The unhappy young and their broken Singapore Dream

The Singapore Dream was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow to many older Singaporeans. To many older Singaporeans, the PMEs, this pot is now missing. Someone has shifted it and they could not see anything there. The only people seeing this pot of gold are the foreigners replacing them in their high paying jobs. The Singapore Dream has to be modified to mean the foreigner’s Singapore Dream. To the older Singaporeans, the Dream has become a bad Dream, a nightmare in the making.

Are the young Singaporeans seeing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as well? They better be. They have paid heavily to grow up, invested heavily in themselves, with some parents selling their homes, emptying their savings, to get them a good education. Would they be able to land a job that makes the return on their parent’s investment worthy and economically meaningful? Would their income be enough to pay for the little public flat that is now the only achievable and realistic dream? Would they be able to buy that elusive car, like the Americans needing a horse in the good old cowboy days? And would they still have enough in their savings when the time comes for retirement? Given the extremely high cost of living and inflation, every young Singaporean today must need to earn an income that is equivalent to three times their need to cover housing, medical and retirement.

The young Singaporeans are going to be the new breed of highly in debt Singaporeans never seen or heard before. They will incur debt for their education and another 30 year of mortgages that could be in several hundred thousands or more. They will be indebted to the CPF, to pay a ransom to be kept by the CPF meant for their own good and retirement. Then there is a huge debt to bring up a family with a couple of kids.

The life of the young Singaporeans, excluding the rich scions of old rich, ministers and top professionals, will be one of working and working to pay and pay and at the end of it, nothing to compare with the foreigners whose dream will be to return home to be a rich land lord or owning their own businesses. The Singapore Dream of the young Singaporeans is to have the blessing of working till their die, no breaks, to be able to pay for all the debts that are predictable and designed into the system and into their lives.

Every year about 50,000 young Singaporeans will come of age and start to hang a millstone over their neck, to start their new lives as adults. The new citizens coming in too will have to hang the same millstone over their necks unless they are really super talents and can afford the expensive housing and lifestyle here. The group of highly in debt young and new people cannot afford a major economic crisis or a personal crisis in their lives. They will be heavily in debt and their lives will be in ruins should it happen. Without an income is simply unacceptable with the kind of debt in their hands. They are the new debtors of a Singapore economic miracle formula based on high inflation, and high cost of living and increasing debt of the young people.

Hail the new Singapore Dream, small flat, no car and a big debt to service for a life time. This is the standard copy of the life of the new average young Singaporeans. Are their parents worried and want this to be the Dream of their children? Anyone can see why the Dreams of FTs and young Singaporeans are different, one full of promises of wealth and another on the brink of becoming a nightmare?

A mansion for US$242m

A 85,000 sq ft mansion in the heart of Singapore has an asking price of US$242m. It has a 2 storey house, maybe 10 rms at the most, an antique tennis court and a swimming pool, and the rest is just empty land. The most expensive property sold in the US according to Times, was a Dallas mansion for US$135m. And that came with a 42,500 sq ft 5 storey house, 3 swimming pools, guest house and 25 acres of landscaped greenery.

Now what can US$242m buy? I think the Buckingham Palace would go for under $200m, minus its occupants and the treasures in it. This is how the land owning class in Singapore made their money, with high inflated prices of properties that they were bought by their parents or grand parents and inherited as heirlooms, no estate duties. The children and grandchildren just sit on a pot of gold that is growing bigger by the day. And this is supported by a govt that only wants to see property prices going one way, up, up and away. Falling property prices is just inconceiveable given that more than 85% of the residents are owners of some properties, or at least a 99 year lease public housing flat.

The game of inflating the balloon of property prices is most welcomed by the residents. They cannot think of anything else. Anything else like a drop in property price can be suicidal as many are up to their necks in mortgages, except the old rich. Singapore is now worth its weight in gold. And all the rich foreigners are rushing in to park their good money and ill gotten money in properties, a sure bet asset that will not lose its value. The more tycoons coming into the island, despite regulations against foreign ownership of landed properties, the higher will property price appreciate. Soon all Singaporeans including those living in 99 year lease public housing could sell their properties in the millions. No fear of a decreasing lease life that will expire to nothing. What a great formula to generate wealth without working.

They say when something is too good to be true, be careful.

The Korean Tension and US policy of Permanent Wars

                                                       The Korean Tension and the US policy of Permanent Wars

There is no need to look far and wide for reasons pertaining to tensions in Korea and for that matter tensions in the Middle East, ,East China Sea, South China Sea and all over the world. The Evil Empire, USA creates all troubles and incidents and just as it used traditionally in the past it is always quick to cunningly and hypocritically accused others of creating troubles and tensions. Historically US has a warped mind set of carrying out wars of aggression against other people and countries. Its compulsive and impulsive ingrained  warmongering maniac instinct is inherited from its forbears Imperial Britain. Wherever England went, from North America to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, China , Burma and Middle East it went on a systematic rampage of murder, killings and genocide, leaving long trails of destruction and wanton human suffering. US as a country was founded on war, violent terrorism , murder , mass killings and almost complete genocide of over ninety-five percent of native North American Indians or over eighty-five millions of them. The trouble and dangerous thing is that just like all European invaders of the Americas in which US is descended from such as Britain, France, Spain, Portugal and Holland, the white American invaders historically have never feel any guilt or remorse of their wanton and dastardly acts of murdeer, killings , torture and genocide of the native Americans.

When the first Europeans went to the Americas five hundred years ago, around 1620s, they were well received by the friendly natives who helped them and provided them with food and lodging. But as the white European invaders swelled in numbers they began to treat the natives contemptuously as uncouth savages and went of to strip the natives of their lands.  The natives were caught off guard and were unable to fight off the European hordes who had superior arms. Had the natives known earlier that the Europeans  were wild, aggressive and cruel , they could have annihilated them because they had greater numbers then, , but they didn't because of their spiritual beliefs in not  taking innocent lives. The natives had thus paid dearly for their strong beliefs. Up to this day the savage European Americans still portray the native Americans as savages as reflected in their writings and history texts though clearly they themselves are the soulless and most wanton and cruel savages.

The Americans are blood thirsty war maniacs and up to now they have always been lucky to get away with it. They like to feel and act as superior to all other peoples and countries in whatever they do. That is OK so long as they play it in a level playing field and put its own house in order. But there is something very wrong with America now and it is of its own doing. This is to be expected because America is run and governed by very sick and insane people, by rogues, crooks and scoundrels. Its psychopatic political and military leaders are obssessed with being number one in the world and spend humongous trillions of dollars annually in military war machines. Its business cum political leaders , in fact you can't differentiate them because their positions are interchangeable and they are so steeped in greed and avarice that when they manoeuvered their ways into positions as CEOs and directors of big business concerns like the banks, stock exchange, real estate , insurance and other industrial conglomerates they will pay themselves real mad in terms of hundreds of millions of dollars. When their companies foundered and collapsed they are considered too big to fail and so they got the government to step in to save the companies with tax payers' money. Since their companies are international with investment capital from other countries worldwide, they thus not only rob their own people and country but also the people and countries all over the world.

The total absence of morals and ethics and the extreme greed and avarice of the American business and political leaders have caused the American economy and finance to fall over the steep cliff with debts amounting to hundreds of trillions of dollars.It is inconceivable how they are going to pay back these debts both local and international which will be a heavy burden on many generations of Americans. Well, there is no way out. They have to resort to bluffs and cheating by getting money from thin air through mass printing of more paper notes of hundreds of billions of dollars to provide what they called quantitative easing. This paper printing and quntitative easing won't last for long for there is no real solid and intrinsic economic value. Therefore the only resort for the rogue, crooks and scoundrels of the American leaders is to adopt a policy of permanent wars to wrank up their war industries so that they can sell their military weapons to other countries. US has no intention to talk peace or negotiate real peace treaties with countries it is provoking into war. Its only tenet is countries which US doesn't like or doesn't approve must succum to US domination completely. When one group of countries eventually succumed to US military mighty power, it will soon pick up another country or groups of countries and trump up excuses with the same intent of waging war on these countries. The evil cycle of US aggressive warmongering never ceases. The world has to put a stop to this streak of American monstrous evil. Therefore countries big or small must be well prepared and well armed even with nuclear weapons to wage wars against the Evil Empire. US will either survive with the rest of the world  or perish with the rest of the world. I hope and I believe every decent people in the world hope too that the general by and large American public will wake up to the sins and evils of their demonic and monstrous government  and either convince it or force it to adopt a new path of world harmony in good will and cooperation instead of persisting in US hegemony. Until this happens there will be no peace in Korea, no peace in East Asia and no peace in this beautiful world.

