Ever caring govt scheming to help Singaporeans

Recently there has been a spate of caring for the people policies and schemes by the govt to help the people. And as usual, following every one of these caring schemings is how much more the Singaporeans have to pay or to cough out from their CPF savings. There are now 4 compulsory insurance schemes that Singaporeans have no choice but to pay.

Gan Kim Yong has floated the sugar balloon, to discourage Singaporeans from eating more sugar. The next policy change will be higher taxes on sugar and sugary stuff.  See how caring and frightening is the govt when they voluntary schemed in the name of helping the Singaporeans, and the Singaporeans ended paying for the schemes?

Josephine Teo has joined the fun, oops, I mean caring for Singaporeans. She now realised that Singaporeans are living longer, so must raise retirement age so that Singaporeans would continue to contribute to the CPF to have more money for retirement.  

"Minister Josephine Teo: Time to pay more CPF and increase Retirement Age

July 29, 2018

Claiming that Singaporeans are living beyond 90 years old, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo yesterday (Jul 29) told state media Straits Times in an interview that she will be raising the CPF payment rate and Retirement Age. The current Retirement Age is 62, raised from 55, while the current payment rate is 37%.
According to the newly-appointed “4G” Minister, Singaporeans will need to pay more CPF because they live longer:" thestatestimesreview

There could be many reasons why there is a need to raise CPF contributions and retirement age. According to the statestimereview article, it is because sovereign debt fund or is it sovereign wealth fund, is losing money and the hole needs to be patched up. Josephine's narrative is that people are living  longer, so must work longer and contribute longer and more to their CPF. Is this a linear thing, an unending thing? It looks like it. Singaporeans can be 80, 90 or 100 year old and still have to work and contribute to their CPF. Do you think this is ludicrous?

I have another hypothesis. Singaporeans really don't have much money left in their CPF for retirement and the oldies are more vulnerable. Why?

Think of where their CPF money is going and how much left for retirement. A 3 rm HDB lease holder would have to cough out something like $500k from his CPF. Those in bigger flats would have to cough out more. Then there are 4 compulsory CPF insurance schemes to pay for, and maybe more schemes coming. Then the hundreds of thousands in jail house rock under the various minimum sum schemes. The oldies, if they are going to live longer, would be in dire straits with not much money left in their CPF for retirement and also to pay for many more caring schemes to help them to live to 100 years and have money to spend. I recap the last two points on the need to raise retirement age and CPF contributions, money not enough to retire and not enough to pay for more compulsory schemes.

Going forward, not only those in the 70s and 80s would need to work, they would need to contribute more to their CPF. Can you believe this? People in their 70s and 80s, on paper can live to 90s and 100s, must continue to work and to contribute to their CPF for their retirement, when the unpredictability of life could mean they could die tomorrow?

But this is besides the point. The important thing is that these people elected their representatives to scheme up more schemes to care for them. And the people they elected are doing exactly that, to appear to be very caring. How can you fault anyone when open mouth shut mouth says he/she is doing it to help the daft, the helpless and the unthinking? Well, er, since everyone is so mediocre, the immortals, if not the natural aristocrats, must help the mediocre right?

Turkey - This is what would happen to an American crony

North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and Turkey are all victims of American coercion and sanctions. Their economies are held at ransom for not willing to do the bidding of the Americans and become their cronies or proxies or little USAs. And why are the little USAs not standing up to object to the American bullying of these countries? Because being little USAs they are being spared and so happily kept their mouths shut. Compare the harm done to these countries to 'devious' China being accused of manipulating countries to be pro China.

The Gang of 4 in Red Dot (in China when they said Gang of 4 they showed all 5 fingers) also kept very mum, not whispering a word. But they were very vocal and even took centrestage, like a great duty to warn the Singaporeans how  'devious' China was in manipulating countries to be pro China.This influencing of a country's policies is commonly done in the diplomatic circle and is something very normal, like the media publishing fake news to influence the thoughts of innocent readers. In diplomatic affairs, everyone involved is fully aware of such activities and only a very silly govt leader would be influenced without knowing it or being forced into being influenced. It is fair game that Singapore as a state also indulges in. So what is the fucking big deal about a country wanting to influence another country through diplomatic and official means that it is necessary to use the loudspeaker to tell the people? What is the real motive and agenda behind such an act?

And we have the evil Empire openly and aggressively threatening countries, imposing sanctions and coercion on countries to do its bidding, threats of war, but none of the Gang of 4 would dare make a whimper. Are such aggressive coercion acceptable to the Gang of 4 and so there is no need to warn the people about it, no need to say anything about it, and perhaps better to write love letters to the CIA like Najib hoping to be spared by the evil Empire? Or for good measures, just be a lap dog of the evil Empire, be little USA and be very safe from being attacked by the evil Empire.

