A nation state whose main language of administration is a foreign language, and bananas ashamed to speak their own native language

 Long time ago when LKY advocated that Singaporean Chinese learnt Mandarin so as in time to come we shall have businesses with China and our peoples could engaged in them in conversations.

So employers with businesses with China advertised that applicants must able to speak Mandarin.

Whoa wow HELL broke loose.

Racists, racisms they screamed.

The worse is that the MOM instead of explaining to these sensitive beans Started to ostracise the Chinkees.

Pacified the unreasonable.

What's a joke!

Also in the NTUC complained that the PRCs working here cannot spat Eng Kok.

Must Spat Eng Kok meh?

Singapore had FOUR Offical Languages and one of them is Mandarin, why must SPAT Eng Kok?

Even now the Daft Immigration new rules for foreigners who wanted to reside here must able to SPAT Eng Kok!

Cannot speak Mandarin meh?

What's happening to the Four Offical Languages?

Of which Mandarin is one of them!

Too bananas liao!

Just to add now the PRCs cheh don't want to work here liao!

Our country more luck koo than yours.

In time to come sad to say you peoples may have to come here and work for us.

Then we shall ask you cannot spat Mandarin meh?

You Chinese you know?

Virgo49

Syria War - A brilliant strategic move by the Americans and the Israelis

 Days before the ceasefire between Hezbollah and the Israelis were struck, Israel was under attack from all the Arab and Muslim states for its Genocide and war crimes against the Palestinians. Never had the Arab and Muslim states been so united in one cause against the Israelis. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey etc etc were all training their guns at the Israelis. Israel was attacked daily by hundreds of missiles and rockets from the Hezbollah, the Houthis and Hamas and could not do anything about it. Israel's defences against the rockets and missiles were in ruins. Its mythical invincible air defence systems were torn into pieces and no amount of lies can hide their failures to defend Israel.

The Americans were also under pressure from the rest of the world by openly defying the world to support the Genocide in Gaza, sending continuous plane loads and shiploads of weapons of mass destruction to Israel to kill the Palestinians, and criminally vetoed the call for ceasefire in Gaza. The Americans cannot hide their hands, now dripping with bloods of the Palestinians. The whole Arab and Muslim world have seen how evil the Americans were against their Palestinians brothers and sisters. The Americans are complicit in the Genocide against the Palestinians. Period.

Just when everything was looking so bad for the Americans and the Israelis, came the ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah. This was a coup that the Hezbollah did not know what hit them. They stupidly agreed to the ceasefire, and forgot that they were supposed to bomb and attack Israel to support and defend the Palestinians. The ceasefire means they cannot fire missiles and rockets into Israel, and Israel has one enemy less to defend against and can continue to genocide the Palestinians with only the Hamas and the Houthis to deal with.

This was a big blow to the Palestinians. But they can still depend on the rest of the Arab and Muslim world to continue the fight for survival. Never would they be able to see that the ceasefire with the Hezbollah allowed the Americans and the Israelis to open a new front in Syria. Not only that the Hezbollah would not be attacking Israel from the North, they now have to send their fighters into Syria to fight the rebels backed up by the Americans and the Israelis. The illegal Israeli settlers can go back to their stolen land in northern Palestine. But this is nothing.

The rebels were not only supported by the Americans and the Israelis. Turkey was also behind the rebels against the Assad govt. Even with the Russian air force now woke up and started to bomb the rebel positions, the odds were too strong and Assad's forces were routed and lost two key cities of Aleppo and Hama. Next to fall would be Damascus. Russia and Iran panicked and are rushing large forces into Syria to help in the defence of Damascus. Iraq too has sent soldiers into Israel.

The Syrian War has become a war fought by the Arabs and Muslims against the Arabs and Muslims with the Americans and Israelis playing supporting roles, like in Ukraine. And Russia now is sucked into it again. Their stupidity in believing and trusting the Americans and the Israelis, by inaction, not being involved in the fight earlier, now put the Russian soldiers at great risk. And defeat and destruction are staring down at the Russians in Syria.

This war is now going to blow up and could be bigger than the Ukraine War. The best part, Israel and the Americans would not have a free hand genociding the Palestinians with little resistance as the rest of the Arab and Muslim states would be fighting and killing each other in Syria. Left only with Hamas and the Houthis, the Palestinians are as good as being cooked.

Did the Arabs and Muslims know what is happening? Did they know, did they remember that there is a Genocide going on in Gaza and Palestine? Did they ask why are they fighting each other and not the Israelis and the Americans to protect the Palestinians?

Is it because the Americans and the Israelis were really smarter? Or is it that the Arabs and the Muslims were stupid? Now they are fighting among themselves and no longer united against the Israelis and the Americans to save the Palestinians. What a joke!

