The new poor – A piece of good news

They called themselves freegans, ie, people looking for food or items in trash bins for a living. No, they are not the karanguni men but a group of folks, the new poor in Singapore that have chosen to live a new way of life as freegans. Some even proudly claimed that this is a way to retire in super rich Singapore, no need to work, no stress and with good food from the trash bins.
 
And here is another piece of good news in this Christmas season from Channel News Asia. ‘Scavenging – Singapore’s ‘freegans’ find treasure in trash – Some of the secondhand items found include a Louis Vuitton handbag, Coach handbag and a set of Sony Speakers.’
 
Now if this is not good news, what else is? Free branded bags and electronic items! I think many desperate Singaporeans may find comfort in this piece of news. I think I can retire also and live a life of a freegan, and probably can hang a Louis Vuitton bag over my shoulder. If only the COEs are cheaper, the freegans could even find used cars, like 10 year old Mercedes or BMWs in the junkyards.
 
This is the privilege for living in the most expensive city with many rich people. They are discarding many things of value, even things of luxury, into the trash bins. No wonder some people said this is the best place to be poor. Everything can be provided free, just dig into the trash bins and rubbish dumps.
 
No more worry to retire in comfort with free food and luxury items. Paradise! Yes paradise for the new poor.
 
Happy New Year.

DEMOCRACY 2018 - The US Has Become A Failed State.

The Third American Civil War is Here.

By MIKOspace

In 2018, American democracy began its nosedive towards eventual oblivion.  The cancer of corruption, that eternal enemy of democracy, has long infected American democracy for many decades.  It has reached terminal stage.  We bear witness to the end of an American democracy that never was one from the beginning.

Over the last 20 years, systematic corruption and corrupt practices have been carefully nurtured and cultivated by members of the American power elites, now exposed as the “deep state”, to permeate and consume the minds of the American electorate as it works its way into every decent sectors of the community including religion, economy, family, education and everyday life.   

As American democracy struggled in its death throes grasping for some enduring relevance and purpose, it elected Donald Trump as the 45^th President of the United States on 6 November 2016.  The event represented a checkmate on the “deep state”. 

Donald Trump, a successful multi-billionaire businessman, had noticed (perhaps even participated in) the widespread shenanigans, fraudulent dealings, duplicity, sleaze, malfeasance, legalised misconduct and openly corrupt political practices of US politics.  He was even taunted by the 44^th US President Barack Obama at a dinner reception and later publicly that Trump was incapable to do the job of US President.  

The 2016 election of President Donald Trump represents the triumph of American democracy.  His opponent (and her husband) personified and represented every corruption of the Washington establishment and its “deep state”.  Their “philanthropic” foundation, which promptly folded when she lost the elections, is now being investigated for selling access - “pay for play” - to senior government officers and foreign governments.  A Hillary Presidency would have embedded corrupt practices into an already corrupt US Government nurtured and nourished by the previous Obama and Clinton Presidencies.

Over the past 2 years, the forces against American democracy assaulted in organised unison to de-legitimise the duly elected 45th US President using the tools of democracy against itself by systematically unleashing a series of events to destablise the established, albeit imperfect, democratic eco-system developed over the past 215 years.

Full story here

A docile and submissive Judiciary does not make for a strong democracy.  The “deep state” assault on Supreme Court nominee Judge Kavanagh is a case in point.  Key Senators, mostly themselves lawyers and former Prosecutors, chose to deny the constitutional rights of Judge Kavanaugh to due process and hard evidence as he faced unfounded allegations of sexual misconduct from 1982.  The FBI had in fact investigated Judge Kavanaugh on more than 6 occasions as a matter of routine background checks over the past 28 years, but found not a single iota of any sexual or ethical misconduct.  Neither did any investigative journalists, and it’s not for want of effort.  

American Democracy X.0 – The Third American Civil War

With the passing of American democracy before our eyes, the Third American Civil War has begun surely, steadily and silently for some years now.  True democracy may never return to America any time soon. 

Truth is, political power has never really been in the effective hands of the American people.  Abraham Lincoln’s “… the government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth” never had an even chance to grow into full maturity.  

Political power grows through concentration not by dispersion or distribution.  Democracy’s promise of popular power in the hands of the people is an illusion, an empty promise made by those in power to a permanently gullible, weak and naïve electorate.  Political power easily slipped out of their hands as they rather bask in comfortable living without participating in the process of political life through debates, discussions, confrontation and regular elections.    

Come the next US Presidential elections in 2020, Americans have to evaluate and examine critically how they have allowed the corrupt power elites to infest the Judiciary, Executive and the Congress through clever arguments, money and privileges. 

In Trump with all his idiosyncrasies and imperfections, the American have found a President who works for free on behalf of the American people and whose personal wealth has diminished by a few hundred million dollars annually.  Trump is not motivated by having more wealth or more properties.  And that’s really scary to the “deep state” cabal of his political opponents consisting corrupt politicians and their financial backers. 

