Comment on Wee Shu-Min Affair by SJI student I am ashamed by such people who claim themselves Singaporeans and mock at fellow Singaporeans. Derek you must persist and get her elitism out of your face. Luckily my school has got us knowing on this fact which would raise awareness of how Singaporeans should choose their future MPs. Such a disgrace to chinese, Wee Shu Min should should continue posting on her apology and how she has grown more useful eyes. Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by KOHO tagged for archiving 230974 Comment on Wee Shu-Min Affair by The PAP Manifesto of 1954. « A Lesser Mortal [...] at the expense of taxpayers’ money), culminating in the appearance of people such as Wee Shu Min (daughter of MP Wee Siew Kim of  AMK GRC) with her infamous statement of “Get out of my elite [...] Comment on “Where is the real Singapore today? Am I living in the Matrix?” by casey This has to be one of the most brilliant pieces ever published by the brotherhood press. Can I ask one question. Why cant you people move into a blog like most people? If you choose not to answer this. I understand. Comment on “Where is the real Singapore today? Am I living in the Matrix?” by Dave Spart You would do well to watch numerous of the documentaries made by British filmmaker Adam Curtis. They are free to watch on Google Video. His movies “The Century of the Self” and “The Trap” will explain a great deal. There is great truth in what you say. Also if you do not know about the existence of organizations such the The Bilderbergers and The Illuminati I suggest you get reading. Finally, now the financial and economic catastrophes are in full swing I thoroughly recommend you watch Bill Still’s truly breath-taking “Money Masters” video which again is free on Google Video. What is the Matrix? The Matrix is the world that has been pulled over your eyes, to blind you from the truth. With the suggestions above, all I’m offering you is the truth : nothing more. Comment on Deconstructing the Singapore Dream by stickman Those ahmorg all deserved a brotherhood shit chocolate cake. The way I see it, they deleted all brotherhood discourse. They even warned all forummers, ALL BROTHERHOOD DISCOURSE WILL BE DELETED> End result they became extinct instead. The way I see it, its survival of the fittest. If you are not in the league then dont make threats. If you do, it fair game for anyone to cut you to size. Comment on Deconstructing the Singapore Dream by Ieatnutsfordinner abs said January 23, 2009 at 3:43 pm Trust me. You dont ever want those guys to help you. 4 or 5 yrs ago. In the Pacific Basin gaming network, a group of EU and US gamers thought it was a very good idea to set up the international gaming confederation. This was supposed to be something like NAFTA. One of their agendas was to limit the powers of privateers like the brotherhood. I dont think they wanted to kill them, but it would not be too far fetched to say they certainly wanted them to be put into something like Indian or aborigine reservations. They considered them vermins. Many were surprised when the IGF were getting their act together, bros didnt stop them. They didnt even protest. Infact, many said, they even gave technical assistance and even helped them behind the scenes to secure the signatures as it was not easy to get such a thing passed. When the IGF sat down for their first meeting to read a resolution to force the brotherhood to register. Unbeknown to them, out of 9 spokesmen 10 were secret brotherhood proxies. They had all been bribed or coerced into supporting their hidden agenda through the network of guilds. At around the same time, brotherhood forces parachuted elite mercenaries to seize all their communications and to arrest the ICG representatives in the virtual under trumped up charges. For 12 hours the game was even down, a complete blackout. It was executed with such military precision – first they hit the communications, sealed off the major trade routes, established blockades and declared martial law. It was done with only a handful of people, not a whole lot. Within 24 hours they had all but cut off the balls of the ICG – then under these conditions, they sent their diplomats to discuss terms and conditions for a new peaceful con-existence pact, they called the pact of steel. By that time, their tanks had taken over every single building. All ICG allies had by this time been neutralized and an exclusion zone was in force effectively blockading the planet D’ni. This was when they started to negotiate terms with the ICG. It is dangerous when you create a game. People will always play it. And what if they play to win? Use you brain. Comment on Deconstructing the Singapore Dream by The Singapore Daily » Blog Archive » Weekly Roundup: Week 04 [...] Misanthropic And Loving It!: I live in a country populated by idiots – The Intelligent Singaporean: Deconstructing the Singapore Dream [Wai Chung's review of Tan Yong Soon's book “Living the Singapore Dream” sheds light on the [...] Comment on Deconstructing the Singapore Dream by reader2 is this piece a…partial joke? Comment on Deconstructing the Singapore Dream by discarded By the way, I am shoestring but my posts are always “discarded” whenever I used that moniker and associated email. Comment on Petition for the Resignation of Mr Lee Hak Boon, Principal of Catholic High School by Damian Catholic High is a good school. Most of my classmates and friends do not take that petition seriously though. Comment on According to college women : Seventy Percent of men are not marriage material ? by sleepless in singapore Just to add a quick one. I also consider myself fairly well off compared with what is out there in the marriageable market. Furthermore I am not of those who feels the need to make polite excuses for not having any kids or why I am not setting up home yet. While a large part of it has to do with compatibility and Money certainly, but another unspoken aspect which I believe is more important is chemistry. I doesn’t have to be flashy, but it must come off honest and authentic. For example if you take 10:39 pm http://aaron-ng.info/blog/how-to-avoid-being-convicted-of-sedition.html#comment-17864 anyone doing the samething would probably get brick bats. Here he comes across as such a lame liar, but he pulls through, why? You see that is not so easy to answer. Why can some people get away with it all the time? While others only seem to get one bite at the cherry and no more? Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by FREE INTERNET LIBRARY BOARD Do you really want to know the A to Z about Community Regulation? Do you want to know your rights? What’s really been taken away from you as a netizen? Click here for the full 360 degree sweep. http://magnezium.blogspot.com/2008/06/internet-deregulation.html This has been brought to you by the FILB. “One is always glad to be of service.” Comment on According to college women : Seventy Percent of men are not marriage material ? by Sarah Maybe a bit late to jump into the discussion here, but I just wanted to add my thoughts. I would consider myself fairly well educated, reasonably articulate individual who earns approximately double the salary of the average marriageable man, based on your definition. I reckon I would be hard pressed to find someone within my pay bracket, if that were what I am looking out for. I think that if we were to set aside traditional chauvanistic values regarding men having to bring home the bacon etc, what women desire (I believe) is an intellectual and emotional connection, and the income aspect should theoretically not matter so much. Test this out by asking your average fairly well educated Singaporean woman if she would be content to marry a rich, uneducated loanshark ah beng. Chances are, if she were anything like me, the answer is a resounding no. One other thing that I would like to add regarding the purported high expectations of Singaporean women, is that our asian values demand that we “marry up”, where “up” is defined by success in career, wealth etc, this gives women here who embrace the traditional values very little options, because she will have difficulty respecting the man who lacks financial and material success. Comment on Journey to the West? by patriot Singaporeans blame Singaporeans. Singaporeans blame Foreign Talents. Foreign