Bloggers Contest – World’s apart

The winner of the most popular blog contest organised by the citizens of the city state is none other than TREmeritus with millions of hits daily. Coming closely as first runner up is The Real Singapore. Second runner up goes to LittleSpeck. Actually these are just figments of my imagination.

The real winner of the Spore Blog Award went to Ivan Kwan whose blog, The Lazy Lizard’s Tales, whose article on the Pulau Ubin conservation went viral. Altogether 19 bloggers were honoured in the contest organised by the Singapore Press Holdings. Among the winners were bloggers on travel, lifestyle, parenthood, makan stalls and poetry.

Some of the winners would be blogging on finance and health matters soon. And one blogger commented, ‘It is also fantastic to see older bloggers – it shows that the trend is quite mainstream, no longer confined to the younger generation.’

Sorry uncles Seah Chiang Nee and Leong Sze Hian, not old enough, and not mainstream. And sorry, to be winners of the contest, you cannot blog about social political stuff. Mainstream bloggers don’t blog on such sticky stuff. I am going to set up a few new blogs on kite flying and fighting spiders. Maybe I will get a mention next year.

On the other hand it would be nice if TRE or some other lunatic blogging sites could organised a contest for the best blog or best bloggers on the lunatic fringe and we can reveal the fearful and frightening faces of these weird beings that exist in cyberspace. Otherwise no one will know of their existence or their blogs and the hot stuff they wrote. For sure they would not be writing about poetry and the beautiful garden city.

Ravi and Vellama shine through the constitutional haze

Last August a high court judge, Pillai ruled that the PM has all the discretion to call or not to call a by election when a single constituency seat is vacant. It more or less cast a big dark cloud over the constitutional rights of the citizens to be represented by an elected representative. Yesterday, light shone through the dark cloud to clear up this hazy matter. Three Appeal Court Judges, Chao Hick Tin, Andrew Phang and V Rajah, over ruled Judge Pillai’s judgement and re read what the Constitution really meant in a clear and logical way.

The Prime Minister may have certain leeway to decide when a by election is to be held but he must call a by election within reasonable time. A by election must be called to protect the rights of the people to be represented by an elected MP. Otherwise it would lead to the disenfranchisement of the people, an act contrary to the provision of the Constitution. Is not this logical from the very start? Well, judges are human beans too and their interpretations of the law sometimes left much to be desired.

The findings of the Appeal Court Judges in a way vindicated the smear poured over Ravi as an erratic person flawed by a bi polar sickness, meaning he is unreliable and may not even be fit to be a lawyer. This case proved beyond any doubt that for all the harsh accusations of a decent man in Ravi, his cranial faculty is still as sound as anyone learned man, if not better. Ravi pushed a case that was sound from the beginning and almost became unsound, which would also implicate him as being unsound. Now it is very clear that Ravi and his case are both as sound as they could be.

This judgement is a victory of the people, a victory of our judicial system, of sound interpretation of the law, a victory for Ravi and Vellama, two most unexpected individuals that took on the system to demand an explanation and interpretation of the law. And the Courts of Law delivered. And it also tells a story that judges do erred, particularly in the way laws are written and the way words are used.

Temasek Annual Report 2013

‘2009 News--Government will be able to issue more securities like bonds, after Parliament approved raising the limit of its borrowings from $250 billion to $320 billion.

This motion to increase the limit was passed yesterday.

Explaining the need for a higher amount, Second Finance Minister Lim Hwee Hua said the Government is close to reaching the current ceiling of $250 billion, with more securities likely to be issued.

There are $234.7 billion worth of outstanding government securities, she said, and the amount is expected to hit $320 billion in the next five years.’

The above was posted by an anonymous blogger as a comment. It is old news but may still be applicable when the next set of bond is due for redemption and wonder how much it would be.

I am no expert in this kind of numbers and I am not going to dig into them to figure out what is or what is not. Maybe Leong Sze Hian might have more to say on this. I think he must be banging away with his calculator at the moment to make sense of what is being published to day.

All I can say is that if Temasek’s net portfolio value is $215b and (if there is a $234.7b worth of bond expiring, hypothetically), the amount with Temasek would not be enough to redeem these bonds. Or maybe some of the bonds will be serviced by GIC. If Temasek is liable fully for this $234.7b, then the 16% annual return is going to be meaningless right? Anyone knows when will the next bond be due and how much would it be? I am just using the numbers as examples for discussion only.

And in order for Temasek to continue to hold on to this $215b, it needs to roll over the bonds by issuing more bonds to the tune of $320b. And this roll over is going to go up annually, while the value of Temasek’s holding may take a long time to catch up, which technically Temasek is operating on a negative asset basis. Tio boh? Please enlighten me that I am wrong and what Temasek is owning now a large portion of it is net profit, less bond redemption.

Oh, there are some economists here. Please help and explain to the laymen what the numbers mean, can?

Why are the Middle Eastern countries in perpetual turmoil?

