tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4464799175043956552024-02-21T11:23:04.538+08:00flâneurosean obsession to walk the city to experience itnewsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.comBlogger344125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-4723020017612703672016-12-29T17:34:00.000+08:002016-12-29T17:34:45.768+08:00Book List Refreshed 29/12/2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have removed:<br />
<br />
The Secret History of the Blitz by Joshua Levine<br />
This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein<br />
@War by Shane Harris<br />
Excellent Sheep by William Deresiewicz<br />
Hard Choices by Donald Low and Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh<br />
<br />
I have added:<br />
<br />
Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle<br />
Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan<br />
The Age of Stagnation by Satyajit Das<br />
Killing the Host by Michael Hudson<br />
Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance<br />
Green Illusions by Ozzie Zehner<br />
The Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph Tainter<br />
Immoderate Greatness by William Ophuls<br />
Narconomics by Tom Wainwright<br />
Rigged by Dean Baker<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-73009417425651729662015-09-13T22:08:00.002+08:002015-09-13T22:08:44.516+08:00Book List Refreshed 13 September 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have removed:<br />
<br />
Made to Break by Giles Slade<br />
Animal Spirits with Chinese Characteristics by Mark A. DeWeaver<br />
Hitlerland by Andrew Nagorski<br />
Treasure Islands by Nicholas Shaxson<br />
Quiet by Susan Cain<br />
Private Equity at Work by Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt<br />
Dirt by David Montgomery<br />
In Praise of Hard Industries by Eamonn Fingleton<br />
<br />
I have added:<br />
<br />
Hard Choices by Donald Low and Sudhir Vadaketh<br />
@War by Shane Harris<br />
How We Learn by Benedict Carey<br />
Excellent Sheep by William Deresiewicz<br />
Hooked by Nir Eyal<br />
The Secret History of the Blitz by Joshua Levine<br />
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate by Naomi Klein<br />
Taking the Risk Out of Democracy by Alex Carey<br />
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-6486886376255740622014-12-08T13:09:00.000+08:002014-12-08T13:09:13.476+08:00Book List Refreshed 8 Dec 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have removed:<br />
<br />
Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb<br />
The End of the Suburbs by Leigh Gallagher<br />
Reinventing Collapes by Dmitry Orlov<br />
Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester R. Brown<br />
Tiger Head, Snake Tails by Jonathan Fenby<br />
The First Muslim by Lesley Hazleton<br />
<br />
I have added:<br />
<br />
Dirt by David Montgomery<br />
Made to Break by Giles Slade<br />
In Praise of Hard Industries by Eamonn Fingleton<br />
Animal Spirits with Chinese Characteristics by Mark A. DeWeaver<br />
Hitlerland by Andrew Nagorski<br />
Private Equity at Work by Eileen Appelbaum and Rosemary Batt<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-7378798466375872432014-07-09T13:01:00.001+08:002014-07-09T13:01:06.849+08:00On Fundies Calling for Removing Non "Pro-Family" Children's Books from the Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
An oldie but goodie:</div>
<br>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mCk4LSHdPKw" width="400"></iframe></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-22102000412724514392014-07-09T12:40:00.001+08:002014-07-09T12:40:36.091+08:00Appendix to DPM Tharman's Description of CPF<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To be read with the Straits Times <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/cpf-issue-retirement-scheme-fair-and-one-worlds-safest-s" target="_blank">article</a>:<br />
<br />
CPF is:<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>SUSTAINABLE - for the government that is, because a defined contribution scheme is by definition self-funded and hence the government bears no risk for you not being able to afford your retirement. Whether or not CPF is sustainable for *you* is a different story altogether. </li>
<br />
<li>FLEXIBLE - to the extent that you can spend your *own* money only on the things that the government allows you to spend on, subject of course to the alphabet soup of gotcha limits, e.g. <a href="http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/reach-55/SubPage.htm" target="_blank">MSS</a>, <a href="http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/buy-house/CPFHousing_Leaflet.htm" target="_blank">VL and WL</a>, <a href="http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/my-cpf/reach-55/Reach55-4.htm" target="_blank">MMS</a>, which incidentally, are moving goalposts.</li>
<br />
<li>SECURE - to the extent that debt issued by a sovereign government in its own currency can always be repaid in full in nominal terms. Don't ask Tharman about security relative to purchasing power or the continued strength of the Singdollar. He'll think you're being rude.</li>
<br />
<li>FAIR - in that the rates of interest paid are appropriate given the zero rate interest environment brought on by the Federal Reserve's ZIRP policy. No mention of how the ZIRP environment has been in effect for only a handful of years, while the CPF interest rate has remained unchanged for decades.
<br />
<br />
Don't ask Tharman about how fair the interest rate is relative to the inflation rate, or how the concept of "illiquidity premium" applies in the case of CPF. He'll think you're an ungrateful git for not realizing how generous the government is compared to the interest accruing on your bank account.</li>
</ol>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-55354178946172381012014-02-17T18:30:00.000+08:002014-02-17T18:30:00.405+08:007for7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
flaneurose has seen much less frequent updates starting about 2 years back. This stems partly from blogging fatigue, partly from me giving up on reading the Straits Times, and also in large part due to me working on other personal projects.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Which brings me to today's post. While flaneurose doesn't enjoy a large readership, it's far more established than my other web property, which is why I am promoting my other website here on flaneurose.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I started <a href="http://7for7speeddating.blogspot.sg/" target="_blank">7for7, a speed dating project for gay men</a> last year in November. And I can tell you, it's been hard going getting enough participants for events. I'm starting to recall the early days of flaneurose almost 5 years ago when days would go by without anyone reading any of my posts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
While the primary motivation behind 7for7 was to hold events and meet new people, I also wanted to collect and analyze data on speed dating, and perhaps publish some interesting observations on dating dynamics within the gay community. But analytics simply isn't possible without a lot of data, and to collect that data, I need to hold events. And I need participants to hold events.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, that's why I've decided to publicize the little fact here on my blog that flaneurose and 7for7 are in fact by the same person. Call it a blog cross-over, kind of like TV shows by the same producer.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're a reader of my blog, and you know someone for whom 7for7 might just be the ticket to a new relationship, do them and me a favor and tell them about it. I've already been successful at matching up at least one couple from my first event, and I look forward to doing the same for many more singles.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-83397437192572742762014-02-16T13:47:00.000+08:002014-02-16T13:47:58.329+08:00FCBC's Lawrence Khong Comes Out (as the brains behind the petition)There's a <a href="http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/singapore-anti-gay-pastor-behind-petition-targeting-health-ministry150214">report</a> stating that Pastor Lawrence Khong from Faith Community Baptist Church is behind the petition against the Health Promotion Board's FAQs on sexuality.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The story was carried, appropriately enough given his mug shot (see the first comment by one Chitpol Siddhirvan on the story), in the Gay Star News.<br /><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Khong didn't come out as "Aaron", but hey, he could still come out some day. All we need is a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=2626067&page=1&singlePage=true">Mike Jones to Ted Haggard</a> personality to come forward and FCBC will be holding a whole new kind of press conference.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Jokes aside, I surfed over to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fcbc.singapore">FCBC's Facebook page</a> just to have a look see, and a thought occurred to me.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
FCBC is violating Facebook's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/terms.php">terms of use</a>.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The specific section that is relevant is Section 3:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>3. Safety</b></div>
<div>
We do our best to keep Facebook safe, but we cannot guarantee it. We need your help to keep Facebook safe, which includes the following commitments by you:</div>
<div>
...</div>
<div>
6. You will not bully, intimidate or harass any user.</div>
<div>
7. You will not post content that: is hate speech, threatening or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.</div>
<div>
...</div>
<div>
10. You will not use Facebook to do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I think starting and publicizing a petition that seeks to intimidate a secular government agency from providing objective information on sexuality that helps to save the lives of at-risk LGBT people is malicious and discriminatory.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
That's against Facebook's terms of use. So I reported it to Facebook:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDF_CIAUBzKmmcEYaZlFHjRzeMNqpYtte77JKGWFLpRI0I55jmD8zNSuTa4MycwRbGZnqTr-SiHqsipZz8sSzXA0N2uGIEMptpUIzm-V6gmxOTBXC2RDNMPxpQelV5SFPUTJQcD8TJvw/s1600/FCBC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDF_CIAUBzKmmcEYaZlFHjRzeMNqpYtte77JKGWFLpRI0I55jmD8zNSuTa4MycwRbGZnqTr-SiHqsipZz8sSzXA0N2uGIEMptpUIzm-V6gmxOTBXC2RDNMPxpQelV5SFPUTJQcD8TJvw/s1600/FCBC.JPG" height="268" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you feel the same way, do the same. Someone who is enjoying a skiing vacation in the USA should completely understand why hate speech isn't condoned on a website started by people in that country.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-6029063485142593312014-02-03T19:00:00.000+08:002014-02-03T19:00:13.012+08:00Sumptuary Laws - the MOE Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
