The dangerous precedents to be set by The Hague

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has announced that a
decision will be made on the South China Sea island dispute filed by the
Philippines unilaterally without the consent of the counter party, China.
Those parties on the side of The Philippines are eagerly rubbing their
hands for a judgment in favour the latter, dreaming that it would favour
their attempts to make claims in the South China Sea against China. The
provocateur or mastermind behind this theatre of course will be smiling in
glee at the puppets fighting among themselves without a clue of what are
in store for them. Have no doubt that the puppets could only see as far
as their nose, and would end up being slapped by the same insidious act they
supported blindly or for short term interests.
The Asean states wanted and are praying very hard that their wishes would
be granted. Let me remind them that before their wishes come true, they
better reflect on the implications of the farcical decision or the
political statement that The Hague is going to make. The case violates many good
principles of law and order governing international relations. In this case
there is an international institution, a court that chose to preside over
a territorial dispute that it has no jurisdiction to hear. And they are
arrogant enough to want to make a judgment despite objections by the
affected party and without hearing its side of the story, ie in
abstentia. This is not about a criminal case or a dispute between citizens
of a country where the court has the legal right to sit and hear the case
and the citizens have no grounds to object. This is an international court
and the parties are sovereign nations that owe no obligation to the court
and could choose to tell the court to lump it. The decision or judgment
thus has no legal standing and is not binding to the party that chose not
to oblige.
How would a decision by The Hague be important to the Asean countries and
other countries of the world? Many countries, including those within Asean,
have territorial disputes with their neighbours. Take the case of the Philippines and Malaysia as an example. If Malaysia were to take the
position that China must abide by the 'judgment' made by the Permanent
Court of Arbitration, would Malaysia also do so should the Philippines,
with the support of the same mastermind, filed a case to claim Sabah
despite Malaysia's objection and refusal to participate should the Hague
ruled that Sabah belonged to the Philippines? This can also apply to
Singapore Malaysia relations when the latter is still harbouring the idea
that Singapore belonged to Malaysia. Likewise, Malaysia could unilaterally,
with the support of the same mastermind, if it behaves well and to the
liking of the mastermind, filed a case to take over the four Muslim southern
states of Thailand. Would Singapore or Thailand abide by the rulings of the
Hague in its decisions when they refused to participate in the hearing and
refused to make their defence?
The Koreans also have island dispute with Japan. China and Russia also have
similar disputes with Japan and so are many other countries. Would any of
these countries fall victims of a similar scam when they offended the
mastermind and have the international court making judgment against their
territories and would they accept the farcical decision?
The Hague decision is going make a very dangerous precedent that would
affect many countries around the world. A big power could connive and bribe
or coerce an international court to judge against any country with or
without their objection or without their participation. Is this what Asean
countries and the world at large think is a good thing, a good way of solving inter state territorial disputes?

When your PC or laptop is hacked?

I had this dreadful experience when this loud angmoh woman’s voice blasted out from my speakers. It went something like this. ‘Please call this number if you want to get your data in your computer back…something like that.’ And a window popped out from the screen with a phone number starting with 800-xxxxx, could not remember the rest of the digits. I quickly switched of my laptop.
 
This happened last Sat, 25 Jun 16 when I was reading TRE site. Shit! Then the screen went blank. I knew that I was hit. I turned on my anti virus for a full scan and no virus or malware was found! But when I logged on again, I could not access the internet. The indicator went swirling when I clicked on the Chrome icon but nothing happened. Tried several times to confirm what I did not want to know. My photo files were still ok. But my Word’s files were unreadable. A window popped up when I tried to read a file with a Window Word initial and the following sentences. Your Word program needs a converter to read file correctly. This feature is not installed in your system. Please click to install program or something like that. And there were two buttons, Yes and No to click. I refused to click suspecting the worst. My files are held at ransom.
 
The only thing to do is to seek help. I also bought another PC for immediate use. My friends in mysingaporenews blog were very pessimistic. Big trouble, gone case. Spoke to a computer sales guy. He too said serious and costly.
 
I asked another guy who told me to reset laptop to factory setting would help. I nearly tried but hesitate as I would lose all the apps loaded. Thought of doing a full saving, lock, stock and barrel, but still hesitant.
 
Then I tried another way. Eureka, it works. I can now gain access to the net. And I also found a way to read my Word files. Alright, not to alarm the hackers or leak out the secret, I am not going to divulge what I did in this blog. But anyone who wants to know can email me for my solution if they have been hacked. It did not cost me a cent. But I don’t guarantee that it would work in your case but very likely it will.
 
Redbean – Normal service has been resumed.

The ‘civilised’ bananas versus uncouth Chinese

There is this snobbery here, in this little island, that the bananas are more civilized than the mainland Chinese. And the bananas are born that way. Also, the mainland Chinese would always be uncivilized, unchanging and be like that and inferior to the bananas.

