The World This Week

– that Donald Rumsfool warned North Korea may pose a threat as a weapons seller to terrorists and that America would consider taking the nuclear warheads off intercontinental ballistic missiles [ICBMs] so they could be used against terrorists. (And people are going to sit back and let you launch them, without worrying that they might be a nuclear tipped one? In reality, I’ll just fire off my entire nuclear arsenal at you the moment you have one coming in my direction – nuclear tipped or not!!)

– that 9 people became the first terror suspects to be held in British jails without being charged for longer than 14 days after a court granted police more time to quiz them as the investigation into a foiled alleged plot to blow up U.S.-bound passenger jets continued. Police were granted extended warrants to detain eight terror suspects until August 30, a police spokeswoman said. Two others were released without charge. (They need an Internal Security Act to just detain them indefinitely. But of course, B-liar will first need a square moustache.)

– that Zimbabwe’s opposition and civil society groups have expressed anger at a proposed law to monitor communications. The bill proposes a monitoring centre, apparently with Chinese technology, that would eavesdrop on telephone, internet and other communications. The gover-min says the bill is similar to anti-terror laws elsewhere to protect people from organised crime. (Even when it’s the United States gover-min, anyone would take that excuse with a bucket of salt. And when it’s Mugabe’s gover-min, it’s just simply unbelievable.)

– that Iran welcomed a planned ceasefire to halt the month-long war between Lebanon’s Hizbollah and Israel but described the U.N. Security Council’s call for disarming the Iranian-backed group as ‘illogical’. (It’s the same logic behind the disarming of the Nazi Schutzstaffel.)

– that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenged Warmonger Bush to a televised debate and voiced defiance as a deadline neared for Iran to halt work the West fears is a step toward building nuclear bombs. “Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen that based upon international regulations, it wants to use it and no one can stop it,” he told a news conference. The White House said Ahmadinejad’s call for a presidential debate on global concerns was a ‘diversion’ from international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. (Debate? What for? Just set up a ring and let these two thugs do it WWF style!)

– that that Hizbullah’s Nasrallah has said that he wished all Jews would gather in Israel so they could all be destroyed at once; and that there is no creature more disgusting in the world than a Jew, “and note that I said a Jew, not an Israeli”? (That is quite enough. I have enough of these fascists fashioning themselves as Muslims.)

– that in an interview with Lebanon’s NTV, Hizbullah lea-duh Hassan Nasrallah stated he did not believe that the abduction of IDF soldiers from Israel’s northern border would lead to the war. The terrorist organization lea-duh stated that on July 11th, the day before the multi-pronged Hizbullah attack on Israel’s northern border, he never believed that major warfare would result from the skirmish. (If I had knew, if I had knew. If everyone knew before hand… no one would end up begging.)

– that UNIFIL [UN Interim Force in Lebanon], the neutral force that has been stationed there since 1978, is tasked with maintaining peace between Israel and Hizbullah along the 70-mile Israeli-Lebanese border. However, as columnist and ZOA Philadelphia chapter President Lori Lowenthal Marcus writes in the Weekly Standard this week, it appears that UNIFIL took a clearly one-sided stand in favor of Hizbullah during the recent war in Lebanon. UNIFIL “openly published daily real-time intelligence, of obvious usefulness to Hizbullah, on the location, equipment, and force structure of Israeli troops in Lebanon,” Marcus wrote, “even specifying the placement of IDF safety structures within hours of their construction.” (It’s been very obvious right in the beginning the UN was hardly neutral. Not to mention completely useless.)

– that UNIFIL has been implicated before in partiality towards Hizbullah. Just 18 hours after the kidnapping of three IDF soldiers along the Israeli-Lebanese border in late 2000, UNIFIL troops videoed two cars that were used in the abduction and that were filled with blood and other kidnapping-related evidence. Though the videos may have helped save one or more of the soldiers’ lives, high-ranking U.N. officials, including Kofi Annan and Middle East envoy Terje Larsen, denied that any such videotape existed. Only on July 6, 2001 did the U.N. finally admit that it possessed the tape. (Kofi Annan should resign. A board of inquiry should also be convened to investigate him.)

– that Ehud Olmert said Israel would not accept the presence of peacekeepers in Lebanon from countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with the state. Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh – Muslim countries that do not have diplomatic ties with Israel – are among the only countries to have offered front-line troops for the expanded force. (Of course. If you wouldn’t even talk to me, then your neutrality is doubtful.)

– that France’s contribution to UNIFIL is expected to include Leclerc tanks, howitzers, short-range anti-aircraft missiles and radar. Alliot-Marie said the heavy weaponry – rare for a U.N. force – is meant to send a signal that the cease-fire will be enforced. (Let’s hope all those is not for show and they will kick some serious butt when it’s necessary.)

– that Syria has threatened to close its border with Lebanon if UN peacekeepers are deployed there, further complicating the struggle by world powers to agree on the makeup and role of a force to police a fragile ceasefire. The warning came as EU diplomats met in Brussels to prepare for a meeting of foreign ministers, attended by Kofi Annan, to try to hammer out who will come on board. (It would be nice if they REALLY close the border. But they couldn’t put the money where their mouth is.)

– that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad also warned that deploying foreign troops along the border as envisioned under the UN resolution that led to the August 14 ceasefire would be a ‘hostile’ act against his country. (No problem. He isn’t entirely friendly anyway.)

– that tens of thousands of ‘Palestinian’ civil servants have gone on strike in protest at the failure of the Hamas-led gover-min to pay wages. There has been a big response in the West Bank, with most gover-min offices shut and the first day of the school year heavily disrupted. Ismail Haniya of Hamas had urged workers to boycott the strike. (Where are your Arab brothers and Iranian friends when you needed money? Whither your vaunted Pan-Arabic and Pan-Islamic brotherhood?)

– that the Gaza Strip is in the grip of anarchy and ‘Palestinians’ must stop blaming Israel for all their problems, a senior Hamas figure has said. Ghazi Hamad, chief spokesman for the Hamas gover-min, said the hope that followed Israel’s pull-out last year had been replaced with ‘a nightmare’. Gaza is at the mercy of thugs, he said, and pleaded for an end to deadly clan rivalries. “Let Gaza breathe,” he said. He also said life in Gaza City now involved ‘unimaginable chaos, careless policemen, young men carrying guns and strutting with pride, and families receiving condolences for their dead in the middle of the street’. Such frank self-criticism is rare among ‘Palestinian’ lea-duhs. (Finally wake up already? Live long and prosper, Ghazi Hamad.)