The fate of Turkey, once a lap dog of the Americans but now wanting to be more independent to drive its own foreign policies, is there for all little USAs to see and to learn. Any little USA that thinks that it can change course, not to do the bidding of the evil Empire, will suffer the same fate as Turkey, North Korea, Venezuela and Iran. This is a warning that Singaporeans must take note of. Once you slept with the Devil, you cannot run free again.

Would the Gang of 4 think it necessary to warn the Singaporeans of the evil American Empire? Turkey's economy is going to be ruined. Its currency the lira is under attacked and lost 20% over a couple of days. For the year it has lost nearly 50% of its value. Turkey is at the verge of a collapse. But the pride of the Turks, not to become semi colony of the evil Empire, is seeing President Erdogan standing up to the Americans, not to be cowed or oppressed. They would turn to Russia and China for help. Erdogan is calling on Europe to stand up to the bullying of the evil Empire. He is warning them that everyone of them would suffer the same fate as Turkey. He is encouraging them to drop the American dollar and trade with other countries using their respective currencies and not be held at ransom by the evil Americans.

The evil Empire has been using all the levers of force to coerce countries to do its bidding for decades since the end of WW2. It is not going to let up. It forces little USAs to go to wars unwillingly, to fight in the Middle East and the little USAs pretend that they were doing it willingly. It forces little USAs to take sides in big power confrontation for influence and domination. And little USAs quietly just do the bidding of the evil Empire, even forced to buy super expensive war toys that they don't need, as protection money to the evil Empire.

More and more countries are standing up to the evil Empire, to break free from the clutches of the Americans. This is the new alternative to the otherwise no choice submission to the evil Empire. The evil Empire is also not going to let free its historical allies in Europe and Nato. They are all victims of the evil Empire fighting its last breath, desperate to cling on to its dominance as the unchallenged super power but not having the money to do so any more.

The countries of the world must stand united against the bullying of the evil Empire. The gang of 4 is very quiet lately. Maybe they have been gagged for causing so much harm to our relations with other countries through their stupidity and pro American views and rhetoric.

Chinese exclusion policy of NASA turning on its head

The Chinese Space Station will be fully operational in year 2022, two years before the International Space Station will be decommissioned and close shop. Many countries are now scrambling to Beijing to want to be friendly with China to buy a ticket to the Chinese Space Station when the International Space Station is closed down permanently, may be destroyed in space.
 
The American scientists are also trying to make peace with China to buy their ticket to the Chinese Space Station. Whether the Americans would be welcomed and given a ticket would depend on the charity and generosity of Beijing. The likely answer from Beijing is likely to be strongly influenced by the Americans’ Chinese exclusion policy of NASA. Here is a short write up of this policy in Wikipedia.

‘Due to security concerns, all researchers from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are prohibited from working bilaterally with Chinese citizens affiliated with a Chinese state enterprise or entity. In April 2011, the 112th United States Congress banned NASA from using its funds to host Chinese visitors at NASA facilities….
 
Despite growing trade ties between both countries, a close scientific partnership with China has been rejected by several American politicians including Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who in 1999 stated:
 
They [China] are the evil empire.
 
In 2010, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) urged President Barack Obama not to allow further contact between NASA and the China National Space Administration (CNSA). In a letter addressed to the President, he wrote:
 
I have grave concerns about the nature and goals of China’s space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and CNSA’s human space flight programs without Congressional authorization.
In April 2011, the 112th United States Congress banned NASA from engaging in bilateral agreements and coordination with China. As stated under Public Law 112-55, SEC. 539:
 
None of the funds made available by this Act may be used for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement, or execute a bilateral policy, program, order, or contract of any kind to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally in any way with China….’

Such anti China policy and thinking built on the premises of white supremacy and to prevent China from access to space technology would now be coming full circle. The Americans in their arrogance and pride, would never believe or expect that the Chinese would be able to acquire space technology without the assistance of the West and would always be left behind as backward a country.
 
The Chinese have found their way to space and would now have the monopoly of a Space Station and could now do exactly what the Americans have done to them. They would exclude the Americans from the Space Station for the very same reasons the Americans excluded them. The Chinese would have their American exclusion policy of CNSA written in the same vein as NASA’s exclusion policy.
 
It would be very silly of the Chinese should they do anything else to allow the Americans on board their Space Station. The evil Americans have been doing everything possible to exclude the Chinese from acquiring advanced space technology and all other technologies, treating China as enemy. It is only natural for China to return the Americans the same favour and brand them as the evil Empire.
 
What goes round would come around. Let the Americans die cock standing, be the outcast, the pariah of the space community of nations. This is justice and must be seen to be done, on the real evil Empire, the Americans.
 
Good riddance.
 
China can continue with its space programme with countries that are friendly to China like Russia and some European countries on the basis of quid pro quo. The International Space Station was built and financed by a group of western countries and Russia, pulling resources to make it happened. China built its space station on its own resources and technology. The Chinese did it by themselves.