Southernglory1

Boon Wan thinking aloud about housing

In today’s paper, Boon Wan was quoted thinking aloud about housing policies that were changed and the possibility of more changes. Two key points were mentioned, to remove or not to remove the income ceiling and that HDB should be the trend setter of price and not market forces. He said HDB may not be able to influence fully the prices of private properties, but it could set the price of public housing. Finally someone from the Govt got the common sense to know this, that being the biggest developer of public housing, actually a monopoly, the Govt can determine the prices of public housing. Believe it or not, it is true. I am enlightened.

The issue of removing the income ceiling received the same stupid comments from daft Singaporeans, that by doing so, it would mean that there will be more competition for public housing from those earning more. Hey Minister of Education, the education system has failed miserably to make Singaporeans think independently. So far they can only think, now that is an over statement, they can only parrot the official view impregnated into their dull piece of grey matter in between their ears. Why should there be more competition, or what is the cause of more competition when the ceiling is removed? Supply, it is supply that is causing the problem, silly you. When the Govt builds enough, where is the fear of competition from the wage earners? Those who earn a few dollars more are still the average Singaporeans that need housing. And the fact that they need public housing speaks well of their finance. The rich are those that are selling their properties for $300m, $100m or $50m.

This seed of false envy planted in the minds of daft Singaporeans is very difficult to remove. We have average Singaporeans, all the employee type that draw a salary excluding ministers, top civil servants and top management, staring at each other with green eyes thinking that the other wage earners that earn a few dollars more must be deprived from public housing, must take up a million dollar mortgage to buy private. When would employee grade Singaporeans stop bickering and fighting among themselves for public housing when the fault is all because the Govt refuses to build enough, especially over the last decade?

Boon Wan has slowly started to come around to his senses that public housing is for all Singaporeans. No Singaporeans should be victimised, discriminated from buying public housing flats. All Singaporeans are equal under heaven at least in doing NS, in their rights to buy a roof over their heads. Why are those, who are neither rich nor poor, be deprived from buying public housing and made to defend this country in NS just the same? Can or should the Govt deprived Singaporeans who have served NS, who pledged to fight and defend this country, from buying HDB flats when new citizens who have not done NS be allowed to buy?

The foul up in public housing is smelling and nauseating. And Boon Wan is still defending his predecessor for a job well done. He refused to acknowledge that his predecessor fouled it all up by over building and then compounded the problem by not building. And the biggest or silliest mistake was that the little excess was not excess at all when the immigration door was swung wide open and horrors of all horrors, there were millions of foreigners coming in, and even with the excess it was not enough. And Boon Wan said, one must not be stubborn, when faced with the influx of foreigners buying up everything, his predecessors still refused to budge and continued with his BTO scheme and claiming all was well.

Was everything well, was public housing well? Don’t tell me.

Tokyo Auto Show 2013

Some

of the cars at the show.

The discriminating readers in social media

I have written quite a few articles and for the latest two, one on India Indians integrating with the locals and another saying that there is no discrimination against Singaporeans in Singapore, I am expecting readers to strongly disagree with me or even receiving brick bats from them. The position or conclusion of both articles would not go down well with the readers. I too don’t agree with them. But I cannot claim otherwise unless there is evidence to support a different assertion.

In the case of India Indians integrating with the locals, the best I can say is that they are attempting to do something. But integration is not a one day thing, not even one year or five years. It may take a whole generation or cross generations to integrate into a society. So it will be foolish of me to say that they have integrated well with the locals over a few days. It is just the first step in a long journey.

The point about no discrimination against Singaporeans is qualified by the MOM having a few cases and Chuan Jin and Tharman calling up some big organizations for tea. There were cases, and could be many. But where is the evidence? Where are the reporters reporting on them?

The Brompton Bike case and the AIM case would also be non issue if the netizen reporters did not dig and air the cases and the sticky stuff in them. The reporters, mainly the netizens, not so much about the main stream reporters, can play a big role in exposing the crimes and deceits of foreigners and foreign companies discriminating against Singaporeans. And they have the social media to publish what they have unearthed. There is no fear that no one or the main media would not want to publish them. We need to hear more of such cases, and whistle blowers there must be many, to step forward to defend fellow Singaporeans to make Singapore our home and for Singaporeans.

How well are the foreigners integrating with the locals, the India Indian, the PRC Chinese and the Pinoys? When they are few in numbers, they have to integrate and live with the locals. When their numbers are big, they can be with themselves, among themselves, ganged up to protect themselves and their life style. They don’t need to integrate with the locals. They have critical mass to be on their own. They can form their own enclaves, buy properties in select areas, and even discriminate and ostracise the locals, kick the locals out of jobs, deprive the locals of jobs to keep them for their own kind.

We do have a big problem with big foreign populations. The bigger they are, the bigger will be the problem. The problem today is 5.4m in size. It will be 6.9m and bigger in the future. The problem is here to stay and will grow and swallow up the locals if they are not careful, if they are complacent and think that things will be the same, that being the locals they will have a little advantage over the foreigners. When the foreigners outnumber the locals, the advantage will go to the foreigners and the locals will end up at the wrong end of the stick. It can be very pathetic if that day comes. Sad, it will come faster than the unthinking locals can imagine.

The world on the brink of total destruction

This week is an exceptional week. The stock markets in Europe and US continue to surge to new highs. This has led the Asian markets to follow suit, to make big gains as if the world is seeing an economic recovery and everything is looking rosy again. What many people on the street did not know was that the brinkmanship in the Korean peninsula could easily go awry and the whole world could go up in smokes. Both parties were stupidly upping the stakes and the hot button could be pushed to trigger a series of other hot buttons being pushed in the US, China and Russia.

The events that were happening in the Korean peninsula are not isolated incidents that are local in nature and can be contained. While the mad Americans kept on pushing the two Koreans into open warfare, thinking of taking advantage of the situation for their own benefits, things are getting clearer now that the Americans, the innocent Americans, will bear the brunt of an all out nuclear war and many big American cities would stand to fall. And the big cities in Japan, South Korea, China, Russia and Europe would likely to go too.

The basic position of the Russians and Chinese is that they would not allow the Americans to nuke North Korea. The Americans were calculating that they could wipe out North Korea and strengthen their foothold in the peninsula. This was just plain naivity. A nuclear strike on North Korea cannot be a local affair. In geopolitics, Russia and China would not accept a fait accompli and an upset to the balance of power in favour of the Americans. Also, the nuclear fallouts could easily spread across Asia to both Russia and China. They are not going to take that shit from the Americans. South Korea and Japan could too be under the nuclear cloud, depending on the wind direction. The Americans thought they could twiddle their thumbs from far away and be shielded from the nuclear disaster. They could be happily having their breakfast and reading their morning papers while East Asia burns.

The point is that the Russians and the Chinese would never let it happen. An attack on North Korea would be an attack on them and it will be a free for all. It was and is very likely that all their ICBM stations were on full alert last week. The Americans would be ready too, and so would be the Russians and the Chinese and the North Koreans, the Iranians and all nuclear power American allies. All it needs is for a crazy American to push the button and all hell will break lose. No, the North Koreans would not be crazy to be the first to do it. They know the table will be turned against them. They will be history for sure. Only the crazy Americans could think they could get away from nuking the North Koreans.