– that Kim Jong-Il has criticised the reclusive country’s traditional close allies China and Russia as unreliable, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said. Kim’s scepticism toward China and Russia was expressed at an ambassadorial meeting in Pyongyang, which took place soon after the UN Security Council passed a resolution on July 15 condemning the North’s test-firing of missiles, Kyodo reported from New York, citing unnamed sources. (Kim needs lessons in realism.)

– that South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon warned North Korea of ‘grave consequences’ and a severe international response if it carries out a nuclear test. Ban said South Korea would take unspecified counter-measures if the communist country, widely condemned for test-firing missiles last month, sets off a nuclear device. (Like what? Move forces across the 38th Parallel and liberate Pyongyang? Or detonate a bomb of their own?)

– that Japan is lodging a ‘strong protest’ with Moscow after Russian border security guards fired on a Japanese crab boat in disputed waters, killing a fisherman. Japan’s foreign ministry is demanding Russia return the fishing boat and its crew. In confirming the death of the fisherman, the Russia embassy said three other members of the crew were safe. (What goes around, comes around, Japan. That’s retribution to some of the shits you are doing to Taiwanese boats in Diaoyutai.)

– that Chikahito Harada, the director of European affairs for the Foreign Ministry, said it is ‘unacceptable’ that the Japanese ship was captured on the water near the northern islands Tokyo claims sovereignty over. (Harada, that is quite… funny.)

– that in the latest upset, Khairy Jamaluddin caused uproar in the MCA by saying that if the ruling dUMNO became weak other parties could seize the opportunity to make demands. Khairy, who is the deputy lea-duh of dUMNO’s influential youth wing, said this could lead to instability in the multi-ethnic National Front coalition. The balance of power between the races is an extremely sensitive issue in Malaysia, where the population is dominated by Muslim Malays living alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities. (I think he used a stronger word that ‘party’, and the word starts with ‘r’. Otherwise it wouldn’t have ruffled the feathers of the MCA and become a ‘balance of power between the races’ issue.)

– that Khairy Jamaluddin said he will not apologise for standing up for his race. (Of course. A racist like him cannot admit that racism is wrong. It would be equal to self denial.)

– that Mama-thir Mohamad, who is locked in a bitter dispute with the gover-min, has complained he is now a ‘pariah’ in the ruling party he dominated for two decades, reports said. “I am the former party president yet they don’t want me to talk to the members. I can’t even meet them. Universities are barred from inviting me and newspapers are prevented from reporting about me,” he told the New Straits Times. “I am becoming a pariah in the party,” he said, adding that he was insulted over the attempts to gag him. (Now that’s a demotion. You used to be an international pariah after saying that the Jews controlled the world by proxy. Now you are just pariah of dUMNO.)

Singapore This Week

– that while describing Mr Brown as ‘talented’, Baby Lee said that the column ‘hit out wildly at the gover-min and in a very mocking and dismissive sort of way’. “So MICA replied. How can you not reply?” he said. Noting that some Singaporeans felt that the gover-min’s response was ‘too harsh’, Baby Lee said that the gover-min had to rebut Mr Brown’s ‘serious accusations’ and ‘set the record straight’, as well as ‘to signal that this is not the way to conduct responsible public debate, especially in the mainstream mass media’. (Actually, they have been sore since ‘bah chor mee’. The article finally gave them the pretext they needed. After all, The Onion has been doing such stuff for ages and everyone found them funny. Just because the demons in white and their accursed lackeys, sycophants and retainers didn’t have the ability to laugh at themselves, we are denied that right to do so too.)

– that Ng Eng Hen Eng is confident that multi-racial Singapore will be able to welcome and accept foreign talent. He feels this is what will help Singapore retain its edge. (Indeed. For starters lets fire Eng Eng and Mabok as mini$ter$ and use ‘foreign talents’ instead. It is easy to say shits like this when your employment is not directly threatened.)

– that ‘Eng Eng’ then cited the aircraft maintenance industry as an example of an industry that needed foreigners to help it take off. (Sure. What about everything else? Tell it to my colleague Bernard, a network engineer with expertise in Cisco routers, who is out of job for a year and a half before he get this new contract job!)

– that Baby Lee highlighted immigration as one of three key policies to alleviate Singapore’s lack of population growth and urged Singaporeans to be ‘big-hearted’ in welcoming those born outside Singapore’s shores. (It’s really easy to said that when your employment is not directly threatened.)

– that Baby Lee has assured that the gover-min will do more to provide for the needs of the lower income group. He said besides having schemes like rental and utilities rebates, the gover-min will continue to help such families build up their assets and benefit from the country’s success. (Cut that crap and just watch the cost of living. The people would be much grateful if you would just watch all those self-serving raises that is ‘justified’.)

– that Singapore police are looking into World Bank’s suggestion of allowing outdoor peaceful protests by accredited groups during the bank’s joint meetings with the IMF in Singapore. “The bank’s preference for these meetings and all others has been to seek space for civil society to protest peacefully outside. That remains our preferred position,” World Bank representative Peter Stephens said in an e-mailed statement. (Balls. The bank’s preference can go to hell for all I cared. Singapore has no reason to give in.)

– that the police said they were unable to waive the current rules which prohibit outdoor demonstrations. They said that any alternative that could be adopted must be within the framework of the laws and must not compromise security, which is the foremost priority. The police have already set aside a private secured area in the lobby of Suntec Singapore – the venue for the World Bank-IMF meetings – for accredited civil society groups to express their views. (One country Two [Law] Systems. Chee Soon Juan, or any other opposition politician or dissident for that matter, can only dream about it – even for a indoor venue to express his views.)

