I confess watching the YOG opening ceremony... ...and utterly regretted it.Pre-teenage cousins and young kids glued their faces to my TV box (we had a family gathering), having been told by their schools to support the YOG. If they aren't participating, at least give their support in spirit by watching the YOG opening ceremony. I was in the same living room with these starry-eyed future generation of Singapore, accompanying them in their eagerness. I was all ready to give credit and accolade to the organisers, the working committee, the supporters and the event itself. Deep down I hoped it to succeed. I wanted it to succeed.I lingered on the thought that no matter what comes may, a Singaporean is still a Singaporean. We will roll up our sleeves, grit our teeth and gird ourselves with the 'never-say-die' resolve to see it through. So there I was fully prepared to swallow my pride and to hold my criticisms that the over-publicised event might actually pull it off. I even berated myself for being cynical and skeptical about the whole thing. SGD380+ million dollars, mind you! It's a huge sum of money.But whatever resolve I had died after some time into the show. My pre-teen viewers cringed at the ridiculous 'alien', my young audience were befuddled with the boxer, and I felt the commentator tried too hard to lift the spirit of the games. Seriously it wasn't even his fault!One of the audience remarked, "Why boxer? Why is he totally clueless about what he wants to do? At least footballer we understand." Another queried, "Where is this held, huh? Is it Marina?" And the final icing, one young one piqued, "Aiyoh, what kind of alien is it?Wow... such a pale contrast to the recent National Day. At least with the National Day parade feedback I gathered, people enjoyed the lights, sounds, colours and singing. Especially the freebies in the goody bags.We have these too at the YOG. But seriously something is amiss. This is Singapore's Youth Olympics to the world. There were lights, colours and singing alright but missing in SPIRIT!Spirit comes with youth. You just can't buy. It comes along when the youths feel this is a 'cool' event to be in and the word of mouth spreads like a wildfire. From my interactions, most of them don't give a hoot about it. It showed throughout the whole event amid the aplomb of bursting pillars of fire, zooming spotlights and fantastic stage show by the water front. There was an absence of the spirit of the youths in the event. It felt like it was all for show, a disappointing wayang of sorts. I pondered whom the event was for and if the budget given was even worth the spending. Bluntly put - disappointing show.By the agonising looks on our faces, we switched to another channel. We concurred it was too painful to watch.And I thought National Day needed more spirit and patriotism. (Old Classic) I am a Singaporean, by Dan E Read the post by Under the Willow Tree on an old classic.Brought back nostalgic memories. Blogging was a raging fever in 2006 and the government then was 'apprehensive' and 'suspicious' on the new internet media. During those times Mr Wang's blog was just 'Mr Wang Bakes Good Karma', and mrbrown was just er... mrbrown and the 'tur kwa' man!Anyway this is an absolute wonderful piece of old classic which I am re-producing here. I remembered reading and immediately felt kinship with the author. Wow... how many of us go through life in Singapore like he did?---I am a Singaporean, by Dan EI was born in 1970 at the KK hospital and grew up in a kampong near the old airport. My parents stopped at 2 after having my younger sibling.I moved from my kampong to a HDB flat in the west-end of Singapore when the government exercised the Land Reclamation Act on my kampong to build new flats.I schooled through PSLE, O-level, A-level, and took a 2.5 years Army conscription break before disrupting to return to NUS for a degree course.I followed the Singapore dream: study hard, serve the country, work hard, listen to the government and have a good life.I remember vividly an illustration from the National Education text in primary school where it depicted a happy family of four walking towards their car from a high-rise apartment.I observed the property market riding waves after waves of increase and read the dosage of how “investors” harvested profits within weeks without even seeing the apartment they bought. Inspiring.And I quietly wondered how I can afford a high-rise apartment. But I thought that the government has a plan and I went for my Reservists and IPPT.I watched my mother fell sick, admitted for emergency treatment and ICU observation. I saw the hospitable bills piled to intimidating figures but I have one and just only one mother – priceless. I knew I had enough CPF savings to cover her.I thought I knew, but the CPF Board knew better. I watched in horror as the clerk punched her calculator and calmly informed me that the combined CPF of my 3 family members could only pay for less than 15% of the $25,000 bill.I wiped out my first few years of cash savings in one cheque. Little did I know, then, that this one cheque would go on to change my Singapore dream.I researched the CPF and learned about the limited medical scheme, housing scheme, and the ever-rising minimum sum requirement. I found out that I can’t access my money even if I have a dying mother requiring an operation for which I have no cash to pay.I finally understood why some old people say, “in singapore you can die but you better don’t fall sick”.And I went for my Reservists and IPPT – but I began hating it for its inflexibility and infringement on my personal life.I started asking “why”. I questioned and discovered that no one had a satisfactory answer, (or perhaps they just didn’t want to answer) – except for slogans like “More Good Years”, “Swiss Standard of Living”, “First World nation”.No one, in fact, could tell me what constitutes a “Rainy Day” or who can decide if its going to be a rainy day. Certainly not the weatherman, I know.I took up a job that led me away from Singapore, relocating to a few