When people told me that when a govt is so desperate to scheme to keep
the CPF savings from returning to the rightful owners, the poor people,
and worse, even used compulsory schemes to take away the people’s life
savings, it is a sign that the govt is really desperate, very short of
money. Why, because the CPF savings are the people’s life savings,
saved over a life time, it is SACRED. The CPF is different from the so
called sacred cows. The money does not belong to the govt but the
people, blood and sweat money, hard earned money.
Faced with this kind of logic, I must admit that I also agree with this
assessment, that the govt is desperate. But after Heng Swee Kiat’s
budget speech, I kinda change my mind a bit. I am very flicker minded
and easily persuaded by good news. Now I am not sure. How can the govt
be short of money when it has a budget surplus of $9.6b? This is real
news from the main media, not fake news from the social media. And to
support this fact that the govt has the money, it is going to give big
angpows to the people. Everyone, oops, I think only citizens, they
cannot be so silly to give to PRs, yes new citizens also will get this
angpow as long as he/she is above 21.
The angpows are from $100 to $300, more for the lower income, ie less
than $28,000 will get $300, $28,000 to $100,000 will get $200 and higher
income will get $100. This is so generous, even millionaires will get
$100 angpows. Where in the world got such generous govt? And more, there
will also be enhancements to Edusave, housing grants as well.
I think in the next GE the percentage of votes for the PAP will go up to 80% or higher.
This is a budget of good news, a time for celebration. The 2% increase
in GST will only kick in around 2012 or even 2015. Why? Because if the
govt can make more money, like GIC and Temasek investments, then maybe
no need to raise GST. See, better pray that the fund managers are good
and lucky and make more profits. Maybe they should be encouraged to do
well by paying them more bonuses in advance.
If not, the govt said, after prudent spending, saving and borrowing for
infrastructure, there is still a gap. How big is this gap, I dunno. Not
sure if the govt will continue to spend lavishly on big parties, on fake
gardens, or F1s, on buying gold medals, on giving billions of dollars
to educate foreign students? Not sure if there will be more schemes to
spend the people’s life savings in the CPF.
In the meantime the govt is saying, have a prosperous new year with more
angpows….when tomorrow comes, then see how. For you, with you and for
everyone.
Heng ah, Huat ah!
2/19/2018
If Singaporeans were to decide or elect their PM – Tharman it shall be
Below is an extract from a post about the curious case of a wildly
popular politician by a Augustine Low posted in the TRE on Tharman.
“Tharman Shanmugaratnam is a one-of-a-kind politician. He has more ardent fans than any other. Netizens have long clamoured for him to be Prime Minister. Even critics of the PAP have heaped praise on him.
Yet Tharman never sought adulation. On the contrary he seemed discomfited by it and has done his best to deflect attention, protesting “I’m not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It’s not me . . . I know myself, I know what I can do, and it’s not me.”….
How cool is that – a poet and a David Bowie fan who became a Deputy Prime Minister?
The supremely smart and brainy side of Tharman is most apparent to people. He has a sterling record as Finance Minister and is the first Asian to chair the G-30 – a prestigious global body of top financial experts. He has also been named Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney magazine.
For someone who is not attention-seeking or rhetoric-driven, who is in fact diffident at times, he actually has a great common touch and rapport with citizens. In the 2015 general election, Tharman outperformed all others, securing 79.3% of the votes for Jurong GRC….
In fact there are a surprising number of people who still harbour hopes of Tharman being Prime Minister. It may be wishful thinking. But it just goes to show that Singaporeans are not looking for sound and fury in their leader, for someone who is ever generous with promises. Rather, Singaporeans are dying for someone who is smart yet straight talking and sincere, and whose imperfections make him all the more human and relatable.”
If Singaporeans were to elect their PM, Tharman will win hands down. Unfortunately Singaporeans do not have this right to vote and elect a PM of their choice. The PAP elite, the inner circle, or is it one man, will decide who will be the PM of Singapore. Singaporeans have been living with this myth for a long time, that the electoral system allows them to elect the PM. No, never will they be allowed to choose or elect their PM. The PM is not the people’s choice, then, now and going forward under the current system.
In the same sense, Singaporeans did not and will not elect a President of their choice though they think they did. The system has excluded the people’s president and allowed the ruling govt to decide who the Singaporeans can elect as the president in a small pool of you know who.