-that the IMF-World Bank meetings organising committee believes it has provided an excellent solution to outdoor demonstrations – by setting aside the Suntec lobby for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to air their opinions in full view of delegates. In an exclusive interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, the minister overseeing the meetings, said the ‘alternative external venues’ suggested by the World Bank are not possible in principle, as Singapore law prohibits all outdoor demonstrations. (Chee Soon Juan: “I have a dream that one day…”)

– that more than 8 in 10 Singaporean youths surveyed said they felt comfortable living and working with someone of a different nationality. But only 6 in 10 youths agreed that Singapore should encourage foreign professionals to become citizens here. This was one of the key findings revealed in a survey on youths in Singapore. Of the over 1,500 youths surveyed, more than 85% said they felt comfortable living beside a person of a different nationality. (It would be quite rare for someone to be uncomfortable living beside foreigners, even working beside them. But whether they feel comfortable knowing jobs that are should first be available to qualified Singaporeans ends up with a less qualified and less capable foreigner simply because he’s ‘cheaper’ is another matter entirely.)

– that on whether Singapore should encourage foreigners to study or work here, 70% said yes. “It’s good that they want to become Singapore citizens because they really bring the expertise to Singapore and help us as Singaporeans,” said one Singaporean “Singaporeans do feel that they (foreigners) are snatching our places but in a way, they do help us up our standards,” said another. (The propaganda machine is cranking full power. But why not ask those youths who graduated in and around the SARS period but has to languish for almost a year looking for a job, or those who became unemployed during that same period but couldn’t find a job subsequently?)

– that Ng Eng Hen Eng told about 450 undergraduates at the annual Kent Ridge Ministerial Forum: “Don’t let the small size of Singapore limit the scope of your dreams.” “We need Singaporeans to think big, take calculated risks and succeed big. We are in need of more real examples of Singaporeans who achieve dreams beyond others’ imagination. In all fields – business, science, academia, sports – we need to produce our own world-class icons,” said Eng Eng at the forum, on the theme ‘Standing Tall in a Shrinking World’. (Yep. Think big pay without the necessary ‘seppuku’ when you screwed up. Just like the Tali-PAP mini$ter$.)

– that Eng Eng cited ‘water queen’ Olivia Lum, CEO of water treatment company Hyflux, as someone who had fulfilled her dreams in Singapore. The 46-year-old entrepreneur, who is worth US$240 million, was ranked 17th on Forbes Asia’s Southeast Asia list of 40 richest businesspeople. “If she could do it, why not you?” said Eng Eng. (Has Eng Eng considered just how many people out there once think big, but just never made it?)

– that on Sept 18, as many as 700 people from a dozen countries will take to the streets, waving banners and chanting slogans to protest the policies of the IMF and World Bank Group. But instead of marching in Singapore, where the annual meeting will be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, the protesters are taking their gripes to Batam. (Another first for Singapore: Out-sourcing the protests. Unless you happened to be Chee Soon Juan.)

– that step on the accelerator while the going is good is Baby Lee’s strategy for growing Singapore’s economy. In a candid conversation with publisher Steve Forbes during the Forbes Global CEO Conference, Baby says Singapore should do well in the immediate future if the economy grows between 3 and 5% yearly for the next 10 to 15 years. ($30,000 – 50,000 pay raise for them every year! 1 year: $360,000 – $600,000! 15 years: $5.4 – 9 million. Yep, should do well indeed, as long as no more ‘external factors’ throwing the spanner into the works.)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44. Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called ‘Ocean’s Deadliest’ when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous bard on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said. (The world will miss you, Steve. Rest in peace.)

– that world Cup winners thieves Italy Shit-taly were held to an embarrassing 1-1 draw with Lithuania in front of 60,000 fans in Naples. The visitors stunned the home crowd by taking a first-half lead through Tomas Danilevicius, with Filippo Inzaghi levelling matters seven minutes later. (There’s a price to pay for stealing the world cup. How about 60 years of football bad luck, for starters?)

– that the pilot of a Canadian airliner who went to the washroom during a flight found himself locked out of the cockpit, forcing the crew to remove the door from its hinges to let him back in, the airline said. The incident occurred aboard a flight from Ottawa to Winnipeg. The regional jet, capable of carrying 50 people, was operated by Air Canada’s Jazz subsidiary. (Wonder how many people shitted in their pants when that happened.)

– that Apple agreed to fork over $100 million to Creative Technology, settling a patent dispute between the two companies. Creative sued Apple in May, claiming the iPod interface infringed on several patents it owned; Apple countersued that same month. Following the settlement, Creative will become part of Apple’s Made for iPod program as an authorized seller of iPod accessories. The comapny wouldn’t comment on whether it has entered discussions with other companies about licensing. (Now that would go a long way to cover some of Creative’s massive losses trying to beat Apple.)

– that expectatations are high after the big 5 US firms (Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) jointly posted a 46% increase in first-half profits to $13.5bn. Although the second-half of 2006 is unlikely to be as good as the first period, many firms (both European and US) are expected to enjoy another record year of profits. Those who work in M&A are expected to receive bonuses up 25% on 2005, with those equity guys seeing gains of at least 20%. Fixed-income traders and fund managers are likely to receive bonus up 15% on last year. On average, your bonus might be as much as 15% up on 2005. (But you can’t expect that even if you worked in a bank. Especially when you aren’t a trader! Just be happy that you are getting any at all!)

– that more than 100 Hong Kong celebrities including Andy Lau and Jackie Chan have joined forces to condemn a local magazine for publishing secretly-shot photos of cantopop star Gillian Chung. They denounced the magazine Easy Finder on a ‘live’ television programme. Gillian Chung, one half of Hong Kong’s pop-duo Twins, has filed a lawsuit against the publisher demanding damages. She faced the media spotlight with courage after a tumultuous week. (Since Easy Finder can sink no lower, it should also publish photos of Charlene Choi, if it has any.)

– that Hong Kong’s celebrity and political heavyweights joined a storm of protest after a Hong Kong pop star was secretly photographed semi-nude by a tabloid-style magazine. Jackie Chan and Tony Leung led a protest at gover-min offices calling for curbs on the media as outrage grew over the publication of the photographs of Gillian Chung. At the same time, political leader Donald Tsang and legislators vowed to review law proposals that would curb stalkers and snoopers. (Try the following punishment: Public execution by firing squad.)

