10/31/2018

Saudi Arabia squeezing Trump’s balls

Trump has been flip flopping over the savage killing of Khashoggi. What is the relationship of Khashoggi with the USA? Never mind, this is not that important anymore. What is important is that the Americans cannot do anything about it and Saudi Arabia and MBS would move on as if nothing has happened.
 

Why, why are the Americans and even Trump, could not do anything against the Saudis?
 

Listen to these threats coming from the Saudis.
 

1. Saudi Arabia will switch from petrodollar to petroyuan. Americans mati. The end of the American Empire.
2. Oil price will shoot to US$400.
3. Saudis will invite the Russians to set up military base in Saudi Arabia.
4. Saudi Arabia will ally with Iran and join the Russia/China camp. When this happened, Israel will no longer be able to control and mess around with the Arabs applying their divide and rule policy.
5. Saudi Arabia will dump US Treasury Bills.
 

What would the above mean to the Americans and Israelis? The Middle East would all be part of a new alliance with Russia and China leaving the USA and Israel as the two lone wolves facing the might of the Arab world, and losing control of oil as a weapon of war.
 

So, what can Trump and the Americans do? Sanctions? Remove the Saudi royalties? No, they would turn their heads, start to whistle and pretend that nothing has happened. Let’s move on, human rights, abominable crimes, what’s that?
 

The Americans are increasingly facing such Hobbesian’s Choice and becoming hapless while their allies defied the Empire and do as they please. The Americans are losing control of their allies. All the chips they held over their allies are becoming meaningless. The end of the Evil Empire is near. In this Khashoggi’s case the Americans would look so ridiculous over their claims of moral superiority, or righteousness, of anything by hypocrisy. This will be like the Americans unmasked, the Devil will be exposed.
 

Trump thought he could have his ways by pushing everyone around. This time he is completely at the mercy of the Saudis. He could do nothing to bring justice for the savage dismemberment of Khashoggi, very highly and likely a CIA operative.

10/30/2018

F35s - Influencing policy makers and the masses

F-35: How the fifth-generation fighter jet might take RSAF to the next level

Channel News Asia ran a 3 part series article on how good the F35 is and how relevant it is to the air defence of Singapore or should it be the air offensive capability of Singapore with these aircraft. Lockheed Martin, the aircraft manufacturer must have paid quite a bit for this propaganda, oops advertisement to influence not only the decision makers into paying for this ultra expensive toy, but also trying to change the perception of the man in the street that they should not grumble should the govt plough a few billions into this wonderful war machine. I read the piece and am convinced that this is a really good piece of war machine, maciam a Ferrari or a Lamborghini. Actually it is more, like a F1 formual racing car. 

Imagine the people driving their Ferraris and Lamborghinis on our roads and how stylo milo they looked, just crusing along at 110 kph without breaking the road speed limit. That is about what these super cars could do on our roads. And the competitors for attention or to out race them were practically zero.

The big question is who are we going to use these machine against? China, completely useless. They have radars that could render the stealth feature ineffective. And it would be silly for any Singaporeans to think of fighting China with these aircraft, totally out of line, out of the leaque, no contest. Perhaps the closest to fighting China would be to be dragged in by the Americans as their point man, as part of the American war plan for world supremacy. This is definitely not something we want to be in, not something we want to pay for.

These war machine would be too good for our immediate neighbours. They too would not be our competitors even if they acquired them with American consent or acquiring the best Russian war machine. Buying these war machine is only the first step. You would also need clever pilots to fly them, not like the Ab Bengs in their soup up machine tearing down the road. These are highly sophisticated war machine to be used for war, not just swooping around in the sky. Not many would be able to use them as what they were made to do. Definitely not the pilots of our neighbouring countries. This is no bragging. 

Then there is the bigger headache of maintaining them in flying and fighting condition. Our neighbours track record of their Russian and American possession has proven that afterF15s and F16s would be more than adequate to do the job needed, at a fraction of the cost.

