Learning from Lincoln: Our deficit of political skills

The family was watching Lincoln last evening during dinner when I caught this. Theodore Stevens attitude and the PAP is so similar. LOL! However that represents the past.



and here is the future as put forth by Lincoln to Stevens. Our politicians do not have the necessary skills for the level of socio-political development we are at. I know they have been trying for years, but do they truly recognize the deficits. When you are lacking here you will keep messing up your messages to the people.

Beginning of cost reversal in education

Wonderful opinion piece by Andy Kessler for the WSJ.

The timing is perfect and it is all serendipity for me. I alluded to this very briefly in Can the Public Service up its game? and The un-Americanizing of America's School System.

This is very interesting to me, which I didn't have a convenient opportunity to write about earlier.

I was in my 20s, and my friend representing AIA was trying to get me to buy an education policy for my future kids (Can it actually be done?). His argument was the price of a university education is going to the sky. At the very least it is outpacing inflation by a huge margin ever year. An education policy with AIA was the smart and right way to go. I never bought his argument. I told him we would have a huge political problem that the government is forced to solve long before we get anywhere near unaffordable for most. For many years college tuition kept galloping up but I knew it must eventually hit a brick wall and reverse. Those days are very near and couldn't come at a better time - I have no idea when the reversal would come then but I knew we are likely to be able to afford to send our kids to university.

I have much more to write but it is slow and difficult unless I get the chance to ride on another person's work and add to it. Another time perhaps. Today is already a very good day. I got this one and the post by Barrie (thank you) earlier on.

The futility of websites blackout

The apple that fell and got Newton's notice is still called an apple today. But what is conservative or liberal; right wing or left wing etc., will change several times in one lifetime.

This government is becoming more and more like any other government. They came up with new measures, got everyone confused or hot under the collar and then provided incredulous explanation how they ought to be understood. I wonder how each of them passed English Comprehension in school. And how could an SMU professor be so intellectually sloppy to say this? I quote Dr Michael Netzley,

He said: "While I also share strong concerns about the excessively broad language of the MDA announcement, I do feel the authorities have made great effort to clarify and we should give them a chance to do what they say they are going to do."

Clarify? What clarification was that from the government? When the dust finally settles and enough time has passed, the meaning of the new rules in plain English is what most people will remember. Sneaky. If it happens that  interested netizens keep the memory of this event alive, the regulators will find some other sneaky ways to regulate. This nonsense isn't going to end until the regulators change their attitude and beliefs. Of course the government often rehash beliefs and prejudice as evidence and logic. In the present time, this cannot stand because they are easily demolished by us.

So MDA must change the language and terms of their latest regulation but I know they will not and that's why I do not agree with blackouts and protesting at Hong Lim Park. Protests work when the majority of the population are with you e.g., the Pop. White Paper; but this issue peers into the future and many people only know how to live in the present. We got to be shrewder with dealing with this government when they fail to put our interest ahead of theirs.

This 24-hour blackout has generated useful publicity especially to inform the rest of the disinterested population. Beyond that I think there is little impact. If the MSM is pro-government they will not cover this isn't it? But they did and it helped the cause of the protesters.

I believe the authorities will do what they said they would in their strenuous clarifications. They just want to have the flexibility to act in case that is called for. We are likely to disagree what those scenarios are. Mostly it would be to protect their power and preserve control. This also shows how unsure they are and  how little they understand this creature of the Internet. They don't even have a clear idea how much trust they had lost. Why should we let clueless regulators have so much power and control. Show us you have earned your spurs first. Otherwise you can only damage the good and bring on the evil in the name of your mistaken good.

Update: 12:40pm

Ravi Philemon's nephew in this YouTube clip is so much better than having a 24-hour website blackout. That one makes you wonder when another blackout might happen whilst this one gets to the point in such simple and light hearted way everyone can understand.




Update: 2:35pm

Where Bears Roam Free: MDA licensing - did Bertha Henson really know her job when she was at SPH? has exactly what I am looking for. Folks like him blog better than me. They cared far more for readers because unlike them, I mostly blog for myself and family.

Barrie gets it. Most of what I have come across is superficial. In talking about politics I want to see the hand of power. Who wields it, what, where, when and how it is exercised. That post from Barrie has  a lot of that.

Only the people is more powerful than the government but they are like cats (actually a little better) and it is really hard to herd them. All that the government need to do is deny you the opportunities to shepherd them. If a government senior official reads my blog he/she would go away thinking I don't get it, but I never say everything that is needed to be said because I am always in a hurry when I blog! I love it whenever I find someone has done the writing for me. Thanks Barrie.

Actually the government as I have suggested in many posts, don't get it. I am not about to explain why because I know them well enough that they must learn that the hard way. Unlike many big name bloggers I belong to the zero-ego lot. I have no interest in persuading any reader who happened to drop by. If you are one such visitor, I encourage you to read Barrie's post, "MDA licensing - did Bertha Henson really know her job when she was at SPH?".

A strategic governing plank of this government from its founding is the targeted use of fear. The latest MDA measures ensure that but I am not willing to write this until I am able to find a post like Barrie's.