– that online video-sharing website YouTube launched an innovative money-maker with its first paid video advertisement, for a music CD by celebrity bad girl Paris Hilton. “YouTube is the hottest community on the Web and that’s where I want to be,” Hilton effused in the ad, dubbed: “Hey YouTube – xoxo Paris”, which introduces her first music video, ‘Stars are Blind’. Send me a comment and let me know what you think of my music,” she coos. “Bye sexy.” (Youtube would probably have more luck with her sex video.)

– that viewers rated Hilton’s video at just two and a half stars, far behind a popular ‘Diet Coke plus Mentos human experiment’ video, which earned three and a half stars and a video of someone’s pet rabbits with nearly five stars. (There’s nothing interesting about a nymphomaniacal media whore.)

– that Viacom’s Paramount Pictures has cut loose Tom Cruise, saying his erratic behaviour and religious proselytising made their mission impossible, the Wall Street Journal reported. “As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal,” Viacom chief Sumner Redstone told the Wall Street Journal. “His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount,” Redstone said. (Did the termination read: “Your contract will self destruct in 5 seconds.”? Now Cruise can go serve the Scientologist full time and maybe try and get himself out of that closet in South Park.)

– that Tom Cruise apologised to actress Brooke Shields for attacking her use of anti-depressant drugs, she has told a US television chat show. “He came over to my house and gave me a heartfelt apology,” the 41-year-old told Jay Leno’s Tonight Show. Cruise accused Shields of failing to understand psychiatry in 2005 after she disclosed taking medication to treat post-natal depression. (Perhaps, only when the wallet is hurt, some people start to regain a little of their sanity and humility.)

– that Wacko Jacko (aka Michael Jackson) believes his former lawyers and close associates have illegally conspired to drive him to bankruptcy, his general manager says. Raymone Bain spoke out amid ongoing legal battles involving the singer and unpaid staff. He said he had compiled proof that Jackson’s associates and lawyers had crudely conspired against him. “Mr Jackson is neither shocked nor surprised by these revelations,” Mr Bain said. (It makes one wonder if he actually understand what he is being told.)

– that the tally of planets in our solar system would jump instantly to a dozen under a highly controversial new definition proposed by the International Astronomical Union. Eventually, there would be hundreds of planets, as more round objects are found beyond Neptune. The proposal, which sources tell Space.com is gaining broad support, tries to plug a big gap in astronomy textbooks, which have never had a formal definition for the word “planet.” It addresses discoveries of Pluto-sized worlds that have in recent years pitched astronomers into heated debates over terminology. (What the heck. Soon there will be as many planets as there are countries and we probably couldn’t remember them all anyway.)

– that subsequently, Pluto, the celestial body long known as a planet, will now be considered a ‘dwarf planet’, the General Assembly of the 2006 International Astronomical Union ruled in a vote in Prague, Czech Republic. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune will be defined as ‘classical planets’. Three other bodies had been contending for planetary status as well: Ceres, the largest-known asteroid; ‘Xena’ the nickname for 2003 UB313; and Charon, which has been considered Pluto’s moon. Ceres and ‘Xena’ will now share ‘dwarf planet’ status with Pluto. Charon, it has been concluded, will be grouped with ‘small solar-system bodies’. The IAU said in a statement that the definition for planet is now officially ‘a celestial body that (a) is in orbit around the Sun, (b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape and (c) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit’. (So what’s next? Do they want to argue if gas giants are proto-stars and not planets?)

How can you pass up putting up photos on some of the very actions of Singaporeans that reveals their lack of civic-mindedness and the things they take for granted?

Three cheers to our ‘Environment Engineers’ keeping our environment clean and acceptable to us.

Hip Hip Hurrah!
Kacang Putih!
Tyre Bomchek!

– that Reuters reports that ‘a Brazilian man died when he tried to open what police believe was a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer’. The incident took place in a mechanical workshop on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The workshop, and several cars parked outside, were said to have been destroyed. Another man, who was in the workshop at the time, was rushed to hospital with severe burns. Police are said to have found several other explosive devices on the premises. (How stupid can one get? Good thing nature takes care of it by selectively removing them from the genepool.)

The World This Week

– that more than two-thirds of the U.S. Army National Guard’s 34 brigades are not combat ready, mostly because of equipment shortages that will cost up to $21 billion to correct, the top National Guard general said. Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum spoke to a group defense reporters after Army officials, analysts and members of Congress disclosed that two-thirds of the active Army’s brigades are not ready for war. The budget won’t allow the military to complete the personnel training and equipment repairs and replacement that must be done when units return home after deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan, they say. (Is this the end of America’s ‘New World Order’ and the beginning of a new one heralding in the anti-Christ and the single world gover-min?)

– that Hillary Clinton called on Donald Rumsfool to resign, after accusing him of ‘presiding over a failed policy in Iraq’. Her spokesman confirmed that she said Warmonger Bush should accept Rumsfool’s resignation. (She should resign too. Didn’t she also support to go to war with Iraq?)

– that political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel would not face prosecution for humiliating or degrading wartime prisoners under amendments to a war crimes law drafted by the Bush administration regime, the Washington Post reported. The amendments are part of the administration’s regime’s three-pronged response to a June 29 Supreme Court ruling that struck down as illegal and a violation of the Geneva Conventions the military tribunal system set up to try Guantanamo prisoners, the Post said. Only 10 specific categories of illegal acts against wartime detainees, including torture, murder, rape and hostage-taking, could be prosecuted under the amendments, it said. The list would not include the kinds of humiliating acts, like forced nakedness, used at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison which fall short of torture but are nevertheless barred by the Geneva Conventions as ‘outrages upon personal dignity’, it reported. (A crime becomes no crime by amending laws. That’s shameless.)

– that Biotechnology is of ‘fundamental importance’ to the UK economy, Tony B-liar said in San Francisco. B-liar later flew to Los Angeles, where he and the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, are set to sidestep the Bush Administration Regime by laying the groundwork for a market in carbon dioxide emissions. (Biotechnology, or bio-weaponary?)

