Covid19 - Stupidity has no cure and their stupidity has no cure solutions

  In the beginning, the story goes, vaccines will be the magic solution to stop this pandemic by preventing infection. With the Delta variant spreading like wild fire all over USA and UK and many countries, it is confirmed and proven that the vaccines do not and cannot prevent infection. The only thing the vaccines can do now is to reduce the seriousness of the infection, like preventing death. Oh, fearmongering that oldies died because they were not vaccinated is irresponsible. This is telling half truths. Many of them, as reported, had many prevailing medical conditions and illnesses that would likely make then unfit to be vaccinated even if they wanted to.

I repeat this again to the stupidity has no cure members, the vaccines cannot prevent infections. Period.

So, whether one is vaccinated or not vaccinated, both are equally open to infection. The vaccinated are not less liable to get infected than the unvaccinated. Today's report of 62 cases in a Woodlands dorm, all fully vaccinated, is a God's message to the imbeciles that fully vaccinated are as likely to be infected.

Then what is this nonsense that the unvaccinated must conduct regularly antigen test if they are to work in the office while the vaccinated need not to? What is the logic? It only makes sense if the vaccinated is less likely to be infected because the vaccines will protect them. But it is not the case now.

So why discriminate against the unvaccinated in place of work, in dining, in participation in mass activities when both are equally vulnerable to infection. The vaccinated less likely to be infected than the vaccinated? How much less?

Worse, the vaccinated are more likely to spread the virus as they are more likely to become asymptomatic virus carriers without knowing it. Logically, it is more necessary to test the vaccinated than the unvaccinated.

Why must the unvaccinated be forced to pay for antigen tests when the vaccinated are just as likely to be infected?

But we would have to live with the stupidity has no cure recommendations and solutions.

Be frighten, be very frighten, with the logic and reasoning of the stupidity has no cure. Do not underestimate the power of the stupid.

The most dangerous assumption, and thing to do now is to let the fully vaccinated walk around as if they are free from the virus, like with a licence to kill. No need for antigen test, and the unvaccinated being exposed to them to be infected by them.

Singapore draws line between 'being useful' and 'being made use of'

 As a quasi-ally of the US, Singapore's stance toward the US and China is telling. Singapore's Channel News Asia released on Sunday an interview with Vivian Balakrishnan, the country's foreign minister who said Singapore will "be useful but we will not be made use of" in its relations with both China and the US. He also said Singapore will not become "one or the other's stalking horse to advance negative agendas." Singapore is one of the countries within ASEAN that highly depend on the US for security. 

During the Obama era, it played quite an active role in coordinating the US' South China Sea agenda by endorsing the South China Sea arbitration pushed forward by then Philippine president Benigno Aquino III in 2016. But in recent years, Singapore has tried hard to maintain a delicate balance between China and the US. Small countries like Singapore have their own role in the region and on the world stage. They don't want to be used as a "stalking horse" by certain powers but they want to be useful in regional and international affairs. 

China has attached great importance to ASEAN's role in boosting regional integration, and that's where Singapore can find itself "useful." It also wants to play a mediating role in China-US relations, as Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently called on the two countries to de-escalate tensions. That probably constitutes what Balakrishnan meant by "being useful." It is worth noting that Balakrishnan's view was made public during US Vice President Kamala Harris' trip to the country, which will be followed by another one to Vietnam. 

The first target of Balakrishnan's words is the US, as it is the US that views its allies and partners as something that can be "used" for its agenda. "Singapore is clear that the US hopes Southeast Asian countries could be confined by the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy whose ultimate aim is to contain China's rise. This is what Balakrishnan's 'be made use of' meant. So he said Singapore will draw a line between 'being useful' and 'being made use of.' Even when a senior US official comes, Singapore will not change its stance," an observer noted. 

The US has ratcheted up efforts to win over Southeast Asian countries, manifested by Harris' visit to Singapore and Vietnam and other senior US officials' tours to the region in the past two months. Yet it will only enable Southeast Asian countries to see that the US is taking advantage of the situation and only focusing on its own interests. Washington does not view them as real partners, but as tools it can exploit to serve its strategies. 

The US debacle in Afghanistan is the very example that when the US finds it not cost-effective, it will only abandon its allies or partners without hesitation. During Monday's press conference, Harris reportedly sidestepped a Singaporean journalist's question on US commitment to allies in the wake of the Afghanistan crisis, and reiterated talking points about partnership in Southeast Asia. Nonetheless, her talking points sound feeble. And when Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said his country valued the US renewing its ties with the city-state and other allies, his attitude appeared lukewarm. 

 With the US' sincerity toward Southeast Asia being called into question and regional countries pursuing an independent and balanced course, they will not become the "stalking horse" as the US has expected, but will carefully calibrate their interests to avoid falling into the US geopolitical trap.

Anonymous

Taliban learning the language of peace

 

After chasing out the terrorists that have occupied their country for the last 20 years and killing thousands of their people, the New Taliban is looking to China to rebuild their country destroyed by the evil Empire. And the first thing they are going to learn is Chinese.