Today, some senses are appearing on the American side and the South Koreans as well. The provocation must stop, from their sides, not from the North Koreans. They are the ones trying to start a war. They may now know how silly they have been. The Americans must too have realized their own stupidity to think it is possible to do as they wish and the Russians and Chinese would allow a nuclear strike on North Korea.

Sensibility has returned and the South Koreans are urging the North to go back to the negotiating table. The irresponsible western media are still distorting the truths and not blowing the whistle on the Americans. It is time that the western media and the Americans point the finger at Washington for bringing the world to the brink of total destruction, to risk the good American lives, the innocent Americans that did not know what is happening and could become collateral damage in a nuclear war. Some Americans are speaking up. Some western media are starting to talk politely about the American provocations and miscalculation. But more must be done to stop the American madness and menace. Only the Americans and the western media, if they still have a little conscience, to rein in the mad men and women in Washington and allow the world to breathe a sigh of relief.

The tension is still high and no one can take any chances. The western media must call a spade a spade, and the main provocateur in the Korean Crisis is the USA. Stop lying and putting the blame on the North Koreans. They did not start all this.

US ignites crisis on Korean peninsula to besiege China: Mike Billington

I have copied this article from PressTV and I hope the article is circulated to the whole world to inform the innocence of the treacherous intents of the Americans and how they are pushing the world to a nuclear holocaust. It is the Americans that are behind this crisis and they must be held solely responsible should a nuclear war erupt.

An analyst says severe US provocation against North Korea as a pretext for military buildup to surround China has brought the threat of nuclear war worldwide.
 
In the background of this Russian President Putin has called for calm and a political resolution to Korea and said that a blowout of the Korean conflict could result in a catastrophe that would make Chernobyl (1986) nuclear accident, seem like a child’s fairytale. North Korea, in response to the severe US provocations of ongoing military drills with South Korea and even flying US nuclear bombers over the Korean peninsula and the US reinstalling its chemical weapons battalion into South Korea, has threatened to use nukes against the US.

Press TV has interviewed Mike Billington, Executive Intelligence Review in Washington about this issue. The following is an approximate transcription of the interview.

Press TV: The major question everybody is asking right now is how serious that threat of nuclear or even of a military attack launched on South Korea has actually become?

Billington: I don’t think there is any danger of a nuclear war sparked by North Korea’s nuclear attack.
I think there’s a great danger of a nuclear war sparked between the United States and China and the United States and Russia over either the Syrian and Iranian situation in the Middle East or over Korea in Asia.



What I would like to point out actually is that there has been a concerted effort in the Western press including the New York Times today to falsify the warning coming from China about the danger of war in Asia.

Xi Jinping, the new head of China, in a forum yesterday said no country should have the right to create a regional of even global crisis for their own self-interests, their own selfish interests.

That was recorded in the New York Times this morning adding falsely the words in front of that speech that no ‘Asian country’ should have the right to do that.

And of course the Chinese have repeatedly said that while North Korea is in fact taking provocative measures that should be stopped, that the US provocations are even more severe in defense that they’re sending nuclear bombers over Korea; nuclear-armed submarines and ABM systems all of which are seen correctly as the surrounding of China, not just the surrounding of North Korea who is potentially going to do a provocation, but if it is it’s going to be of the sort they’ve done in the past.

General Dempsey, the head of our Joint Chiefs of Staff here and who is a sane mind here in the US countering the Obama and British build up for war was asked if he thought there would be a provocation from North Korea and he said, “I don’t believe so, but we would be foolish not to prepare for it”. So we are taking certain measures.

But he himself is going to China and going to Russia in an effort to counter the build up coming from the United States, which is indeed bringing the threat of nuclear war worldwide very, very close and it’s extremely dangerous.

Margaret Thatcher, to love or to hate her?

To many outside England, Margaret Thatcher was just another well known politician, ex PM of England. It took many by surprise that some quarters in England could rise to celebrate her death. They popped champagne and held pop concerts to express their joy at her departure while the country mourns for the loss of another historical giant.

‘Socialist Angela McCormick explains: "I'm here for a generation that didn't have a future when they left school and didn't have jobs. I'm here for the members of my family who have been devastated by the economic policies or the economic crimes of Margaret Thatcher."

Did Margaret Thatcher cause so much anguish among the citizens of her country, losing jobs through bad economic policies? And it only took her death for the bursting of boisterous elation. While she was still around, the anger and hatred for her was subdued or suppressed, only to be released now. It is quite a pity that those who were affected adversely reacted that way. But they were just human beans.

Political leaders did many good to some people and many bad things to other people. They will leave behind a legacy, to be hated and spit upon, or to be loved and respected. It is better to be leaders in totalitarian states when big statues would be unfold to honour them after death, kind of being immortalized to live forever in the hearts of their people as dear leaders.

In democracy, the ending can be quite unpredictable, and can be very unflattering.

No job discrimination against Singaporeans

After the revelation by Tan Chuan Jin and Tafep in Parliament, I seriously thought the problem of employers, local and foreign, discriminating and victimizing Singaporeans in employment opportunity is a serious one. So I posted a few articles about this sad state of affair happening to Singaporean PMEs, being victimized and ousted from their jobs and be replaced by foreigners.

Since then I have been watching the news closely everywhere for more evidence of such discrimination and victimization of Singaporeans for good jobs in their own country. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was hardly anything mentioned, not a clue or evidence that such a bad thing is happening. They say no news is good news.

I believe the main stream journalists and the freelance investigative journalists in social media are busy trying to fish out such acts of discrimination against Singaporeans and if there are such cases, they would definitely blow them up in the main media and social media. Obviously there are none or none has been discovered. So, for the few cases brought up by MOM, they must be exceptions.

All is fine. No worry, all is fine. If not fine, Singapore being so small, and we have very responsible and patriotic reporters and journalists in both the main and social media, they would have uncovered them. Thank God things are ok. Singaporeans, especially the PMEs who have lost their jobs and unemployable must be a natural thing, a meritocratic thing. They only have themselves to blame and to reflect on why they were unemployable. We have a fair system, a level playing field. No foul play. Everyone is so innocent, I mean the employers and organisations employing foreign PMEs. There is no discrimination and victimization.

Today we celebrate American stupidity

The Americans and its proxies are all pointing the fingers at the North Koreans for their threat of a thermo nuclear war. The Americans thought they could keep on provoking the North Koreans and make them look like clowns, to be intimidated by their war games on their borders. The North Koreans are not going to let the Americans do as their pleased. They just up the ante, and for every American provocation, the North Koreans just raise the stake. Many silly American proxies are still blaming the current crisis on the North Koreans, that it was the bellicosity of the North Koreans that is the cause of the crisis. None of the western media or American proxies would admit that the whole situation was caused by the Americans and no one else.

Now the joke is on the Americans and its allies. Though many are trying to play it down, that it was just North Korean antics, that it was just a war of words, the Govts of South Korea, Japan and the US are not taking any chances. Their defense hardwares and personnel are on high alert and waiting to see what the North Koreans would do. And now they fear that a miscalculation will see Armaggedon in South Korea, Japan and some parts of the USA. Many innocent South Koreans, Japanese and Americans are going to be cooked without knowing why. Many lives will be lost because of their leaders playing with fire. If it burns, they are also gonna get burnt.

For the innocent South Koreans, Japanese, and Americans, they only have the American warmongers to blame should they be hit. They don’t believe in letting sleeping dog lies. They must provoke, kick and push it to a corner to bite back.

Now, instead of enjoying their peaceful morning breadfast, reading the newspaper, watching basketball, and a peaceful night sleep, they have to worry whether a nuclear bomb will land over them. Nice work, America. Keep your war games on, fly your B2s and B52s and your F22s over Korea.

Have fun. This time the fun is for real.

Obituary for the Korean people

I think it is not premature to write an obituary for the Korean people today so that they can still read it before they wipe themselves off the face of planet earth. It is unthinkable today for any sensible person or leader to think of going to war with an equally heavily armed opponents and when the firepower of both countries could flatten the countries in a matter of hours. And then to think that there other opportunists waiting on the side line egging them on to kill each other.