Many bananas are born in the last few decades and did not know that their forefathers were mainland Chinese, came from China. They probably believed their forefathers were Europeans, came from Europe, very civilized. They did not know that when the Europeans came out of Europe, they were mostly pirates, buccaneers, robbers and savages, out to loot and colonise and kill the natives of whichever land they landed, and calling the natives savages. This is akin to the human race calling sharks, whales and man eater animals as wild animals deserved to be killed. Instead they were the wild beasts, the savages that were killing these animals in the millions as food on the table, some for fun, they called it game fishing or hunting.

Even as recent as in the 1950s and 60s, the parents and grandparents of these bananas were just as dirty, rude and uncouth as what they accused the mainland Chinese of today. They spit and shit everywhere and have very ill manners. They could not remember. Their parents and fore parents were either too shameful to tell them or dead and gone. To cut the story short, if they could become more ‘civilised’, cleaner, more hygienic, less rude and crude, why can’t the mainland Chinese? No, the mainland Chinese are different. Their parents are Chinese. The parents of the bananas are not Chinese. Not Chinese, then what?  Ang moh or chap cheng?

What ever the bananas can become, the Chinese too can become and be better. They are better in many fields than the Chinese in this piece of rock. They are world Number One or Number Two in many things, not just being the best airline or best port. Is Singapore still Number One in these things?

Taiwan playing with fire?

Taiwan fired a live missile towards China and fortunately it hit a Taiwanese fishing boat killing its captain and wounding two fishermen. Taiwan claimed that it was a mistake.

What is Taiwan trying to do? Is it trying to send a message to China or wanting to commit a copycat attack on China like what the ugly Americans did against the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade? Another American 'mistake'in the same nature would be war. Are the Taiwanese so foolish and reckless to attempt such a silly hostile act?

Firing a live missile is never a mistake! Firing a cruise missile to hit the Chinese Embassy was never a mistake. Both were hostile acts. There are many levels of command and control protocol to fire a live missile. Make no mistake about this so called 'mistake'. Taiwan would have to answer and pay for this silly hostile act. There are more to it, as to how the missile was redirected to hit a fishing boat instead of hitting Xiamen.  Would the Taiwanese be so cruel to test fire the missile using its own fishing boat and citizens for target practice? What caused the missiles not to land at Xiamen is a big question. If it did, Taiwan would be in smokes today. A war between Taiwan and China has just be avoided.

Maybe it is time that China too starts to fire missiles by mistakes at American warships or at Taiwan. When professional military forces can make such layman mistakes, China should plead ignorance, that their system was faulty, PLA soldiers badly trained and are proned to firing missiles by mistakes. Just beware as China's soldiers are not very good and when they are around, missiles can just go off especially in the South China Sea.

The Hague theatrical Judgment on the South China Sea

From the onset, the conclusion of this international farce was already a given. Professor Tommy Koh, Singapore’s Ambassador at Large and a Law professor, had written that the UNCLOS has no jurisdiction over territorial disputes in his article Peace At Sea in the ST on 3 Jun. And I quote,

‘The convention has one other unique feature. Under Unclos, dispute settlement is compulsory and not optional and it is an integral part of the convention….

Under Article 298 of the convention, disputes over sea boundaries and military activities are exempted from compulsory dispute settlement. Apart from these two exceptions, all other disputes concerning the interpretation and application of the convention are subject to compulsory dispute settlement.’

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague thus has no right and reason to hear the dispute over the South China Sea islands put up by the Philippines. The Hague’s stubborn insistence to hear this case is enough to tell what is it’s motive and agenda.

An international court of jurisdiction is expected to be impartial, to uphold the law under its constitution if it wants to be respectable and seen as respectable as an international court of justice. The moment it decided to hear a case not within its jurisdiction is the moment it is failing as an international court and loses its credibility to the nations of the world. The judicial committee has done wrong to the reputation and credibility of this Court. It undermines the reason for its existence when it crumbled to political pressure to hear a case it was not supposed to hear.

The Permanent Court went ahead despite objections by China and with China stating clearly that it would not respect its arbitration and decision. Why would this Court continue with the farce knowing that China did not give its consent to hear the case? It is political. Yes, the Court is making a political statement, not a decision based on law which it has no jurisdiction. It ignores the main party of the dispute’s objection and compromises its own credibility and the integrity of the judges.

Now the Court is expected to deliver its ‘judgment’, or political opinion in this case, and the Americans and its allies are waiting eagerly to use it to demand that China respects this political opinion that has no legal authority and not legally binding under any courts of law. And the irony, the Americans are not even a signatory of UNCLOS, in other words saying that they don’t respect the rules and regulations of UNCLOS, but demanding China to accept an illegal political opinion from the ICJ?