“<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b>Sumptuary laws </b></span>(from Latin<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><b> </b></span><i>sumptuariae leges</i>) are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>laws that attempt to
regulate permitted consumption…<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>In
the Late Middle Ages, sumptuary laws were instituted as a way for the<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>nobility<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to cap the conspicuous consumption<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of the prosperous<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>bourgeoisie<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>medieval
cities, and they continued to be used for these
purposes well into the 17th century.<span class="apple-converted-space">“ –
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumptuary_law">Wikipedia entry</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Straits Times ran an article today on funding cuts for six
independent schools, as well as requesting that schools moderate fund-raising
activities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I agree with <a href="http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/clueless-about-schools/">Bertha Harian</a>. The article was poorly reported
and instead of informing the reader, left him or her with more questions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not hard to see where the motivation behind these cuts
(and the accompanying loud but incoherent publicity) come from. Income and
wealth inequality have become sensitive topics, and the government, in an
effort to convince the citizenry that it’s behind the little guy (and hence not
lose votes in the next election) is suddenly draping itself in socialist vestments.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leaving aside how genuine the sentiment behind wanting to narrow
inequities is, as opposed to merely a cynical exercise in electioneering, one
really must tease apart how effective such measures are in achieving their
purported goal. This post also aims to address other peripheral issues.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My thoughts:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Even with official frowning over fund-raising for
lavish new swimming pools and tennis courts, “good” schools will always find a
way a differentiate themselves, just as the wealthy subverted sumptuary laws in
centuries past. Latest example: <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2014/01/chinas-deluxed-hotels">five star hotels in China seeking to “de-star”themselves</a> (but probably finding some other way to up the luxury ante) so that corrupt
Chinese officials can continue to stay there. Gold leaf mooncakes are so passé.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
Who knows what elite Singapore schools will spend on,
now that conspicuous consumption is out?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
I can think of a few ideas. I attended Anglo Chinese School
in my salad days years ago on government largesse. I was in the school band for
a year, and the set-up in the ACS band then was that new recruits had to sign
up (and pay) for a few months of private group lessons with instructors. These
lessons were held by section (e.g. clarinets, flutes, trumpets etc.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
The conductor for the band was an active member of
the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (he played the trumpet), and the instructors
were his colleagues from the SSO. While lessons were mandatory only for the
first few months, we were strongly encouraged to continue having them on an
ongoing basis to improve our abilities. I doubt any other secondary school band
in Singapore back then (and perhaps even now) enjoyed the advantage of having
musicians from the SSO as regular instructors for <i>all</i> their band members. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
The lessons were paid for by students ($50 per
student per month if I recall correctly). So, as far as I know, ACS didn’t
finance the extra training. But that’s not to say ACS couldn’t have chosen to
do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
The experience of how the ACS band operated sure put
the Singapore Youth Festival into perspective for me. Early on in life as a
student, instead of knowing the SYF as a celebration of a well-rounded
education, I instead learnt the importance of the role of money behind
excellence and achievement. And school rankings needless to say.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
(Post script: As a lower middle class student in the
GEP paying just $12 a month in school fees, my father found it ridiculous that
he had to pay $50 a month for private music lessons when education under the
GEP was supposedly subsidized. There were a few ugly scenes in school, and after
some wrangling between my parents and my teachers, to save myself embarrassment
and long awkward conversations with my teachers, I left the band of my own
accord and joined another CCA. On hindsight, this negative experience with
money and education probably influenced me signing up for a government scholarship
later in life.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Any curtailment in legacy admissions, which the
article highlights as one of the measures to be imposed, is bound to elicit
howls of protest or at the very least, grumbling from disgruntled alumni.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
Which may not be a bad thing from schools’
perspective. Scarcity goods enjoy a premium. Expect even bigger and fatter
donations from alumni parents anxious to get their kids into their alma mater. You
know the Chicago song, “<a href="https://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCcQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DVoDS1lWdpjw&ei=wVvvUpSeBcmBkQX-3IH4AQ&usg=AFQjCNEbUx5glwlJiK2nEFeIzGoNbQ84vA&sig2=50nfK64AjGpmcNRSTSSWGg&bvm=bv.60444564,d.dGI">When you’re good to Mama…</a>”? Exactly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
All this sort of makes the funding cuts and
restrictions on fund-raising moot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->So, what’s to be done if we really want to
narrow inequalities in the educational system?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
One way is to increase funding to lower ranked
schools. One of the ironies in the Singapore educational system is that it is
precisely the most advantaged students who receive the most funding, like the
Gifted Education Program for instance. Although as a GEP alum I am grateful for
the funding, the fact is that even by my time 20 years ago, the majority of the
kids in my GEP class in ACS were indistinguishable from the regular ACS kids
when it came to socio-economic background. I was one of the rare kids in my
class who lived in an HDB flat, something really unusual in ACS. (I was odd in
other ways too, such as walking to school and only entering the program in
Secondary 1 instead of Primary 4, the so-called ‘supplementary intake’).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
The article doesn’t go into specifics as to whether redistributing
funding is what MOE is going to do going forward. A related measure is to make ‘bonus’
funding conditional on improving academic outcomes for incoming cohorts of
students rather than on absolute achievement. This would favor schools with a
lower base of achievement that prove that they can produce improved outcomes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
As for breaking open the “closed circles” that our
elite schools have evolved into, encouraging kids from lower income households
to apply to higher ranked institutions could be one solution. However, affirmative
action or income diversity quotas may have very mixed results. Speaking as <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2011/02/being-lower-income-student-in-elite.html">a formerlower income student in an elite institution</a>, I can categorically state that
psychologically, it’s tough to be a kid from a lower income household in a good
school.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
And I was one of the top students in my cohort. Without
having private tuition which is ubiquitous today. Academics has always been low
stress for me (compared to social interactions), but I can imagine that being
lower income and struggling academically in an elite institution could be potentially
an enormous source of stress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
My preferred strategy for leveling the playing field
if I was in charge of setting education policy? Teachers. Sending the best
teachers to the most disadvantaged schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
A conversation with a teacher in my NS platoon during
one of our interminably boring ICTs revealed to me that MOE scholars, the crème
de la crème of the teaching profession, typically get assigned to the better
schools after graduation. Again, this feeds back into the irony that the most
advantaged students in our system receive the most and best resources, and you
can’t get a better resource than a good teacher.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
Ostensibly, the rationale for this is that MOE
scholars are being groomed for leadership positions in the educational system
and perhaps the larger civil service. So, exposure to opportunities is
important for their career development, and what is true for students is just
as true for the teachers. Good schools simply have more to offer teachers in
terms of resources, interesting projects and resume-building opportunities.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
While I understand that there is a master teacher
career track for teachers who wish to specialize in *<b>gasp</b>* teaching, I
don’t think it’s a terrible leap of imagination to realize that between the
management and the teaching track, one track enjoys far greater prestige and
money. Ergo, that’s where the talent gravitates to.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph">
Which is why the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Equity_Project">Equity Project</a> in New York City is so interesting.