– that the U.S. and France agreed on a draft Security Council resolution that seeks a full halt to fighting in Lebanon, breaking a three-week impasse caused partly by Washington’s refusal to press Israel to end its offensive against Hezbollah. The resolution would chart a path toward a lasting peace with a cease-fire monitored by international troops. If passed, it would be the most significant international response to the crisis and raise hopes of ending combat that has killed at least 600 and left Lebanon in tatters. A Lebanese Foreign Minister official, Nouhad Mahmoud, said ‘no’ when asked if Beirut supported the text, presumably because the document does not call for immediate Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The text also ignored three Lebanese demands: setting a timetable for an Israeli withdrawal from the south, lifting Israel’s full blockade of Lebanon and putting the disputed Shebaa Farms area under U.N. control. (As usual, the UN has shown itself incapable of doing anything effective.)

– that Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, believes oil should not be used as a weapon because it is the economic lifeline of Arab states, its foreign minister said. Asked whether the oil weapon should be used if the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Prince Saud al-Faisal said: “The two issues should not be mixed because oil is among the economic capabilities that countries… need to meet their obligations toward their citizens. If we ignore this reality and start asking that the foundations of our life (be used) and enter into reckless adventures, the first to be hurt will be our citizens and no wise gover-min can accept this,” he told a news conference. (If Hezbollah isn’t Shi’ite, a different tune will be sung.)

– that Syria’s foreign minister offered to join Hezbollah and said his country’s army had standing orders to respond immediately to any Israeli attacks. “If you wish, I’m ready to be a soldier at the disposal of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” Walid Mouallem told reporters on arrival in Lebanon in a symbolic gesture. Asked about concerns that the war in Lebanon could spill over into a regional war, Mouallem said: “Most welcome.” (Itching for a fight already after 24 years?)

– that an Arab delegation has told the UN Security Council that unless a draft resolution aimed at bringing peace to the Middle East is amended, the region could see yet more violence. Lebanon’s acting foreign minister Tarek Mitri told the 15-member body the resolution falls short of addressing Beirut’s legitimate needs. After four weeks of fighting, the UN has yet to pass any resolution and a planned vote on the draft has been delayed. (The UN has once again shown itself to be an utter joke.)

– that Taku Yamasaki, a former top aide to Junk-ichiro Konkz-umi. urged him not to visit the controversial Yasukuni war shrine, saying it would damage his legacy. Konkz-umi, who steps down in September, is reportedly considering visiting the shrine on August 15, the sensitive anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II. (Not likely Konkz-umi is going to give a damn anyway.)

– that Junk-ichiro Konkz-umi has signalled he will likely go to a controversial shrine on a sensitive war anniversary despite appeals from neighbouring countries and rising public opposition. Konkz-umi, who steps down next month, said he wanted to honour a campaign pledge he made before taking office in 2001 to visit the Yasukuni war shrine on August 15, the date of Japan’s surrender in World War II. “I think it should be kept,” Konkzumi said of his promise during a visit to Nagasaki to mark the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bomb that flattened the southern Japanese city. “Whatever your promise is, you know you should keep it, don’t you?” Koizumi told reporters who pressed him on whether he will go to Yasukuni shrine. (His successor will pick up the pieces and it’s got really nothing to do with him anyway.)

– that Taro Aso Arsehole plans to ask Yasukuni to surrender its religious status so that the gover-min can end the deification of war criminals there and resolve a row with neighbours, a newspaper and Kyodo news agency reported. Arsehole is expected to make the proposal in a policy speech marking his official candidacy in the race to succeed Junk-ichiro Konkz-umi, according to Mainichi Shimbun. This will turn the shrine into a state-run memorial and allow the gover-min to become involved in the issue without violating the constitutional separation of religion and state. Such a move could pave the way for removing the 14 Class A war criminals, including Hideki Tojo, from the list of those honoured at the shrine, Kyodo added. (Maybe they should consider redeveloping the land the shrine is on. Bwaghahaha…)

– that in a separate report, Kyodo said a 1944 document it had obtained showed Tojo himself had given secret orders that Yasukuni should honour only military personnel and civilian military employees killed in battle. The order, if followed, would have ruled out himself and other Class A war criminals. (They will find some other way to define what is meant by ‘killed in battle’ just to keep those shitheads in there.)

– that a new bar in eastern China is offering customers an unusual outlet for anger – by allowing them to use the staff as punching bags, state media said. In addition to getting a drink, customers at the ‘Rising Sun Anger Release Bar’ in Nanjing city are able to pay money to beat up staff, smash glasses, shout and scream, the China Daily said. (What kind of idiots work in this bar?)

– that Hong Kong’s legislature passed a new law giving authorities more power to tap phones and carry out other surveillance measures. After a four-day debate, the pro-democracy opposition boycotted the final vote in protest at the move, which critics say will curtail civil liberties. (You won’t see Warmonger Bush protesting that!)

– that Taiwan’s foreign minister James Huang visited the lea-duh of the Hezbollah guerrilla group in a controversial clandestine trip earlier this year, triggering concern from the U.S. and Israel, the foreign ministry has said. “Through the arrangement of friends, Minister Huang visited Hezbollah’s secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in April to promote ties,” foreign ministry spokesman Michel Lu told AFP. The trip touched off controversy here, with critics urging the ministry to be cautious in dealing with what Israel regards as a terrorist group. (They have gotten so desperate for friends that they no longer care who they are.)

– that signs of new oil and gas deposits have been discovered off Myanmar’s coast, the Myanmar Times newspaper reported, raising the prospect of further foreign investment in the military-run country. The newspaper quoted an official from the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), who said that geologists from France and Myanmar had uncovered evidence of hydrocarbon deposits in deep water blocks off the western Arakan State. (It perhaps also raise the prospect of an American invasion.)

– that more than 100 Indonesian ‘fighters’ demonstrated their martial arts skills in West Kalimantan before heading abroad to attack countries that support Israel, said their lea-duh. The ‘fighters’, all from West Kalimantan, were members of the Gerakan Pemuda Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Muslim Youth Movement) led by Mr Suaib which is reportedly affiliated to Amsec – the Asean Muslim Youth Secretariat. At the event, Mr Suaib read out a statement which declared that the mission of the jihadis was to fight Israel and the U.S. “Our fighters will bomb various places and various vital installations overseas, in Israel and in any country that supports the aggression of Israel and the United States,” he added. (But not pick up arms and fight Israeli soldiers. Right. * Yawn *)

– that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he kept silence from replying to allegations by Mama-thir on several gover-min decisions because he wanted to avoid misunderstanding with Mama. Instead, he said, it was better for the issues raised by Mama-thir be answered by the relevant ministers as they were more knowledgeable in their respective portfolios. (Meaning: Your question is not even my level and you not up to my standard. So you aren’t even qualify to talk cock with me.)

