Sunday, July 31, 2005
Caught the NDP'-05 today, everything that you will expect from a event organized at a national level by a Singaporean organizing committee - a deadly efficient and completely impersonal attitude toward the general public.
Anyhow, enough of the parade. Do not want to be a spoiler for those who want to see it on the actual day and at the same time bore the rest who aren't interested in the first place.
Okay since this is the month of August, so if any of you people out there have any articles that you all want to share about Singapore just mail me at c2h7cooh@hotmail.com com and I will post it k?
12:46 AM
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Was sitting on the MRT to find Wilbur today to have dinner at the Japanese restaurant at Amara Hotel today. With a second bomb blast in London making headlines yesterday and Egypt's 7 suicide bombing making the news today, I expected empty trains and bus. Indeed there was fewer people than expected on a Saturday night. However, Orchard Road and the transportation system in Singapore is still nothing short of crowded. Far from terrifying people into a panicked frenzy, the bomb blast just reinforces the view that our lives must go on, as it is, without disruption from terrorist.
Its interesting to note that the London under attack now is the same London that 3 generations ago again held out against a determined Luftwaffe air strike, and 2 generations ago was the front line in the Cold War. Just as Churchill had nuthing to offer but blood, sweat and tears, Blair now has the task of rallying the people behind a concerted effort to repel the terror from Britain's shores.
While many have feared that the network of camera on its Underground and its main streets will amount to a Owellian nightmare, few are complaining now when the same cameras produced the images of the initial suspects linked to the bombings. Its is tight-roped that every democractic nation needs to walk, to balance national security while trying to ensure the freedom of her people. But the last thing that Britain needs to do is to back away in the face of terror and cower to them. The symbollic importance of killing a suspect in the subway is far more important the actual death of one suspected terrorist. It give the clear and distinct message that such acts will not be tolerated and allowed to continue.
And what better country to carry through such drastic measures than Singapore? From the banning of chewing to death sentances for drug offenders, Singapore has shown herself to be harder than nails and tougher than the iron-lady's handbag. Thus i think next time you get on the train, just rest easy.
12:43 AM
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Thanks to NKF, the state of charity in Singapore is in dire straits indeed. However, the whole issue reveals just as much about the average Singaporean as it does about T T Durai and gang. Two things, first, we are a very money minded bunch, and second, we rally aren't as helpful as what seems to be the case.
The Money
We are a nation that was really built upon the economy and trade. Without the physical movement of good through our ports, our 'nation' will still be a sleepy fishing village that can rival almost rural water-front society. No wonder that money is so important. We cannot stand the thought of wasting it on ourselves, less to say somebody trying to waste for. Enter the NKF and its band of sdooH niboR (Robin Hoods). Using public sympathy, and the sad plight of patients,a massive $262 million was amassed to be used as reserves for first class flights and gold plated taps. Provocative reporting led to a public outrage, which in effect was just saying that if I do not travel first class, why should you? While it is difficult to make a case for the NKF board, its is equally difficult to argue that we should all stop donations to the NKF, which up to yesterday was the charity par excellence of Singapore.
The Help
Over and above the money, I think what is pretty much interesting to note is that money is not always the most important factor in charity. Over and above that, it is always important to keep in mind that action speaks louder than words and much more than fifty dollar bills. Actions in terms of visiting old folks, or doctors providing care to patients for free or at least a discounted rate, are all part of charity. Thus while we are so involved in the money, perhaps we should try to take a step back and look at where we want to go as a society. Just putting a $5 donation every month in hope of helping some poor soul is akin to feeding a tiger bamboo shoots, an outcome that we should all try to avoid.
The Aftermath
In the end its all psychological. Just as NKF used the dead and dying trick on so many of its shows to get you to call its hot-line, the irksome face of its board members are now have the exact reverse effect on donations. And its not only NKF. Practically every charitable organization, related or otherwise to the NKF will suffer from suspicions of its true motives and intentions. Whether true or unfounded is of secondary importance. More than anything else, NKF betrayed the trust of the people. This should be main the main bone of contention, no that it had spent our money or hoarded it for its own ends.
11:50 PM
Saturday, July 09, 2005
You know about the Darwin theory of evolution? Well I think that as long as its applied to us, as a species, it inadequately explains our behaviour and our interaction with the environment. His idea of a dog-eat-dog society, where the fittest survives and all else are banished to extinction captured the imagination of many (although its interesting to note that most of these are terms not invented by the man himself).
Human beings on the other hand are somewhat of a quagmire in this large jigsaw puzzle. On one hand we are part of the environment and thus should be subjected like all other creatures, however our mastery over it is completely unprecedented in the 4 billion years or so of life on Earth. From controlling the temperature via the use of air-cons and heaters, to entertainment via the TV, to the extraction of billions of barrels of crude oil to fuel plants to supply the electricity for the air-cons, heaters and TV, all goes to show that our interaction with the environment is no longer one of balance.
In many movies, its contented that aliens are superior humanoid creatures. However, if life on earth is any indicator, evolution will stop when an intelligent creature evolves on a planet, ie humans. There is simply no need to evolve after that, since we will be able to control the environment to our whim and fancy. There will be no need to grow fur in the harshest winter, no need to evolve poison sting to deter predators or catch prey, since they will not cause our extinction. Quite on the contrary, the only organism that can kill us is ourselves (notice the wars, global warming and such).
Thus as a sole specie that has mastery of the planet, we are shown to be surprisingly irresponsible for it. Our supposed super-power the USA do not wish to reduce its green house emissions so that it can produce more cars to pollute the air. Rogue states and terrorist are trying to create nuclear weapons to ensure a nuclear fallout and in the depths of the Pacific lie the debris of the Cold War that can blow the Earth up ten times over. If only we were more well evolved in the guilt department as we are in the intelligence. What the world needs now is not another economic boom, not another agreement in the G8 to curb world population, not another miracle drug. We need all of that of course, but what we need most is the realisation that we are the final products of evolution, that we are ulitmately responsible for the preservation of life on Earth. We have a right to be arrogant, but it must be tampered, and quickly so.
11:46 PM
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Its amazing how we are affected sub-consciously by stuff that we think so little about. Take for example gravity, a force that affects our everyday lives, abiet one that we take for granted. However did you ever notice how we are always climbing up the social ladder and going down the drains? How heaven is up above us but hell below?
Paradigms
Its interesting to note that gravity not only gives us a sense of up and down but also an aspiration to fight and overcome it. From the humble kites at East Coast park on a windy day, to the Boeing 747s to the rockets to the moon, its all a symbol of man's unwillingness to accept that gravity, and indeed any other force can pin us down. This has led us to expend large amounts of resource as a means to this end. In a single Apollo flight alone, enough power is converted to heat to warm a small city for a night. Thus this 'at any cost' response to gravity may not be the wisest decision.
Rationality
In the zest to conquer the skies and soar with the birds, i guess its somewhat easy to lose sight of things. Over the last decade, despite large scale-back in the arena of space exploration and aviation research, the total amount of money in this area still outstrips research into deep-sea phenomena. This is highly disturbing as the sea is the main source of ozone and oxygen and absorbs, by some estimates, 60-70% of the carbon dioxide in the world. A complex system of ocean currents keep the poles warmer and the equator cooler than what it should be. And yet given all this, we know more about the moon than we knoe about our seas.
Just stop the ego trip here. While its possoble to argue that a rock may smash into us, it is far more likely that we kill off our planet long before that eventuality. Lets get back down to Earth and perhaps examine wat we should, putting our money where its really useful.
9:00 PM