In this charter school, teachers are paid USD125,000 per year, twice as much as
other public school teachers, and the idea is that the quality of the teaching talent will make a real difference in student outcomes These teachers are literally a ‘dream team’ – the
Physical Education teacher was Kobe Bryant’s personal trainer. Given the
longitudinal nature of educational outcomes, it’s hard to know if this
experiment will pan out the way its supporters expect it to. But it certainly
bears watching.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-85433443241351246862013-12-10T00:46:00.002+08:002013-12-10T00:58:14.145+08:00Riot in Little India - What could happen next: Considerations and Consequences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was a little surprised to hear that a riot happened last night in Little India. But not very.<br />
<br />
The benefits and necessities of massive immigration have been repeated ad nauseum by the government. In contrast, for years, I have warned of the <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2012/05/hidden-consequences-of-massive.html">unintended</a> <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2012/11/smrt-bus-driver-strike-2-years-early.html">consequences</a> of immigration, which include erosion of social cohesion and the increased risk of civil unrest.<br />
<br />
I do not intend to recap the details of the Little India riot in this post. If you are reading this, you should be well-apprised of the details reported in local media. What I will discuss are perspectives that I think not many people will realize, and what I think will happen next.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>That a riot happened is not a surprise. That Singaporeans are genuinely shocked is.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Seriously, with fully 30% of the population here foreign-born, and a large chunk of migrant labor coming from lower educated and poorer countries with more violent histories of protest than Singapore, why should it be a surprise that a riot can occur? Forbes has an <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferwells/2013/12/09/singapores-little-india-riot-a-shock-but-not-a-total-surprise/">article</a> with a similar sentiment as mine.<br />
<br />
The police commissioner said that "the incident last night was not the Singapore way".<br />
<br />
Indeed. However, one third of the population here is not Singaporean. On balance, looking at the sheer numbers of immigrants, arguing that everyone who lives here should conform to the "Singapore way" is foolhardy at best, and at worst, rings of either naivete or hubris.<br />
<br />
As to why foreign workers could be so unhappy as to riot in the streets, I do not know. It could simply be a case of emotions running high after seeing a kinsman fatally knocked down and then escalating into a riot.<br />
<br />
What I do know is that based on well-documented incidents by <a href="http://twc2.org.sg/">TWC2</a> of how foreign workers are abused in Singapore, there are plenty of reasons for a foreign worker in Singapore to be less than happy. If later investigations reveal an underlying current of simmering resentment that drove the workers to riot, I would not be surprised to find out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>The government has no good choices of how to respond to this incident. Humpty Dumpty can't be put back together again.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
A riot by foreign workers happened last night. Nothing can change that fact.<br />
<br />
This raises so many obvious questions among Singapore citizens and residents.<br />
<br />
Is it safe in Singapore? Is it safe to go to Little India?<br />
Why did the riot happen?<br />
Will riots happen again?<br />
How should the rioters be dealt with?<br />
What will this do to labor relations with our migrant workers?<br />
What does this mean for our country's immigration policy?<br />
<br />
The most damaging consequence of this incident is that it illustrates that Singapore is not immune to civil unrest. The illusion that massive uncontrolled immigration is an unalloyed good has been shattered.<br />
<br />
That the riot was caused by foreign workers calls into question the wisdom of our immigration policy AND underscores the importance of how we as citizens and Singaporeans navigate our relationships with the foreigners in our midst.<br />
<br />
The government has no good choices as to how to respond to this incident. If they are seen as not prosecuting the arrested to the fullest extent of the law and meting out justice, some Singaporeans, the more xenophobic ones, will perceive this as softness. Already, we can read comments online excoriating the rioters and blaming them for threatening Singapore's stability.<br />
<br />
If the government does not exercise restraint in its response however, the consequences could be dire too. A harsh response could be reasoned to have a deterrent effect; yet it could equally have a inflammatory effect and lead to a <i>higher</i> likelihood of more riots and civil disturbances, such as strikes.<br />
<br />
Remember, there are thousands of foreign workers here. And even though we think of rioting as irrational behavior, when you are a foreign worker in a foreign land incensed at what you perceive as unfair treatment of your peers, the calculus of what is 'rational' is very different.<br />
<br />
Even irrational behavior looks reasonable when you can find enough people to agree with you, and again I remind the reader, we have thousands of foreign workers here.<br />
<br />
If I were an employer in the construction industry hiring hundreds of foreign workers, I would be worried.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>"With so much chaos, someone will do something stupid."</b><br />
<br />
I'm aware that I'm probably hyperventilating a little here, but let's hope that no one actually does something stupid, either foreigner or Singaporean. Something stupid meaning another incident that could fan the flames of discord and lead to another major civil disturbance.<br />
<br />
The quote is from the movie V for Vendetta. It is taken out of context here, but the parallel should be clear. It is right for the government to appeal for calm.<br />
<iframe width="400" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zMKqKruzZro" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<p><b>Despite the riot, imposing a curfew, rules on assembly or stricter policing in Little India is asking for trouble.</b><br /></p>
<b><br /></b>
Why are there so many foreign workers in Little India anyway?<br />
<br />
It should not be hard to empathize and understand why. Because Little India feels like home to many foreign workers. And for a few hours at least, a foreign worker can pretend that he is not far away from family and a life he understands and instead in a cold metropolis of glass and steel.<br />
<br />
So, why do I think that imposing heavier rules and policing in Little India is a bad idea?<br />
<br />
Here's a passage from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Front_Runner">The Front Runner</a> by Patricia Nell Warren, possibly the most celebrated gay love story ever. The passage is from the protagonist's recollection of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots">Stonewall riots</a> and I reproduce it here to illustrate what might happen when law enforcement encroaches into a space occupied by a marginalized minority:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04;">"The street was full of cops and flashing red lights.But what was more amazing, the street was full of hundreds of gays, and they were fighting the cops. For years they...submitted to harassments and arrest...But the night of Stonewall, they made the instant visceral decision that they had had enough. They were throwing rocks and bottles...They were fighting New York's Finest with their bare hands.</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">I watched with growing anger and sorrow. I didn't drink, but those bars were about the only public places where gays could be themselves. No straight could understand how precious they were to us. I had always believed in law and order, supported the police. But those cops were busting me...They were riding over me with their big horses and shoving me into vans handcuffed...</span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #783f04;">Then an amazing thing happened. I had a rock in my hand, and I threw it."</span><br />
<br />
A enlarged police presence in Little India will likely have the effect of fueling resentment and ironically, may lead to a higher risk for future riots. Yet, some may feel that the government needs to make a show of force to demonstrate it takes public order seriously. I am neither for one or the other. Again, I reiterate. There are no good choices here. Humpty Dumpty lies broken and in pieces.<br />
<br />
With what has happened last night, we can only hope that such an incident is a one-off and Singaporeans can put it behind us.<br />
<br />
Yet, the disquietude persists.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-29007204299619599602013-10-01T00:13:00.000+08:002013-10-01T00:13:01.513+08:00Book List Refreshed 1/10/2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have removed:<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Without Conscience by Robert D. Hare</div>
<div>
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson</div>
<div>
The Race for What's Left by Michael T. Klare</div>
<div>
OB Marker by Cheong Yip Seng</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I have added:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Full Planet, Empty Plates by Lester R. Brown</div>
<div>
The First Muslim by Lesley Hazleton</div>
<div>
The End of the Suburbs by Leigh Gallagher</div>
<div>
Reinventing Collapse by Dmitry Orlov</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-7071935618385768502013-09-22T13:49:00.001+08:002013-09-22T13:49:24.634+08:00Diversity in the Top Echelons of the Public Sector<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Eddie Teo wrote another open letter on PSC scholarships a few days ago. It was on *The Value of Diversity*. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
You may find it <a href="http://www.pscscholarships.gov.sg/content/pscsch/default/aboutus/open_letter.html">here</a>. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
I commented on his previous letter <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-psc-wants-in-its-scholars.html">here</a>, and I will comment on his latest one here in this post.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
My first reaction on reading his letter? Rolling my eyes inwardly, with the word "tosh" appearing in my mind.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
It's all well and good that the PSC is actively soliciting scholars from less selective schools.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Unfortunately, it's a long distance from budding scholar to head honcho policymaker. And guess what? The head honchos today are the products of yesterday's scholar selection process, which means that while today's scholarship recipient may have a slightly lower probability of coming from Raffles JC or Hwa Chong, s/he almost certainly will be working under someone who did.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
And who gets promoted faster? Not the mavericks, misfits or outlier types who come from non-pedigreed backgrounds, that's for sure.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
"<span style="color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Those aspiring to be public servants should realise that their performance will often be enhanced if they can bring a new perspective to help tackle a public policy issue, gained by their stint in a “non-traditional” university or “non-traditional” country."</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Oh, originality and imagination certainly get you brownie points, but Singapore's favorite kind of innovation has always been the kind that comes in a nice, neat box with a bow tied on top.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Science and engineering research? <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2011/09/trouble-in-research-paradise.html">Only if there's a financial return on investment</a>.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Arts and culture? <a href="http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/new-ministry-old-ideas/">Only if it's pretty and non-controversial, and preferably can be marketed as a tourist attraction.</a></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Family values? Yes, certainly. No problems with keeping Section 377A on the statutes, but steamroll the casinos into Singapore over the protests. Sometimes, I really wish they did condone spousal rape and would sentence people to death for adultery here. At least it would be consistently medieval here and we would all be treated equally as serfs.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Scholars fresh out of university, who have had good grades throughout school and the same sparkling CCA records, are the most vulnerable to craving external validation. I should know: I was a scholar once upon a time too.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Your unconventional scholars with non-traditional perspectives are going to adapt to innovate within a tightly circumscribed space, drinking the Kool-Aid as it were, which will render them indistinguishable from their more pedigreed peers, or they will exit the system out of sheer frustration. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">We also do not care what schools they come from when deciding on whether or not to award a scholarship. Several of this year’s President’s Scholars came from neighbourhood <b>primary</b> schools <b>[Emphasis mine]</b>.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Translation:</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Yes, because of the angst-filled and heart attack-inducing process of primary one registration (just ask young parents), we know that getting into a name brand primary school is a complete crapshoot. So, obviously, we won't hold it against you.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Now, secondary schools on the other hand...</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