But if providence would have its way, Tharman looks set to be the next PM. All the factors and schemings are working in his favour. The more they schemed the more likely Tharman would become the PM.
“Tharman Shanmugaratnam is a one-of-a-kind politician. He has more ardent fans than any other. Netizens have long clamoured for him to be Prime Minister. Even critics of the PAP have heaped praise on him.
Yet Tharman never sought adulation. On the contrary he seemed discomfited by it and has done his best to deflect attention, protesting “I’m not the man for PM. I say that categorically. It’s not me . . . I know myself, I know what I can do, and it’s not me.”….
How cool is that – a poet and a David Bowie fan who became a Deputy Prime Minister?
The supremely smart and brainy side of Tharman is most apparent to people. He has a sterling record as Finance Minister and is the first Asian to chair the G-30 – a prestigious global body of top financial experts. He has also been named Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney magazine.
For someone who is not attention-seeking or rhetoric-driven, who is in fact diffident at times, he actually has a great common touch and rapport with citizens. In the 2015 general election, Tharman outperformed all others, securing 79.3% of the votes for Jurong GRC….
In fact there are a surprising number of people who still harbour hopes of Tharman being Prime Minister. It may be wishful thinking. But it just goes to show that Singaporeans are not looking for sound and fury in their leader, for someone who is ever generous with promises. Rather, Singaporeans are dying for someone who is smart yet straight talking and sincere, and whose imperfections make him all the more human and relatable.”
If Singaporeans were to elect their PM, Tharman will win hands down. Unfortunately Singaporeans do not have this right to vote and elect a PM of their choice. The PAP elite, the inner circle, or is it one man, will decide who will be the PM of Singapore. Singaporeans have been living with this myth for a long time, that the electoral system allows them to elect the PM. No, never will they be allowed to choose or elect their PM. The PM is not the people’s choice, then, now and going forward under the current system.
In the same sense, Singaporeans did not and will not elect a President of their choice though they think they did. The system has excluded the people’s president and allowed the ruling govt to decide who the Singaporeans can elect as the president in a small pool of you know who.
But if providence would have its way, Tharman looks set to be the next PM. All the factors and schemings are working in his favour. The more they schemed the more likely Tharman would become the PM.
2/18/2018
Contempt of Court?
Below are some discussions in the TRE regarding MPs writing to the courts. This issue was also reported in the main media. The discussions assumed that it was alright and an acceptable practice to write to the court on a pending case or a case under trial. Do these people understand the meaning of contempt of court?
What is contempt of court? To influence the judges to make decisions for or against the parties in a case. And knowing how sensitive and easily influenced are the judges even to social media, Shanmugam had warned the public not to anyhow write about a case when it is in court. Think about it, if the judges can be easily influenced by public opinions of nobodies in social media, not I say one, how much more would they be affected by letters from MPs or even ministers? (Personally I think the judges are highly trained professionals and with high integrity and would not be easily influenced by any Tom, Dick and Harry). Read below and form your own conclusion on the arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity of MPs writing to judges on a case.
And the party has no specific rules regarding writing to judges except a few words by LKY not to do so but nothing about writing to the judges is contempt of court! Is influencing the judges a contempt of court?
"Two weeks ago, High Court judge See Kee Oon questioned an appellant’s use of a letter from her MP Lam Pin Min (Sengkang West) to play down the offence she was convicted of. (Juz wondering? MP White Horse? Or spouse White Horse or grassroots tua kee?
Kee Chui, Minister and Chief Whip, was then quoted by ST as saying that the PAP has “no specific governing rules” on the sending of MP letters to the courts or other agencies or ministries.
A retired district judge, Mr Low Wee Ping, who was the Registrar of the Subordinate Courts and Supreme Court in the 1980s, in a letter to ST, said one Harry Lee had instructed all MPs, in writing, that they should not write such letters to the courts.
What is contempt of court? To influence the judges to make decisions for or against the parties in a case. And knowing how sensitive and easily influenced are the judges even to social media, Shanmugam had warned the public not to anyhow write about a case when it is in court. Think about it, if the judges can be easily influenced by public opinions of nobodies in social media, not I say one, how much more would they be affected by letters from MPs or even ministers? (Personally I think the judges are highly trained professionals and with high integrity and would not be easily influenced by any Tom, Dick and Harry). Read below and form your own conclusion on the arrogance, ignorance and insensitivity of MPs writing to judges on a case.