The Koreans are proud and very intelligent people if one is to think of Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, Ssangyong etc etc. And even the North Koreans are able to send their own satellites to space and is a nuclear power in their own right. They have mastered modern technology and are rich in their own right. Don’t listen to the foolish western media that the North Koreans are starving and living in poverty. The measurement of their wealth using western terms of reference is totally irrelevant and meaningless. And don’t be suckers and idiots to think that the young Kim Jung Un and his colleagues are mad and they want war to prove they are good. This kind of naïve thinking coming from supposedly western academics and scholars are simply insulting to those they meant to impress upon to think in this way. But many unthinking people will simply believe and regurgitate these thoughts that are planted into them daily by the western media.

Despite their economic and technological prowess, something tells me that the Koreans are still stupid in a way. For no good reasons, except the encouragement and provocation of the Americans and the Japanese, they think it is fun and a tea party to want to go to war with their brothers, and to kill each other because other people want them to do so. And a miscalculation is all it takes to ignite the Korean peninsula into a fireball and the Korean people as fuel for the fire. There will be no Samsung, Hyundai, Kia and what not left for the world to enjoy. It will be a pity that a major race, an innovative and talented people that worked so hard to be a rich and respectable people, will callousless and carelessly embark on a journey of self destruction.

Once the war starts, the world will be saying RIP to the Koreans and the Korean race. What a pity. It is so silly really, so unnecessary and senseless.

Singaporeans are the smartest or dumbest nationals

When I say this, I am not referring to all Singaporeans but a certain select group of Singaporeans that really think they are the brightest people on planet earth. The things they believe in include an open door immigrant policy for the best and brightest to their island with no strings attached and no conditions. As long as the foreigners are good, they can take on any job or occupation, even replacing the Singaporeans if they can get rid of them by hook or by crook. In the eyes of these Singaporeans, when they lost out to the new arrivals, it is because of meritocracy, that the Singaporeans are less meritocratic.

These same Singaporeans are chiding and admonishing other Singaporeans for being soft and lazy, for wanting to be treated differently because they are citizens. Entitlement mentality, they screamed. They want Singaporeans to compete on equal footings with foreigners for all things, especially jobs. They also believe that Singaporeans are dispensable if they are not good enough. Move out if Singaporeans are not happy. They is a world oasis of people waiting to replace the unhappy Singaporeans. The Govt is full of choice on who and how many foreigners it wants to bring in, the whole wide world can come.

They want the best from the whole world to reside in the island and help the island to prosper, not Singaporeans to prosper. It is survival of the fittest, and they believe they are fit to take on the best in the world, on level playing field in their little island. They believe that they are really competing on equal footings with the foreigners without taking into consideration the cost of living of Singaporeans, with no consideration to the cost of living of foreigners, with no consideration if the foreigners are cheating on them, with fake qualifications, and ganging up against the Singaporeans without the Singaporeans knowing it.

And they believe that this is the only and right way forward, to progress and prosperity. The thinking of getting the best from the rest of the world is translated into official policies to import talents and do away with training own talents. They want table tennis players, they just import, footballers, badminton players and what else. They want IT and finance professionals, just import, everything can be imported and pay for as long as they are better than Singaporeans.

Is there a place left for Singaporeans with this kind of thinking? The genes of Singaporeans are degenerative I supposed, regressive genes taking over. Smart or plain stupid, ask Li Ao from Taiwan, he said it many years back. These Singaporeans will chase out their parents and children if they are simply not good enough, and call them lazy, and depending on the Govt for everything.

The Singapore Reservation

The US has special land set aside called reservations for the down and out native Red Indians so that they can be protected and continue to live as archaeological evidence that these were the original inhabitants of North America. So the reservation is a kind of protective place for people who are endangered, jobless, and need a safe haven to eke out a living, protected from the harsh realities of life and competition, a kind of living museum.

We have some quarters of our population that are down and out, but not deserving of living in reservations. No, Singapore does not have physical space called reservations for those whose existence are threatened. There is a new breed of citizens whose existence is actually threatened, the unemployed, not employable or not wanted. These are the oldies, defined as those above 45 or 50 years of age, retrenched or retired. Many have tertiary educations, degrees or diplomas, some with management experience, but could not find occupation in a rich country that has full employment and employing more than a million foreigners in PME positions. Unbelieveable but that is the situation.

So what shall the Govt do to this group of highly trained and experienced professionals? Or what should this group of people do to continue to live like human beans? Luckily for them, there is a protected profession for them to fall back on, ie as taxi drivers. I was told that only Singaporeans are allowed to drive taxis, no foreigners allowed. Not sure if PRs are allowed. Any way this is the only protected profession other than politicians/ministers that only Singaporeans need apply.

Isn’t the Govt kind and thoughtful and caring? It would be better, I may be asking too much, for the Govt to include a few more professions in the PME categories for Singaporeans only. Oh there is another one, the Presidency. But I know it would not be. Still it is good to have taxi driving as a protected profession, like the reservations in the USA.

There are merits to protect this job. The Govt must have carefully looked at the benefits before deciding to protect this job and the specie of people to be in it. Politically it is a wise move as it will keep a big group of people from being unhappy and angry to be dependent on the licence to survive. If they are contented, some votes will go the way of the Govt. Then there is the security issue. Some countries will allow the mobsters, drug addicts or new migrants to drive taxis and put their vulnerable women and children and the oldies in them. Here the Govt thinks safety is important and would rather put the safety of our citizens, the vulnerable group, in the hands of citizens. Of course it could turn out the other way when taxi drivers are often victims of bashing by foreign customers or even robbed and killed. In general, our people will feel safer with Singaporeans driving their wives and daughters and parents around.

The tourists will also benefit from the highly educated taxi drivers who could engage in a serious discussion on anything under the Singapore sky. The higher educated taxi drivers, and being more senior, are more respectable and reliable in a profession like taxi driving, both for them and their passengers.

Good thinking Govt, caring and inclusive. Our taxi driving reservation is definitely better than the reservations for Red Indians. Many PMEs will see taxi driving as a last resort, but it is still something to be grateful to the Govt. If some jokers decide to improve the service quality of taxi driving and open this profession to new migrants, our PMEs will have no where to run and no where to hide. The young and hungrier migrants, more eager and more willing to please, more hard working, will drive them out of jobs. Be grateful ya.

Angry man sells house to finance daughter's medicine study overseas

I just have to repost this letter from TRE here. The anger and sense of betrayal can be felt by every word in the letter. And this father is not alone. To make matters worst, many chao kar doctors from many dunno what universities are practising here and their academic credentials cannot hold a candle to the daughter mentioned in the letter. There are so many good Singapore sons and daughters being forced overseas, with parents having to sell house, pawn whatever, clean up their savings to finance their studies, only to realise that there is a great shortage of doctors and these sons and daughters of Singapore could have been trained to fill up the shortfalls. Instead, any chap palang doctors will do it seems.

Now please read on and feel the frustration of this father who can be anyone of us.

My daughter did fairly well in her ‘A’ level. She got 3As and 1B – B for Physics but scored As for the 2 most important subjects for medicine – Biology and Chemistry.


She applied to NUS and was rejected. Not even an interview. She has always wanted to be a doctor her whole life. Her studies in Biology and Chemistry were top-notched. She is very self-discipline and we never have problems telling her to do her homework or reminding her to study since young. When NUS rejected her, she cried day and night.

As parents, how can we see her cry like that? It really breaks our hearts. We then made a family decision and sold our 5-room flat to support her medicine study overseas. We moved back to my parents – imagine, both of us are now in the 50s and we have to live with my parents who are now close to 80s!

My daughter applied to the overseas universities and guess what, she was accepted by a few: Monash University, University of Western Australia, Imperial College. In the end, we chose University of Western Australia because it’s closer to Singapore and it’s also cheaper to study in Australia than in UK. Still, the tuition fee itself cost me at least A$200K+, not counting room and board. All in, it will be A$300K+. I’m glad to see her happily studying medicine in Australia now.