– that Mama-thir says he plans to produce evidence of corruption against the current gover-min. It is the latest in a series of attacks by Mama-thir that some see as an attempt to undermine his hand-picked successor, Abdullah Badawi. Mama-thir promised not to interfere when he retired three years ago. (His promise expires the moment it leaves his mouth. And corruption must be something that never happened under his tenure.)

– that Abdullah’s son-in-law has sold his shares in a high-profile financial company after claims he had obtained them through nepotism, a report said. Khairy Jamaluddin, stung by Ma-mathir’s allegations, sold his entire stake in investment and stockbroking company ECM Libra Avenue, the Edge financial weekly reported. (Maybe giving some of his proceeds to Mama will make Mama happy enough to not make so much noise for awhile.)

– that Mama-thir is out to topple his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as fears grow over divisions in the ruling party, reports said. Influential cabinet minister Nazri Abdul Aziz, citing information he had gleaned from Mahathir’s conversations with friends, said the ex-premier was working to unseat Abdullah, also president of the ruling dUMNO. (Wah seh.. must destroy the other person. Such deep enmity big hatred [深仇大恨], Go! Pak Lah! Go! Go do to Mama what Mama has done to his opponents!)

– that Malaysia has to turn to nuclear power as an alternative source of electricity for its rapidly growing economy, an official from a nuclear agency said. Noramly Muslim, the chairman of the Malaysian Nuclear Licensing Board, said Malaysia would need at least two nuclear reactors, Bernama news agency reported. He said nuclear energy was seen as the best alternative to depleting oil and gas, Malaysia’s main fuels for power generation. (Trying to pull another Iran on the world?)

– that Malaysia has robustly refuted a survey which says Kuala Lumpur is the city with the most deaths on its roads. Transport minister Chan Kong Choy says the study done in Hong Kong is inaccurate and misleading. This is the second time in as many months that Malaysia is refuting an international survey; the last dispute was over the Readers’ Digest ranking of Malaysians as among the rudest people in the world. The Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur has been cited as having the most dangerous roads among 20 global cities, according to the survey by Hong Kong’s transport department, which pointed out that 195 people are killed in road accidents in Kuala Lumpur per one million population. (Pity the man! His job is on the line!!)

– that Mr Chan said, “The criteria used here is how many deaths per one million population, which is usually not adopted by most countries in the world. The most commonly used benchmark is how many fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles.” (In an alternate news, Wiki-wakiki is the country with the most people infected by AIDS yearly. The Health Minister of Wiki-wakiki has since protested. BakaBalik says the statistics of how many infections per million is usually not adopted by most countries in the world, and the most commonly used benchmark is how many infections per trillion condom used.)

Singapore This Week

– that a High Court judge has disqualified himself from a case involving SDP’s Chee Soon Juan and Chee Siok Chin. Their lawyer M Ravi said he and Justice Woo had a heated exchange in open court on a separate case. While Woo assured that the past incident is closed, he felt that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done. That is why he acceded to the request to disqualify himself. (They are leaving nothing for Chee Soon Juan to make noise about, isn’t it?)

– that both SBS Transit and SMRT have applied to the PTC to increase their bus and train fares. The application came just hours before the deadline. The proposals for the fare hikes, if accepted by the PTC, will be announced next month and will kick in by October. Fuel costs have been rising for the two big bus companies, by as much as over 40% just in the last year. (And what is done to look into using an alternate fuel source for their fleet?)

– that eating curry may boost the brain and stave off Alzheimer’s disease, according to the latest research. Scientists looked at the curry consumption of more than a thousand Asian people aged between 60 and 93 who were unaffected by Alzheimer’s. Their thinking ability was compared using a standard test called the Mini Mental State Examination. Participants who ate curry once or more in six months, or more than once a month, had better results than those who said they ‘never or rarely’ ate it. Dr Tze-Pin Ng, from the NUS who led the study, told New Scientist magazine: “What is remarkable is that apparently one needs only to consume curry once in a while for the better cogni- tive performance to be evidenced.” (Someone ought to inform Muthu Curry about this reserach.)

– that he suspects that curcumin, a constituent of the spice turmeric, is responsible for the effects. Turmeric is ground from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, a member of the ginger family that grows wild in the Himalayas. Curcumin is said to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties that are still being investigated. Previous research has suggested that it inhibits the build-up of amyloid plaques – harmful protein deposits – in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Dr Ng now wants to confirm his findings with a controlled clinical trial which would compare the effects of curcumin and an inactive placebo. (Probably whatever good curcumin confers, it is undone by the coconut milk, the chilli and all that oil in curry. In other words, your heart or blood pressure would go first before your brains.)

– that Singapore must remain open to global talent in its drive to stay ahead of competitors, said Wong Wua Kan Seng. And that is not the only reason why the island nation must welcome foreign talent. Singapore’s birth rate is falling and resident births would not be able to fill the gap, he added. The country had only 35,600 births last year, well short of the 60,000 needed each year. Total fertility rate is at a low of 1.24 and it has been below the replacement level of 2.1 since 1976, said Mr Wong, who is also chairman of the National Population Committee. (It’s the criteria determining who is a talent that is in question, geddit?)

– that Lim Boon Bway Heng told reporters at a separate event, “In Potong Pasir, you cannot have your cake and eat it. You’ve decided on Chiam See Tong, so he should solve your problems. You have rejected Sitoh, so don’t expect him therefore to continue serving you. For all he has done, you rejected him and you wanted Chiam See Tong. You’ve got a problem, then you go to Chiam See Tong.” (Well, can Potong Pasir residents be then exempted from GST, ERP, COE, and income taxes too? They can’t be accepting these craps while they have rejected Sitoh, right?)