President Trump is essentially a visionary Corporatist, who possessed great self- confidence to improve the economic and social well-being of his American people. Trump’s economic achievements in his first 20 months in Office speak for themselves.  Why would Americans not what more of the goodies that he “produced”?   Why allow Trump to be distracted by opposition politicians with various parliamentary investigations into fabricated wrongdoings and blocking the Presidential policies such as immigration, healthcare, education and infrastructural reforms?     

A Corporatist America can emerge from the 3^rd American Civil War that will create good-paying jobs, put food on the table, more money in the pockets, increase 401K value, reduce homelessness, provides affordable healthcare available and a more prosperous America.   

  

Singapore’s corporatist democratic political model is a good starting point for America to discover an upgraded version of a better democracy.  Singapore believes that democracy and democratic processes must and should facilitate development or face irrelevance and oblivion, as we see in America today.  Governments should promote the welfare and well-being of its people, which Trump did in his early Presidency, and not the intellectual development of political concepts.  Americans in their 3^rd Civil War must learn to “trade-up” the benefits of a viable democracy, instead of a “trade-off” between democracy and development. 

American political parties should become corporatist in their political orientation with the American people as their only primary political accountability, not financial backers and powerful industrial vested interests.  Continuous electoral success comes from the American electorate, not election spendings.

America is better off managing democracy as a governance tool with regular free and fair elections and in a political climate characterized by freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom of religious beliefs and the freedom of choice. If these were what American democracy could facilitate, it would be great!  Since American democracy has failed, the current configuration of democracy should be replaced by a democratic corporatist one if the American people wish to journey toward a better, more prosperous, fairer and equal “land of the free, home of the brave”.

Complete story here

PS. Mike, article too long. I have chopped off a few parts to make it shorter. Readers interested in reading full story can click on the links.

.

  

5G - The isolation of 5 eye countries

Western media and fake news writers are gloating and churning out daily news of how the 5 eye countries are locking out Huawei from entering their markets. The pseudo white state of Japan also followed suit to cut out Huawei from the Japanese market, but not without consequences. The contracts signed earlier with Huawei came with termination clauses and compensation just like the contracts Chinese developers signed with Malaysia. It is easy to terminate the contract, but please pay compensation.

The issue of this 5G battle is not about money. It is about leading edge technology and a great leap forward into the future. 5G technology is the most advanced AI and communication technology to date and no country wanting to move rapidly into the future, to harness the full power of wireless and ultra high speed communication that are the foundation of more advanced technological processes can do without.

The smart countries that are looking to tap on the power of 5G would not want to miss out on being the first mover in embracing 5G power. India, a hardcore anti China state, knows too well what they would miss or what they would gain to jump on to the 5G high speed train. India is not the only big country that would want to miss this opportunity to jump ahead of the western world. France, Germany and several European states too would not want to miss out and be left behind because the Americans said so. They are also into 5G and accepting Huawei technology. The Americans and the West have no answer to Huawei's 5G prowess for the foreseeable future, 5 years, 10 years, who knows, before they could catch up with Huawei. And in infotech and AI, losing 5 or 10 years is like losing eons and once left behind, there is no way to catch up.

Britain, one of the 5 eye countries, is contemplating and could just break out from the American dictate. Britain in ambitious and would not want to be a laggard, to be left behind by France and Gemany. The consequences of missing out on the 5G bandwagon are disastrous and Britain cannot afford it.

What is happening today is not the 5 eye countries plus Japan shutting out Huawei. It is a self isolation policy that shuts themselves from the rest of the world, from the benefits and advancement that 5G would bring along. These countries' stubborn and stupid refusal to accept Huawei's 5G is like cutting their nose to spite their face. They would become the dodos in the highly competitive and superlative race to the future. They would be left behind while the rest of the world rushes forward in full steam, at the speed of light.

The 5 eye countries would be the failed states of the future, the vagabonds, struggling to hang on to an antiquated 4G technology, the underdeveloped states of tomorrow. They would suffer the same fate of 19th century China that refused to embrace future technology and advancement to benefit their people and become the pariah states in the world. History is repeating itself, this time with karma playing a role to extract vengeance on the evil doers of the past.

Huawei has signed up 25 major contracts to implement 5G technology, working with more than 170 countries and the number is growing. A valued technology would find many takers despite the sour grapes conspiracy to block it.When the rest of the world embraces 5G, how would the 5 eye plus one states look like, cavemen in the Stone Age?

White racist attacking a Chinese

This is a short clip of a white racist beast attacking a Chinese simply because he is a Chinese. How many bananas would think that this would not happen to them? Would this white beast ask him if he is a Singaporean or a Chinese? To this white beast, he would not know, and a Chinese is a Chinese be he be a Singaporean, Malaysian, Taiwanese, Hongkongers, or from any other country, not necessary from China. He looks at you by your racial appearance.

Leong Sze Hian's defence fund

Leong, in the meantime, is hoping to raise at least $10,000 for his defence fund. You may contribute through the following channels:

Account Name: Leong Sze Hian
POSB Savings 064064070
Paynow S0009739Z
Paypal ecuadortrade@yahoo.com.sg"

For those who would like to donate to Leong Sze Hian's defence fund, you can use the above accounts at your convenience.