Reading this article (‘Doctor-to-population ratio improved through massive FT recruitment‘) even angers me further. Why are we taking in foreign doctors when we do not even want to give our own Singaporeans a chance? And to think that I’ve served NS, for what? Why is the government not taking care of our own people first??? The fact that my daughter was accepted by some of these good universities shows that she is absolutely qualified to study medicine. Furthermore, she is really passionate about it. Why is the government depriving her, our very own people, that opportunity? To add further insults, I’ve read here that these foreign doctors actually graduated from some of these dubious third world universities?

This is really a big screw up by our government. Instead of investing to train more Singaporeans to become doctors, we are recruiting more foreign doctors. This is totally unacceptable and I might add, a treacherous act by the government!

I’m actually quite apolitical but this incident of NUS rejecting my daughter to study medicine when other good universities are accepting her, has given me a new perspective. The fact that I have to sell away my house and move back with my parents who are close to 80s really hurts me a lot. At their age, I should be taking care of them and yet, they have to shelter my family! I have one more son, because of his sister’s influence, is more inclined to study biology and medicine. I really don’t know what to do if he decides to also study medicine and NUS rejects him too. I have no more houses to sell. The only left would be by then, I can take out my CPF and use it to finance his overseas study.

I really cursed this government!

One more thing I would like to add – Yes, I’ll be attending the May Day protest!

Angry father

PS. Can PAP survive 2016 when there is a groundswell in frustration and the feeling of betrayal?

Present Korean Tension must be seen with US overall Plan for Global Domination.

       The present Korean Tension must be seen with the overall US plan for Global Domination.
Clearly the Evil Empire, USA is the sole and direct cause of the tension in Korea. Since its independence from its Imperial forbears, Great Britain, US has perenially been on a war path attacking and invading other countries. You can say USA ever since has been an ingrained psycho war maniac country which no country  big or small will feel safe. It started its war of terrorism first by sowing seeds of dissension and instability among the different  self-governing native Indian states to the West . Then when these native Indian states were weakened USA mopped them up . All native resistance was brutally put down and a systematic machinery of wanton terrorism and genocide against the native American Indians was carried out non-stop to the dawn of the early 20th Century. In all eighty-five million or ninety \-five per cent of the native population was wiped out.  After swallowing all the self-governing native Indian states, USA cast an envious eye on Mexican lands. It created border incidents and tensions and blamed them on the Mexicans. By creating border incidents and tensions it signalled a preamble and an excuse for USA to attack and occupy Mexican lands. Thus between 1840s to 1870s USA invaded and annexed more than  one million six hundred and sixty-five thousand square miles of land from Mexico, a territory comprising the present states of Florida, Texas, Utah, Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado and California.. Subsequently it went on to invade the independent island kingdoms of Hawaii and Guam in the Pacific Ocean  in which hundreds of thousands of island resistance fighters were cruelly and wantonly slaughtered.

To understand the problem and tension in Korea we must view the historical wars of aggression by USA in perspective and its insidious phylosophy of conducting permanent wars to maintain power and control over other countries. USA has always maintained that it has the right to topple heads of states and conduct regime change of countries which do not toe US line or follow its dictates. After the Second World War USA tried to topple USSR making Russian communism as an excuse for its travesty. Similarly it went all out trying to topple the Peoples Republic of Mao's China under the same excuse that it was a communist country. CIA sabotaged and exploded a plane which it thought was carrying Premier Chou En Lai to the Bandung Conferfence in 1954. Fortunately Premier Chou En Lai was not in that flight. In fact the Second World War was in a way directly caused by USA which controlled and with held resources from Japan. Therefore to gain resources Japan struckout against a weak and disunited China. China though poor and disunited put up a brave fight under the strategic and wise direction of Chairman Mao and his Red Peasant Army which eventually tied down the Japanese and helped to defeat Imperial Japan.

After the war USA quickly coddled to the Japs hoping to use it in future as a proxy against China. The historical and political situations of the moment lend itself a great opportunity for the Evil Americans to carry out its insidious  plots and intrigues. Korea was split into two states with the North under a communist state and the South under US protectorate. US refused to recognise  North Korea as a state because it was communist .  US tried to sabotage North Korea by creating problems and tensions and distability to bring down the DPRK. The result was the Korean War , from 1950 to 1953. The dsesperate US air force bombed across the Yalu River into Chinese territory. That was the last straw for the Chinese which eventually was forced to fight with the North Koreans against the Yankee invaders. The Korean War resulted in a stalemate and an untenable armistice.

In the meantime US has not given up its aim of toppling Chairman Mao and replace the PRC with a pro US government. It illegally stationed its Seventh Fleet in the Taiwan Straiit to prevent the ultimate unity of Taiwan and Mainland China. It tried all ways and means to divide and destroy China. The CIA organised a clandestine Tibetan terrorist organisation under the spurious leadership of rebellious Dalai Lama which frequently helped Tibetan brigands to sneak into China to carry out sabotage activities. CIA also supported many splittist and separatist groups in China hoping to destabilise and destroy China. It openly supported the Uighur terrorists with finance and arms.

The CIA also took over the Vietnam War from the French  after the later's ultimate defeat at Dien Bien Phu. One of  the US warships rammed a Vietnamese boat at the Gulf of Tongkin. CIA blamed the Vietnamese for the incident and that gave it as an excuse to escalate into a full scale bombing of Vietnam. Even Loas and Cambodia's neutrality were not respected. Cia tried to assasinate Cambodis's neutral Prince Sihahouk many times but failed. In the meantime CIA organised and sent forays of remnant Chiang Kai Shek's Kuomintang troops from Burma into Southern China to stir up trouble.

During the Korean War US was tinkling with the idea of attacking China with atomic bombs. But the fear of Russian nuclear retaliation stopped that from happening. However, it never stopped trying to use Korea as a bastion for carrying espionage and sabotage activities against China. US constantly tried to  to prevent Taiwan and China from being united by continuously selling arms to Taiwan . US treacherously and illegally handed over the administration of Diaoyu Islands to Japan in 1974 without the consent of China, the rightful owner. This is part of its sinister strategy of sowing seeds of a future war between Japan and China over disputed territories.

The grand strategy of the Evil Empire is to organise so called allies and partners around the world to confront and contain the rise of Russia and China so as to keep US as the only permanent preponderant super power in the world. This can be seen in Southern Europe where US succeeded in toppling leaders in Yugoslavia and Albania and divided the two countries into many pro US states. The unsuspecting self satisfying politico religious leaders  of the Middle East were fools who fell into the evil trap of US intrigues. Many of the Arab states coddle to USA and the leaders are safe in their seats of power. However , the more progressive but non-pro US leaders in Iraq, Libya and Syria were targets for regime change and subsequently they were toppled and their countries came to ruins and their resources like oil come under US and Western control. The whole sinister aim of US is to try to deprive China from the oil in the Arab World in the Middle East.

US through its evil arms the Pentagon and CIA is always trying to create permanent wars so as to maintain its sole super power status in the world. Part of its strategy is to use its so called allies and partners to fight its proxy wars . Thus US has been stirring troubles and problems in China's periphery in the East China Sea and the South China Sea as well as in India bordering on China. US is encouraging the silly unthinking Pinoys and Vietnamese rats to lay spurious claims on Chinese islands and islets as well as Chinese territorial seas in the South China Sea. US is goading India to go against China . India which inherited some Chinese territories from its former imperial ruler England which illegally took large chunks of Chinese lands in South and South Western China has always refused to negotiate with China to settle the land dispute. It claimed what it inherited from Imperial Britain as fait accompli and thus India because of this stubborn illogical behaviour is now wearing the coat of east AsiBritish Imperial .