And the party has no specific rules regarding writing to judges except a few words by LKY not to do so but nothing about writing to the judges is contempt of court! Is influencing the judges a contempt of court?
"Two weeks ago, High Court judge See Kee Oon questioned an appellant’s use of a letter from her MP Lam Pin Min (Sengkang West) to play down the offence she was convicted of. (Juz wondering? MP White Horse? Or spouse White Horse or grassroots tua kee?
Kee Chui, Minister and Chief Whip, was then quoted by ST as saying that the PAP has “no specific governing rules” on the sending of MP letters to the courts or other agencies or ministries.
A retired district judge, Mr Low Wee Ping, who was the Registrar of the Subordinate Courts and Supreme Court in the 1980s, in a letter to ST, said one Harry Lee had instructed all MPs, in writing, that they should not write such letters to the courts.
Mr Lee was also of the view that if the MP’s constituent resident perceived his sentence imposed by the court as lenient, he might attribute it solely to the MP’s letter, and, therefore, feel obligated or grateful to vote for the MP in an election wroteAlso
MPs approached by TODAY, such as West Coast GRC MP Patrick Tay, said they are aware of the “long-standing practice” for PAP MPs not to write to the courts on behalf of their constituents*."
2/17/2018
The Lunar New Year homecoming
2.98 billion trips, not 2.98m trips would be taken in the 40 days before and after the Chinese New Year of the Dog. Hundreds of millions of Chinese would return home for family reunions, a modern day migration of people working in the cities and overseas and making it a point to be reunited and to be in touch with parents, children and siblings during this festive season. These people will be travelling by land, rail and road, by trains, coaches and private vehicles, and by air and sea/river to be home all over China, some in remote villages, in the mountains and in the deserts.
The logistics to bring these people home safely and on time are a nightmare to the transport providers. Additional trains, flights, coaches, boats etc etc would be added to the routine trips. What is unspoken, unimaginable, are delays, breakdowns or accidents when the travellers commute to and from their homes and places of work. If errors or mechanical faults were to occur for 3% of these trips, it would mean 90 million trips affected. A 1% error would mean 10 million trips affected.
The wonder of it all is that this annual mass migration have been going on smoothly, like clock work precision, with very little delays. A coach delay, a flight delay may just affect that coach or plane, a breakdown in a train, or track fault, would bring down the services of that particular line and many trains and passengers would be held back. It would not be simply detrained and the passengers walked to the nearest station and all is well. The journeys are in hundreds and thousands of kilometers and the stations are tens of kilometres apart. The providers of these services cannot afford to have train faults and delays. They did not have such luxuries to play with. They cannot simply apologise for the delays as thousands of people will be affected and you can have a riot in hand.
The Chinese transport providers have silently been providing these efficient services and have been taken for granted that it is part and parcel of life, normal, nothing unusual. The passengers, the govt, did not even have to say a thing or to acknowledge such seamless and efficient moving of people, transferring from air, sea and land services as if it is routine, to their destinations in time.
It is all about efficiency, technology, meticulous planning, work attitude and responsibility and many things more, to make this migration a success every year, every Chinese New Year, for the hundreds of millions of Chinese travellers. Nothing to crow about.
The logistics to bring these people home safely and on time are a nightmare to the transport providers. Additional trains, flights, coaches, boats etc etc would be added to the routine trips. What is unspoken, unimaginable, are delays, breakdowns or accidents when the travellers commute to and from their homes and places of work. If errors or mechanical faults were to occur for 3% of these trips, it would mean 90 million trips affected. A 1% error would mean 10 million trips affected.
The wonder of it all is that this annual mass migration have been going on smoothly, like clock work precision, with very little delays. A coach delay, a flight delay may just affect that coach or plane, a breakdown in a train, or track fault, would bring down the services of that particular line and many trains and passengers would be held back. It would not be simply detrained and the passengers walked to the nearest station and all is well. The journeys are in hundreds and thousands of kilometers and the stations are tens of kilometres apart. The providers of these services cannot afford to have train faults and delays. They did not have such luxuries to play with. They cannot simply apologise for the delays as thousands of people will be affected and you can have a riot in hand.
