Library nostalgia

Bedok Library like its older sibling in Queenstown has that special yesterday charm. Of course I missed the old Central Library. Fortunately I have many photos of the grand daddy including its inner sanctum.

It's such a rare treat for me today to sit here with my Kindle while the world beyond the window passes by.

The NLB is my favorite government agency.

(Cleaned this post up with my PC. Blogger for Android produced unsatisfactory results)

Online curbs: Govt not stupid but clueless sometimes

Note: I cleaned this up. The original post was created with the  unsatisfactory Blogger for Android writing from the Library.

I had wondered if it was true that Anthony Chen did not receive government funding for his award winning film. I waited for the truth to be revealed and it was worth waiting.

This government would have supported Sim Wong Hoo if only they knew how to recognize him. Between then and now they have learned much. The government is not stupid but it could often be clueless.  Today they face a world that is running ahead of them. They will be clueless more often than ever.

Everyone has enemies. If you think you don't it is probably you are just ignorant especially when they decided they didn't need to do anything about you and just let you expire in good time. Perhaps the government should do this more often with its foes on the Internet. Now it has chosen to wield its huge sword without actually using it.

We ought to remember that what cannot kill you can only make you stronger. Unlike the first generation our present leaders  were never scarred by narrowly escaping with their lives. Why over react? Or shall I say why act so quickly?

I can understand what they are getting to do with Yahoo but for the rest of us their light touch surely feels if anything but light. It's so self defeating.

Blogging off my S3 in Bedok Library. Not a good idea.

Dumb: From Pop. White Paper to MDA latest

This is so dumb it took me a long time to figure out because I can't believe it could have gotten so low.

The government is out of touch, a theme I have repeated many times in earlier posts. In fact the top civil servant is also out of touch. What can you expect when you wave a red flag at a bull. That's exactly what MDA had just done with its latest measures regulating websites. In short, they have not learned the communication lessons from the Pop. White Paper.

Unless you have spent a lot of time engaging each other and know each other well most attempts at substantive communication begins with miscommunication. Then what about the OSC? I suggested months ago, it was never a true conversation (Link1, Link 2). Can't find when I have posted, but at one point I also suggested like they have done it many times under different banners, the OSC was just training for new political office holders. Therefore as you have your conversation with the government, they also sprung this surprise from the MDA on you.

Why not me? I didn't care as I am blogging for myself.

Now after all the ruckus, MDA clarified that TOC is not on the list as it does not currently fall within the online licensing framework (see last line by 938 Live below). Yaacob and MDA, why don't you say so earlier? Ah, but you like the rest are out of touch with us. May be you should try asking the WP next time. They are more in touch and if they refuse, let us know. It would make them less shiny. What's a First World Parliament? Any of you putting the people's interests ahead of the party? I am asking for the impossible.

My take? Any websites and Yahoo is presently the foremost which can generate substantial advertising revenue and eventually take market share from SPH and Mediacorp would not be acceptable unless they abide by the same rules. InSing isn't as successful and so is excluded for now. My hunch wasn't far off, Bertha Henson and a few I am unaware of should be happily concerned. When you are on the list, you would have been quite successful already! The rest of us not in this for revenue shouldn't be too agitated. You should be shrewder to quietly work on Plan B - I personally think is not necessary. Then the government would be worried and agitated instead of you. That would be much smarter and the citizen reader like myself would be far more impressed with your savvy but not necessary your wisdom. The G will view you as subversives! LOL.

Adsense: A reminder from Google

Again a reminder from Google to enable Adsense. Thanks but no thanks! This would just damage my blog and detract me from blogging for myself. I already have Adsense ringing the cash register with my other web asset. This is not the right place.

This reminds me to remove some once off experiments I was doing with this blog using Adsense. It must have been so small that to Google I wasn't even on.

My dangerous relationship manager

I have to go through this every time I get a new relationship manager. Inevitably they would recommend me some bad product which they don't even understand. I told him the AUD is likely to weaken...but I am not monitoring this one. Today I saw from an WSJ email the AUD has weakened markedly. I just checked Bloomberg that it is buying S$1.2206 now. Well this is just a snapshot but look at the driving forces, the Aussie commodity story is over.

These guys don't know their work and add no value to me. That's fine, but I am beginning to wonder what they do for other clients. I cannot be the only one they sell these silly stuff to.

The retail investor usually lose money. No wonder he would prefer to go into property. That game would get really dangerous if the government achieve a soft landing this cycle. The market always need a healthy dose of fear once in a while but politicians hate it. Just as the Trojans should beware of Greeks bearing gifts, investors must beware of the Big Idea, the sure bet.

Update: May 31

Since my last post he had emailed me again. He wanted to exchange notes with me, I think like those before him are a waste of time. He is still talking the bull in the AUD. Because of this mail from the WSJ, I just checked and lo and behold it is at 1.2148 now.

And do you think it can't get lower? Dream on. Always know where gravity is and if you have cheap hot air to lift you.

Make my day: S'poreans can afford a dose of magnanimity

Most news are not happy reading. In particular reading the depravity of the deservedly sacked Tey Tsun Hang just made you angry.  Good thing I didn't waste my time following that trial closely - Come to think of it, I never follow any court trial closely.