– that Chiam rebutted a comment made by Lim Boon Bway Heng. Lim had said that as MP for Potong Pasir, Mr Chiam was responsible for repairing the damaged solar lights along a pathway in Potong Pasir constituency. Said Mr Chiam: “Mr Lim Boon Bway Heng should know that permission was granted to Mr Sitoh to build the solar lamps. Therefore, it is his duty to repair the lamps.” He added the issue would become redundant if the town council was allowed to construct the covered walkway. (Lim expects Chiam to pick up Sitoh’s shit? The SDA should go to Lim’s constituency and make a mess and then ask Lim to sort it out.)

– that Mabok Tongue accused Chiam See Tong of raising ‘petty, non-relevant issues’ instead of getting down to work to serve his Potong Pasir residents. Mabok made the comment in response to an ongoing dispute between Chiam and loser, Sitoh Yih Pin, over a set of damaged solar lights in the opposition ward. (Mabok, the Tali-PAP sore loser which Potong Pasir residents rejected in 1984 should jolly well just shut the f*ck up.)

– that Mabok said, “At this point in time, it is important for the elected representatives, whether it is Tali-PAP or the opposition, to get on with the job of serving their residents. The Tali-PAP MPs have already started work to draw up plans to fulfil the promises they made during the election. I think the opposition MPs should do likewise and stop playing games.” (If the SDA goes to Tampines, build a structure and then disavowed to having any responsibility to fix it when it is broken, what would you be saying when you are asked to fix it, Mabok?)

– that a key feature of the design of the Marina Bay integrated resort to be built by Las Vegas Sands – a 1ha sky garden that links three hotel towers – bears a striking resemblance to a development that is already being built in Abu Dhabi. Called The Gate District, the project with a view of the Gulf Sea has eight blocks, four of which are connected by a covered roof-top sky lobby. Like the Marina Bay Sands, the development consisting of apartments, a hotel, shops and offices is also slated to open in 2009. Alerted to the Abu Dhabi project by a reader, The Straits Times showed several people the photographs and some, like Master Victor Li of Li’s Feng Shui, were surprised at the similarities. Speaking in Mandarin, Master Li said: “So ours is not original, and its not even as good in fengshui principles. Their four blocks arranged in an arc is better than our three joss sticks.” (Why do I get the feeling that we’ve been conned?)

– that no review is planned to overcome the cab driver shortage. When asked where does that leave commuters who complain there is never a cab when they need one, Premier Taxis chairman Timothy Chua said, “Raise cab fares sharply. People will cry blue murder, but I think it will solve that problem once and for all.” (And f*ck you, Timothy Chua. The next time I see a Premier Cab, I’ll pass.)

– that taxi companies avoid cutting rental outright because it is difficult to raise it again without drawing protests. However, Smart Automobile, with the smallest fleet of 656 cabs, has broken the taboo. Its Toyota Crown now goes for $75 a day and its Skoda Superb for $88 – about 15% less than what others charge. (Go Smart Automobile, Go!)

Trivial, Jokes and Thoughts from Discussions

– that the European Union was born is the aftermath of the Suez War. (“Your revenge is Europe.” That was what then the German Chancellor said to the French.)

– that China has killed as many as 50,000 dogs in a gover-min-ordered campaign following the deaths of three local people from rabies, official media reported. The five-day massacre in Yunnan province’s Mouding county spared only military guard dogs and police canine units, the Shanghai Daily reported, citing local media. Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, it said. Other killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then homing in on their prey. (You would wish they would deal with corrupted officials the same way – Kill all the communists party members.)

– that a Montana man argued this week that his Fourth Amendment rights means that the U.S. gover-min was precluded from using evidence from his work computer against him in criminal proceedings. The man has been accused of viewing images of child po.nography from his work PC. The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the PC belonged to the worker’s employers, and that rights of privacy do not in these circumstances extend to the work environment. (What a nut. Never view any form of pR0n on your office PC. Your employer reserve their right to peek into it and fire you when necessary.)

– that Paris Hilton says she is sick of boyfriends and is celibate. Hilton gained international fame when a former boyfriend posted a videotape of the couple having sex on the Internet denied leading a promiscuous lifestyle in an interview with the British edition of GQ magazine. “I’m not having sex for a year. … I’ll kiss, but nothing else,” says Hilton, who told the magazine she has had sex with only two men during her lifetime. (Right. And the Geylang prostitute says, “I am virgin.”)

– that Mel Gibson apologised to the Jewish community for anti-Semitic remarks he uttered while being arrested for drunken driving, and asked to meet Jewish lea-duhs to make amends. In his first confirmation of using anti-Jewish slurs first reported on the Internet, Gibson said in a statement that he had no excuses for what he had done. “There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark,” said Gibson, who has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation programme since the incident. “I want to apologise to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI (driving under the influence) charge,” he said. (There’s nothing to forgive. The Jews should thank Gibson for finally revealing what he has always felt about them. After all the Chinese has a saying – 酒后吐真言 – which simply means the words of a drunk is spoken from his heart. Thank you, Gibson. You are an assh*le.)

– that in a show of religious solidarity, Muslim and Jewish lea-duhs have also condemned the singer, who was brought up as a Catholic and is famous for peppering her concerts and videos with religious and sexual imagery. (That’s quite an achievement, Madonna. Unifying those who would otherwise normally disagree. You should go to the Middle-East and do something provocative and outrageous there to make the Muslims and the Jews kiss, make up and have peace. Then we can welcome Madonna, the Anti-Christ.)

– that Penelope Cruz is among those who say they have seen Tom Cruise’s baby daughter, Suri. Cruz, who dated Cruise from 2001 to 2004, declined to offer details of the meeting, but praised Suri as a special baby. (Imagine one day they suddenly say, “Actually it’s all a hoax. There is no baby.” Or, “an UFO took the baby away.” :D)

– that UEFA has announced a range of tougher sanctions for European football, including a five match ban for racist or insulting conduct and a two match ban for players who simulate being fouled. (Time to nail the likes of Shit-taly’s Grosso and Mutt-erazzi, and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.)