IF....only IF, India would be the biggest economy in the world - Mahbubani

 “Today, the average per capita income of the Indian residing in the US is US$55,298. If Indians in India can achieve the same per capita income, the total GNP of India would be around US$71 trillion, making it the largest economy in the world, larger than the US at US$21 trillion, or China at US$15 trillion,” he explained.

  

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“If this figure is unimaginable, let’s imagine that the average Indian in India is half as smart as the average Indian in the US. Then India would still have a GNP of US$35 trillion, still larger than that of the US at US$21 trillion and China at US$15 trillion.”

That is, Mahbubani took the average per capita income (US$55,298) of Indians residing in the US and multiply that by the population of India to arrive at the potential total GNP of India of about US$71 trillion. But India’s GNP today is only US$2.6 trillion.

Mahbubani, of course, is also assuming that while India’s GNP improves, US and China’s economies are standing still.

 

The above is from an article by Kishore Mahbubani posted in TOC on why he believed India could have a bigger economy than China. And he used statistics to prove it. I know many arts students are very bright, but when maths is concerned, when they try to use statistics, the brightness gets a bit dimmer.

His whole hypothesis is based on not only one 'if'  but many 'ifs' and also on the choice of data that he used that is anything but realistic. If his statistics is even half as good as he wants the readers to believe, then the readers can also believe that elephants can fly.

The Indians in the USA are about the brightest of the Indians you can find. The top 1 or 3% of any population cannot be equated to the average 50% of the population, ceteris paribus, just like the wealth of  top 1 to 3% richest men cannot be equated to the average wealth of the 50 percentile average men. It is not going to be a simple linear correlation.  It is definitely not half, not even a quarter. The average Indians are not half as bright at the average Indian Americans.

Also, the average income of the Americans, American Indians, is in US$. The average income of Indians in India is in rupees. Then again, Kishore did not give a time frame but it is possible that one day, dunno when is this one day, the average income of an India Indian could be that of an average Indian American today. And when that day comes, dunno what would be the average income of an American Indian or the average income of a Chinese would be. There are many moving variables and many, many ifs. The American and Chinese economies are not going to stand still for the Indian economy to catch up, though that is also a possibility.

Good try Kishore. It is a feel good opinion piece and many Indians would be very happy to hear what Kishore had to say.

Afghanistan War Is Over, What Next?

To what extent the Afghan Taliban will honor its promises to govern inclusively and to respect women's rights is the main criteria that the international community will use to decide whether to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate long-term government of Afghanistan or not.

There is no denying that the Taliban has so far told the world that it has changed, compared to 20 years ago - such as claiming that they respect women's rights and that girls can receive education. However, those claims are only rhetorical unless put into practice over a long and sustainable period of time. Only time will tell and show the truthfulness of their words.

Of course, it will be unwise to expect the Taliban to reform its 2000 years old religious ideology over night. If anything, the philosophy of the Taliban's top leadership will likely be the same as the existing Islamic countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE.

Therefore, foreign countries had better advise their nationals in Afghanistan to abide strictly by the Islamic culture, norms and habits and be sensitive to what clothing they should wear and the food they eat in the public places of Afghanistan. Not from intimidation or undue fear but for the purpose mutual respect and peaceful existence.

It is unrealistic to expect the Taliban to suddenly, like magic, become modernized and secularised like the first World countries immediately. Individuals' rights and liberty can only improve after the overall country's economic development is realized and sustained. Only after that can modernization and secularism gradually follow suits. This is the natural progression of a long-lasting peaceful development of human endeavors. It requires cooperation from every quarter, sect and faction.

To the Afghans, who else could stop foreign interventions and foreign-initiated wars and certain economic ruins, and return stability and peace to the country if not for the Taliban nationalistic forces? The other splinter groups of warlords have been divisive and disunited all these years, mainly because of their own selfish interests, which is the main reason why the US-propped-up Afghan government's army collapsed so easily in just ten days, without putting up much effective resistance against the Taliban forces' onslaught.

From now on, while the Afghans begin the process of repairing and rebuilding their country and livelihoods, Western or Eastern powers should not interfere, instigate or intervene. Only the Afghan people have the right to decide what to do in their own country. Others, if they are really kind to wish the Afghan people well, can help by foster trade, investment and economic and infrastructure developments. Otherwise, keep your devious, mean and nasty hands off the Afghan people, no matter which group they belong. What is most dreadful and unnecessary is to start a civil war or an internal strife which the CIA is well-known for.

The international community can set conditions with the Taliban to make sure it brings no harm to its neighbors and fulfills its promise to cut off ties with terrorist groups.

The Afghan people should be allowed to restart economic and trade activities without sabotage or subversion from any mischievous or vengeful propagater.

With the re-establishment of economic and trade activities, the Afghan people could at least begin to develop their country and establish stability internally and with its surrounding neighbours, and therefore internationally.

Let's watch how the various players show their hands openly and surreptitiously.


LIPS At Your Service.