Electoral surprises continue...

This is truly a huge surprise to see Modi's party the BJP won the key state of Uttar Pradesh by such a landslide. You would have thought after the massive disruption he had caused to all India in November when he withdrew 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to fight corruption, voters would punish him.

Politicians everywhere except the tiny minority like Modi must be so nervous. Something is happening to voters across the world that they cannot sense or understand. A mysterious new wind is blowing. Dutch PM Rutte shows his nervousness as he campaigned for reelection by leaning against the Muslim minority. This is not what we all understand as the essence of being Dutch.

Update: March 18 2:00 pm

Until almost the last moment we all feared the Nativist side led by Wilders was going to win.

Voters and politicians are both learning and rejecting the crazy self defeating extreme right.

At 81 per cent, turnout was the highest in 30 years in an election that was a test of whether the Dutch wanted to end decades of liberalism and choose a nationalist, nativist path by voting for Wilders and his promise to “de-Islamicise” the Netherlands, quoting from the ST. 

The British and Americans were complacent. Many did not turn up to vote. The Dutch dispatched themselves far better. 

This headline put it better. Nativism might have lost but what was before has also ceased to live. It is new populism now. If incumbents take heed of this lesson, they can beat back the exxtreme right parties everywhere. Alas this lesson arrived too late for America and the UK.

Avoid this Qoo10 merchant

A note to self to remember not to buy anything from this Qoo10 merchant "Dream Maker".

I ordered and paid for the product on the 8th. They did nothing and I had to chase them twice about the order and they only responded on my second message. Then today I discovered this is not a domestic delivery but coming from Guangzhou.

Health care rationing

Excerpt from NYT article: How Republicans Plan to Ration Health Care.

Two things here.

1. There are millions of stupid American voters who do not know what is good for them voting for Trump.
   
2. When will the American experience be exported to other countries, including us as well?

The above story from the NYT is what will happen if the Republicans succeeds in repealing Obamacare.

What happens in America often have a strange way as a matter of degree to spread around the world. E.g., we use the medical technology and drugs they develop and we also have to pay some of the high prices. Healthcare inflation runs much higher than the CPI. It is only a matter of time what is expensive becomes unaffordable.

We can make it affordable by "loving your neighbor as yourself". I don't mean it in the biblical sense which is an moral ideal, but that tragic case reported in the NYT would never have happened if we through a system (in this instance universal insurance) help each other. That would not solve the problem forever but it will buy us time to shift the focus toward making healthcare more affordable through medical innovations e.g., cheaper and safer keyhole surgery versus open surgery etc.,

NUS: As one leaves, another enters

She is preparing to begin her university education, her elder sister has done the minimum three years and preparing to leave, grateful that she is doing well and have a good job waiting for her later this year. No point going on to the optional the fourth year, it it too ivory tower.

I am assuming she is going to the same university. Why not? But trying to decide on which courses to pursue has been an exhausting exercise. We are convinced that doing this rigorously will lead to the best possible decision.

Trouble with Zenfone 6 battery pack

Bought this for about $18 to replace the bloated battery for the Zenfone 6, now my backup phone.

Quite a chore to mount the battery as this is not a user replaceable battery. The cell works fine but when I put everything back I found that I couldn't get the battery to charge when connected to the mains. Got to open it up again when I can find the time to do some trouble shooting

The US needs us more than we need her

Five years after the last world war, the US GDP as a share of the world's GDP was in excess of 60% but the USD was the anchor currency for about 20% of the countries. Today the situation is completely reversed (see right hand side of chart)

Exiting the turmoil of the World War II (left hand side of chart) the world needed America more than it needed the world. Today it is the other way round. Put it in stark simplicity, the dumb Trump should understand the impact on the US would be much bigger than its ricochet on world if America turn inwards. For a while the US might still have its overwhelming military machine but over time it would be economically unsustainable and that is not even considering how other nations will increase defense spending to fill the holes left by America.

SG's warning to USA

The PM has been shockingly candid to express the view that Singapore may have to choose between the US and China. Here is my take of why he had taken that step.

Without saying so and we mustn't, we are trying to help some ignorant fool in the White House understand somethings which he otherwise take for granted.

Singapore might be tiny but its is utterly strategic to the USA. This is to help the monkeys in the White House think through the consequences of the policies it is toying with. They are too dumb and ignorant to be able to imagine and work through the consequences of those fear based policies. Try them and America would end up with a lot more to fear.

Fear must always be stared down. It was the lesson Franklin Roosevelt taught them which they seem to have forgotten.

PM Lee has shown courage.

Update: 1:25 pm

Of course the Americans will not withdraw from Asia but they can over time quite easily be dislodged by the Chinese at China's choosing of time and place. The Americans would ask themselves at those moments what is at stake for them and find that the Chinese are more determined to push them out than they have the reason to stay. If there was the TPP it would be different as there would be a huge economic imperative to do so.

During this window, after repeated warnings, Singapore and other Asian states would be watching closely and making calculations. They will choose to go with China simply because it is the giant neighbor and the Chinese would try much harder. You simply cannot get a good enough deal with the Americans at that time.

The most unwilling parties would be Japan and Taiwan and that is why Shinzo Abe has been trying so embarrassingly hard at trying to get Trump to come alongside him. It would be a very difficult choice for the Aussies.