The fact now is Russia and China are too big and strong for US to take on alone and so it is organising the unsuspecting so called pro-US allies and partners to bite and nib at the Russians and the Chinese and hopefully to fight its proxy wars against China as clearly what is unfurling in Korea and the Diayu Island affairs. The same crooks and scoundrels that run the US government have their counter parts running the business and financial institutions in the states and in which they through their extreme greed has caused their economy and finance to cave in into economic and financial disaster , collapse and bankruptsy. In the meantime while the crooks and scoundrels in the White House, the Pentagon and CIA are creating wars and political troubles around the world , their counter parts in the business , the banks and the stock markets are cheating and swindling all countries in the world of trillions of dollars with fraud and dubious business and financial trasnsactions. The US government's magic in turning money from thin air by printing limiltless amount of money in trillions in so called quantitative easing is thus cheating and swindling the whole world.  The Americans are going round the whole world usings this banana money to buy solid assets and resources and to repay their local and foreign debts. Without saying without foreign support of the US dollar as a standard of exchange the US dollar will automatically collapse with dire consequences for US business , finance and economy as well as for US military and Pentagon and CIA mischiefs to plan wars and trouble all over the world. Saddam Hussein of Iraq and Gadhaffi of Libya were murdered and regime changed for daring to move away from the American Dollar as a world standard of exchange for its oil resources. Russia, China , India, Brazil and South Africa are slowly moving away from adopting the US Dollar as a standard of exchange. These countries are too big and too strong for the White House, The Pentagon and CIA to carry out direct overthrow of their governments so they resort to clandstine activities of using cold war tactics of divide and rule, creating proxy wars and using fraud in international business, banking and financial transactions as well as in rigging and mass cheating in the world stock markets. The Evil Empire is on the verge of political and financial collapse. It is only a matter of time.  Its last business bastion is the war factories , so it has to create perrmanent wars to create markets for the sale of its war machines. Thus in creating permanent wars US hopes to maintain its only super power status forever. In short US has always been governed by hordes of maniac warmongers with traditional ingrained vicious aggressive war instincts.

Southernglory1

Foreign Indian Talents integrating well with Singaporeans

According to the Hindustantimes, the newly arrived foreign talents are integrating well with the Singaporeans. The media quoted the Dep PM Teo Chee Hian as saying, ‘Indian professionals in Singapore have taken a lead in integrating with the city-state's populace and contributing to the development of the local Indian community, Singapore deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has said. "I would like to commend their initiative and welcome more of such efforts by business leaders to contribute ot the community.” Said Teo in his keynote opening address at the IIMPACT 2013 global conference which opened on Friday.(5 Apr 2013)’

This is a very positive development for the Indian community here. It only shows that the rich high caste Indians are willing to integrate with the no caste Singaporeans and the lower caste Indian community in the island. I am not too familiar with the Indian culture in India and the caste system, but it is indeed good news that once in Singapore, do as the Singaporeans do, put aside the caste and everyone becomes equal.

And apart from organizing dialogue sessions to facilitate engagement between the business sectors and the govt, they are also raising funds to contribute to Sinda, an association with a mission to help the local Indian community. According to IBR Chairman Girjia Pande, this is one way for the newly arrived Indian professionals to give back to the community especially the local Indians.

The local Indians should benefit from the generosity of the affluent foreign Indian community, many of whom have either taken up citizenship or PRs in the island. And with their effort to integrate with the local Indians, relationships between them should improve despite the barrier of caste and wealth. The Govt must be very pleased with this development and their effort to attract more rich and professional Indians to become Singapore citizens and PRs will get a big boost. And there will be more and more Indian business setting up office here. They have already replaced the PRC Chinese as the biggest business community in the island.

True blue Singaporeans are only early migrants

A letter by a Gavin Chay in the Today paper, posted earlier in Todayonline, took the view that true blue Singaporeans are only here earlier. That is the only difference and the new migrants are here a bit later. And between the two, both have equal rights to have his space to make a living in this island. And if early migrants are not competitive they have to make way for the more competitive new migrants. The early migrants have no right to ask for more privileges, to ‘demand for more pay, protected jobs, cheaper housing and COEs and freebies of all kinds, that the current debate is fuelled more by a sense of entitlement than who we are as Singaporeans’.

If I read it correctly, Gavin Chay’s position is that new and old migrants should have equal rights to a good life here in this island we called home. How many of you agree to this view? I respect Gavin Chay’s view. He is entitled to his view and hopefully this is not the media’s view or the govt’s view.

I also like his confidence that he and his type are competitive and will take on the world’s migrants who want to come here and compete on an equal basis, the 1.3b Chinese and 1.1b Indians and the rest of SE Asia and Europe and America. Personally, I don’t think Singaporeans will be good enough to take on even a country like India or China, not talking about the rest of the world. To be confident is one thing, to be foolhardy is another, to willingly give away one’s birth right as a citizen to a migrant is…I leave it to you to suggest. To ignore and give up the effort, contributions and sacrifices of our forefathers, our NS men, and say we should compete on an equal basis with foreigners and let them beat the shit out of every Singaporean is stupidity of the highest order.

I rest my case. Who says Singaporeans are not daft?

Eng Hen – Speak up for the future Singapore

Eng Hen is asking the young Singaporeans to speak up for the kind of Singapore they want to live in when they grow up, or grow older. The young Singaporeans must join the Natcon and tell the Govt what they want. Older Singaporeans, please, not your call and don’t say anything. Only the voices of the young are important.

This seems to be the message coming from Eng Hen, that the young Singaporeans are not talking and the Govt does not know what they want. Speak up now for your future or it will be too late. The White Paper was passed without any feedback from the people, from the young. How come? Is it too much to ask the young for their views or it does not concern the young? Why were the young not consulted if their future is at stake? Why calling for them to speak up after the event is over?

All the kpkb in cyberspace have not been heard by the Govt. The Hong Lim Protest, what protest, was there a protest? Maybe the voices in cyberspace were those of old cocks and old hens. And those at the Hong Lim Protest were also oldies, don’t matter. Eng Hen is only concerned for the young who will be the owners of the future Singapore. The Govt wants to hear from them, not the ‘has been’ oldies. The oldies cannot be speaking for their children. Only the young know what they want and their views are important to the Govt.

Selective hearing? What do you think? No young people speaking and the Govt is being kept ignorant of their aspirations?

US playing with insanity

The Americans thought they could push the North Koreans into a hole. They may also think that the South Koreans will join them to decimate the North Koreans. They kept provoking the North Koreans with more and bigger military exercises simulating an invasion of North Korea. The North Koreans responded in their no nonsense and standard approach. You up the ante, we will follow and see your cards. The only thing in the North Korean’s favour is a very strong conventional military backed by a few pieces of nuclear weapons. The Americans were trying to call the North Korean’s bluff. Now the North Koreans are calling the American’s bluff. They openly announced that they will strike with full force on American targets if they were forced to. The Americans are now the chicken.

The Americans can wipe out the whole of North Korea in no time. They have the most power array of nuclear weapons that the North Koreans have no reply and will simply be sitting duck. But the US cannot risk one or two North Korean nuclear bombs on the US mainland. The Americans know that the North Koreans are willing to go for broke and the risk of taking one or two nuclear hits is just incomprehensible. Better to tone down and stop raising more tension.

Flying an ICBM into space will be immediately picked up by the North Koreans and if they read that as the opening American salvo, they could just fire theirs. The Americans are not taking any chances and will not take any chances. They are delaying their test of a Minuteman III ICBM till later. Launching one now will be too risky and they could not anticipate what the North Koreans will do.

Playing with insanity, beating the drums of war can be a deadly proposition. The North Koreans have called the American bluff. The Japanese are still gearing to go, to intercept North Korean missiles. They still fail to see the devastating destruction of modern warfare with modern weapons at the disposal of the adversaries. It is not a repeat of WW2. It is not computer games. The price is too high to pay even for the US. Japan still thinks it can afford to do so, forgetting the lessons of the two Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This time it would be hundreds of times more monstrous. It could be Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe.

Playing with insanity has an extremely high price to pay.

May Day protest for what?