Little Potala in Shangri La, Yunnan - A pictorial essay

 

 

Shangri La's Little Potala, Ganden or Songzanlin Monastry. Click to enlarge pics.

 

Route to the more than 120 steep steps to the Potala.

 

The sharp ascend to the Potala. I took 4 or 5 breaks before reaching the top, and gasping for oxygen. Luckily I brought a canister to keep me going. It was cold, about 10 C. Many serniors , men and women, also took the challenge to climb to the Potala, taking as many breaks as they needed.

 

The huge yellow wall was the first to greet all the visitors at the Potala.

 

Hanging decoration in front of the main hall of the Potala. There were several halls housing many buddhas with the one housing Sakyamuni Buddha at the end, at the highest level.

 

Vistors to the Potala.

 

A Tibetan model at a photo shoot at the Potala compound.

 

Girls dressed in Tibetan clothing having fun.

How China and USA choose their political leaders

 How did China choose its political leaders? How did Xi rise from village chief, from secretary of small town, cities to become provincial governor and eventually the Secretary of the CPC and President of China? Despite being a princeling, well connected, Xi's journey to the top was long and arduous, put to the test at every level, challenged, and survived a gruelling meritocratic system, competing against his peers all the way, before finally picked and elected by the cadres to be the top man.

All Chinese political leaders went through the same journey, trained and tested to be full time professional political leaders. And they are not simply pull off from the streets. The first credential is to be academically brilliant, the top of their cohorts to join the CPC. By the time they reached the position of provincial governor or mayors of big cities, they would have many years of experience and honed their skills in state management and prepared to manage the country.

The long process would have weeded out the weak and less capable leaders along the way, caveat, some may got through the process through unsavoury and unethical ways. But the real leaders would survive and made it to the end. It is in another way like going through an educational system and graduated to universities by proving themselves in front of their peers.

The American so called democratic system is a case of lucky draws. Every 4 or 5 years there will be an election, and anyone could offer himself to be elected to be mayors, governors, people's representatives and the President. The candidate can be from anywhere, can be clowns, charlatans, criminals, salesmen, conmen or professionals of all trades. As long as they can find the money and the supporters behind them, they are good enough to lead, even when they have not a single day of experience in managing public affairs or affairs of the people. There is barely any criteria to select the best candidate in terms of character, proficiency, ability etc to be a political leader.

This also applies to the highest position, the President of the United States. And when elected, he simply pull rabbits out of his bag to fill the rest of the top appointments in his administration. Mostly inexperience and untested men and women in political leadership and looking after affairs of the state and people. 

The elected President is the new God in choosing his best team, dream team, based on his own intellect, if there is any, or his contacts. And this bunch of people coming from no where, would then make decisions for the country, the people of the USA, in the people's interests, hopefully, or in their own interests. And this is touted as the best system for the world to emulate, American Democrazy, oops, Democracy. It is like awarding university degrees without having to pass through every stage of the education system and be qualified to teach. And some would be awarded Ph Ds as well, like they were deserving and the best qualified for it. By the way, only the President is elected. The rest of his cabinet are not elected by the people. Yes, NOT by the people. No mandate or approval from the people.

Which system is more reliable to produce the better political leaders to lead the country?

Economists are saying Trump's tariff war will fail

 USA trade war against China failed after all these years. China is chalking up bigger trade surpluses. USA semiconductor war against China also failed, with China catching up even faster in self-reliance had the semiconductor war not risen. Now China is pouring all resources to catch up, and do not bet against China in this sector as well.

USA tariffs coming up against China and countries leveraging on China investments will likewise fail. This is the opinion of many economists. Why? Because tariffs do nothing to collapse China's or other countries' manufacturing but basically punishing USA consumers. Some have woken up, some still sleeping and do not realize that tariffs are an added tax on them, not China and not anyone else.

As reported, BYD's sale has rocketed during the last ten months of 2024. This is despite all the demonization and hurdles placed on BYD. One social media site, which I do not want to name to promote, had been engaging in talking cock and singing songs, trying to demonize BYD, claiming that its cars are catching fire. It even spread the nonsense that the whole of China is on fire, with all BYD cars on fire. Can you believe such propaganda? Honestly it nearly floored me just reading the sensational headlines put up by this site.

China's carmakers produced about 30 million EVs a year, mostly sold in China, with negligible numbers actually sold in USA and Canada. The EU market has more Chinese EVs sold, but there is a tariff war erupting between the EU and China over EVs, on the instruction of the USA. Let us see who is going to blink first when China starts to retaliate. Pork and brandy are just the initial down payment that China is asking the EU to pay first. Russia is supporting China by cutting more gas to the EU, adding more misery to the Europeans this coming winter. Port and brandy already are making EU farmers crying for mercy.

Anonymous