North Korea must denuclearise, USA no need, can build more nuclear weapons

"SINGAPORE: United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday (Aug 3) struck a positive note when asked about the progress of North Korea's denuclearisation.
“We are confident that (North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) remains committed to denuclearisation. The world is counting on it," Pompeo said....
Pompeo cautioned that “no matter how much progress we make”, economic sanctions against North Korea will remain, adding that the ball is now in Kim’s court.
“The ultimate timeline for denuclearisation will be set by chairman Kim,” he said." Channel News Asia

The Americans have been repeating these statements about the need for North Korea to denuclearise and that sanctions would continue, no letting down. Never have they mentioned about the Americans denuclearising in the Korean Peninsula. Does this mean that denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is only one way, the North Koreans to denuclearise and the Americans to continue to leave their nuclear weapons in the peninsula. Why is it that the North Koreans have to denuclearise, because they would use their nuclear weapons?

Why the Americans no need to denuclearise in the Korean Peninsula, in Japan and everywhere, because they would not use their nuclear weapons? The Americans built a deadly arsenal of nuclear weapons because they would not use it? How often have the Americans threatened to be the first to use nuclear weapons on countries like Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, not counting Japan, done that?

How dangerous the world would be if the evil Empire is the only one possessing nuclear weapons and free to use it because no one else has nuclear weapons and can hit back? The Korean Peninsula situation is going to be like that if it goes according to the plans of the Americans. North Koreans would have no nuclear weapons to hit back if the Americans strike, and they would end up like Iraq and Libya and Kim Jong Un would be meeting Saddam and Gaddafi in the world of the dead.

Is this what the North Koreans want? The Americans are still shouting more sanctions, more pressure on the North Koreans. Why no pressure and sanctions on the Americans to denuclearise, at least in the Korean Peninsula?

The latest, the warmonger evil Empire is going to militarise Space by setting a Space Force. And what kind of weapons do you think they are going to put up there, machine guns and bullets? Or would they be putting up nuclear weapons in space. And again they are singing peace, militarising Space is for peace. And the idiots in the world, especially the bananas here would say, ya, ya, it is for peace, like their militarising of all the oceans with offensive weapons ie weapons that are meant to attack another country. What China placed in its islands in the South China Sea are defensive weapons, to defend the islands against the Americans offensive weapons.

Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Guam, Marshalls and many other Pacific Islands are heavily armed with offensive weapons, WMDs. The bombers attacking Iraq were based in Diego Garcia. The bombers that fly to the coast of China and North Korea carrying nuclear weapons were from Guam.

Now they are going to place WMD in Space. Did you hear any of the American cronies and proxies or little USAs protesting?

Exceptional investment genius wanted!

It would take an exceptional genius to invest in a company that has an accumulated loss of $225b! Why would anyone want to invest $200m into such a company? One possible reason, they did not know, they did not do their homework, or they were duped, conned into spending OPM on the deal.
 
Another reason is that this is the work of an exceptional genius who knew that the company in such huge debt, likely going to go bankrupt, and they are in to pick it up after it goes bust, to restructure and to rebuild it into another new conglomerate. Only an exceptional genius can do this kind of investment and waiting to make a killing by the millions if not billions.
 
Below is such a rare incident posted in theindependent site of Temasek and an English company pouring in $200m in a company that smelt foul but seen as a good buy. Temasek must be waiting to show how profitable this investment is once the dust is clear.
 
I once wrote that it is very easy to dupe a stupid investor into pumping money into a sick company by getting another big investor pretending to have done his home work and willing to invest together with the stupid company, telling the latter it is a good deal. Read this posted in theindependent.
 
“International new wire Reuters reported in April that Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek – together with Britain’s Metric Capital – invested $200 million for a 17% stake in Turkey’s Dogus Restaurant Entertainment and Management (D.ream) – a conglomerate that has 42 restaurants to its name….
 
The hyped restaurant chain, however, has drawn flak for being a “ripoff” and has accumulated poor reviews from several customers and food reviewers alike. The New York Post was one such publication that wrote in a restaurant review that the dishes at the “underwhelming” restaurant were “overpriced”….
 
A month before Temasek acquired a sizeable stake in the parent company of Salt Bae’s restaurant, Singaporeans expressed concerns and asked: “How much more money do they have to lose?”
 
Today, these concerns are edging ever closer to becoming a reality as D.ream’s parent company Dogus Group faces severe debt restructuring woes, barely four months after the wealth fund sunk $200 million into its subsidiary.
 
Nasdaq reported earlier this month that Dogus has encountered disagreements with its creditors over how its maturing loans valued at $2 billion Euros or S$3.19 billion should be paid.
 
This $2 billion Euros only represents about half of Dogus’ debt woes. Combined outstanding loans stood at a whopping 23.5 billion lira or S$6.55 billion at the end of last year, climbing by a hefty 11 per cent since 2016….
 
This is especially worrisome given estimates that Turkish businesses owe as much as $225 billion in long-term overseas loans as of April 2018. In the wake of the crrency decline, several Turkish conglomerates are resorting to selling assets or refinancing their businesses to overcome the debt crisis.”
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