This government keep its job not through reasoning with the people but through performance. If it has not already discovered, people are not interested in excuses. The trains don't work, public flats prices are sky high...etc., you will suffer at the polls. The opposition parties just need to organize the people and even give them the reasons for the government failure. Suddenly they turn from impossible cats to people looking for alternative leaders. Such issues are worth going to Hong Lim Park for. They showed up against the Pop White Paper because it means more of what they already hate otherwise as I said earlier people mostly live in the present.

Dealing with this present group of protesters is child's play to the authorities. Many of them are being made used of unaware by those who know how to dabble with power. Don't forget Machiavelli was a cornerstone of the founding PAP leaders' education. That tradition continues.

P.S. How could I have missed this.

To answer Barrie's question, so does Bertha Henson really knows her job? Of course she does. I had time and again in these pages cheekily suggested that she should monetize Breakfast Network asap. She is upset because the new MDA measures inject fear and will stymie her project. It could even stop her from making a success of it. The small guys always try to beat the big fellows taking advantage of the big incumbents weaknesses. MDA had taken away that advantage. Bertha Henson can rue for coming into this business late and the logical next step for her might be to join Yahoo. It's too hard to go indie now.

Because the prize in her view is too huge to give up so easily, that's why she is giving this her all to repeal those new measures. She found herself in Talking Point but that is as far as she can go. She wouldn't succeed but for our sake, I hope I am wrong.

We will always have ignorant computer users

I once thought that one day everyone would be computer literate. It was only a matter of time the older generation is succeeded by a generation of computer literates. I was wrong big time. As the years passed I kept discovering younger colleagues who were only slightly less clueless than those who have passed on. They were better only because they didn't think smoke would rise from the display if they hit a wrong key on the keyboard. They learn faster because the had less fear.

Just as we have jay walkers, irresponsible drivers, we will always daft computer users. But I think we can and must do better. Far more people are killed in action on the Internet than on the roads. There will be greater supervision and more security measures. These are still early days.

Other than the common sense measures how do I keep safe? It helps that the best in the game aren't interested in me. If I am adventurous, all I need is to let the careless trip the landmines before I do. There was a time I had to among those pushing the envelope. I made sure I had protection then. The principles are as simple as those use for bio hazards. E.g., use a different PC for your frontier experiments, and don't be an idiot to use that machine for Internet banking.

Bought Asus Notebook PC

Bought a new Asus Notebook for the daughter today. I didn't join the madness at PC Show since I could get as good, perhaps better deal at Challenger. I paid about $1250 which comes with 3rd and 4th year warranty and an additional 4 GB of RAM. This is an i7 3rd Gen Intel chip.

This is what I got off the online brochure for PC Show.

A whole box of various accessories for the new Notebook which I assume from brochure info, you will not receive at PC Show.

Pregnant Woman Cyclist

First time I witnessed a pregnant woman riding a bicycle in Singapore. I was worried for her. Is it safe? What if she falls? Are you telling me some people can ride more confidently than walk?

Anger turned inward: 'Blacking out' websites

Making a statement eh? In fact, making many statements culminating in the real life event this Saturday. I don't know, but a reaction like this looks to me like anger turned inward. You can't hit the party that hurt you, you hurt yourselves and the readers. In what way is this different albeit more extreme of Tibetan monks immolating themselves? I think it is unhelpful to ape other people's reaction to oppression. It's better to find our own unique response given our extraordinary circumstances. For this we need to look no further than our alternative political parties especially the WP. In fact the other political parties are becoming increasingly unlike opposition parties elsewhere. The organization furthest along in adapting to our political landscape is actually our MSM. They were forced to practice that everyday. I am optimistic that given time people will come to recognize that the MSM isn't a simple mouth piece of the government. I wished it could move away faster but that depends on the quality of leadership they have.

Remember just as the historical Venice had to figure out unique responses to survive and thrive, Singapore face the same challenges and opportunities.

I hope folks don't take such measures too far because anger turned inward never helped in the end. There will be no winners. How I wished they are shrewder. Learn from Biology especially the Laws of Natural Selection. If you are more inclined the another way, read Sun Tzu then.

Ok, do whatever you want. Just don't get killed. There are too precious few of you to waste. Anyway in the remote and unfortunate outcome that you all are wasted, all that is needed is time for nature to produce a resilient and unbeatable response. As they say in the market, it is not a matter of winning or losing but the ability to stay in the market that counts. In my view, 'blacking out' is as dumb as the Barisan Socialis once quit parliament. Where are they today? But all was not lost. Nature indeed found a way.

'Patience, my young Padawan'. Don't confuse a marathon for a sprint. Even God usually choose to stand by the door and wait for the prodigal son to return. Well, to make this more accessible and practical - It's hard to learn from old stories, understand the story of Laura Munson. Thatcher's metaphor of running a country as a homemaker runs a household wasn't too far fetched. Lacking wisdom but with plenty of intelligence and support, our admin officers are a confused bunch. And I wonder if the PM really understand the Taoist story of how to cook a small fish.