locations. Someone called me a quitter subsequently.In Japan, I concluded that World-class transportation network is quite a bit more than just 4 lines running through the city.In Taiwan, I realized that Singapore is really a western society that happens to speak functional Mandarin. I learned what is civic participation, media independence, and how absolute power will corrupt absolutely eventually.I now know it is the electorate’s responsibility to ensure that the government does its job – not the other way around.I married and bought my own high-rise apartment (not a cent from the CPF) – all outside of Singapore. I found out that I don’t need a car to complete the picture in order to be happy, or to support my ego.I watched the post-911 GE and the recent Lee-junior GE. I saw Martyn See’s documentary on CSJ. I observed the emergence of political forums and their haste relocation from singapore, the evolution of the “persistently non-political” blogs, not to mention the blogs’ coverage of GE-2006.I read with interest the emergence of civic awareness that are well articulated and presented on the Internet.I am amused at the PAP’s apprehension of this new media, as well as its instinctive need to “fix” this emerging trend. I wonder how the new fix will reconcile with the new slogan, “Open and Inclusive Society”.I continue to be amused by a shriveled 80+ years old man who persists in putting on his gauntlets and meeting his imaginary opponent in a cul-de-sac. And yet when the time comes for reckoning he backpeddles and calls out for judgement without trial.I pay the government to do its job of providing governmental services to the country, including a fair, equitable and non-partisan method of upgrading older estates.I didn’t pay to be told what can or cannot be expressed as opinions, be it constructive, partisan or otherwise. I have my wife at home to discuss freedom of expression – it is not the call of a civil servant or a minister employed by my tax dollars.I have this to tell the civil servants and ministers: create more jobs, keep prices steady and try to move singapore upwards a little more in the Happy Nation Index. And stop complaining about how you cannot cope with rising oil prices, globalization, terrorism – you need to think really hard and come out with solutions.And you do really need to worry about losing confidence because you are already there: through non-performance.I am a Singaporean, who now understand the separation of State and Government, and who knows government must be managed and can indeed be changed (as opposed to some misguided musings).I am a Singaporean, and I want a democratic society based on justice and equality. And I believe we will slowly but surely dismantle the obstructions accumulated from years of apathy.So say we all. Where is the line? Before people start a 'flame war' about my post, let me put forth a few choice words:This is MY blog and my personal opinion. I do not represent any of the churches mentioned.This post is NOT to justify an apology, nor is it to apologise for being a Christian.I understand the Religious Act. I do not intend to offend anyone and I will not tolerate offensive remarks to other religions in the comments.I refer to this article "New Creation Church pastor apologises" from Today (read here).To the recent witch-hunts on Christian churches and organisations especially Lighthouse Evangelism, City Harvest and New Creation Church:What is your problem?!!Seriously I have met many people cussing under their breaths the name of Jesus. Especially so when they are in serious trouble or whenever they are faced with intimidating challenges: F-Jesus. We know what the 'F' stands for.You don't see me making a mountain out of a molehill. I don't even frown at it because His name is far above all other names. That is enough for me. He doesn't need me to 'stand up' for His name. He can take care of Himself, thank you.That goes for people who want to say about Christianity, the holy goat (as in 4 Weddings and A Funeral) or even about God. They can say all they want until the moon turns blue or kingdom comes. I take no offense at all because I don't expect those who are not of the same faith to know the truth. Truth as in the gospel truth.I wonder why is a copyrighted video put in YouTube? Is it really to share the 'truth'? I smell an intent to tear a great church down and get an europhic feeling that 'It is I who have brought this giantic religious organisation down on its knees'.Gee... allow me to share my thoughts - it's not going to change anything. Really it doesn't.Because these churches aren't build by human hands. Jesus did by His blood. That said, churches are still run by humans who are fallable.Are churches above the law of a country? Of course not! They are accountable to what they say. If you have seen the video, it does not bode on 'making fun' of other religions. And that goes to say about Lighthouse Evangelism sermons too. They were meant for their congregation who understands the context of the message.Well bad publicity is still publicity. And all we know that these churches will continue to grow from strength to strength in numbers and miracles.My opinion is that their senior pastors understand, believe and practice the principle of 'Reap what you sow'. To clarify this verse, it does not refer to sins but rather generous giving as in the context of Paul's letter. Thus I won't be surprised if  their members give generously too. And a good steward manages the finance God has blessed him with well.Recently I have seen awesome church buildings in Singapore. All I can say is 'Thank you Jesus'. Why?Imagine you toured Taj Mahal. Would we think what a selfish king he was to spend so much of his wealth on a single woman who had died? No we will rather be awed by its beauty and structure, even more touched by the story behind its origin - the love for his queen. Read here.Or what if King Solomon's temple is still standing today? Will we think Solomon is so unwise to squander all his wealth on a temple? Of course not! When one knows the