What is not said is sometimes more important than what is said...</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<span style="color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">Just as the government is changing the way it governs Singapore, Public Service leaders are learning how to manage a new generation of younger public servants, who want greater participation and more voice. The PSC’s effort to bring diversity into the Public Service will come to nought if divergent views are discouraged within the system and those who dare to question assumptions and have a non-conventional perspective are not valued and appreciated.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Eddie's thinking here is that by recruiting these non-traditional scholars from non-traditional backgrounds, they will be the leading edge of the Public Service's transformation into a more diverse and dynamic civil service.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
My problem with this view is that these non-traditional scholars will either exit the system before they attain leadership positions, or they will be assimilated by the system they were meant to change from within.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Do we have evidence for the latter? Of course we do. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: justify;">While it does not follow that only those with a less fortunate background can empathize with the poor,...</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #7e7e7e; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">...Yes, there are a few scholar public servants who lack humility and have forgotten that they are where they are because of the support and help from those around them.</span></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
The converse is not necessarily true either. The kicker is that sometimes, it is precisely the people who rose up from the bottom who turn out to the least sympathetic ones of all. Mah Bow "affordable" Tan and Ng Eng Hen came from supposedly humble backgrounds, but look at how sensitive they are to the lower strata of Singapore society. See <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2011/03/quick-thoughts-on-sunday-times-13-march.html">here</a> for instance.</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Groupthink already exists in the public sector. We know this because our government willfully sticks its fingers in its ears and went "la, la, la" when we told it years ago that current immigration policy is unsustainable, and that housing and public transportation is badly in need of new investment. </div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: small;">
Groupthink by its very nature perpetuates itself. Thank you Eddie, for striving to put new wine in old bottles. Personally, I would do something about the bottles instead, but good on you for trying.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-90050140292886465212013-03-24T23:30:00.000+08:002013-03-24T23:39:41.936+08:00On the Parliament Vote to Endorse the Population White Paper - Redux: Who didn't vote?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As promised in a <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2013/02/on-parliament-vote-to-endorse.html">previous post</a>, I kept a close watch on the release of the votes and proceedings of the parliamentary vote held on 8 February to endorse the controversial population white paper.<br />
<br />
You may find the proceedings <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.sg/sites/default/files/FRIDAY,%208%20FEBRUARY%202013.pdf">here</a>. Naturally, I saved a copy to my hard drive. Even with legislation that compels the government to release this information, I have zero trust in the PAP in such matters.<br />
<br />
And given the compromised nature of the mainstream media in reporting political news, you will never hear the specifics of the proceedings in the Straits Times, so if you find this blog post enlightening, please disseminate this as far as possible. Our citizenry need to be informed citizenry if we are to have influence in charting the course of this nation of ours.<br />
<br />
Given the short attention spans of most people, I would not be surprised if many Singaporeans have forgotten about the specifics of who voted for what. And this was probably something that the PAP was counting on.<br />
<br />
This post will serve as a reminder of the voting record on that fateful day.<br />
<br />
From the parliamentary proceedings, in the matter of endorsing the population white paper, there were 77 ayes, 13 noes, and 1 abstention. There were 5 absentees on that day.<br />
<br />
All opposition party MPs voted no.<br />
<br />
All non-constituency MPs voted no.<br />
<br />
Of the nominated MPs, Eugene Tan abstained, as is well known. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Janice Koh, Faizah Jamal and Laurence Lien all voted against the motion, as is also known.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">What was not stated in the mainstream media was that of the remaining five nominated MPs, Tan Su Shan was absent, while the remaining four voted aye.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">These four, whose names were not mentioned in the media, are Nicholas Fang, Mary Liew, Ramy Dhinakaran and Teo Siong Seng.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Remember these nominated MP names. When the time comes to re-appoint the nominated MPs, it will be interesting to see who gets the nod for re-appointment, and who doesn't, and see how the re-appointment reconciles with this voting record.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Now, the most interesting part of this post.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">There are 99 MPs in parliament. With 77 ayes, 13 noes, 1 abstention and 5 absentees, that still leaves 3 MPs unaccounted for.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">It was known that Inderjit Singh absented himself during the vote, and well he did, given the misgivings he voiced out prior to the taking of the vote.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">But who were the other two?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">The answer is: Indranee Rajah and Ng Eng Hen. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Read into that what you will. Myself? I would note that Ng Eng Hen is a Cabinet Minister</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">, while Indranee Rajah is a Senior Minister of State, unlike Inderjit Singh who is just a regular MP. It's bad form for people that high up in the PAP hierarchy to absent themselves from a vote as widely watched as this one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">I do not have information on how or why they absented themselves. And our mainstream media doesn't seem to either, or doesn't want to tell us, or just plain doesn't want to know.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">*Remember, if you found this post noteworthy, please disseminate. As citizens, all of us need more information.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-40783747450102144752013-03-14T22:23:00.000+08:002013-03-14T22:23:02.546+08:00Google Reader is shutting down<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Like many users of Google Reader, it is the number 2 Google service I spend the most time on, after Gmail, so it's a terrible shame that I now need to find a new RSS solution.<br />
<br />
And as Hitler so eloquently put it, some "social shit sandwich" isn't going to cut it in replacing my reading experience. I am *so* anti-social network. Don't even get me started on Twitter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/A25VgNZDQ08?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-6249845259246660842013-03-13T00:38:00.000+08:002013-03-13T00:38:12.166+08:00Book List Refreshed 13/03/2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
I have removed:<br />
<br />
<br />
The Honest Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely<br />
The Vanishing Face of Gaia by James Lovelock<br />
The Wisdom of Whores by Elizabeth Pisani<br />
The Porning of America by Kevin M. Scott and Carmine Sarracino<br />
<br />
<br />
I have added:<br />
<br />
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brian Sanderson<br />
Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb<br />
OB Markers by Cheong Yip Seng<br />
The Race for What's Left by Michael T. Klare<br />
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-15068152747170924592013-03-08T17:11:00.001+08:002013-03-08T17:11:21.510+08:00Straits Times 8 March 2013 - Taking Flight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYa_J1Qa0JO83kAVKiBbPuRRlRDLD6SLqRdMbVbNHUjcTBHY-bqzcAGpjLhWPM3TlzQfXqo8uHAHxdddU_k3u9Djltuzvnzc8qB1rGl7tyVg2tqYMTaoUqZZOm98E9DyESa3na50od3A/s1600/para073133e_circle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYa_J1Qa0JO83kAVKiBbPuRRlRDLD6SLqRdMbVbNHUjcTBHY-bqzcAGpjLhWPM3TlzQfXqo8uHAHxdddU_k3u9Djltuzvnzc8qB1rGl7tyVg2tqYMTaoUqZZOm98E9DyESa3na50od3A/s400/para073133e_circle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Long time readers of my blog will know that I am a paragliding pilot.<br />
<br />
Last Saturday, a Straits Times journalist who had found our club's Facebook page requested for a photo shoot and an interview. Fortunately, the wind at the field next to Marina Bay Cruise Center was accommodating. =)<br />
<br />
The article was published in today's Life!, along with some pretty pictures.<br />
<br />
To all my earthbound friends who have not seen me strapped into my wing, well, I'm the one with the silver and azure glider, circled in yellow above. It's a Gin Bolero III model.<br />
<br />
The secretary of our club told me that he expects a flood of enquiries after the publication of this article, given the large number of adventure sports enthusiasts in Singapore.<br />
<br />
Me? I'm not so sure. The sport has traditionally been small and mostly limited to those comfortable with the risks inherent in an air sport. It's very much a self-selected sport, especially given the constraints faced by paragliding pilots in Singapore. Most Singaporeans in the community had to find ways to learn and practice the sport on their own. I, for example, <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2010/01/nepal-winter-2009-part-3.html">traveled to Nepal by myself</a> in Winter 2009 to learn.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, that's one of the things I love best about the sport. The pilots that I've met have tended to be the independent and free-spirited types that I identify most strongly with. Many of the people I've met through the sport are true kindred spirits.<br />
<br />
Still, it would be interesting to see the response to wider publicity of our community in the coming weeks ahead.</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-15524098185448914152013-02-19T01:26:00.002+08:002013-02-19T01:26:59.277+08:00On the Parliament Vote to Endorse the Population White Paper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So much ink has been spilled on the Population White Paper. And many, many commentators have shredded it most capably in their analyses that I feel I have nothing fresh to add.<br />
<br />
[In truth, I do have some unique opinions on the white paper and their 'sanguine' population projections. But because there are some uncertainties in my own predictions, I would prefer to wait for certain events to pass before publishing my thoughts in the fullness of time.]<br />
<br />