Talking about cost, many would be better informed of the complexity of these machine, the use of satellite technology and GPS system to support them, ground control computer and radar system. It is not so simp0le as just buying the aircraft. Then there is also the weapons and avionics cost etc etc. The total cost would be enormous and something we could not afford and do not need to pay for. 

Very likely these aircraft would not have to fight an air war and lost in battle. Many of them would be lost why flying in peace time due to engine or pilot errors. At the tune of $200m each, this is no small sum to fall out of the sky. 

They are good to have, nice to have, like the Lamborghinis and Ferraris. But for practical reasons, the F15s and F16s would be able to perform just as well given the theatre and competitors. Can we afford to pay for such beautiful state of the art war machine or toys with public money?

Below are some extracts of the Lockheed Martin sales pitch in Channel News Asia. Very attractive and mesmerising. Spending OPM is so easy, for such machine, called game changer. Sure, why not. Who would end up paying for the super expensive toys? The enemies would not be able to take them down. But normal wear and tear, poor maintenance and mistakes would.



FORT WORTH, Texas: At the end of a highly sensitive assembly line, in the nave of an enormous aviation paint shop, lay a hulking lump of metal grey aluminium and titanium.
It was a war machine that showed some qualities of an expensive sports car, with sleek lines, perfect symmetry and a matte finish. But looks didn't mask the fact that this fighter jet is designed to be ultra deadly.
The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is so advanced, it can “talk” to other aircraft, see the enemy earlier and avoid being seen better than ever before. It can hunt discreetly in packs or be the all-seeing eye in the sky.
This fifth-generation fighter, according to defence experts, is also one of Singapore’s top choices to replace its ageing F-16s.

10/29/2018

GE 2020 - Election of Estate Managers

The AHTC trial clearly demonstrate how important is the role of Estate Managers to the MPs than attending Parliament to debate about govt policies and matters of the state and interests of the people. Maybe the often absence of MPs when Parliament was in session is enough clues and hints to say that they must be very busy running their town councils and taking care of the estates instead of wasting time in Parliament.

MPs would not be sued for not attending Parliament. The most got scolding from the Speakers or be barred from attending a few sessions of Parliament. If they failed in their duties as Estate Managers, then it would be a very different story, can be bankrupted.

The term MP, meaning Members of Parliament may need to be changed and they should be given a new job description with estate management as their primary duty and attending Parliament as members of Parliament a secondary duty. It is a misnomer to call an elected representative a Member of Parliament, MP, if his main duties are estate management, making sure the dustbins are cleared, the roads are clean, people pay their dues for cleaning the estate. How about calling them Estate Managers? Or if it is important to retain the word MP, just add a E behind, eg MPE, Manager of Public Estate?

Whether the name be changed, the opposition party hopefuls would now be very clear as to what their primary jobs would be when elected, yes, concentrate full time to be an Estate Manager.

Now is this not queer? Do the people need to go to the vote to elect Estate Managers? Must MPEs attend courses in estate management to prepare themselves for the job? If they don't have such experience and did not know how to set up a team quickly to manage an estate, they will be in big big trouble. No one would want to be in the shoe of the WP MPs.

Looks like the General Election for political office needs a new definition and the people going to stand for election should be a different kind of people with different skill sets. Civil servants and ex civil servants would be most qualified for this job.

What do you think?

10/28/2018

Ripping the dictator apart

Below are extracts of a speech by Obama on the dictator as reported in Yahoo news. He did not name the dictator of cause, but a dictator is a dictator. You can tell them from a mile away. The lies that the dictator had spreaded, the fear the dictator had cast on the population or want the population to fear him, how the dictator filled his cabinet with the 'swamp' thing instead of draining the swamp, are all there for everyone to see. Just read and enjoy the hypocrisies and lies of the dictator.

"What we have not seen before in our public life is politicians just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly, lying. Just making stuff up," Obama said. "Calling up, down. Calling black, white.... 

