Why starve your FDW?

Why did both of you do that to your maid or FDW? You are not the first, neither would you be the last. I don't understand and I am as perplexed by the media lack of curiosity to go find out and explain to readers. It is so obvious that we want to know the possible reasons why some employers can be so sick.

Update: Dec 15 6:05 pm

These two must be Singapore most hated couple at the moment. What drove them to treat their FDW so badly? Have they had other FDWs working for them before? What about their extended family and friends? Didn't they notice what was going on?

Thumbs Up to Changi Airport Staff Canteen

Chicken rice at Changi Airport Staff Canteen yesterday. Big serving and quite tasty for only $3. Cheaper than the hawker centre.

I was told this western food stall was very good but it wasn't open yet when we there. In fact we saw a line formed as the stall keeper was getting ready to open. Next time perhaps.

Peaceful Salafism is an oxymoron

Peaceful Salafism is an oxymoron. Non-violent Salafism is just the outer court which housed the inner chamber of Jihadi Salafism. Salafism is the incubator for the likes of Daesh, Al Qaeda etc., As long as Salafism is no supplanted it will always breed crazy Jihadists.

All religions possess the innate potential to be like Jihadi Salafism in intolerance and violence. Which one is living through a violent phase is a matter of the socio-political history of its adherents. Salafism has it birthplace in the dysfunction of the Middle East.

To propose Peaceful Salafism is just simply naive and wishful. It only means the problem will never be solved. This is a drawn out struggle and titanic contest of the wills. To bring it to an earlier end, the theology of Jihadi Salafism must not only be discredited but the Caliphate they set up also fail as well. Best that the Caliphate self destruct but if we can't afford to give this the time happen, we will have to destroy it in a manner as unlike their apocalyptic expectations as possible.

At the end of the day Jihadi Salafism are for losers who refused to take personal responsibility for their lives. So they want to tear down society as we know it and rebuild except they do not realize how unachievable their vision is.

Update: 6:10 pm

I quote myself from the main post, "All religions possess the innate potential to be like Jihadi Salafism in intolerance and violence."

I just came across this article. Serendipity indeed.

There was sort of a Christian ISIS the author argued. I need to research this in greater detail. It was bad but I hoped they did not descend to the same depth of depravity as Daesh.

US: Less than half are Middle Class

Less than half of them are now Middle Class (i.e, household income between 42k to 126k) Do we have the equivalent data for SG available publicly? I wouldn't be surprised if we don't.

Incomes across the board has been rising over the years but the upper income boats are lifted higher than the lower income (47% vs 28%) Educational status matter with those in the upper income group mostly with advanced degrees. No wonder Americans are competing tooth and nail like never before to get into the best colleges.

My guess is the experience of the US is mirrored here as well. Over there the Blacks and Hispanics are doing less well. Over here it is the Malays. Such trends must not be allowed to become entrenched but they already are. The question is to what degree it has entered the public consciousness.

Bye Bye Funan Centre

My daughter told me last night that they are going to close the mall third quarter next year for three years. When it open again it will no longer be an IT mall.

We used to visit Funan Centre quite regularly but have stopped doing so for sometime already. I believe we aren't alone although I can't understand why it was predictably hard to find parking at the mall.

We used to buy our stuff at South Asia until we signed up as members of Challenger. Again we aren't alone as eventually South Asia quit the business.

I am sure we can get better deals at Sim Lim Square but I for a while now I do not have the time to keep up with the latest and greatest value like I used to in the past. Most important I think a growing number of buyers are switching to buying online. Indeed over the last couple of years we had increased our purchases through that channel.

Funan DigitaLife Mall? We have always called it Funan Centre because the old place is truly what we missed and not its present incarnation. I had spent countless hours browsing its shops in the 80s. Even my wife's wedding gown was from a ground floor shop in that mall.

I don't think I would miss Funan DigitaLife. In fact the owners and managers of the place are doing the right thing being forward looking to revamp and re-conceptualize the mall.

There are no instant terrorists

Just as I thought there are no instant terrorists. With determination, technology and the right laws it should be possible to catch most of them in the early stages when they are being radicalized. The tougher the laws the lower the cost on the tax payer but also at the expense of losing our privacy. Each society has to decide the balance they want to strike. In Singapore most of us would clearly vote for less privacy. What is the use of freedom if you run the high chance of dying? What is the meaning of "give me freedom or give me death"?

I expect the arm chair and real life answers are very different.

Update: Dec 15 3:20pm

What liberty and privacy? Just as some of us have guessed security ranks ahead because officials in charge of homeland security would not be able to answer to their tasks if they don't stop terrorism with this additional measure. America had just learned the lesson the hard way. They would have done the same with guns long ago if not for the NRA.

SGH HCV: Inexcusable

What a woeful state of affairs at SGH. I expect to see disciplinary measures and not the usual forgive and forget only to see this happen again and again. That would be one of the lessons they must be determined to learn from.

The minister must ask himself beyond the ambit of the review committee if such blatant disregard for the basics is commonplace among the other departments of SGH. He must satisfy himself on this one or a similar crisis will pop up elsewhere. Has he even already issue a warning letter for review and necessary action throughout the hospital?

Exposed blood stains on equipment and trolleys. Even on the wall? Goodness gracious. If this is the standard of performance I bet they also do not wash their hands after going to the loo isn't it? How on earth did they descend to such a low level of practice? The senior leadership has no idea what is happening on the ground? They are helicopters that watch the forest from high and do not know the trees. Everywhere when management is like that trouble is breeding on the ground.

I thought this was bad but never imagine it was so bad. The committee likely didn't believe what they discover was all true.