So, I am left to comment on peripheral issues. There are two in particular, one unrelated to the title of today's post. That one will be in a <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2013/02/on-mainstream-medias-non-coverage-of.html">separate post</a>. The topic for this post is below.<br />
<br />
In the <a href="http://sg.news.yahoo.com/pm-lee-makes-passionate-appeal-for-population-white-paper-in-parliament-082910512.html">recent Parliamentary vote</a> to endorse the White Paper, Low Thia Khiang called for a <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.sg/publications/d">division to the motion</a>.<br />
<br />
The news article that I linked to above described it thus:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><span style="color: #660000;">"WP leader Low Thia Kiang stunned those in attendance by standing up to ask the Speaker for a division to the motion, effectively meaning the House could not decide to pass the paper by a verbal vote. The House doors were then locked and the assembly took to an electronic vote. "</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Low Thia Khiang is more canny than most politicians. Certainly more so than your regular PAP MP who most likely coasted in on the coat-tails of a "heavy-weight" in a GRC.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Here is why Low Thia Khiang's request is important:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">In the USA, there are many websites that record and consolidate the voting records of senators and representatives on bills presented before Congress. One such website is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vote_Smart">Project VoteSmart</a>. The idea behind such websites is that citizens can better distinguish between what politicians <i>say</i> and what they actually <i>do</i>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">In particular, as a citizen, because you elect someone and send him or her to Parliament to represent you and your interests, it behooves you, then, to check that your representative votes on legislation in accordance to your wishes. Checking your representative's voting record is one way of seeing whether you've been taken for a ride during the election campaign.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">In the vote to endorse the White Paper, there were 77 "ayes", 13 "nays" and 1 abstention. All "ayes" came from the PAP. The sole abstention was from NMP Eugene Tan. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">Notwithstanding the PAP party whip, tellingly, because there are a total of 99 MPs, there are still 8 MPs unaccounted for, 5 of which are NMPs and 3 are from the PAP. Inderjit Singh was the most prominent in being absent from the vote, being a PAP MP and one who had openly voiced his misgivings prior to the vote.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;">In <a href="http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20130209-401211.html">another news article</a>, he was quoted as saying, "</span></span><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.1875px;">All I want to say is I was not present for the vote. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.1875px;">I spoke from my heart and will do what I can to change things</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.1875px;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.1875px;">"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.453125px;"><br /></span></span>
Thanks to Low Thia Khiang's request for a division to the motion, who voted for what is now a permanent part of the parliamentary record. Clearly, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/jeannette-chong-aruldoss/white-paper-is-endorsed-by-77-votes-to-13-with-one-abstention/10151326621529563">a lot of people</a> are interested in this. I expect that the record of that parliamentary vote will be found <a href="http://www.parliament.gov.sg/publications/votes-and-proceedings12th">here</a> soon.<br />
<br />
We will see what the coming years ahead hold. And in 2016 or earlier when the next elections are held, some PAP MPs may regret not absenting themselves as Inderjit Singh did.<br />
<br />
Even if they backtrack on their endorsement in the interim, if nothing else, because of Inderjit Singh's example, the voting record would show them to have been either spineless or indecisive.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-83232751294542416102013-02-19T01:26:00.001+08:002013-02-19T01:26:15.213+08:00On Mainstream Media's Non-Coverage of the White Paper Protest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The recent non-coverage of the protest at Hong Lim Park this past Saturday has once again demonstrated how captured they are by the PAP. Bertha Henson had the best <a href="http://berthahenson.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/reporting-hong-lim-park/">commentary</a> on this, but then again, she should; she used to be part of the establishment, which gives her not just insider information but also the freedom to speak, now that she's no longer working for SPH.<br />
<br />
One minor quibble, Bertha, if you're reading this. I would prefer if you distinguished between the PAP and the Government. I know it's understandable to use G. as shorthand for the PAP-controlled government, given Singapore's history, but it should bear repeating that the PAP and the Government of Singapore are not one and the same thing.<br />
<br />
Bertha had one good piece of advice. Go read OB Markers by Cheong Yip Seng, former editor-in-chief of the Straits Times.<br />
<br />
After reading his memoirs, I can categorically state that I have a better understanding of the pressures that editors and journalists in the mainstream media face, being excoriated sometimes by both the public and cabinet ministers for the <i>same published articles</i>. If there was ever evidence that people view things in a way that confirms their preconceived notions and suspicions...<br />
<br />
I can also state categorically that I empathize with the view (espoused by LKY) that the mainstream media has the role to educate and persuade the public to certain points of view for the benefit of the country.<br />
<br />
To a point. On matters of national security and foreign policy for example. But I am far from convinced that this is an appropriate role for mainstream media on other matters of national policy where the paths ahead are less clear. Like population growth. Open, informed and vigorous public debate would be preferred to propaganda.<br />
<br />
Cheong Yip Seng's memoirs were in fact more interesting for what they <i>did not</i> cover rather than what they did cover. Part apologia and part hagiography (of LKY), they skipped over how the media has been used as a political weapon to silence and/or discredit opposition party politicians, and to muffle criticism or hush up failures by government agencies or processes under the rubric of "protecting confidence in the government".<br />
<br />
But to me, this is now all moot. I no longer read the Straits Times, and I stopped watching TV a long time ago. Ergo, I no longer consume mainstream media in toto.</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-74115514423757754992013-01-27T15:40:00.000+08:002013-01-27T15:40:44.809+08:00Workers Party - The secret behind being oh-so-"conciliatory" towards the PAP<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In 2007, on the eve of the 2008 Financial Crisis, the major US automakers Ford and General Motors were in trouble. They would soon approach the US government for a bailout.<br />
<br />
In contrast, Toyota was on the ascendant. The New York Times ran an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/magazine/18Toyota.t.html?pagewanted=print">article</a> on the contrasting fortunes of the Japanese automaker vis-a-vis its US competitors.<br />
<br />
The money quote came from James P. Womack, founder and chairman of the Lean Enterprise Institute:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">“The last thing Toyota wants is for any of those guys to collapse.” For one thing, it could be politically disastrous for the Japanese company if it were considered responsible for the death of a grand American institution. “But it’s also completely worthless to Toyota in the market,” Womack adds. “They’re selling all the vehicles they can make already. What they actually want is just continuous, slow decline — decline at the same rate that they have the ability to organically expand. That’s the ideal world for them.”</span></i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><i><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></i></span>
Let me parse that for you with a few substitutions in case the parallel I have drawn is not clear enough.<br />
<br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">“The last thing </span><span style="color: #20124d;">the Workers Party</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> wants is for any of those guys to collapse.” For one thing, it could be politically disastrous for the </span><span style="color: #20124d;">opposition party</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> if it were considered responsible for the death of a grand </span><span style="color: #20124d;">Singaporean</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> institution. “But it’s also completely worthless to </span></i><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #20124d;">the Workers Party</span></i><i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> in the </span><span style="color: #20124d;">political landscape</span><span style="color: #b45f06;">,” </span><span style="color: #20124d;">mjuse</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> adds. “They’re winning all the </span><span style="color: #20124d;">seats</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> they can </span><span style="color: #20124d;">win</span><span style="color: #b45f06;"> already. What they actually want is just continuous, slow decline — decline at the same rate that they have the ability to organically expand. That’s the ideal world for them.”</span></i><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></i>
The general Singapore population is not ready for a government that is not majority PAP. As Yawning Bread has frequently put it, the average Singaporean is not desirous of a complete change in government; they just want the social compact of old renewed: surrender of civil rights, liberties and a robust democracy in exchange for economic growth and the good life.<br />
<br />
The average Singaporean wants a bigger, more equitable slice of the pie. They don't have a problem with the baker who bakes the pie (other than his miserly ways) or the taste of the pie itself.<br />
<br />
[As an aside, some very intelligent people have postulated that in today's consumerist, capitalist society, the pie is in fact rotten in toto. I am sympathetic to this argument. But then again, I'm a greenie. You can read more <a href="http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/09/20/the-waning-of-the-modern-ages/">here</a>.]<br />
<br />
I don't buy the argument about Workers Party wanting to be a "co-driver" to keep the PAP on its toes. Politics is ultimately about power, and the Workers Party eventually wants to be in the driver's seat. So, why mess with something that has worked? Given the realities of our population's sentiments, PAP-lite is the way to go if a political party wants to eventually come to power in Singapore. Low Thia Khiang obviously understands this. Anything more radical than that is a path to political marginalization.<br />
<br />
I know educated urbane professionals who, while they have problems with the PAP's arrogance and high-handedness, have difficulty imagining a post-PAP Singapore. These are the middle class folks who decide the shape of our political landscape.<br />
<br />
So, when the WP says that they will work with the PAP going forward, I keep getting that creepy tingly feeling like a brush of cold fingers across the back of the neck. And I'm not even a PAP flunky.<br />
<br />
Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. *Shudder*.<br />
<br />
One further thing. You might think that I'm referring only to the PAP in the above paragraph when I state that the Workers Party wants a slow decline. Really, that applies equally to all the other opposition parties. The WP is cannibalizing the opposition vote where they can.<br />
<br />
Ironically, the beneficiary of the decline in the vote share of the other opposition parties could well be the PAP, if voting tactically is no longer something to consider as the WP becomes more significant in Singapore politics and less differentiated from the PAP.<br />
<br />
As one last aside, differentiating themselves further by casting themselves more left or right of the PAP/WP, or carving out a niche issue in which they enjoy strong support could be a viable strategy in the future for an opposition party to play kingmaker, in the event coalition government ever comes to Singapore.</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-61796936066664619882013-01-22T23:13:00.000+08:002013-01-22T23:13:44.165+08:00Facebook’s Graph Search<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