Obama used the subject of Hillary Clinton's private email server to accuse Republicans of trying to "scare the heck out of people before every election" and also to mock Trump about the Chinese spying on his cellphone. (The Chinese recommended Trump to use Huawei and it would be safe from phone tapping.)

"In the last election, it was Hillary's emails. 'This is terrible' ... 'This is a national security crisis.' They didn't care about emails and you know how you know? (Fake news!)Because if they did, they'd be up in arms right now that the Chinese are listening to the president's iPhone that he leaves in his golf cart."....

"Now the latest, they're trying to convince everybody to be afraid of a bunch of impoverished, malnourished refugees a thousand miles away," he said. "That's the thing that is the most important thing in this election," he said. "Not health care, not whether or not folks are able to retire, doing something about higher wages, rebuilding our roads and bridges and putting people back to work."

"Suddenly," he continued, changing his voice to a high-pitch to strike a mocking tone, "it's these group of folks. We don't even know where they are. They're right down there."

Referring to Trump's promise to "drain the swamp," Obama said that instead "they have gone to Washington and just plundered away."

"In Washington they have racked up enough indictments to field a football team," he said. "Nobody in my administration got indicted."....

"I'm hopeful Michigan," he said. "I'm hopeful that despite all the noise, despite all the lies, we're going to come through all that. We're going to remember who we are, who we're called to be. I'm hopeful because out of this political darkness, I'm seeing a great awakening."

PS. Such a beautiful and meaningful speech on what the dictator should be doing and not lying.

10/27/2018

Workers Party MPs’ appeal for fund – A mini referendum

‘Low Thia Khiang, Sylvia Lim and Pritam Singh revealed in their blog, entitled In Good Faith, that they have raised SGD $477,653, as of 10pm yesterday evening – just over 24 hours since the trio appealed to the public for help to fight the multi-million dollar lawsuits they are facing in court
On Wednesday, the opposition party leaders revealed in their blog that they have “depleted our personal resources,” having already paid $600,000 from their own pockets to their legal team as the trial progresses.’ Posted in theindependent

The 3 senior WP MPs are facing charges in court for dunno what and facing bankruptcy to the tune of $30m. The legal fees so far came to $600,000, paid out of their pockets and from friends, not from party fund. Defending one's honour in court is no cheap stuff and one who cannot pay would likely have to accept defeat and a guilty condemnation even before going to court, or unable to proceed for short of fund.
 

The WP MPs have made a public appeal and the money came fast and furious, nearing half a million within 24 hours. The latest count after two days is more than $900,000 from more than 5,200 donors and counting. What does this mean?
 

The charges, based on the amount they were accused of mishandling or mismanagement or dishonesty is a staggering $30m. For those who willingly donated to the appeal is as good as saying that they believe that they were doing it in good faith, the WP's defence in court, or else they would not be forking out the money if otherwise. For those who could not afford to support the 3 MPs financially, they have good words to share and to keep their spirits high.
 

From the political perspective, this is like a mini referendum for the people of Hougang and Aljunied to cast their vote of confidence for their MPs. Two days have passed and more than 5000 have voted with their pockets. The two constituencies have more than 100,000 voters. If the 51% that voted for the WP were to contribute $10 each, 3 plates of char kway teow, that would bring in another $510,000 to the fund. But it is not so much the money that counts. It is the people showing their faith and confidence in their MPs, an affirmation of their trust and support for them.
 

How much would the WP be able to raise and how many people would donate is still too early to tell. The picture would be clearer in a week or two.

PS. Please do not make comments about the proceedings in court. 

Those who wish to contribute to the WP MPs to aid with legal costs, may do so using the following channels:

PayNow to +65 9852 5901 (Sylvia Lim’s public line)
Internet fund transfer to UOB account no. 396 309 388 6
Cheque made payable to any one of the three WP MPs: Lim Swee Lian Sylvia, Low Thia Khiang, or Pritam Singh
Alternatively, contributors may reach them through post at “My Mail Box 882560 Singapore 919191,” or arrange to meet them in person by contacting them at ingoodfaithsg@gmail.com.