My article posted here and reposted in TRE received fairly enough comments and generated some awareness of this coming event. Many Singaporeans are rooting to be there and calling for other Singaporeans to be there, to bring their friends as well. Many see the event as a critical moment to determine the future of Singapore and their children. They do not agree with stuffing this island with more foreigners that are mostly a bunch of parasites, the super rich and real talents excluded, here to feast themselves and provide unnecessary and undesirable competition for their children. And the Singaporeans have already been called racists and xenophobes for their unhappiness with all the parasites. It is not a race to the top but a race to the bottom especially for the average Singaporeans. Not many Singaporeans are that talented and not many have parents that are ministers or multi millionaires that could buy a few properties for them to collect rentals and no need to work for the rest of their lives.

The people, at least those who indicated that they are going, and the silent majority, do not agree with the plans of the Govt, or the plans of the 77. Whose wisdom is right, the masses or the 77 is debatable. Also it may not be an issue of right or wrong but a matter of what the majority wants and what the 77 wants. Should the majority give way to the tyranny of the 77?

In the first protest rally, the theme was ‘Say No to 6.9m’. This looks like the natural them for the second protest, a continuation and persistent theme that says the people did not want a big population. Any Tom, Dick and Harry will know that it is fatal if we just rely on increasing population for economic growth. That is an easy and sure path to self destruct. We need growth but through other means.

Many other slogans have been suggested, eg The Day We Say No to 6.9, The Day We Stand Up For Our Children, The Day We Stand Up To Tyranny, Say No To The 77, and many others.

This May Day is important to the future of Singapore and to the children of the Singaporeans. It is about their well beings, their dominant position as owners of the islands. It is also about capitulation, allowing foreigners to take their place, take their jobs and their livelihood. The foreigners are coming for their second chance for a better life. We can empathise with them. But when a better tomorrow for them is a sadder tomorrow for our children, should the parents of our children stand up and say no to this change? Some say it is a kind of genocide, the extinction of true blue Singaporeans, being dispossessed of their homeland, being driven out of their own country by foreigners who come to claim their rights to a better life at our expense.

Singaporean parents, are you that daft or irresponsible to not do anything when you can? Would you Stand Up For Our Children, Say No To Singaporean Genocide, Say No To Our Extinction? I can hear them cry. May Day can be the day Singaporeans close ranks to fight for their own existence and their children’s future. It is idiocy to let in foreigners, give them a pink IC and claim that they are one of us, and to take away food on the table, the food that rightfully belongs to our children. Come May Day, will Singaporeans be fighting for their future, a better future for their children? Quite silly really. Why should they be fighting to claim back their country? Who is the real enemy that is doing this to the Singaporeans? Like they said, ‘With friends like these, you don’t need enemies.’

May Day, May Day, May Day! What does this day mean to you? Were you there or did you walk away?

Get more women to work

The reason for being living in paradise is to work. More women are encouraged to work not because they wanted to, needed to, but because the Govt wanted them to. The old aunties and uncles too are encouraged to work for the same reasons though some have no choice but to keep working. To many Singaporeans, other than the landlord class, many would simply live a life working just to live in paradise.

The whole socio economic system today is that everyone in a household, every able body, must work to support the increasing high cost of living. Housing in particular, is designed to feed on the dual incomes of a household, and may end up feeding on 3 or 4 incomes eventually. Not working is no longer an option today.

The earlier generations went through a period of single income household and could live quite well too. A middle civil servant or middle management level employee could bring up a family on his single income, live in landed property, owned a car, supporting parents and several children at the same time.

How could it be possible then and not now? Today, anyone thinking of living on a single income and to support parents and children, even if he is in senior management level, is a big hassle. Only people in top management or ministers could afford such a privilege, and those who have inherited wealth and owning a list of properties. The majority of the average Singaporeans would have to live a life working to make ends meet.

Can the socio economic system be fine tuned, tweaked or whatever, to return to a single income family when the quality of family life was much better, when children have their play time and mothers to watch them while they grow up. What is happening to day is that everyone is on his own, parents working furiously, children studying furiously or playing furiously without the watchful eyes of their mothers but foreign maids to keep them company. The mothers have a duty not only to bring in the bacon and pay for the mortgages, but also as a national duty to turn the economic wheel and to produce more babies at the same time.

Getting more women to work is a serious thing, a necessity. Gone were the days when women can afford to choose whether to work or to be home maker. They have only one choice now, work.

Validating fake degrees is an impossible task

When foreigners are concerned, validating their qualifications and resumes could be a task impossible. For all that you know there is a parallel degree mill organisation existing to cover every track that needs to be covered to avoid exposing the fakes. The contact numbers given could be fake or leading to a ‘specialist’ to confirm everything that is stated. There could be a whole industry out there supporting the fake degrees and qualifications. That is why certain degrees that are in demand would fetch a higher price and the buyer could be assured that any tracing will be ‘professionally’ handled to protect them.

Who knows the job applicant would provide genuine contact numbers to an established university but when a search is conducted, it will lead to a team of ‘professionals’ in the university who cooked the degrees and would ensure that the reply is just an affirmation of the search. The tracks are covered and no one is wiser.

For those who are calling for MOM to investigate, I think it is a waste of time. It is better to continue as if nothing is wrong and save a lot of money chasing shadows. And come to think of it, all the big organisations that are hiring the fakes are doing alright aren’t they?  Nothing unusual seems to be happening. The fakes are good fakes too, or very talented fakes as they would cleverly arrow the task to the genuine Sinkies to deal with the problems. The higher they are, the easier it is to cover their incompetence as the real works will be done by a subordinate, probably a stupid Sinkie from a top local university who knows the stuff.

The good thing is that this system of fakes being employed at senior levels, replacing our local PMEs, with the real McCoys as their subordinates and doing the real work is working fine. Let’s not rock the boat or the house will come down when the truth is exposed. And many people will have red faces. We do not want that to happen do we? I can’t imagine if, hypothetically, the SWFs were found to have hired fakes that led to the billions lost in botched investment deals. But I also think that this is highly unlikely. Just keep the fingers crossed and trust the system that nothing will go wrong.

Just ignore Murphy and his law. Just believe that everything is just perfect.

Hsien Loong walking on a tight rope

Caught in between two balls and hanging in the centre, it is a difficult act indeed. Singapore is a small country caught in between two super powers, China and the USA, and has been walking on a tight rope for everyday of its existence. Funny thing is that other countries in Asean or elsewhere did not have such a problem. Did we choose to walk on the tight rope to show off?  Singapore’s official foreign policy is to be friends to all, especially the two super powers. Every now and then the leaders will make their pilgrimage to the two capitals to pay homage to the deities residing in Beijing and Washington.

This is fair and good. As long as Singapore is not taking sides, it would not trip on the tight rope or be pushed to fall. The walk is treacherous and the act a very difficult one when the two powers are at each other’s throat. If you are not my friend you are my enemy. Singapore often has to take sides, like joining the Coalition of the Willings to invade another country when Singapore was obviously the unwilling partner. Singapore is lucky so far as the victims of the coalition were not the openly declared friends of the other superpower. It would be tricky if another superpower declares interest in protecting the targeted country.

Singapore’s position is gradually being compromised and leaning more towards the Americans. Maybe it has no choice as the American way is that if Singapore does not be a friend, it becomes a natural enemy. So Singapore is blowing the trumpets for the American’s presence in the region, supporting the American military pivot to Asia, hosting American warships for military intervention and warfare.

Hsien Loong has just visited Washington, feasted and highly praised by Obama as a reliable and valuable friend, or an accomplice in all American military adventures in violation of national sovereignty and interference with another country’s internal affairs. The latter is contrary to Singapore’s official policy of non interference in other country’s domestic affairs. This is going to blow up into Singapore’s face one day for sure.