The Middle Eastern region, including the north African states, are in perpetual turmoil, armed uprising, mass protest, regime change, civil wars and whatever you can name it, as long as it is about destabilizing a country, you can find it in the Middle East region. In the north you have Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian non state and Israel. In the south you have Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and to the east there are Afghanistan and Pakistan. And to the west, there are Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia etc etc.

There are two common factors in these countries, one is instability and war. The other, you guess.

The countries in Latin America used to be in a similar state with regime change and assassinations of their leaders a regular affair. These countries were also in a state of flux and instability. There were uprisings and rebel groups waiting to over throw the legitimate govts. Today, Latin American is like an oasis of peace. The turmoil and threats of regime change is past.

What are the two common factors that contributed to the peace and stability in the region? One is the absence of interstate conflict and subversion. The other factor, you guess?

OK, the other factor that is common in the Middle Eastern region that contributed to the existing state of constant turmoil and instability is the presence of the Americans. The Americans claimed that they have an interest in the region and thus have the right to put their fingers into the pot to stir shit, to promote regime change, to support rebel forces and insurgents against legitimate govts.

The other common factor that contributed to the state of peace and stability in Latin America is the absence of American interference. The Americans have been booted out of South America and with the door slammed shut in their face. As a result the Latin American countries could live in peace and concentrate on economic development, and to determine their own affairs the way they want it.

South East Asia has enjoyed four decades of relative peace after the Americans were forced to leave Vietnam and the Philippines. Today tension is again brewing in South East Asia with threats of war very imminent. What is the new factor that contributed to this new state of instability? You guess.

Ask why is the Korean Peninsula in a state of perpetual tension and at the brink of war? No it is not the North Koreans. They are just the straw men put up for bashing.

Singaporeans have forgotten how to protest

This seems to be the observations culled from the comments by some bloggers following the epic Egyptian protest and the Hongkie protest this week. I think in terms of public gathering, Singaporeans are more comfortable showing up for a celebration like the Pink Dot Movement or the National Day Celebration.

It is not that protest on the street is not a part of our history or not in our DNA. There were big protests against the colonial govt, industrial strikes, and some quite violent in a way. The students camped in the Bukit Timah campus of Chinese High. These were memories of the past.

The biggest protests in recent past other than the three in Hong Lim did not garner more than 20 people at most and in several cases less than 10. This is quite a phenomenon in our history. Maybe the law that defined 4 as illegal assembly may have conditioned the populace not to be seen in greater than 4 unless it is a govt approved protest.

How then could Sinkies get used to be running down the streets again in protest of whatever they want to believe and protest about? Maybe a little training, a few trial runs or a few practices to get them used to be in a street protest may be needed. Hong Lim is a good place for such training and we had three or so over the few months. The two protests against the 6.9 populations were surprisingly well attended in our context though dismal even to those of our neighbours. Really no fun huh?

And the last call to protest against the haze met with near total silence. Maybe it was the haze and the protesters were there but hidden by poor visibility. Come to think about it, an anti haze protest or something similar could be a good practice round. The Hongkies had a good trial run when they protested against the TianAnMen in what, 1989? I think this is a good idea to start with. Try to protest against something external, like the haze. The temperature would not be so high and people will not be too edgy about it. It may even be encouraged. Have a few runs to get the people to get used to what a protest is like. It can also be fun if grandpa and grandma and the children can come along, like a picnic.

However, not all protests are like a picnic. The latest Hongkie protest surprisingly was like a picnic though the motion was serious and causing the govt some jittery moments. They must have practiced it to an art by now, peaceful protest and both protesters and the govt are quite comfortable and knowing no force will be used against the protesters. Don’t try the Malaysian version 1.01.

The drawback about protesting on external issues is that it may not be attractive enough to draw in the crowd. There are issues too that will make such a protest unattractive. Perhaps the govt could contribute some free chicken rice and free transportation to educate the Sinkies on how to walk the streets confidently for a good cause or at least for the right thing.

Sinkies are now like domesticated animals and have lost their instinct to act naturally, to learn to live off the land, to fight for food, to fight for their own survival and existence. An introduction course to learn how to protest may be good for the Sinkies and country as well. One day we may need this for our own good. It is also a tool that the Govt can apply to exert some pressure in a cause that the official line will not work. There are times when letting the people into the street to do the talking is necessary.

Protesting is a forgotten survival skill in this sanitized and emotionless City when nothing matters anymore. People can get robbed of their life savings and would not dare utter a murmur. It is quite unfortunate really, to lose this survival skill. The discrimination against Sinkies in employment caught the Sinkies totally off guard and not knowing what to do next. Helplessness is the word. The ministers actually thought that the best thing was to plead with the transgressors or recalcitrants by having a chat over coffee, and hoping that things will happen.

Did the thought of a street protest occur in their minds? Lim Boon Heng did one some years back by marching from the NTUC Conference hall to High Street, if I can remember. The Govt must take the lead if the Sinkies are to relearn how to protest once more. Forget about the picnics in Hong Lim, that is a walk in the park.