Without the consent of China, a party to a territorial dispute, the decision of the Court is meaningless, illegal and irrelevant. It has no authority, no legal status and it is not binding. It is only right for China to ignore it as another political statement or even tear it to pieces like what the American did in the past to tell the Court that it had no jurisdiction over them. To China and the world, the whole drama is as good as a hoax, a theatre engineered and promoted by its perpetrators.

Nonetheless, the Americans, the Philippines and their allies will want to use the Hague as a political statement to put political pressure on China as if China is violating the judgment of an international court when it was not so. China is legally entitled to ignore the Hague decision as it has not given its consent to the arbitration.

The pro western media would have a field day trying take down China as a rogue and recalcitrant nation, not playing by the rule of law. The western leaders are expected to make their political speeches to compel China to accept a farcical judgment that they too did not believe is legal. Some Asean states may want to believe that the Philippines had won a legal battle in the international court when it has not.

There will be a lot of outcry by the Americans and its allies to discredit China by this Hague Conspiracy. It is a sham! It is so shameful for an international court of jurisdiction to compromise is neutrality, integrity and legality to be part of the American and Filipino conspiracy. The bottom line, the Permanent Court of Arbitration has lost all credibility as a neutral and respectable international court to hear disputes between countries. And the American camp can beat the war drum but nothing will change the status of the islands in the South China Sea.

The theatre has come to an end, with an applause and encore from the conspirators but nothing more. It is rubbish, not binding and an act of desperation to make something illegal to be legal.

Independent countries of the international community must stand up to this farce. They must stop it from becoming a precedent to decide the fate of their future that may be imposed on them by the abuse of power and trust of the international court beyond its jurisdiction.

More clever suggestions to control car population

The COE and high taxes on car and petrol was one of the butcher knives used to control car population here and are very effective. But more can be done to fine tune car control policies to make it even better and towards a car less society. Here are some suggestions.

1.     Bigger car pay more road tax

2.     More cars per household pay more road tax on second car

3.     Big car used more petrol, set a quota, above which pay higher petrol tax.

These measures will make car owners to switch to smaller cars. Then impose higher taxes on smaller cars as they are less efficient than bigger cars on a per cc basis as big cars have better technology to save fuel.

The result, people will use less of their cars. Some will park their cars in the car parks more than driving. Some will take trains or buses. Let me deal with those parking their cars in the car parks, especially HDB car parks. These people are causing jams in car parks for leaving their cars in the car parks all the time. Impose higher parking fees for people who park too long in the car parks. Car parks that are too full means car park fees are too cheap. This one I must agree. But cannot simply increase parking fees. Just make those who park too long to pay more. No more season parking. Charge by per hour.  Car owners parking 24 hours a day would have to pay $24. Then they will not park their cars in the car park and causing congestions in the car parks. So simple!

Now car owners will not park their cars in the car parks as it is becoming too expensive. They will also not drive on the roads as it will also become more expensive. So best thing to do is to sell off the cars and take buses and trains.

But with so many people taking trains and buses sure the trains and buses will be jam pack, then how? So simple, increase train and bus fares lah. Then no more jam pack trains and buses surely.

See, ordinary Singaporeans also can come up with clever ideas. Hope they will publish these ideas in the main media as ground up suggestions and praise Redbean for it. Then can implement it like the people are all for it. No need foreign talents with Ph Ds and what not papers to make clever suggestions to collect more money.

Please don’t send Redbean to IMH.

Sometimes it is very difficult to tell the difference between intelligent suggestions and bullshit. It tells you how clever is the person who can see the difference and those that cannot. Stupidity cannot be cured.

Oh, HDB car park fees will be raised in December.

Malaysia becoming more like Singapore, the next incorruptible country

Singapore has the reputation of being the least corrupt country in Asia. Thanks to an incorruptible govt and an incorruptible culture. After visiting Singapore so many times and so many exchanges and retreats with Singapore govt officials, something good must have rubbed on to the Malaysians. They are becoming incorruptible, especially the ruling govt.

So far no govt official has been arrested for corruption, not from the ruling party definitely. The only people that are corrupt are likely from the opposition parties and their members. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, has just been arrested for corruption.

This is how serious Malaysia is about stamping out the scourge of corruption in the country. And they have set a very good example with the ruling party members all being incorruptible. And they will not be kind to the opposition parties or anyone that is corrupt.

Malaysia is becoming another shining example of a country that is free of corruption and very firm against anyone that is corrupt, regardless of race or position. Now Asean countries have two shining examples to emulate, Singapore and Malaysia, the two most incorruptible countries in Asean and Asia.

Najib is setting a fine example of honesty and incorruptibility.