The Chinese transport providers have silently been providing these efficient services and have been taken for granted that it is part and parcel of life, normal, nothing unusual. The passengers, the govt, did not even have to say a thing or to acknowledge such seamless and efficient moving of people, transferring from air, sea and land services as if it is routine, to their destinations in time.
It is all about efficiency, technology, meticulous planning, work attitude and responsibility and many things more, to make this migration a success every year, every Chinese New Year, for the hundreds of millions of Chinese travellers. Nothing to crow about.
2/16/2018
Keyuan - A touching new year story
Below is an extract of an article in Channel News Asia online that speaks about the goodness of being humans, to empathise, feel and to help when help is needed. Bless the Yaps and Keyuan for a happy new year and many more to come.
"Given up when he was just a few days old, Keyuan was seven at the time of filming and already considered too old by a number of prospective parents, who preferred a child that was younger and female. In China, children become ineligible for adoption once they turn 14.
It was Keyuan’s poignant quote that did it for the Yaps. “I must be patient,” he said, the optimism shining in his eyes. “We can’t rush it. If we all rush for it, we’ll end up fighting!”
Said Dr Lim: “At the end of the documentary, I was in tears.
So the couple, who are Singapore permanent residents and United States citizens, flew up to Beijing to meet Keyuan and got the process going. And on Jan 29, 2018, he was officially adopted into the Yap family – with whom he is spending his very first Chinese New Year in Singapore, in a real home to call his own."
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/china-disabled-orphan-keyuan-singapore-adopted-alenah-9965340
"Given up when he was just a few days old, Keyuan was seven at the time of filming and already considered too old by a number of prospective parents, who preferred a child that was younger and female. In China, children become ineligible for adoption once they turn 14.
It was Keyuan’s poignant quote that did it for the Yaps. “I must be patient,” he said, the optimism shining in his eyes. “We can’t rush it. If we all rush for it, we’ll end up fighting!”
Said Dr Lim: “At the end of the documentary, I was in tears.
I remember thinking: What if everyone thought that someone was going to do something, and nobody did anything, and he just ended up waiting and waiting - and nobody came?“The human heart can only take so much grief... so we thought - we can’t do everything but we can do this one thing.”
So the couple, who are Singapore permanent residents and United States citizens, flew up to Beijing to meet Keyuan and got the process going. And on Jan 29, 2018, he was officially adopted into the Yap family – with whom he is spending his very first Chinese New Year in Singapore, in a real home to call his own."
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/china-disabled-orphan-keyuan-singapore-adopted-alenah-9965340
2/15/2018
Redbean wishes everyone a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Dogs
This Year of the Dog has a lot of great things for Singaporeans. A lot of them will be happy anticipating and celebrating to pay more taxes, something that the govt knows the Singaporeans love to do and can afford to do, be they working, not working, semi retired or retired, got money no money, never mind. And in return the govt will be working happily for more schemes to help the Singaporeans to put more money into their CPF accounts so that they not only can smile every time they see their CPF statements but also knowing that the govt is busily taking good care of them and their CPF savings.
The Year of the Dog is indeed a great year for celebration for Singaporeans, a great year for the dogs.
The Year of the Dog is indeed a great year for celebration for Singaporeans, a great year for the dogs.
World Peace is threatened by the Evil Empire and its poodle UK
UK is is hanging on to the coat tail of the bankrupt Evil Empire to appear as if it is still a great power. It is obeying USA order to join the QUAD to provoke China in sailing their warships jointly through Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea. UK, USA , Japan and the West must be reminded China has not forgotten the Opium Wars they imposed on China in the 1830s and 1850s and the huge quantum of war indemnities of hundreds of billions of silver dollars they imposed on China that greatly impoverished China . China was reduced to an inconsequential pauper state and was still paying the war indemnities until 1949 when the Peoples Republic of China under the great leadership of Chairman Mao Tse-tung and his competent patriotic colleagues stopped the payment. UK must be reminded in no uncertain terms to stop playing mischiefs with China though it is at the behest of USA and must know China has yet to settle her scores with all the great wrongs and evil that was done to China with the resultant lost of over three million square miles of Chinese territory to Imperial Zarist Russia, UK, France and Japan. Through the hard work and deligence of the Chinese people China has risen from the ashes like the proverbial Phoenix and is now rich and powerful. China must be firm and will not tolerate any nonsense from any quarter even if it is the Evil Empire and its Quad members.