From Catherine Lim

Mother Nature, there’s a deep injustice
Which must be quickly redressed
Why do your raging floods and storms
Hit mostly the poor and oppressed?
Why do they spare the mansions
Where millionaires party and booze
The palace built with state money
The house to hold Imelda’s shoes?
Mother Nature, you abhor a vacuum
Shouldn’t you loath inequality too?
The next time you unleash a tsunami
Make straight for you know who!
(And Darth Grevious again says, ‘Seyla!’ There are those whose wealth is ill begotten, whose rewards are undeserved. Let Lady Gaia take it all, and leave them with the fate of the desolate!)

I am Singaporean. Born here, raised here, and have stayed here for as long as I have been alive – with only about a year out of the country doing my National Service. I have never deferred for any ICT, and grudgingly did all my RTs because I never bothered to keep fit. I filed my taxes truthfully without fail and pay whatever that is due the nation as God has commanded.

I would consider myself a true-blue and even a loyal Singaporean other than the fact that I wouldn’t give a flying shit about voting for the Tali-PAP because I think they are a bunch of f*ckwits who are grossly overpaid and taking credit for the hard work of Singapore’s efficient civil service. If the opposition would actually find enough candidates to run, and run in my constituency, the chances of them getting my vote is almost certain.

The nation is 41 years old and I supposed we ought to be proud that we have come from a society torn apart by racial violence, the communist challenge and Soekarno’s Konfrontasi. Yet I hardly felt I belonged. I am at home and yet felt like an alien thrown out of world thousands of light years away.

I have stopped watching NDPs for several years and I couldn’t get myself into that ‘patriotic’ mood. The only evidence or any hint that I remembered Singapore’s Birthday is the flag hanging outside my balcony from 1 Aug – 31 Aug yearly. And that is hung because my mother insisted. She has constantly reminded me that Singapore is my home and no matter what my dislike and disagreement is with Tali-PAP policies, I must always respect the flag, and love my country. Surprising, coming from a traditional Chinese woman, no?

I have no difficulty loving Singapore, but I could never get myself down to singing ‘patriotic’ songs. The reason is more than just my dislike of the Tali-PAP gover-min, it goes all the way to my disgust at the attitude of and the things done by other Singaporeans. That some people can actually sing these songs loudly and proudly is no less an act of hypocrisy to me!

It started one night in 1988 I was forced to a corner near Centrepoint with my best friend Lez (we knew each other when we were still kids), outside Robinsons, during Swing Singapore. No one gave a flying damn about the people forced to the corner and were almost crushed while the song ‘We are Singapore’ plays blissfully in the background. So much for that when no one gives a damn about looking out for one another while the song blasts away. ‘We are Singapore’, indeed. I guess that got seared into my memories when I was still just an impressionable 17 year-old.

Then of course I will never forget not long after several years later, when I was dashing madly across the road with a group of people, the guy who reached the divider in the middle of the road in front of me has got no bloody common sense to move sideways so I can step on it. But of course, why would he care because he’s safe already? If the car hits me it wouldn’t be him who will be doing the dying, right? Just the same blasted reason why some people who has boarded the MRT, or just step off the escalator, can just stop right there while there’s still a whole lot of people coming from behind.

Since then, I am daily reminded that Singaporeans mostly don’t give a damn about one another. Just look at the people who never bother to move to the back of the bus so that other people can board, the kia-sus who stand in front of train / elevator doors and rush in without waiting for others to alight, the blockheads who can’t keep left on the escalators, the inconsiderate pugilist masters who have no common sense to move to the side for their private little pugilist lea-duh elections when they meet their highly skilled fellows in a crowded underpass, the shitheads who ‘chope’ seats in food courts and hawker centers with their tissue packs, and the clowns who wrote to the papers arguing that public transport shouldn’t cater to the handicapped because it would delay others commuters and cause them to be late for work! Then there are the nitwits who would march in a line abreast down a narrow corridor or up a narrow stairway, and expect you to give way to them. * sigh *

Need I remind everyone of the patriot who stops his car on the Benjamin Sheares Bridge to watch the National Day fireworks bringing a portion of an expressway to a standstill? The other day a cab driver just complained to me he was trapped on the Nicholl Highway outside SunTec for a good 30mins because of the same reason! Let’s not forget the rich man who parks illegally and be an inconvenience to everyone! Would it be a surprise if this the same joker who will slow down in unison with everyone else the minute before the ERP gantry is turned off so he can hope to save 50cts or a dollar?

Is it a surprise why Singaporeans are rated as one of the rudest people in the world – no matter how unscientific that test was done? Is it a wonder that some found us to be one of the most unhappy people in the world? I am not surprised if there’s someone ending his life in Singapore everyday because he thinks no one give a flying damn about his existence. They probably can’t help thinking that way, when day in and day out they come across people who are simply oblivious that there’s still a world of people out there around them and no one even bothered to stop and show some kindness to one another.

You want example other than the usual shitheads on the road and the public transports? Just yesterday, I saw some kids banging on a door – a fire exit – trying to attract the attention of passer-bys in Bishan Junction 8 near the toilet of GV Bishan so they can be let in because the door would only open from the inside. And it’s not even inside the theatre area so even if they are let in, they can’t sneak into one of the cinemas for a free movie. I don’t know how long they have been banging on that door trying to get somebody’s attention, but everyone just walk blissfully by towards the toilet without caring. And that’s not mentioning that the people who are queuing for their tickets would simply queue blindly and block the escalator so people have a hard time getting off.

This evening, I saw a man at Boon Lay MRT, trying futilely to scan his Itchy-Link Card on the gates showing the no entry sign while no-one bothered to tell him all that gates facing the construction site – where the old Boon Lay Interchange is – are for exit only.

We can delude ourselves that we are one nation and believe that we have successfully built ourselves a nation. But I won’t be surprise when the real trial comes a lot of people will just run without looking out for one another. We are nothing but a tray of scattered sand, fervently just looking out for no one except ourselves.

And perhaps, that’s the same bloody reason why we are so afraid of social welfare. We are not just afraid that they will be some loafers who will just take the money and not work, we are simply afraid that we will be made to pay for it. And if there are really people sleeping in parks and dying in their homes while no one notice, they should blame themselves for what utter failures they are for not having enough friends to ask for help!

God Bless Singapore. Happy National Day.