I am most glad I didn't skip this article which I normally would it. It is so good I am assuming SPH would be magnanimous enough to let me reproduce it here. Sure the MSM has many faults but its detractors have grossly magnified them. Foreign papers are frequently no better. People should read intelligently or should I say, "What is your agenda?" LOL.

Here the article that make my day. Should have read it early in the morning! Thanks Leong Chan Hoong for contributing this.


TWELVE years ago, a man from Singapore travelled 8,500km to Wellington, New Zealand, to pursue an education.

Although he had little money, he took a chance and took along his wife and their newborn son, guided by nothing more than a dream.

He soon discovered that life was not a bed of roses in the picturesque capital city. Casual jobs were not easy to come by and money was always in short supply. The Singaporean would scrimp on every penny so that his family could get the best.

One day, his son fell ill and he had to pick up prescription drugs from the pharmacy.

It was far from payday and he was not sure how the cost of the medication would affect the family budget for the rest of the week.

Nevertheless he mustered all his courage and said to the chemist at the drugstore in his best Kiwi: "G'day mate, cu'ya gettme wannaf these for my little boy?"

"Sure mate, hope ya' kid feels better," said the chemist.

The man picked up the medicine and left without paying.

Nothing else is shared between the two, and nothing more is required. The Singaporean man knew that medical care and medication was free for all New Zealand residents below the age of seven.

His son took a while to recover, and the man had to make multiple visits to the same chemist for the prescription drugs. Each time, the same conversation was re-enacted.

On the last trip to the chemist, feeling somewhat guilty, I asked the chemist if he had known that I was not a resident of the country, and hence, strictly speaking, was not entitled to the subsidies.

To my surprise, the chemist replied: "I don't wanna know, mate, hope ya' kid is fine."

I could never imagine an event like this unfolding in Singapore, given the layers of authentication in our water-tight system when it comes to access to subsidies.

I would not say that I am proud of my Kiwi impersonation. Nor do I condone anyone who callously siphons off social benefits that do not belong to them.

But I do believe that there are occasions when a person can show some magnanimity in weighing minor transgressions, and that the system ought to allow for such discretion.

Many of the social policies in Singapore today are dispensed under a highly structured and convoluted set of guidelines that predetermine the individual's right to state support - how much, by whom and at what point in time.

Our policies are calibrated to the nth degree to meet a specific objective for a specific people.

For instance, you receive a certain percentage less in benefits from the state as a permanent resident; but if you are married to a citizen, you get more bang for your residency. Subsidies for childcare services are meant to support working mothers, so good luck to you if you are a homemaker who needs to put your children in pre-school.

We have reached a perverted stage in applying the jurisprudence of entitlement.

This clinical orientation to welfarism was, in part, born out of a political ethos based on exclusion that explicitly denied rights to some groups. Stringent criteria such as income ceilings or minimum years of residency are designed to exclude most people from such entitlements, leaving only a narrow group to qualify.

Any programme that inadvertently lets in an individual or group outside the pre-defined framework is classified as an injustice that requires rectification. "Loopholes" - such as allowing a student to "pretend" to be a resident - are assiduously closed. Those who take advantage of a system or do not comply are punished.

To be sure, welfare benefits are costly. So criteria are essential, as are policies to keep out those who deliberately game the system.

But at the margins, I sometimes think we in Singapore can afford to be a little more generous, to shut the proverbial eye now and then, for those among us who may need some help.

If we are serious in fostering a culture of generosity, graciousness and magnanimity - to both foreigners and Singaporeans alike - we need to take a hard look at ourselves and ask if we have ever made any special gesture to a community that does not fall within the category of those who "deserve" state assistance, but who would benefit from it nevertheless.

Can we afford to relax our rules a little, to let the foreigners living in our midst enjoy some peace of mind in medical care? To be kinder to minority groups, such as gays, unmarried mothers, singles and all those not part of the mainstream?

A truly global and inclusive city is not defined solely by the quality of its infrastructure, the demographic texture or the number of Michelin-starred restaurants.

It includes the ability to look beyond the divisive line of politics, and to reconnect with our humanist instinct to look out for one another.

Wellington taught me many lessons, the most important being the beauty of kindness and the importance of treating one another with mutual respect and dignity, regardless of backgrounds.

I will always remember the chemist with gratitude, and think of Wellington as a global city for its heart.

I wonder sometimes if there are foreigners living in our midst who think likewise of Singapore.


Update: 4:20pm
:-) Making the best of a misfortune.

JC teachers paid Pri and Sec teachers' debt

Many teachers take their young charges in primary and to a lesser degree secondary school for granted. Quite a few live near the edge of bullying the pupils. You know is bullying when there is an abuse of authority an/or taking advantage of the children ignorance. By the time these pupils get to JC, the transactions change dramatically. To me this is a gross failure of character education. Educators simply thought the kids were stupid and failed to walk their talk. The kids never bought their messages, they were just smart not to get into trouble by toeing the line. How many kids can remember what the principal and teachers told them about character. A list of dos and don'ts just wouldn't cut it.

I told my kids long ago, smart rules increase everyone's freedom. I reinforced that truth with many examples. I didn't tell them then that it also actually enforces the Golden Rule when people cannot be counted on to do so. Rules that are for the convenience of the powerful (in school they are the teachers) are not good rules. In the extreme they are used to justify bullying. You don't want them.