Talents say they are unwelcomed and bullied. Singaporeans blame their Leaders. Singaporean Leaders think their Citizens lazy, stupid and have to nanny them(citizenry) IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR THIS TINY COUNTRY?? patriot. Comment on Journey to the West? by Elaine I am not an “intelligent” Singaporean who aced my A level, bagged a scholarship and won numerous national competitions. I am only an average Singaporean who was born overseas in Japan because of my parents’ job; educated in Singapore, Japan, US, Australia and Hong Kong due to family circumstances but who nevertheless considered myself Singaporean. I am not a top student but one individual in the healthcare profession that Singapore heavily needs. And the all these years abroad, I have only considered myself a Singaporean, not so much Asian, not so much Chinese but a Singaporean. When the arrogant Chinese boost to the “Ang Mohs” that “Chinese” ruled Singapore, I would be the first to draw the line between Singapore and China, making it clear that Singaporeans rule Singapore and that Singapore is multicultural (many “Ang Mohs” actually thought Singapore was being colonised by China). Deep inside me, I am a proud Singaporean. However, all these changed when I returned to Singapore 6 months ago. I was ridiculed my my fellow Singaporean for “faking” an “Ang Moh” accent that I cannot control. Yet when I eventually shake off that “Ang Moh” accent to speak English the Singapore-style, I was blamed for being incapable of speak “perfect English”. It’s clear my fellow Singaporeans didn’t like me. I was picked all for all the things I do and said. My overseas edge and culture were not appreciated by “vibrant” Singapore the way fellow Singaporeans appreciate the differences and open-mindedness of the true-blue “Ang Mohs”. I was expected to think Singaporean, act Singaporean, speak Singaporean. When my education and values clashed with Singapore’s politics and healthcare practice, I was told that Singapore is a world class city that has first world healthcare standards that I cannot agree with. While I expected that I would learn skills from my mentor in Singapore as an intern, her focus was on proving herself right to me, that Singapore is better than Australia and to show me that her diploma education at NYP was better than my university education. She has made her point and she acted to break my spirit by failing me. The people here are cold, there is no emotional support for students and there is no guiding. Students - are supposed to suck up to supervisors. Full stop. One day, two Australian podiatrists told me “Singapore is not meant for Singaporeans… I shouldn’t have done my internship in Singapore”. They left Singapore the following week when their two years contract expires. With me were two other “overseas interns”. One an Australian Vietnamese and the other a Singapore born-Indonesian who was educated for most part of her life in Singapore. They echoed the same thing and told me life is easier for them as interns here because they are non-Singaporeans because Singaporeans hate Singaporean. True enough, these two other interns, my seniors - older and wise and doing doing their masters had things a lot easier than myself. When I have a question to ask, I was often given the reply “what do you think?” or “go and find out”. Please understand that I wouldn’t have seeked her advice if I knew the answer or have any avenue of finding out. When I was asked to do a home-modification project, I was not informed that there are sample resources in the hospital that I could used. I spent 2 days of near sleepless nights researching for information and planning. The other girl was given a brochure and quotation list for similar duty. I ended up doing a bigger and better proposal but was told it’s not practical due to cost. For someone barely two weeks back in Singapore after being overseas for a decade, I do not know costs here. Nevertheless, she did not direct me to the available resources. I only found out when the other girl told me about this. With it, she added: “I am glad I am not Singaporean and never told her I was born and bred in Singapore”. I shivered. On the final day of my internship. I was asked a question about Singapore’s politics. About NCSS and MYSC. Both are abbreviations that I have never heard of before which I do not understand how they are related to SGH or neurology. I failed this component. For the same “politics” part, that “Indonesian” girl was asked “What are the differences between A class wards, B class wards and C class wards?” For sure, she received full marks. Couple of weeks ago, one of my superiors had a casual discussion with me and another colleague that she thinks Singapore has good employment policy because if I need someone from India to fill a position here at half the cost, she could do it anytime. Western countries in general doesn’t allow it due to protectionism and employment laws and that is not good for the centre’s budget. I cringed. To employ a trained staff here in Singapore (I cannot name my occupation sorry), it would cost about $2000 whereas someone from poorer countries are willing to do it for less than $1000 per month. I wanted to inform her that an equivalent personnel in Australia, UK or US would expect a minimum of $4000 starting as a fresh grad. But I did not. I have learned it that hard way that Singapore in Singapore do not like a different opinion from someone in a lower position. All I felt was a sense of lost for myself and Singapore. I hope she realised that one day, she could also be replaced by a Filipino willing to do her work at double the weekly hours but for half her pay - when she reaches 40. Friends here, they are cold. I thought we share something similar. Yet when we met, they have already become experts in office politics with topics like “sleeping with bosses” and “back-stabbing that bitch” coming up in every small chats. I know we have grown different and drifted apart. Back to ethics, maybe I should share with you that I have once been told by someone at a prominent hospital here that I should not waste too much time with C class patients because they are subsided and pay only $27/ hour. A class charges are around $150/ hour. I might have interpreted that wrongly but strong arguments are required for me to change this interpretation. 6 months in Singapore and I am convinced that I have no friends and reasons strong enough to make me stay. 6 months and I have not felt and warmth, vibrancy, open-mindedness and opportunities in this self-acclaimed world class city. 6 months and I have suffered enough humiliation and disappointment as a Singaporean in Singapore that none of the 7 other countries that I have lived in ever made me felt. It is an outright insult that I felt more foreign in my own country than in a “foreign country”. Therefore, I made a very painful decision recently to denounce my Singapore citizenship so I am now enjoy the benefits of being a “foreign talent” in Singapore for a short while until I return to my new home many miles away. They have not lost only a trained healthcare professional but also someone who has got huge financial capacity to invest heavily in Singapore. I do not think Singapore is the best place for business but I am willing to do it because I love Singapore. Sadly, Singapore does not love me. So the many multi-millions that my family has got now get pumped in US and Australia that happily give my dual citizenship, a decent income approx. 2.5X that I would get in Singapore as a healthcare professional and a tidier profit margin in business investment. The grass is not greener over there but it is definitely better than Singapore - a place not meant for Singaporeans as my “Ang Moh” friends have called. I am sharing my experience because I hope someone someday will understand what Singapore has lost and do some serious reflection. Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by BROTHERHOOD ARCHIVES “The ides of March of Barisan Nasional?” Auto-Crawler N-95 Google: 9989-0038 Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by irdeta What i really cannot understand is why the likes of Alex, BL and George did not just sit down and talk this over with the really reasonable people like Harphy, Scholarboy and Darkness? It wouldn’t have turned ugly like this. As it is, its a lose even from the word go. I mean, if I am going to use the lower foyer for a wedding. As a matter of courtesy, I will inform all my neighbors in the void deck one full month ahead. In this case, all they seem to do is to say. Oh we are going to deregulate. It is good for you trust us. We dont need to discuss it with you as we said, it is good for you, trust us. We don’t need to address any of your concerns either. Trust us, it is good for you. We don’t even require a referendum, as we said for the umpteen time. IT’S BLOODY GOOD FOR YOU! SO TAKE YOUR COD LIVER OIL AND BE HAPPY ABOUT IT! You have to be kidding me right??? This is not how civilized and educated people go abt soliciting real and meaning change. Not the better at least. Keep up the good work care taker of this site. You’re doing an immensely valuable service. Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by BROTHERHOOD ARCHIVES google: 9936734-00327-882 Comment on Why I Would Like to Leave by BROTHERHOOD ARCHIVES Why Freeing Up The Press Just Means “You Want To Die Ah?” By now I am sure most of you are familiar with Cherian and his stellar plans of freeing up our press. I have absolutely no idea where his seminal article is rotting in right now. But I do faintly remember the gist of it; where Cherian advances a host of reasons why he believes a freer press would be able to successfully seed the supreme good and even drive out the dystopian bad from our society. Now if you haven’t read that article; don’t worry, as what he has to say can more or less be compressed into a postage stamp. In washing machine language it goes something like; more freedom = better press / less freedom = net will continue to be a zoo. My feel is Cherian’s formulation deserves closer rexamination as the sum of what he’s forwarding is really closer to alchemy than anything that resembles cold cut logic; in a nut shell, he postulates by simply ‘opening’ up on a regulated press. This magically ‘opens’ up endless opportunities for a broader all inclusive national discourse that will hopefully recruit an eclectic class of readers who may be willing to indulge in a spot of literary Sudoku. Now obviously Cherian has never read an article entitled, “why I will never ever read a blog or ever.” Am I surprised such repressed views do from time to time secret their way from the cloistered cloves of the sisterhood to the public square? Nope, only because I know the sisters of perpetual hesitation (SPH). It’s even conceivable the whole idea of freeing up the press will exacerbate the decrease the aperture for free speech; here one really needs to dwell deeper in the whole issue of what really accounts for the lag between what is usually published and how it comes across; is the disconnect simply a function of a systematic disorder, one presumably brought forth by a constriction of the state? Or is it even possible many of these journalist have simply lost touch with the broader community of readers? Are they really so out of touch, when one of the sisterhood’s mother superior Sumiko sighs; “I’ve missed the boat.” A cheery chorus of “our aim must be improving” resounds? According to Cherian one reason why our net these days looks like a zoo, is because the MSM aren’t stepping in to do the job of slaking the thirst of the collectively conscious – now I am not saying Cherian’s wrong. I am not even saying he doesn’t quite understand the finer issues related to the whole idea of re-constituting the intellectual deficit needed to sustain a free and independent press. Only if you buy into his idea that we have a ‘crippled press,’ then you must also accept that what makes up its attribution must be so riven, that they must be so complacent and supine that they are incapable of stepping up to the role demanded of them. It gives me no pleasure to say this, but of late, I’ve even been toying with the idea ; if the press were actually given the freedom which Cherian has been harking for; can they even be entrusted to do the right thing? And not abuse this new found freedom to assert their hold on our collective consciousness by using ever more nefarious means? Of course, we all like to buy into the idea that the press corps in general comprises of an eclectic pool of averagely educated aspirants who all seek the truth very much like all of us and perhaps they can even be counted on to do the right thing. The problem with that sort of logic is. While it remains palpably true; every vocational calling tends to make representations concerning how power and politics affect people to master or in some way continue to assert their hold on the public. Yet, not all oligarchies make these representations and in fact master and control them so as to regularly bring goodies to people. It didn’t happen to the nuclear technologies who promised us all sixpence for wattage with the advent of the nuclear age; or even with nutritionist, who once wax lyrical about solving global hunger by being able to deliver 3 square meals into something as compact as a pill. Neither did the much heralded age of supersonic air travel bring with it the promise of cheaper and faster trans continental flights – when I consider how every door man in the business class lounge even knows how I want my bacardi and lime served up. This is the vital distinction that needs to be grappled with when we consider the idea of freeing up the press; knowing what’s good doesn’t mean people will necessarily deliver good, not when it runs counter to their interest – such vocational territorial instincts are just confined to journalist but one can even say it extends right across to the spectrum of trades to explain why opticians suddenly turn into undertakers when they insist on telling us no end how Lasik is still very much in the experimental stage and its long term effects are still unknown. Or why professional call girls never ever accept American Express – This requires us to ask further what really makes up the marrow of the bones of a free press? Does it just require freeing it up as Cherian said? Or does it require something more in the way of complimentary thoughtware? Here what we need to understand is the modern idea of the oppositional writer, the journalist who writes against power, who writes against the political order of his day or the even questions the whole apparatus of assimilation and the marketing manifesto. Is essentially a person who never once honed his skills in the environment of openness as Cherian likes to us to believe. On the contrary his crèche requires him to struggle against the acute sense that he may be living in a reductively binary culture that threatens to level the field of possibilities no end; in this dystopian landscape, where you are either successful or a failure; a scholar or a peasant; with us or against us; functional or autistic; patriot or a lunatic in the fringe; and so its conceivable when such a writer commits himself to waging an un relentless war against that flattening of the field of possibilities; he may even be question the whole idea of state imposed ‘realism’ on how we should all define organizational and personal success. Against this backdrop, this effectively demolishes the myth freedom to write in the comfort of ease without the fear of state inspired harassment, persecution and bullying could even produce what we like to call the oppositional writer. Against this backdrop where such a writer wordsmiths; writing ceases to be writing in the true sense and what emerges is its not designed to change anything as much as it strives to preserve something intact; that which is worthy could be something as dreamy as having the right to read poetry or even a battle royale that attempts to take on the necessary lie of every successful regime. I suspect here freedom does little to inure the oppositional writer with the right spirit to tease out the nuances and to seek out the greys in our omnipresent binary world. If anything when that day comes when writers and this includes journalist, bloggers or even the diarist is described in post scripted terms as having the freedom to write anything they want; it has probably meant real writing that continually seeks out the truth has dwindled to near nothingness, it will probably also mean that the thing we’re talking about when we use the word, ‘truth’ has reached a terminal