Have you heard of Facebook’s Graph Search? You should. The buzz has been everywhere these few days. Wired Magazine has an <a href="http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/the-inside-story-of-graph-search-facebooks-weapon-to-challenge-google/all/">article</a> on it, but it’s a little too much of a cheerleader for Facebook for me. Still it gives a good overview of Graph Search.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
Forbes had a more nuanced article, found <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2013/01/20/facebook-graph-search-is-a-disruptive-minefield-of-unintended-consequences/">here</a>. The Forbes article references a short Gizmodo article, also worth reading, linked <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5976328/these-people-are-now-sharing-horrible-things-about-themselves-thanks-to-facebook-search">here</a>. Techcrunch has a decidedly negative take on Graph Search. Their article can be read <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/20/facebook-graph-search-is-humorless-creepy-and-doomed-to-disappoint/">here</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
I am not a heavy user of Facebook, despite being an early adopter (I joined in 2005, when I was a senior at a university on the East Coast.) I am what you might call an “unenthused” poster of links, videos, photos and (god forbid) status updates. No Timeline for me, thanks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
[As an aside, I am also a smartphone holdout, despite being a bit of a geek. I carry a super basic Nokia phone without even a camera. I've long maintained that the deficit today is not of technology or connectivity, but rather of attention. Everyone's attention is spread way too thin these days.] </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
Now, with the unprecedented “discoverability” of personal data enabled by Graph Search, I think I will be even less inclined to post stuff online. This is George Costanza’s <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxuYdzs4SS8&hl=en-GB&gl=SG">fear</a> of <a href="https://www.google.com.sg/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com.sg%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuPG3YMcSvzo&ei=Kqv-UNWzKoLprQfg4YD4Cw&usg=AFQjCNG4yNqXKL7ZWOfONDPrjYpmZdh9mQ&sig2=jKimTxBHpDhkJLGOwhmeJQ&bvm=bv.41248874,d.bmk">worlds colliding</a>, writ even larger than what people have already experienced. Any user of Facebook will be able to query the database of user-generated data stored on Facebook and interpret that data in ways that you probably didn’t anticipate when you ‘liked’ something, posted a comment, or were tagged at an event.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
I’m not even sure if Graph Search will be a useful feature for most users. I certainly don’t think I would use it, except perhaps for cyberstalking (there, I’ve said it. Not that that’s considered deviant behavior these days; all of us online have PhDs in cyberstalking).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
The reason why I don’t think Graph Search will be useful to me is because I rarely have the habit of asking my friends’ opinions when I need to buy something, hire a service, watch a movie, read a book, play a computer game etc, all hooks that Facebook can use to monetize its database of personal information. This is because I search for information independently, and I have a very good idea of what I like and what to look for.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
Even for people who value their friends’ opinions and would want Facebook to give them the results of an instant poll of their friends (based on friends’ past ‘likes’ and behavior), most people wouldn’t base their decision making on the opinions of ALL of their friends. <i>I</i> certainly wouldn’t trust the opinion of my friends on certain matters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
You wouldn’t ask a non-foodie about her favorite makan places, would you? And you would probably have zero use for another friend’s tastes in music and books, if for example, you privately think that he’s a Neanderthal (but you love him anyway).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
And this is assuming Facebook users religiously post all of their opinions and ‘likes’ which are immutable and unchanging and completely context-independent. We are not even going to go into the thorny thicket of problems that have to do with users being facetious, or ironic or just plain obfuscating.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
Or the related problem that even for someone who assiduously prunes his Friends List, and who resists adding new Friends unless he has known them a while, one third of the people on my list are people I don’t actually know…and another one third are people I have not spoken to in years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
To put it simply, Facebook data on is not clean. The signal to noise ratio is abominable, and careful interpretation is needed to make sense of the data to generate actionable insights. That sounds like an awful lot of work to get a restaurant recommendation near Ion Orchard on a Friday night, one that you agree with at the end of your dinner and that you could not have just as easily pulled from hungrygowhere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify;">
More likely than not, the results of Graph Search are going to be dominated by the people on your Friends’ List that are perpetually online, post status updates incessantly, and have the attention span of hamsters. On steroids…and coffee.</div>
</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-19637938545013748932013-01-06T18:17:00.001+08:002013-01-06T18:17:19.580+08:00The PAP AIM Saga<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Predictably, with the PAP finding it increasingly difficult to explain why Aljunied Town Council sold their computer system to a PAP-owned company when Aljunied was controlled by the PAP, the PM decided on the nuclear option of lawyering up. A <a href="http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/pap-mis-aimed-face-blowback-part-5/">lawyer's letter was sent to Yawning Bread</a> demanding an apology, which Yawning Bread complied with.<br />
<br />
Separately, <a href="http://theonlinecitizen.com/2013/01/vincent-wijeysinghas-letter-of-apology-to-acting-minister-for-manpower-mr-tan-chuan-jin/">Tan Chuan Jin did the same to Vincent Wijeysingha</a> over comments he made in relation to the SMRT strike fiasco.<br />
<br />
This is what you do when you realize that you are losing control of the conversation. Send in the lawyers and shut down the entire conversation.<br />
<br />
[Oh, and put in a few nice articles of the PM patting the shoulders of students and Chan Chun Sing reading to kids at the library -- see today's Straits Times (6 January 2013) in the pages following the articles on the apologies.<br />
<br />
I am reminded of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pet_Goat">George W. Bush reading "The Pet Goat"</a> during the events of 9/11. Note to Straits Times editors: anodyne pictures do nothing to dispel citizens' disquietude with what the hell is going on with AIM. If anything, they only serve to reinforce the perception that our ministers are completely disconnected from the ground. Straits Times editors, you need to go back to propaganda school.]<br />
<br />
Frankly, I am bemused by this whole turn of affairs. For the two activists under legal injunction to retract their words, there is no shame attached to apologizing over a <i>defamation</i> charge from the PAP. Everyone knows the PAP doesn't fight fair. Apologizing is easy and the better part of valor. In fact, being served with a defamation letter is a sign that you're being taken seriously.<br />
<br />
It is not, however, the PAP's cheap tactics which I find distasteful; politics is inherently dirty. What is particularly odious is the hypocrisy. Despite what Goh Chok Tong once said about the PAP being a party of 'junzi', the PAP really is a party from the 'hood. Lee Kuan Yew himself said that <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/187723.Lee_Kuan_Yew">famous quote about putting on knuckledusters and ambushing his opponents in a cul-de-sac</a>.<br />
<br />
There may not have been very many palatable options other than lawyering up and putting a stop to this particular AIM conversation, unlike that time-waster of a national conversation. Still, by doing so, the PAP has opened several cans of worms.<br />
<br />
The first is the ineffectiveness of such a move. The words "Pyrrhic victory" come to mind. This is the information age. What's online <i>stays</i> online, as anyone who has ever been tagged in some particularly mortifying picture on Facebook would have found out.<br />
<br />
If someone was so inclined, setting up several mirror sites to mirror the content of objectionable (to the PAP that is) sites would be a cinch. Heck, your average content scraper or forummer copying and pasting articles wholesale onto forums alone would ensure the longevity of any web content. And Google's PageRank algorithm guarantees that should enough people access the link, it will automatically float to the top of the search rankings.<br />
<br />
And everyone's connected to the Internet these days, to judge from the number of iPhones I am surrounded with each time I board the MRT. Get with the program already. A gag order, particularly on <i>Internet</i> content, is no longer effective in the information age. It just shows that you're...out of touch. Then again, perhaps the party from the 'hood hasn't heard of smartphones.<br />
<br />
The second thing to note is that by lawyering up, the mainstream media <b><i>has</i></b> to report on the controversy. Cue <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect">Striesand Effect</a>. As terse as the Straits Times would prefer to be, and they were indeed very tight-lipped, they still had to explain why exactly the PM found Yawning Bread's articles defamatory, and that just puts front and center the raison d'etre behind the whole AIM Saga: why was a town council system developed with public funds sold to a company controlled by a political party by the politicians then in charge of the town council?<br />
<br />
The last time I remember the mainstream media having to twist a story into such unnatural contortions was during the floods of yesteryear, when they hastened to explain what the government was doing before describing how <strike>f***ed up</strike> bad the flooding situation was on one particular weekend. Remember <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2011/06/keep-spin-cycle-on-and-get-ready-to-be.html">putting the cart before the horse</a>?<br />
<br />
The third can of worms is that employing a defamatory charge as a first and last resort is inherently a self-liquidating power. Self-liquidating because each time you use it, it becomes far less convincing. The PAP has resorted to defamation charges countless times. So much so that it has become predictable and <i>boring</i> (which in my mind, is the bigger crime. I hate boring. That includes people and things.).<br />
<br />
See above my point on defamation no longer carrying any stigma whatsoever for the defendants. It truly begs the question of whether PAP politicians are really being defamed each time they cry foul, or do they in fact have malfeasance to hide. I am reminded of City Harvest's strenuous protestations of innocence on the part of its high priests. Apparently, the party from the 'hood is not so different from a cult either.<br />
<br />
A completely separate point about self-liquidating powers is that they're often so effective at first that their users quickly stop thinking of alternatives. Strategies and tactics work...until they don't. The PAP's key strategy of using the threat of defamation lawsuits to shut down criticism is looked about as dated as penicillin, and about as effective.<br />
<br />
My fourth and last point is that more than any other incident from recent memory, the AIM saga erases any doubt in my mind of what I have conjectured before: that the PAP is more than willing to put party above country, and as a result, <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2011/03/when-pap-loses-election-it-will-be-time.html">a smoking ruin is what will result prior to any transition of power</a>.<br />
<br />
You have been warned. <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2011/04/hard-truths-you-wont-read-about_15.html">Everyone needs a plan B</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-79139440596184652992012-12-30T14:23:00.000+08:002012-12-30T14:23:11.345+08:00An eventful few months<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a personal post, meant to update the people who actually read my blog whom I may not have met in some time.<br />
<br />
[Yes, as odd as it may seem to the people who read my blog for my insights into current affairs, this blog still does serve the purpose of a journal of my thoughts and experiences =)]<br />
