more insurance schemes?
 
When a person cannot say no to buy things that he does not want, does not need, cannot afford to pay for it, it is daylight robbery no matter under what guises. No one shall be forced to buy things against his wishes especially when he cannot afford it and to deplete his life savings against his wishes.
Compulsory insurance schemes are rackets, daylight robbery in disguise.
 
No, it is good for the people? Sure they are good for the people, if they are not forced to buy them and can afford to pay for them. When they are schemed by other people to dip into their life savings against their wishes, the schemes are not so innocent and altruistic. And worse, when the schemes would end up in a lot of surplus or profits that would not benefit the people being forced into paying for them.
 
Oh, the schemes are not profit making! Did you hear that, non profit making whoa. Then why insist on keeping the surplus for the future that may not come to many of the contributors forced to pay for them? Keeping for the future, the rainy day that may not come is a bad excuse. Period.
 
With the stroke of a pen, a few million policies were sold as a few million CPF captive members would be made to pay for the insurance they did not want. One compulsory scheme, say 2 million paying, multiply that by 4 schemes, how many insurance policies are sold? Imagine how tough it is for an insurance agent to sell 20 policies in a year.
 
Damn senang to make millions and billions without having to sweat the small stuff. Worse than ‘pah chioh’ if you understand this phrase in hokien.