end. [Written By Darkness – The Brotherhood Press 2008 / Social-Political – EP 99374655-2008 – This article was first posted in the Singapore Daily @ Sunday, May 04, 2008, 8:48:42 AM – this document has been sent by a auto crawler and is powered by a N-95 Archiver programmed by the Interspacing Federation of the Brotherhood on behalf of the newly formed Free Virtual Library Board based in Primus Aldentes Prime – copy serialization is managed wholly by the IMG / Serialization: 907392-0092ELFIMAN / Retrieval Date: 2015] Last Message Dear Readers, Recently certain events have prompted me to re-evaluate the role & relevance of the Intelligent Singaporean in the Singapore socio-political blogosphere. These events have forced me to reconsider whether continuing my aggregation work furthers the original cause of IS. The original intention of IS was that it would act as a mutual ground of exchange and to facilitate civil discussion about socio-political issues in Singapore. The blogosphere has however evolved rapidly in the intervening year and IS is no longer able to serve the changing needs of the blogosphere today. I have therefore decided that this would be an appropriate time for me to redefine the nature of my participation in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, this includes the discontinuation of IS as it currently stands. Rest assured all previously published content will be retained and will continue to be accessible to the public-at-large. It has been a privilege to have been involved in the undertaking of such a project. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to IS in one way or another, including all the readers who have supported my work. My only regret is that I will no longer be able to provide you with the same convenience in navigating the socio-political blogosphere that I have been able to with the Intelligent Singaporean. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. InSp. Last Message Dear Readers, Recently certain events have prompted me to re-evaluate the role & relevance of the Intelligent Singaporean in the Singapore socio-political blogosphere. These events have forced me to reconsider whether continuing my aggregation work furthers the original cause of IS. The original intention of IS was that it would act as a mutual ground of exchange and to facilitate civil discussion about socio-political issues in Singapore. The blogosphere has however evolved rapidly in the intervening year and IS is no longer able to serve the changing needs of the blogosphere today. I have therefore decided that this would be an appropriate time for me to redefine the nature of my participation in the blogosphere. Unfortunately, this includes the discontinuation of IS as it currently stands. Rest assured all previously published content will be retained and will continue to be accessible to the public-at-large. It has been a privilege to have been involved in the undertaking of such a project. I would like to thank all those who have contributed to IS in one way or another, including all the readers who have supported my work. My only regret is that I will no longer be able to provide you with the same convenience in navigating the socio-political blogosphere that I have been able to with the Intelligent Singaporean. Thank you all for your patience and understanding. InSp. Suspension This Blog is Suspended Until Further Notice. All Inconvenience Caused is Regretted. It’s Official: The Singapore Government Has Blasted Off To Cyber Space! Man it had to happen – it’s bound to happen – and now it’s finally happened. What am I talking about? The Singapore Government has decided to put on their space suits and magnetic booties to explore cyber space big time. It’s all here in this article: http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_150344.html Nope it’s not just talk this time, it’s real and just in case you have any doubts, I have even gutted out the juicy bits just to show you how serious they are in projecting into the virtual: “AN IT-SAVVY government agency here owns an island – but one which does not exist in the real world. Along with at least two other agencies, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) has bought real estate to operate in a universe that exists only online. This virtual world, called Second Life, is visited by more than 8.9 million residents from about 100 real-world countries. Besides the IDA, the Singapore Tourism Board and Economic Development Board have bought stakes there – not for commercial gain, but to reach their audiences, or to explore operations in a virtual world. Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan, revealing this yesterday, noted that life in this digital age was making the world increasingly porous, so it was important for people to ‘exploit the opportunities opening up’ in the cyberworld.” Now I know most of you don’t really know what the virtual is – it remains the stuff of I know, but not really. So I am going to spend a few minutes just laying it out. In a nut shell it’s a computer-based simulated environment that’s no different from any other domain. Granted there are a few kinks in this surreal world which still reminds one it is real – usually its always the small stuff, like you could break a chair and it breaks exactly the same way all the time – plasma guns never ever jam in real life and if you die, you can always come back next week, that sort of thing. Having said all that life in the three-dimensional graphical representations of the virtual world is very ‘real.’ Real enough to suggest that if you tabulated all the trade that goes on in a virtual environment in Norrath, it even has a GDP that’s equal to a country like Russia! Real enough even to suggest millions are traded in the sale of ray guns, space ships and minerals. Along with all this, of course is the ordinary stuff that one usually finds in the real world – real world rules such as politics, economics, sociology, technology and of course the means to put it all together. I mean there are many genres of the virtual world, I can really go on all day to just list them all and along with what makes them so unique – Second Life – although not games, per se, but more like virtual environments that can include gaming – Entropia Universe, The Sims Online, Red Light Center, Kaneva, Weblo, particularly massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as EverQuest, Ultima Online, Lineage, World of Warcraft, or Guild Wars all add up to form the virtual environment that continues to attract people to sign up and define their “live” in computer worlds instead of the real. It’s enough to ask to why? And now even the Government has decided to come into this domain – I don’t need to know why, there are really a thousand motivations accounting for it – it’s simple economics, where people flock to one place trade, transactions, ideas and possibilities happen. There is a whole lot of happening in the virtual realm and most of it generates even a strong enough gravity to attract real world businesses like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Reebok, Nissan and Calvin Klein to stake a claim on their ant hill. We are not talking peanuts here, it’s big business conservatively estimated the market is somewhere around the upper reaches of over $1.2 billion on (earth) year and the ‘underground’ trade is at least 4 to 5 times this figure. So am I so surprised the Singapore government is sending an exploratory space ship to find out more about this universe? Nope. But don’t expect everything in the virtual world to be what it supposed to be – for one it’s not so different from the wild wild west. Most of the communities living in the virtual are very much like the early American pioneers who once transverse the great Sierra plains to stake a claim on ‘home.’ Whether you’re a person, a multi national company or even the government, it counts for squat all in the virtual world – the term ‘brave new world’ holds as much currency as words printed on the back of a chewing gum wrapper – its a gross understatement – so just remember every advantage, network and tool that works in the real world is pretty useless there! In the virtual your might as well throw away your clip boards along with all your real world tools of making sense of the world – nothing is what it ever seem – so be warned. Having said that the virtual world like any frontier is the happening place for entrepreneurs – we do a brisk trade on all sorts of stuff in the virtual, from selling space stations to even magnetic boots. There’s even motels along with retail outlets that peddles kinky bondage paraphernalia, whips, ball gags, rubber suits and all just like the real world! And it’s all real – real enough for thousands of people to even give up decent paying jobs just to work, live and play in a place like second Life, and you know what they even make real money that allows them to turn the wheel of life in the real world! Big businesses are also muscling into the action. Avatars (virtual characters) can visit a virtual Reebok shop and even customize their footwear. All this of course is made possible by the game master, the people who put the roads, building along with figuring how fast a stream should run and how many times you need to dip you hook, line and sinker to land a virtual trout, but again don’t expect them to know what’s really happening in the virtual world – there are plenty of blind spots and alternate universes in the virtual world – as the saying goes, there are chambers within chambers – which even the people who put it all together don’t even have an inkling what’s really at the heart of the virtual community. Through the years, you’ve be surprised how many ways we’ve figured to perfect our stealth technology that makes us invisible. For one the virtual realm is too big and there is so much human collaboration going you could even be assured of one thing – if you asked them ten questions, you likely to get nine sensible answers and one that sums it all up: “hey you go figure that one out yourself, we just put up the stuff together!” So don’t be surprise space cadet Balaji Sadasivan, when you just basking in your artificial beach beneath a sun that never ever sets in your brand new virtual island – where waves can be produced ten foot high for surfing at the press of a button, each precisely the same as the last. Nor does this virtual paradise even have the mild inconveniences of crabs, jelly fishes and pesky creepy crawlies. A place where you might even say to yourself: this just feels as if – how nature should be – don’t be alarmed, if you look up into the bluest of the blue virtual sky and suddenly an armada of space ships appears over the horizon lowering down their landing gear (no if the green starboard lights are blinking, its not an invasion. It’s just a friendly visit – don’t forget that, so keep the safety on those plasma blasters) – don’t reach for your plasma gun, be cool – don’t make any sudden movements, because our scanners can even see through your bunny trunks –As the alien steps out from the space ship, I know our diplomats look funny (we are working on issuing them some new uniforms). It’s probably Astro Boy. Don’t be alarmed by the brotherhood gothic garb and baby bonnet – after the exchange of pleasantries a conversation of sorts will probably follow (that’s how we train our diplomats), it starts with the weather and stuff like “how you’re enjoying yourself?” – “can we offer you a complimentary drink?” After that of course, they serious stuff slips in, “By the way, we are the brotherhood do you mind if we just park our fleet in one corner of your island? Coming to think of it have you renewed you license? Did you realize you need to buy recreational coupons and pay GST to lie down on this beach?” Remember always: anything can happen in the virtual – tables can get switched around- sand shifts – but it’s a start a very good start and welcome, we have been expecting you – what took you so long? [This has been brought to you by Aurora / written by Darkness, Harphoon, Astroboy & Trajan / Socio-political / Economics / Strategic Studies / Brotherhood Press 2007/ 983728-90 ES The Brotherhood Press 2007] Deconstructing the Singapore Dream This essay talks about the Singapore Dream. It will be integrated into Christopher’s current project Sowing the Seeds of Prosperity, a beginner’s guide to personal finance There is a lot of talk about what the Singapore Dream is. Books have been written about it but there are seldom any specifics on what it really is. Could the Singaporean Dream be one where a person becomes a millionaire? Is it the accumulation of all the 5 Cs? Or is it is a complicated journey involving Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and reaching self-actualization? “Living the Singapore Dream”, a book written by Tan Yong Soon, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, attempts to highlight the lives of 23 Singaporeans who are living the dream. The stories were originally meant to inspire fellow Singaporeans to stretch themselves to achieve personal success and happiness in their lives. The original intention of the author was a very good one. His chapter headlines were all universally good advice. We are encouraged to “Triumph over life’s imperfections” and “Pursue your goals with passion and persistence”. But sadly, this piece of work failed to inspire me. In fact, my personal assessment of this piece of work was that it was very flawed as it showcases only a small number of elite Singaporeans and presenting a very parochial view of what success is like in Singapore. I took all 23 profiles of so called “successful” Singaporeans listed in this book and analyzed it based on some of the attributes of the people who were mentioned. Instead of focusing on what these people did like the author, I took a snapshot of who they were because this analysis can reveal underlying biases subconsciously introduced when selecting profiles of personal success. Another words, I performed some data mining with a pen and paper. Here are the results of my findings: Out of 23 profiles, only 3 were female. 20 profiles were male. Of the same 23 number of profiles, 13 came from Raffles Institution. More shockingly, only two profiles were not explicitly linked to Raffles Institution or National Junior College. Perhaps there were only two schools of renown in the sixties and seventies. All the profiles were Chinese with the exception of two, one was Malay and one was Indian. All 23 profiles showed people with University degrees. There was no mention of anyone with HSC, Polytechnic diploma’s or ITE certificates. It may be possible that there were no polytechnics in those days but the road to success was overwhelmingly confined to graduates. No lip service was even paid to late bloomers in Singapore. The only heart-warming news is that out of 23 profiles only 10 were scholars and there was an equal distribution of successful people from the public and private sectors. With these findings, we can conclude very disturbing things about the Singapore Dream if we choose to believe the answers from our senior civil servants. It looks to me that the Singapore Dream can only be lived by those from elite schools. If you do not invest enough time to your academic studies to get a solid university education, you won’t be significant enough for mention in Singapore. It is also much easier to live the dream if you are a Chinese male. Now this is fantastic news for the Rafflesian or NJCian Chinese male. My concern is what happens if you are not part of this demographic. Do you give up, emigrate and pack up to go overseas? Right now all I can say that many changes on the top are trying to convince Singaporeans that Singapore now recognizes people with diverse talents and skills. Education is being reformed to do something about the self-esteem of those who are not necessarily the best at regurgitating information. The prime minister’s latest rally is a testament that our government is committed to change. But as a concerned citizen, I can’t help but urge readers to be realistic. Change does not happen overnight as our public service organizations are run by many old-school mandarins who came from a different era. The solution lies with you, my fellow citizens. Here’s what I think you can adopt towards a better world: 1. Accept the fact that the Singapore Dream is dead. We are much better off that way. 2. Determine what actions and deeds give you a sense of meaning and pleasure and pursue it regardless of what the authorities say. 3. Do not confine yourself to working and living on this little red dot. Your ability to work in other countries and your skills are powerful tools to enforce a democracy in Singapore, policy changes will reflect the need to retain intelligent people in this country. 