<br />
I ended a brief relationship a few months ago. It was my first real relationship. I learnt a little about myself, but more importantly, I learnt with certainty that I need not be in a relationship to be happy. It would be nice to have someone of course, but to be with someone with whom things are not working out should not be a goal to aspire to in itself.<br />
<br />
M., if you are reading this, I do treasure the moments we spent together. It is rare for me to put into words in the public domain an intensely private experience, but here it is. I should not allow the moment to pass before the desire leaves me.<br />
<br />
It means something to me that you touched my life in a positive way. If nothing else, being with you gave me a push to move forward in my life. When things ended between us, I told you that I did not learn much about myself that I did not know already, and that is true, but I <i>did</i> grow from our time together.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it is true that we prepare our previous partners for better relationships ahead of them in the future. If so, I hope that I left you with something that will enrich the relationship with whomever you will be (or are) with. <br />
<br />
___<br />
<br />
<br />
I passed another one of the actuarial exams which I had taken in October 2012. Results were released less than two weeks ago. Another step to qualification as a Fellow in my plan to complete a career transition from research engineer to actuary.<br />
<br />
The result was not unexpected; I generally know once I see the exam paper on test day itself whether a pass is in the offing or not.<br />
<br />
___<br />
<br />
<br />
I found a new job. Surprisingly enough, it was the job with the very selective requirements that I blogged about in a <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2012/11/on-narrowness-of-job-descriptions.html">previous post</a>.<br />
<br />
Turns out one interview (albeit a very long one at two hours) was enough to cement their confidence in me.<br />
<br />
After a number of career setbacks, it was a strangely affirming experience to have someone else validate my view of my own abilities. It also didn't hurt that the new job came with a large pay rise that exceeded what I used to draw as an engineer.<br />
<br />
Then again, perhaps it was because my new bosses are American and new to Singapore. Unlike other hiring managers in the industry, they did not have the convenient fallback of hiring only from a pool of people of known quality that they already knew, as I blogged about <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.com/2011/10/observations-on-foreigner-dominated.html">previously</a>.<br />
<br />
___<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm currently in progress on a personal project that may or may not help in my new job. Learning <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language)">Python</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Django_(web_framework)">Django</a> framework to allow me to build database driven websites.<br />
<br />
This was related to a project <a href="http://www.oogachaga.com/congregaytion/news/detail/258/Final-Proposal-7">proposal</a> that I had submitted which unfortunately did not get funded. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the project will die.<br />
<br />
In time to come, with the skills that I intend to acquire, I may embark on the project on my own anyway.<br />
<br />
___<br />
<br />
<br />
After a <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2010/01/nepal-winter-2009-part-3.html">hiatus of a few years</a>, I returned to the Pokhara valley in Nepal for two weeks of advanced paragliding lessons. Sarangkot beckoned.<br />
<br />
I was originally signed up for an SIV course (Simulation d'Incidents de Vol -- french for Simulated Incidents in the Air).<br />
<br />
For a good idea of SIV, see this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Z6Nlpzc7w">video</a>. It's not a course for the faint of heart; it involves simulating adverse incidents in the air and learning to recover from them under radio instruction. Basically, doing all the things you are NOT supposed to do while in the air. Ironically, this makes you a much a safer and more confident pilot, now that you know the limits of your glider.<br />
<br />
For safety reasons, SIV is almost always done over a large water body, like a lake.<br />
<br />
Well, I bailed on the two friends of mine who were also doing the SIV course. Instead, I found out about and switched to a concurrently running <a href="http://xtc-paragliding.com/articles/thermallingP1.html">thermalling</a> course which I thought would be better for my development as a pilot.<br />
<br />
As it turned out, the thermalling course involved learning some SIV maneuvers as well. Looks like I would get plenty of opportunity to scare myself as well.<br />
<br />
Only the SIV pilots got to do the really scary stuff: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&gl=SG&v=gwAmeJFNTWk">spins/SAT</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPRCs4skBUo">full stall/backfly</a> and reserve parachute deployment.<br />
<br />
However, I had the same opportunities to do frontal collapses, asymmetric collapses, B-stall, dynamic turns and wingovers.<br />
<br />
Bottom line: Amusement theme park rides now hold absolutely zero appeal. My adrenaline threshold just got raised again.</div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-6958744322667268392012-12-10T19:00:00.000+08:002012-12-10T23:33:24.431+08:00Wearing Abercrombie and Fitch in Singapore - How declasse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the things I've written about in the past is on how as mass immigration has enlarged our working and spending population in Singapore, international brands are increasingly finding it attractive to locate flagship stores here to capitalize on a lucrative market.<br />
<br />
Hence, Singaporeans no longer need to venture out of the country for their togs from the likes of say, Topshop, Gap, Banana Republic, H&M and Abercrombie and Fitch.<br />
<br />
The irony is that now that the clothes are widely and easily available here, they've noticeably lost their edginess and exclusivity. It was one thing to wear Gap when it was not available here, it's quite another when it is now easily available and no longer exclusive.<br />
<br />
[Sidenote: Up until several years ago, Gap in fact manufactured some of its clothes in Singapore. This was before it started distributing its clothes here.]<br />
<br />
Worse, unbeknownst to many, some brands have become totally uncool in their home countries, like Abercrombie and Fitch for instance.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: I am not a fashionista. I hate shopping for clothes. In fact, I hate shopping period. So, don't take what I write as fashion criticism, cuz it's not. This post is a meditation on how ironic it is that the people who think that they're being fashionable wearing A&F are in fact the height of uncool.<br />
<br />
Frankly, I'm amazed every time I see an otherwise well-groomed person on the street wear Abercrombie and Fitch (or Hollister). If I meet someone new for the first time, and they're wearing Abercrombie and Fitch, I automatically dial down my impression of that person.<br />
<br />
Don't these people know what the brand stands for?<br />
<br />
Abercrombie has carefully cultivated the youthful preppy WASPish look, and coupled it with its racy catalogs adorned with half-dressed models. I have nothing against the latter, except that it's boring and unremarkable in today's increasingly porned world (see The Porning of America in my reading list), but the former is certainly something I reject completely.<br />
<br />
This is a company that has been subject to lawsuits for racial and sexual discrimination. A simple Google search would throw up the results for anyone curious enough to find out more.<br />
<br />
Just a few months ago, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/hollister-models-fired-insulting-asians-squinty-eyed-photos-middle-fingers-south-korean-store-opening-article-1.1155860">controversy struck in South Korea</a> over the bad behavior of its models at a store opening.<br />
<br />
For most Singaporeans who are ethnic Asians, to aspire to wear the vaguely white supremacist label of A&F is, in a word, bizarre. And if you're a straight male, a little weird too, seeing as how the advertising for the brand is famously homoerotic.<br />
<br />
But all this is probably intellectual claptrap for the trendy wannabe fashionista in Singapore still wearing A&F.<br />
<br />
Problem is...the brand itself is rapidly losing cachet among its target demographic in the United States, as well as among youth fashion tastemakers. It's "passe", <a href="http://www.thestreet.com/story/10777955/1/abercrombie-fitch-no-longer-cool.html">according to a group of high school students in the US</a>, who were unanimous in their dismissal. That's the true fashion death sentence.<br />
<br />
The sex-soaked marketing campaigns are looking dated, and it's not just me saying that. One article <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/abercrombie-fitch">here</a> and one article <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-30/at-abercrombie-and-fitch-sex-no-longer-sells">here</a> for reference. The money quote from the second article, from Bloomberg Businessweek:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.399999618530273px;">“Abercrombie is still running an offense which is a huge banner of a bare-chested guy with a cute girl who’s not wearing enough clothing,” says David Maddocks, a former chief marketing officer for </span><span class="ticker_wrap" style="border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.399999618530273px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nike’s </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.399999618530273px;">Converse label who now runs a brand consulting firm. “It’s vacuous, there’s no core idea there anymore.”</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.399999618530273px;"><br /></span></span>
A&F is an object lesson in how NOT to market to Millenials. They're dropping the ball on reaching out to this key demographic. And the final flourish at the end of the article:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23.399999618530273px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">So far, Abercrombie’s woes at home haven’t hurt its popularity in untapped markets. Its Hong Kong flagship, which opened in August, logged more than $1 million in sales in its first five days. Abercrombie is considering more locations in China and the Middle East. Still, in a hyperconnected world, it won’t take long for the brand’s fading cool to catch up with shoppers in Dubai and Shanghai, says Lindstrom.</span></span><br />
<br />
"Vacuous" is an accurate description of the brand's adherents. The really cool fashionable people in Singapore wouldn't be caught dead in A&F, and that it takes an unfashionable person like me to point that out to the wannabes, well, that's just the patina on their rapidly fading cool.<br />
<br />
PS: No moose (meese?) were harmed in writing this post.<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-78255756237256013052012-12-09T12:10:00.000+08:002012-12-09T12:10:02.776+08:00"It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly."<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Earthbound, but practice makes perfect.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4IAzB1iWPbS6PBwmfj6IOJoc2hDRfkX-2v7y6Y8g0veic4_04XB9pOL-W0F_Z4T3f6o3YQpV3gbS5_lVNYlkxs2Q7FqRGM2e-wQM1bzh7qQF-iY0kaO-xB_8qMe4kr2Fvi_quWE7Hw/s1600/32382_4423866069453_117323711_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4IAzB1iWPbS6PBwmfj6IOJoc2hDRfkX-2v7y6Y8g0veic4_04XB9pOL-W0F_Z4T3f6o3YQpV3gbS5_lVNYlkxs2Q7FqRGM2e-wQM1bzh7qQF-iY0kaO-xB_8qMe4kr2Fvi_quWE7Hw/s640/32382_4423866069453_117323711_n.jpg" width="475" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Ground handling at Woodlands Drive 17. Light winds, overcast.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Credit to J. for the pic.</div>
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-74816704668743795092012-12-04T01:19:00.001+08:002012-12-04T01:19:42.547+08:00SMRT Strike - Breaking the sacred chain of command<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Yawningbread had a </span><a href="http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/as-bus-drivers-strike-government-messaging-goes-into-overdrive/" style="text-align: justify;">post</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> on the
recent SMRT bus strike. In his post, he commented on the ineffectiveness of
official channels for dispute resolution. Here’s the pertinent section:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-small;">The government has also said,
repeatedly, that workers should have “discussed” their issues with management.