The key message that Hsien Loong brought to Washington, with high expectations of buying a sick and premature top end American fighter aircraft, is the open invitation to the Americans to play a bigger role to counter the presence of a rising China, the other super power that Singapore is courting and sleeping with. How is this going to be taken by this sleeping partner is not looking well. Is this classic diplomacy or crass diplomacy, only time will tell. But time is running out unless Hsien Loong has it all worked out before the visit and this sleeping partner has quietly consented to the unfriendly gesture. Sending Chok Tong to China at the same time may be an attempt to placate the Chinese for what he had to say to please the Americans and in making a joke of China.

The call for the Americans to counter the Chinese, and never the Chinese to counter balance the Americans is one sided, loaded against the Chinese. It would be a great act if Hsien Loong could walk the whole tight rope safely without tripping. The Chinese must be holding back whatever they wanted to say or do. What Hsien Loong said in America was not the least complimentary, and the condiments of jokes included.

LKY could pull it off in his time. He was unusual as a statesman. Could Hsien Loong pull it off this time, like his father did, with such a one sided leaning and his unabashed fawning over the Americans, that he was with the Americans first and last?

Tokyo Auto Salon in Singapore

For the FIRST time in history Tokyo Auto Salon is coming to Singapore, showcasing the finest Japan-tuned Supercars and kawaii race queens from Japan!
Singapore, 28 Jan 2013 : For the 1st time in its illustrious 30-year history, Tokyo Auto Salon will be coming to the shores of Singapore. With the full support of the Tokyo Auto Salon Association (TASA) of Japan, Singapore’s leading media company MediaCorp and Muse Group will jointly unveil “Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013” at the Sands Expo® and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands® from 12 - 14 Apr, 2013.
More than 20 of the finest and most unique cars from Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 will grace the event, together with Japanese race queens, J-Pop idols and other entertainers to provide visitors the unique and unforgettable Tokyo Auto Salon experience
Key Highlights
• Exotic Supercars
• Iconic Japanese/European Tuner Cars
• Specially Tuned Up Show Cars
• TASSG Autostyling Showdown Competition
• Hot Import Race Queens from Japan
• Miss TASSG Race Queen Pageant 2013
• Japanese Anime Cosplay Showcase
• Daily Stage Activities
Public can also look forward to participating in lucky draws that will be held between 1 February to 1 March on the Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore Facebook Fan Page. Simply “like” the page, register on the Lucky Draw tab, and stand to walk away with exciting prizes such as a set of Westlake SV 308 17” tyres and S$500 worth of Takashimaya vouchers. “Invite” or “share” with friends on Facebook to increase one’s chances of winning.
About Tokyo Auto Salon
Launched in 1983 by the editor-in-chief of the iconic custom car magazine Option, Tokyo Auto Salon has today grown to become the largest automotive after-market parts and accessories exhibition in the world. Every year, more than 250,000 automotive fans from all corners of the globe converge at Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan over a 3-day period.

Event Details
Event : Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013
Date : 12 Apr (Fri) – 14 Apr (Sun)
Time : 10:00am – 10:00pm Daily
Venue : Sands Expo® and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands® (HALL A TO C, LEVEL 1)
Admission Fees :
1-DAY PASS – Adult: S$25.00 / Children (under 12 years old) S$10.00
3-DAY PASS – S$70.00
Website : www.tokyoautosalon.com.sg
Visit also www.facebook.com/TokyoautosalonSG for the latest updates on Tokyo Auto Salon Singapore 2013.

The fake awakening of the elite

We read and heard it in the media, everywhere, that the wide income gap is bad, productivity is low and how to deal with these problems. The Americans are worried so it is time we are worried too. Is the conscience pricking or is it just another gapping for another PR exercise, that the elite is concerned with the well being of the lower income group, the poor and the disadvantaged? How real is this expression of shock and awe, that something is seriously wrong and needs to be talked about but not necessarily to do anything about it?

It was not too long ago that the wide income gap was preached as a natural occurrence, that it was a sign of progress. Who, in a position to write his own pay check, in a position to take as much as he wants, would want to cry over having too much to take? This trait of human nature is definitely natural. Greed is in all of us and the only way to control this greed is for a third party to do the checks and balance. No one, not even God, can check himself and his wanton lust and greed. God can be crazy when unrestrained, so what is there to blame the mortals or immortals for their excesses and self serving actions?

The Americans started it all. We resisted in the beginning, that you cannot anyhow pay people enormous amount of money. Thrift is important and morally correct in public service. The civil servants were well paid but not obscenely well paid like what it is today. Don’t mention the politicians. The Americans started to pay themselves crazy not to the civil servants but to the private sectors. Every turkey in a position of authority would want to be paid a life time’s income in a month or a year. And we have learnt to be like the Americans. We are crazily paying the top management a life time’s income in a year or less. Would the recipient be complaining? Would the recipient say, hey, you are paying me too much for so little that I have done!

All sorts of rubbish reasoning were published in the media as god’s wisdom, to pay the employees their life time income in the shortest period possible. Actually this is a good thing if it is carried down all the way to the workers. But it cannot be done. The money is finite. If someone is taking the bulk of it, the rest will have less.

In any organisation, public or private, the revenue generated is limited and has to be spread around. The issue is the distribution. There is the return on capital to the owners or shareholders, the cost of production, the wages, at the top, middle and at the bottom. If one part takes the lion’s share, the rest will have to take less. If the CEO and his immediate kakis take a big chunk of the revenue, the dividends will have to go, the wages of the lower management and the workers will have to go. CBF is to tell the workers to take less while the top takes more. And those taking more will tell the CBFs that it is only normal because they are more deserving.

When wealth is concentrated in a few, they have a lot more to spend and that drives up the prices of everything. Housing and luxuries will be cheap to those with deep pockets but extremely expensive to those who have little or nothing. The high rentals, the high prices of housing and cars do not happen in a vacuum. They are conscious policies of those who have a lot and think that it is ok for them to price out the losers. The losers do not deserve anything better. If they cannot afford a $100k COE, that is their business. If they cannot afford to pay for taxis, just too bad. This is a meritocratic world and the meritorious deserve their comfortable lifestyle while the rest are inconsequential. They should be grateful to have a job and a roof over their heads.

Do not be misled by the conscience pricking uttering of the elite. It is just for show. They believe that they should take as much as they can while the sun shines even when they could have taken enough to last a life time or several life times in a year.

There is a subtle difference between the rich employees and the entrepreneurs or those managing their own businesses. The latter two invested their talents and resources and could lose everything, return on capital risk. As for the employees, public or private, the only thing they can ever lose is the job even if they burn down the company or organisation. The capital they are risking and bringing in big revenue is other people’s capital, OPC. And they could move on to rob another company by demanding to be paid another life time in salary in a year.

Is there a problem? If one is an elite and being paid that kind of indecent money, there is surely no problem. In fact it is the right thing to do. The system is good, the system is well. Do not destroy the system. So what is going to happen? Nothing, everything will be as per normal and the system will tick away until the sun comes down, if it ever comes down.

Another botch deal, another US$600m down

‘The govt of Singapore, well, they lost the most….over $600 million. It just went poof…. Tisman Speyer and BlackRock lost a lot of people a couple of billion dollars, walked away from it unscathed and went into the next deal without anyone calling them out on their colossal mistake….’ NPR.org

The deal was to buy a middle class housing estate, The Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in NY Manhattan, switch the land control tenants with new tenants paying market rentals. Pretty neat, pretty profits and pretty good deal. The deal was stopped by the courts and money of the investors went poof.

There must be many such good deals that are going around for clever investors to pick up, just like the rotten banks during the 2008 financial crisis. Many were great deals with great promises of big profits and were picked up quickly only to turn out as lemons. No free lunch. Too good to be true.

Thought such good deals will catch the laypeople on the streets, like the gold investment schemes where the returns are more or less guaranteed and in double digits. I am also looking for such good deals to invest my $2.

Did Singapore lose $600m? I don’t think so. Every botch deal a few hundred millions, how much can we afford to botch and botch? But then $600m is really peanuts compared to the tens of billions lost during the financial crisis. Ten of such bad deals only cost $6b and it will take 100 deals to hit $60b.