4. Lastly, like any finance author would recommend all of his readers. Earn money, save money and invest intelligently. Once you gain your financial freedom, no one can tell you what dream you should have. Disclaimer: The author is a NJCian Chinese male but he’s still insecure. —————- Christopher Ng Wai Chung, 32, is an IT Project manager who dabbles in personal finance and wealth management. His books, Growing your tree of Prosperity and Harvesting the Fruits of Prosperity meld his philosophical ideas with the realities of seeking financial independence in Singapore. His books can now be found in all major bookstores in Singapore. His own blog can be found in treeofprosperity.blogspot.com. He can be reached at waichung.ng@gmail.com. For more information about Chris Ng and his Prosperity Series, click here Aug 21 City of Immobilities from Sheep City OPQ 16 July 2007: Economic Development Board from Siew Kum Hong PM’s Rally Speech and Endangered Malay Families: A… from Singapore Angle Alternative Rally: Bhimbo Day Rally from To Fix a Mocking Peasant Minister George Yeo’s speech at the opening ceremony… from BEYOND SG Of the PM’s Speech from Winter Is Coming PM Lee & The Aging Population from Mr Wang Says So Why Only Dummies Search For God in the Net? – A Cautionary Tale Some articles are easy to write, others are just painful – this is the latter. I had it lying around in my inbox for months rotting away, but it seems like a good time now to just let it go when all the confetti about the ND speech has settled. It’s a very personal take on what happens when we go on-line to search for God – a cautionary tale even about how a good idea can go so very wrong so bear in mind though the message may even be humorous, the message is dead serious. If you’re not in the mood for the personals this Tuesday, skip it. Still around? You probably did it yourself didn’t you? Don’t worry it happens to the best of us – feel better now? Let’s dive in! Religion, I am sure means many things to most people and calling yourself a Christian simply means making a commitment to Jesus Christ. It also means Christians are often part of a community, where they often have to struggle with relational and personality issues which sometimes leads them to question their faith. Sometimes the shit piles up real high and the people who you placed so much faith in simply lets you down – you feel cheated and despite your best efforts, you just know deep inside they’re not worth following. Doesn’t matter how hard you pray. Or even how long you choose to hold on – eventually, you let go, sigh, pick and go leaving the body of Christ. Usually no good bye’s are necessary, they (the stayers) have seen it all before, you (the quitter) just know what you’re supposed to do, close the door quietly on your way out, suck it in and walk never ever looking back once. It’s a story that’s played out millions of times in church life all over the whole hardly a new motif – only this time. In the internet age, things are slightly different. God is in the internet! So one site I visited proclaimed. Another even suggested, “lay it down all here!” For the beat up Christian, it’s a too good to pass off without just checking it out only because most wayward Christians haven’t really abandoned Christ entirely – somewhere snuggled in the hurt and pain, he’s still there. Whether that is good or not, hey that really isn’t my call and I don’t even feel qualified to talk about it. All I can do is share with you my personal account of the before, during and after story. But as far as spiritual bumming is concerned, you know that place when you’re in but out in limbo trying to figure out whether it’s all worth it to go back in again or stay out in the cold. The possibility of discovering God again in the internet has an unmistakable allure. Even at my end point, I sensed church contained something I desperately needed if I really wanted to live a purposeful life. As much as I tried to fill my first Sunday’s out of church with things, I still felt the pang of separation from the body of Christ. I missed the communion, the warmth of fellowship, along with the sense of community which comes from being part of a shared community. It didn’t take me very long to figure out faith when it isn’t nourished eventually develops a crusty shell of cynicism. After a while one finds all sorts of justification to give meaning to the cause of the embattled Christian. I told myself this again and again I really have to make the effort to find God even if he’s in the internet. After all didn’t he appear as burning bush when he spoke to Moses, so what stop him from talking through the net? These days, I am told even the Devil wears Pravda. That was the kicker that led me to search for God in the net – it’s amazing, how the mind often finds the right facts to make an argument whole even if they’re holes so large that one can walk right through them. For one I came out with so many open minded assumptions about being able to find God in the internet, even my neuron-surgeon neighbor suggested that I should pop in as she said, “just to make sure everything is alright upstairs.” That could be the reason why she doesn’t answer the door bell these days. You see I just figured out God was simply like some great industrialist. You know like General motors or Natsteel and the Bible is simply a instruction manual, study it diligently and I am sure, you’ve be cruising away nicely on all six cylinders. There lies the danger and before I continue further let me just say: this is a cautionary tale on why faith should never ever be taken lightly especially if one harbors the illusion of doing it DIY style. My haphazard journey to rediscover God comprised of two things, studying the Bible and reading the word – I reasoned how wrong could I really go? Yeah I am sure, I would probably have to winnow the hucksters and charlatans from the real, but hey that’s true for everything these days, even when comes to buying a bar of soap, so it shouldn’t be so hard after all – should it? Cut to the chase, trying to find God with Bible in cyberspace is just plain dicey. It’s easier to believe the benefit of a good education coupled with reading broadly inoculates one against the usual diatribe that’s one there – you know what I mean God is a alien, sell everything because the end time is coming – those sort of messages proliferate the net like those leaflets that clogs up the post box – most of the time, we just chuck them out, but every now and then a catchword reads: “hey this makes sense!” Remember what I said: religion is dangerous! After a whole month of wading through it DIY style: It didn’t take me long to realized the more I looked for God in the net, the more confused I became. Firstly, I realized God blatantly contradicts himself time and again. I even came to the conclusion, God the CEO of Judaeo-Christian faith is a confirmed psychopath, guilty of all sorts of crimes against humanity. Don’t believe me. Consider this: God appears to have no sense of scale and perspective. He is prepared to kill people for the most trivial of reasons. He even tries to rub out poor mind-ye-business Moses on his journey to Egypt because he forgot to circumcise himself. Yes, it’s even written, don’t believe me look at Job 15;26, “Anyone who is born whose flesh is not circumcised on the eighth day is… to be smashed down and annihilated, to be uprooted from the face of the earth.” There you go, he’s a lousy engineer – I mean what kind of industrialist designs something that needs to be modified, it’s like one of those dodgy sock manufacturers that sells you a black and white pair and expects you the dye the latter black as if it’s the most commercially sensible thing to do – why didn’t he just lob it off himself, if it bothered him so much? By the second week in the net, I even came to the conclusion not only does God regularly make a mountain out of a mole hill. He even makes Idi Amin look like the Pope. In Samuel 6, he toasted 50,000 curious peeking Tom’s for looking into the box: the Ark of the Covenant. How’s that for “overacting?” I wonder how in their right mind would toast folks for opening the cookie