4th July – The World in revolt against the American Empire

A world wide revolt against the American Empire is on the card. Today, the major internet players like Reddit, FireFox Mozilla, Wordpress, Google and Wikipedia among the biggies are calling for a mass protest against the American Empire for extensive surveillance on the conversations of individuals, violating their rights to privacy. According to BBC,

‘The Restore the Fourth movement - referring to the US constitution's fourth amendment - said it wants to end "unconstitutional surveillance".

Reddit, Mozilla and Wordpress are among the big web names backing the action, due to take place on Thursday. Almost 100 events have been planned across the US. An interactive map detailing their locations has been published.

The site quotes a line from the fourth amendment which pledges "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures".

As well as the "real-world" protests, many influential websites plan to display messages of protest on their homepages on Thursday, co-ordinated by a group called the Internet Defence League (IDL)….
In reaction to the revelations made by whistleblower Edward Snowden, Mozilla, maker of the widely used Firefox browser, launched stopwatching.us - a petition calling for full disclosure of the US's "spying" programmes....'

In another corner, Bolivian President Morales is calling the European countries to rise and free themselves from the American Empire. His flight home from Moscow was disrupted and harassed by American intervention claiming that he was harbouring Edward Snowden in his plane. In a Bloomberg report, 

‘South American leaders rallied to Morales’s side after the incident, with heads of state from countries including Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay planning to gather in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba today in a show of solidarity. His plane was forced to land in Austria after Spain, France, Portugal and Italy refused to let his official jet fly through their airspace.

The detour was a “humiliation” for the region, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said yesterday. The Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, yesterday issued a statement expressing outrage over the incident, which it said put Morales’ life at risk….’

The European leaders were furious about such unabashed and mischievous surveillance and are up in arms demanding an explanation from the Americans. Germany, the leader of Europe and believing itself to be a closed ally of the Americans is red in the face for being classified as a third grade partner and subjected to intense surveillance in the same level as China and other ‘enemy’ countries of the Empire.

This 4th of July is a very unusual day for the Americans today. The whole world is so disgusted by the obnoxious and insensitive American conduct and is revolting on their feet. They are crying for independence from the American Empire. The Evil Empire has over committed itself in acts that are intolerable and embarrassing to its allies and enemies all over the world. And its boorish handling of the flight of the Bolivian President only confirmed the bad image of an arrogant and irresponsible Empire.

The World is in revolt on 4th of July. 4th of July is the Independence Day of the Nations of the World from the Evil American Empire.
Bigotry? Hahahahah….

Anti mainland Chinese in Hongkong

“They grab degrees, they grab jobs – do HongKongers deserve to be the lower class forever?,” reads the headline of the ad. “We oppose the mainlandisation of HK universities and demand the rights of education and jobs returned to HongKongers.”

“Seventy per cent of students at Hong Kong’s graduate schools are from the mainland,” it continued, “They are allowed to stay in Hong Kong for a year even without a work permit. And they can apply to stay longer once they get a job offer or start their own business!”….

“Let’s look at Hong Kong’s professors – eight out of 10 are from the mainland,” wrote a Facebook user named Anita Wang, “Let’s drive all of them away”…. [Source]: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1250368/hongkongers-raise-money-ad-against-mainlandisation-hk-universities?page=all

The Hongkies are protesting against the invasion of mainland Chinese into Hongkong, taking away university places and employments. This is quite similar to our situation here except that the mainlanders are actually citizens of the same country. If Hongkong were to be swarmed by foreigners like what is happening here, what will the Honkies do?

They would not send 5000 people to Hong Lim like Sinkies do. I think the Hongkong Govt would not last a single day without mass street protests daily if that is the case. Imagine having Indians, Malaysians, Pinoys, Thais, Indonesians, Myanmese and all the Southeast Asian people, Europeans and PRCs in Hongkong, and forming 50% of the population. Imagine the foreigners going in to take their jobs and discriminate against them?

Such thing can only happen in a City where the citizens don’t even think or believe that the island is their country and all only think of is emigrating, running away. And Hongkong did not have national service or nation building to teach the Hongkies that the island is their home. But somehow they know that it is their home and will fight to protect their home and interest.

Only people that have no homes will think of running away from their place of residents. No fighting spirit or dunno what to fight for. Sinkies are really sad, some said daft, some said stupid. When they are being replaced and discriminated by foreigners they can only think of running away. And the foreigners also told them to get lost if they could not compete with them.

The reactions of Sinkies to the invasion of foreigners are expected. They have been told that the foreigners are here to help them. So the more foreigners the better and they have to be grateful for that. And since they are so helpless and cannot help themselves, it is only natural to move out as they are no longer useful or unable to contribute to the City, or unable to make a living in the City.

After reading above you may want to know how contradictory the below statement posted by a blogger in TRE sounds.

• Nathan:

July 4, 2013 at 3:59 am (Quote)

Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. This is a fact. Their fate is not in their hands. Whereas Singapore is a sovereign state whereby the people have the right of self-determination. We yearn to be master in our own land but instead have been enslaved by our Government. We are determined for real political change but not altogether so.