Knowing Chinese workers, I am sure they have, many times and loudly. It’s in
their nature. The problem is that the system is stacked against them. It’s a
very Singaporean system: where lower-rank people don’t have rights to justice,
but can only plead for better treatment. It’s a microcosm of the political
system this government has created. Citizens have no substantive rights; they
can only plead for their wishes to be taken into account. There’s a term for
this: The petitionary state.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">My first reaction to this was: but the
Chinese workers came from *the* original petition state (see <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/jamesreynolds/2009/04/petitions_in_china.html">here</a> for
instance), so surely they should comprehend the Singapore system perfectly. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">But I digress. </span>Snarky humor aside, I have
another insight to share. But first, let me tell you a story.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">I used to work in a division of a
quasi-government company headed by a former SAF general. He had a pet peeve,
and here when I use the word “peeve”, I really mean (from the perspective of
the general) reprehensible, egregiously bad behavior that deserves to be
excoriated in the strongest possible terms.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">You get the idea.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">This pet peeve was what the general called
“breaking the chain of command”.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">He would expound on the importance
of the chain of command every time a complaint surfaced from the staff at the
ground level, bypassing him to reach the ears of human resource, other senior
management, or the CEO himself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">In simple terms, he hated it every
time a problem in his division cropped up without coming up through the
official channels, namely through him. He probably thought it made him look
bad, which to be fair, is a pretty logical deduction to make.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">His take was that even if a
problem required the CEO’s intervention, the request should be escalated
through him rather than brought up directly by the individual.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">It never occurred to him that part
of the problem was with <i>him</i>, that
some staff were either not comfortable coming to him with their grievances or
that they felt their concerns would not be properly addressed. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">The uncharitable would add that
most people avoided coming to him because they expected
(correctly, as was unfortunately often the case) that his initial reaction
would be to stonewall them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">In my experience, the expectation
of the general that all staff adhere to the chain of command was really not
that unique of a trait among SAF personnel, both former and current. I clearly
remember the commanding officer of my NSF battalion espousing a similar
sentiment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">The point of the foregoing story
is this:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Our government is stuffed to the
gills with people who think this way, from former fulltime professional soldier
officers like the recently anointed Chan Chung Sing and Tan Chuan Jin, to our
Prime Minister who formerly held the illustrious rank of Brigadier General.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">It should hardly come as a
surprise that the government likes to stress the importance of working through
official channels when it comes to resolving disputes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">There are lots of issues worth
exploring here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">One issue is whether recourse can
truly be found through official channels in Singapore. Whether you think so or
not depends on how cynical you are, and whether you have had firsthand
experience navigating the system.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">Yawning Bread has brought another
issue into his post: namely the lamentable state of our petitionary state. That
sounds quite anodyne really. I prefer to call it the PAP’s dictum to
Singaporeans to “Be silent and be governed.” Citizens’ opinions don’t matter
until seats in Parliament are suddenly up for grabs. The recent
national conversation is really just a grand exercise in perception management.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">My preferred issue to focus on is
what this strong aversion to anything that doesn't originate from official channels tells us about the decision-making processes in the higher echelons of the Singapore government.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US">That the government constantly
stresses that labor relations (and other matters by extension) can only be
negotiated only within the ambit of official channels indicates that the government:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Cannot handle uncertainty. Our officials are
world champions at planning, but are frequently caught flatfooted whenever a situation develops that they failed to anticipate. That’s not to say that other governments do
better all the time in unscripted situations, but a tendency to over-plan typically means
less of an ability to adapt to a changing situation. </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The fact that even
elections are carefully choreographed affairs is not complimentary of our cabinet ministers. For supposed consummate actors in the rough and tumble world of politics, our ministers are in a word, coddled.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Cannot handle negative media
attention. This has to do with point (1) above. Our officials are bad at adapting to dynamic
situations. When was the last time we had a minister answer unscripted questions posed to them by an independent journalist or interviewer who had not been warned implicitly or explicitly to go easy on the minister?</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">Has an attitude that no news is good
news.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt;">And that what isn’t surfaced through official
channels doesn’t exist and is hence officially NOT A PROBLEM. In other words,
the PAP likes to operate within its own personal reality distortion field. Too
bad they don’t have the charisma of Steve Jobs as well cuz they sure as hell need it.</span></li>
</ol>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Point number 4 above is the most important point. But the other points are related in that the PAP has been so effective at building a safe, controlled political environment for itself that it has started believing in its own propaganda and hence frames its governing decisions accordingly. That's a dangerous place to be, drinking your own Kool-aid.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The upshot of seeing things surfaced only through official channels means tunnel vision, and all the associated bad decision-making that goes with it. And we haven't even brought in the stonewalling that all too often blocks what you can see of the information that floats up through official channels.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Case in point is the recent SMRT strike where unhappiness had in fact been simmering on the ground for months.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The remarkable thing is that considering
Singapore is so small, so tightly controlled and with such a precisely defined
and controlled government machinery (including the media), that the government
still cannot get reliable information and act on it is a severe indictment of its ability to sense-make and come to effective and appropriate decisions.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Who knows what other problems are out there just waiting to explode? All thanks to the reality distortion field associated with the chain of command.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">But again, I come to the stupid or evil hypothesis for the PAP, which I can never decide between. Are they really that dense, or are they just plain evil and actually prefer the status quo, which while detrimental to the resilience of our society, benefits themselves and the entrenched power elite.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">See <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-23-2010/the-parent-company-trap">Jon Stewart</a> for a more elaborate explanation of the stupid-evil dichotomy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I am personally more inclined toward the evil hypothesis, but I am also reminded of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor">Hanlon's Razor</a>.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span>
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446479917504395655.post-7595748358448790542012-11-27T09:13:00.000+08:002012-11-27T09:13:30.853+08:00SMRT bus driver strike - 2 years early, but still proven right<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, local media reported on a strike by SMRT bus drivers hired from mainland China.<br />
<br />
Local media called it a "dispute". The headline on asiaone read <a href="http://motoring.asiaone.com/Motoring/News/Story/A1Story20121126-385868.html">"SMRT bus drivers refuse to go to work"</a>.<br />
<br />
What's that called again? Yeah, in other countries, it would be called a "strike", specifically a "wildcat strike" (raise up your hands and do the air quotes, people)<br />
<br />
More than 2 years ago, I wrote a post on the unintended consequences of immigration. You can read it <a href="http://flaneurose.blogspot.sg/2010/07/what-are-some-possible-unintended.html">here</a>.<br />
<br />
I was early by 2 years, but still proven right in the end. Since I was proven right, it's useful to go back to revisit what I wrote because even I can't remember what thoughts were percolating through my mind back then and what *other* predictions I made that may eventually pan out as well.<br />
<br />
The pertinent section from my 2-year old post:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: #eeeecc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">We know of <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704067504575304690307516072.html">wildcat strikes in China at Honda factories</a>. For better or for worse, immigrants to Singapore are generally not as ... tractable ... as native Singaporeans. If a critical part of our infrastructure like the public bus transport network is heavily dependent on foreigners of a particular ethnicity or creed, what happens if they have reason to get organized and demonstrate, protest or go on strike? </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #eeeecc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #eeeecc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">Like the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/nwstue06.htm">Falun Gong demonstration</a> that happened in Singapore a while back? Or the diplomatic fracas that came in the wake of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flor_Contemplacion">Flor Contemplacion</a> incident? There would potentially be a <strong>lot</strong> more unhappy Filipinos on Singapore soil today should a diplomatic incident like that happen again. And frankly, before 9/11, Singapore was lucky to not have sourced for immigrants from Muslim states that might subsequently have found our staunch relationship with the USA ... objectionable. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: #eeeecc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: #eeeecc; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.899999618530273px;">
<span style="color: #783f04;">What about our other industries? Electronics, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, construction? Any possibility of some adverse event occurring simply because we are so critically dependent on "hired help" in those industries? Nobody knows, and the MOM a'int talking. Maybe we should start asking. Just sayin'.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
___<br />
<br />
Perhaps our numerous generals-turned-cabinet ministers can advise us on what the national security implications are of depending so heavily on foreigners, when fully one third of the warm bodies here are not your typical compliant docile Singaporeans. That should be one area that they can truly claim to have expertise in.<br />
<br />
If there has ever been a national policy document that details the <b>risk-adjusted</b> cost-benefit analysis of mass immigration, I'd certainly like to see it.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
newsjunkiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12526398623350365457noreply@blogger.com1