jar just to feast their eyes (You think the brotherhood is paranoid? We are like little mother Teresa’s in lace compared to him!) Despite forming my natural prejudices about God – he did have at least one redeeming quality: he was honest about his psychopathic tendencies. To be fair, he even came clean with an open admission he was a serial killer. Don’t believe me? Consider this: “I shall subject you to terror, consumption and a burning fever that will consume your eyes making you blind and short of breath,” How’s that? By the third week, I reckoned, If God were still prancing around cross dressing as a burning bush, Amnesty International and United Nations Security Council would probably be printing out enough red cards to sink a battleship to either condemn or rein in his excesses. It didn’t take me long to realize after my DIY attempt at finding God in the internet, the verdict is clear as day. God needs to be promptly arrested and brought to account for his crimes against humanity and should be tried in the Hague alongside Slobodan Milosevic, General Manuel Antonio Noriega, Idi Amin, Sadam Hussein and Adolf Hitler – that’s really how bad it got. And just to cap you off, if you think, I am too hard on God consider this: he doesn’t think too much of you. In fact he even lamented how one of his biggest boo’s boo’s was to have made humans, “…….I was grieved at heart,” he says in Genesis 6:6. So there you have it, you just an aberration in the wider scheme of things. The other thing that regularly cropped up during my search for God in the internet was this: why does God always need a little bit of money? I mean you can’t go to any Christian site on the internet without missing a neon sign that says, “give me money!” Hey what’s happening up there in the corporate board room in heaven? Who is the financial controller up there? Don’t they any money sense up there? What happened to standard operational procedures, accountability and the nuts and bolts of being financially independent? Don’t they have something resembling the Sarbannes Oxley Act in heaven? Why is every Christian site begging for a bit of money all the time? Why is God always running short? Can someone please tell me? I know Kenneth Lee “Ken” Lay (April 15, 1942 – July 5, 2006) an American businessman, best known for his role in the widely-reported corruption scandal that led to the downfall of Enron Corporation died recently. So had the big guy appointed him as the new financial controller up there? Could that be the reason why there’s always a deficit? By the fourth month of searching for God in the internet, I realized there is a reason why serial killers often claim that they hear God’s voice and are simply acting under orders. He is indeed the president of the looney tunes society. It’s enough for one to roll over in laughter and ask: Who is truly in bondage?: those of us who acknowledge the glorious emptiness of the universe, or those who worship a God who doesn’t even make an ounce of sense? As I mentioned in the very beginning of this article, this is a cautionary message on the perils of trying to search for God in the internet – trust me winging it alone to find God in the internet just spells trouble and it doesn’t matter whether you happen to be a Christian, Muslim or even someone who worships Mickey mouse – it shouldn’t never ever be done, not even experimentally – the verdict is clear, it produces shitty results no matter how you cut it! At best you end up (like moir) so confused you probably need color coded shoes to stop you banging into walls. At worst, you could even end up getting mixed up with some cult that’s out to do real damage to people and planet in the name of God. It’s a shitty pay out and trust me and it just doesn’t work. Truth is simply this religion may be the written word. But words often have the capacity to transcend their dictionary meaning to encapsulate the broader “truth.” Taken too it’s extremely, it’s a powerful astringent that will always be the preferred means to recruit fanatics only because it can be cut in any way to fit the bill. Is it such a wonder that so many these days are drawn to radicalism these days by the those who know only too well how powerful a tool it is to further their own nefarious and destructive agenda’s. Be it spreading hatred, fanning divisions, sharpening the sense of disenchantment it’s just plain and simply dangerous – that’s why trying to find God in the internet is just so dumber than dumb. It’s enough for me to consider going back to church to consider the return to the fellowship, community, service and what it really means to be a Christian. Someday perhaps even an embattled Christian such as myself will return….one day…. I shall return……for only one reason alone and the rest can take a hike – in the name of my father. [This has been brought to you by Aurora / written by Darkness / Spiritual / Brotherhood Press 2007/ 983725 ES The Brotherhood Press 2007] National Day Rally 2007 Speech By Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, At National Day Rally 2007 from SingaporeSurf Hsien Loong’s National Day Rally from SingaporeSurf Singapore National Day – PM LHL Rally: Budding Tensions? from SingaporeSurf Bloggers’ reactions to PM Lee’s National Day Rally… from theonlinecitizen Extreme Makeover, CPF edition from Hear ye! Hear ye! Singapore, Break My Heart from SingaporeSurf A good speech – but some points to keep in mind from theonlinecitizen NDP Rally- Blue Shirt; Blue Heart? from The Anti Neo-Democracy Theorist Another set of conflicting figures on university enrolment from theonlinecitizen The pariah in the National Day speech 2007 http:/… from My sketchbook Initial thoughts on National Day Rally 2007 from Hear ye! Hear ye! Did the PM mention the old flats in Hougang and Potong… from nofearSingapore Aug 19 Towards a Citizenship and Constitution Day from Singapore Angle On The ‘Dire’ State Of The Singaporean Blogsphere from SingaporeSurf PM Lee’s National Day Rally Speech from SingaporeSurf Greedy landlord + helpless tenant = UGLY SINGAPOREAN from nofearSingapore Suicide Rate Climbs Despite Good Times from SingaporeSurf Shame on the Police from Mr Wang Says So The anticipated rally speech on Sunday from My sketchbook Race, religion and Negarakuku from Yawning Bread Sampler A Guide For Socio-Political Bloggers to Survive The Extinction Event What’s the Dodo program again? – The proposition: that socio-political blogging accomplishes nothing because it’s sorely lacking in affirmative action. This is gloss from a two part series, albeit with my own personal twist on how Socio-political bloggers can survive the extinction event. If you have not read the two part series please do so, as it will provide you the foundation to understand much of what I have to present in this article. Part 1 and Part 2 This is my first attempt at “machine” writing with the kind guidance of my colleagues who have both been patient and very helpful to give me insightful tips. I has always been one of my dreams to write for the brotherhood press and this is a debut article. The general theme is to tie in many of the loose ends mentioned in Part I and II of this series. Along with this I have also highlighted the importance of setting the right expectation, perspective and strategy for both blogger, readers and researchers if they are to thrive in this brave new age of the internet. I hope all of you enjoy it. Happy Reading. Aurora. Why “talk” isn’t just “talk” – it’s the first stage of setting the right expectation Is talk just talk? Set this along side the definition of the term ‘usefulness’ and ‘effectiveness’ and it may appear to hold true. It implies the talking accomplishes nothing. Now if you take both these notions and superglue it together, it’s like saying vacuum cleaners are “useless” because they can’t clean up the mess in the world. That’s just dumb because I can say, that’s not what it’s designed to accomplish – though the word ‘cleaner than clean’ features in the marketing tagline. What remains clear is there is a big difference between sorting out one’s living room and the broader mess in the world. This underscores the need to keep things in the right scale and perspective. Having said that, it’s understandable why even blogger frequently fall into the trap of assuming blogging can change the planet. Perusing through the annals of human history of great expectations is hardly a new theme – remember alchemy? The art of transmuting lead to gold? What about the aqua vitae aka elixir of immortality? Or the quest for the holy grail? As Darkness mentioned, every age aspires to carve out their own mythology to define ‘usefulness’ and ‘effectiveness.’ By the same corollary the digital age aspires to do the same only this time blogging is pushed to the pedestal and dressed up as the “great hope” to facilitate social, economic and political change. The case is strong only because its so ingrained in our psyche that to accomplish anything, we need to do something, it serves to fertilize and perpetuate the myth. That’s why the Dodo program is so dangerous when it’s juxtaposed against the whole preoccupation of blogging it’s often sold and marketed as a natural extension of what can and must be – this regrettably is the first stage that sets most social-political blogger up for the fall from grace – it set’s the wrong expectation! You can skip evolution – babbling is the serious stuff. One of the most serious omissions in the whole discussion of what blogging is supposed to accomplish in both the short and long run is a sort of denial which serves to elide wholesale our history as a nation. We’re not Americans. Neither did we go through the Renaissance or the tumult which shaped the collective consciousness which distinguishes the West from us. According to Darkness based on a chart he drew out, if our collective consciousness is a living organism, it will probably resemble proto-Neanderthal man who has suddenly discovered how a oversize femur can split another apes head. That puts technology and humanity in the right scale whenever we speak about socio-political blogging in Singapore. The internet age may be just as new to the West as it is to us, but seen against this patchwork of our cultural history it was to be “newer” to us than them. Only because by virtue of our cultural gaps we are still wallowing in the primordial soup of figuring out basic stuff like how to accommodate the optimal humanity quotient with this new technology. In darkness words, it’s not so different from the hilarious scene in 2001 Space Odyssey, when the aliens suddenly appeared, as in this scene: According to this math chart, form, structure and symmetry will continue to confound us. I didn’t understand it all, but I realized, if I asked too many questions, it would interrupt his thoughts so I just listened and pick out the parts that made sense to this article. In a nutshell we are still like babies babbling away – it’s early days and that’s why its premature to expect great changes and this is why the expectation, blogging is supposed to even ‘change’ is nothing less than the femur making the great leap to a space ship. In this formative stage talking fulfils the important function of harmonizing and converging collective thought to create something resembling a ecology that is uniquely Singaporean. According to darkness, he believes even those who are wise in our Government such as BG George Yeo have derived at this calculation. This he goes on to say is a very good start. Whether it’s able to produce tangible results remains a non issue: the key at this stage of primacy is nourishing it and ensuring it develops coherently by cutting away radicalism, racism and all the undesirable aspects which may root itself during its primacy. That’s one reason why when people say to me – “hey you bloggers just talk and do nothing, I say, OK, next time you’re on a flight, I’ve get my neighbors baby to land that commercial airliner – how’s that!” So let’s get the right perspective. Can talking really bring about change? What then is the best way to survive the extinction event? What if I told you, if you did nothing except just blog and not even bother about saving the whales etc – you could have such a disproportionate effect on even facilitating real and meaningful change? Don’t believe me? Consider one of the most enduring myths: the assumption words and actions need to be coupled to really bring about meaningful change. Sorry not true! Not historically, not even mathematically or even statistically – not even remotely – if it did the Gutenberg press wouldn’t been the most effective means in human history to debunk the myth the world is flat as a pizza in less than a 100 years. In relative terms today, that’s a bit like flying from Changi to London in less than 3 minutes flat! I am not saying that you just need to write your way to get a car or house. Of course not, in some cases words needs to be completed with action like baking a cake or giving your dog a bath – only understand this in comparative terms the pen is mightier than the sword or to paraphrase talking is more powerful than action when it is brought to bear on schools of thoughts and states of mind. Contrary to popular belief blogging isn’t anything near useless a caricature as it’s often depicted to be by either the MSM. For most of us it’s the only means by which civilized people regularly lay the foundation for fleshing out their ideas and sharpening them into effective tools for work, life and play. It’s hardly predation and if you think real hard about it, it’s simply an extension of the village square, where a community regularly congregates – for one real reason sometimes other than to tell others, they stand two inches taller if they don’t slouch. Or to even proclaim whole disquisitions of truths – for years mankind was always sought out this square, common ground or place. In our age, it exist in the virtual domain and here mankind is doing roughly the same as he has done through the ages – conversing, bartering, teasing along with the odd duel now and then followed by the occasional drama that rivets everyone. [This part is from darkness which he expressed with a wan of sadness as he showed me his equations. I’ve never seen him so sad before when he share with me what he believed to be the inexorable end – the impending doom that even as he said, the brotherhood is not able to prevent] I am inclined to believe, those who lament bloggers can accomplish very little except talk have simply missed the whole point. Yes, I for the doer’s their goal to change the world is divine and even noble, but even they have to struggle against the odds: indeed who can disagree fairness and equality certainly makes winning case to get off your ass and do something. But it’s closer to bravado than accomplishing anything significant only because within than worldview lies a certain arrogance and ignorance concerning how the world really is. For one this erudite lot commit the sin of assuming – the “general audience” is an eclectic pool of decently educated people probably like themselves. Who can be induced, by strong enough reasoning and dialogue to even see the good they can offer. Truth remains not everyone shares their enthusiasm especially in an age where the temptation to seek instant gratification has never before being heightened to such a degree by technology. Neither can one assume they (the general audience) even have the patience to sustain an avid interest in socio-political affairs in an age where pleasure of the written word losing the on-going battle with the digital apotheosis of mass culture. It gives me no pleasure to demolish this myth of the general audience –the prospects are at best too bleak to even contemplate on a long term basis. I have modeled the outcome at least a dozen times and on every occasion the results remain the exactly same, that socio-political scene may even disappear one day completely. That is why the message must go forth even if it lacks an imperative, rhyme or reason – as humans even we the statistical insignificant still have the hope for great expectations and this is something ants can’t do – to believe we will one day find a place called home. I hope this has not been too long, I so wanted to make a good first effort. Happy Reading Aurora. I would like to thank Darkness for spending a whole day with me, it has been a privilege sir! Long live the brotherhood! (This has been brought to you by your friend Brotherhood Controller, Aurora / Written by [lead] Aurora – Darkness / Vollariane / Cerebus / Memphisto / Prometheus / Politics Economics/ Sociology – ES 9908218D Part III – The Brotherhood Press 2007)