But the desperate Evil Empire is hanging on as the world's only super power ( though it is declining now ) by depending on its military might and control of of the toxic Petrol Dollar , a ponzi scheme which has been cheating and swindling the whole world in trade , commerce and finance for decades. It knows the game will soon be over with the Petrol Dollar as China , Russia and the BRIC countries have every intention to take it down, so as for survival now it is using its traditional vile method of inciting, staging and conducting permanent wars to generate income via the vicious active roles of CIA and the Pentagon and its use and function of its NGOs to propagate and build its fifth columns in targeted countries .
USA is getting panicky and is increasing its military budget to almost eight hundred billion dollars. and upgrading its nuclear weapons to frighten Russia and China. It is playing a very dangerous game and is almost over the brink with its never ending caustic rhetoric and vile and wild propaganda against Russia, China, North Korea , Iran and Venezuela and the staging of simultaneous imperial wars in many Middle East countries, Afghanistan and Africa and inciting strives and tensions in Asia, Korea, East China Sea, South China Sea and South America.
USA's every insidious action is indicating to the world that the coming Third World War is inevitable. The imperial wars in the Middle East and hiking tensions in Korea and elsewhere is a preamble to the coming horrific Third World War.
Creating tensions in Korea and making false wild accusations against DPRK and Iran is only a side show but more to serve as a false basis for a reason for eventual attack against Russia and China.American leaders are psychopatic war mongers with deranged minds and they are mad and lunatic. Their evil behaviour and actions are putting the world in great danger for many of them strongly believe they can triump over Russia and China in a nuclear war and only USA can survive in that war. Neverthelesss Russia, China Iran, DPRK and the free world must stand firm and cohesive against USA and the West and be fully prepared to fight an all out total war against imperial America which may soon plunge the world into a nuclear war.
The survival of mankind is now in doubt with nuclear war clouds hovering over the horizon . But hopefully great men of wisdom will ultimately appear in all countries and with right logic, clear thinking and wisdom and the absense of false ego the world may yet be saved from nuclear holocaust.
Southernglory1
Thursday, 15th February, 2018
But the desperate Evil Empire is hanging on as the world's only super power ( though it is declining now ) by depending on its military might and control of of the toxic Petrol Dollar , a ponzi scheme which has been cheating and swindling the whole world in trade , commerce and finance for decades. It knows the game will soon be over with the Petrol Dollar as China , Russia and the BRIC countries have every intention to take it down, so as for survival now it is using its traditional vile method of inciting, staging and conducting permanent wars to generate income via the vicious active roles of CIA and the Pentagon and its use and function of its NGOs to propagate and build its fifth columns in targeted countries .
USA is getting panicky and is increasing its military budget to almost eight hundred billion dollars. and upgrading its nuclear weapons to frighten Russia and China. It is playing a very dangerous game and is almost over the brink with its never ending caustic rhetoric and vile and wild propaganda against Russia, China, North Korea , Iran and Venezuela and the staging of simultaneous imperial wars in many Middle East countries, Afghanistan and Africa and inciting strives and tensions in Asia, Korea, East China Sea, South China Sea and South America.
USA's every insidious action is indicating to the world that the coming Third World War is inevitable. The imperial wars in the Middle East and hiking tensions in Korea and elsewhere is a preamble to the coming horrific Third World War.
Creating tensions in Korea and making false wild accusations against DPRK and Iran is only a side show but more to serve as a false basis for a reason for eventual attack against Russia and China.American leaders are psychopatic war mongers with deranged minds and they are mad and lunatic. Their evil behaviour and actions are putting the world in great danger for many of them strongly believe they can triump over Russia and China in a nuclear war and only USA can survive in that war. Neverthelesss Russia, China Iran, DPRK and the free world must stand firm and cohesive against USA and the West and be fully prepared to fight an all out total war against imperial America which may soon plunge the world into a nuclear war.
The survival of mankind is now in doubt with nuclear war clouds hovering over the horizon . But hopefully great men of wisdom will ultimately appear in all countries and with right logic, clear thinking and wisdom and the absense of false ego the world may yet be saved from nuclear holocaust.
Southernglory1
Thursday, 15th February, 2018
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