Source of his blessings, he will bless the Blesser who had made him rich.Out of the overflowing blessings we have received, we have buildings to magnify the greatness of His love for us. He died to give us all that He had. That is how Jesus is to us. God blesses us according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Even the cathedrals in Europe are awesome in wonder and splendour. That was years and years ago. How much more will His church grow from glory to glory each day!I have said time and again, if a Muslim were to stand up for his faith and call other religion followers or non-believers as 'infidels' (as quoted in the Qur'an), he will be highly regarded for his faith.But when a Christian compares his faith with other religions and shares about the absurdity of them, he will be condemned with intolerance and arrogance.Take your pick - infidel, or misguided in faith.It is no wonder Paul had so many hardships in telling people the gospel truth. The question is not whether he is telling the truth but rather do people want to be set free. Art, or no art? Art is art when it is painted on a canvas to be admired. Art is vandalism when it is painted in public places and taxpayers have to dish out monies to clean up the mess. There is a place for art. Public property is not my style. So keep your 'artwork' and spraycans for home use.Swiss, no Swiss - welcome to Singapore. That goes for the rest of foreigners or tourists coming into Singapore. I'd rather keep my city clean, clinical even to the extend of 'fake' creativity than to be awashed with all kinds of so-called 'artwork'.You are a smart man according to your job title, Mr Fricker.Have you ever wondered why there isn't even a tinge of artspray on the MRT trains? Someone would have done what you did eons ago if graffiti had been allowed in Sinagpore. And you wouldn't even have a space to display your 'art'.And I reckon the first person will be a government minister to do an opening ceremony before any others can do it.Not even a love proclamation for our great Leeder can get you off the hook as a man found out (read here).Be thankful you did not earn your stripes as a certain Michael Fay learnt 10 years ago. MCYS = ARMY? In MCYS they do it like the ARMY."If you were a poor person, anywhere on this planet, Singapore is the one place where you will have a roof over your head, where you will have food on the table. Even if you can’t afford it, we will have meals delivered to you. You will get healthcare." - Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister MCYSIn my life as a Singaporean, the only time I have a roof over my head, where I have food on my table and free healthcare is - in NATIONAL SERVICE! Are you asking the couple to join the army? Or is your new appointment after elections our new Defence Minister?In the whole saga, the only articles which I can understand fully and see the flow of events which made an impact are the ones from AJN (Al-Jazeera News) and TOC (The Online Citizen). I do not know if they are true (I say this cautiously) because I am only a third party reader. It would be good to be present at the couple's interview to vouch the details. But I have to take the information as true as any good reporting would.I can see their efforts in trying to reach and help the couple and make the public aware of their plight. I believe their intention is to inform MCYS about the current situation - there are homeless people in our midst.And these people need help. That was the simple message.I am not sure if it is just me feeling this way - the mainstream media reportings and Vivian's responses each seemed disjointed. It's like a knee-jerk reaction with bits and pieces of information revealed along the way as the war of words and truth waged on. I wonder who can obtain these privy information? And if the ministry doesn't reveal or release them, can one obtain such information?That is exactly my point. Nobody knows. What else do we not know? It is as if the 'unwanted' spotlight had been turned on the minister and suddenly the hidden stuff 'swept under the carpet' are now seen and every word scrutinised.You see, Mr Minister, your own lips made this very bold statement. No offense but I don't know which hole this rabbit came out from, or which crack your speech writer is smoking.Seriously I don't think TOC and AJN are making things difficult for you, sir. I don't see why you are getting so worked up. Put money where your mouth is. You mouthed off those words, not AJN or TOC. Or did your speech writer 'screw' you as 'mee siam mai hum' did?Instead of working closely with TOC and AJN, you have tried to discredit them to justify your ministry. Instead of reviewing and tinkering the policy to prevent people from slipping through the cracks, you went on an all-out beration on the internet media and bloggers. And then you went on to embarrass the couple.At the end of the day, the question is: Will the couple and family get the necessary help to move on with their lives?Nobody wants to be a failure in life. Neither does this couple. When size and distance do NOT matter for a Little Red Dot This new transport fare system is giving commuters confusing 'joy-rides' and headaches. I have been following it closely for quite a while. No matter how you permute it, the commuters are just gonna 'get the shaft' (or get treated the wrong way). Whether you take the train or the bus, you are NOT going to get a better ride with less crowd and traffic congestions.I was rather bemused by the way how the local newspapers 'hurray-ed' the transport fare reduction. Felt like some euphoric and orgasmic news: Public transport fares to go down by 2.5%! (Full report here). I don't want to go into analysing the statistics and details. But many doubt if it is really possible to have 2.5% reduction. Google a bit and you will find many websites and blogs challenging it.My grouse then? Distance-based fare system. As mentioned in the same TodayOnline article:That is when commuters will be able to take advantage of a new distance-based fare system where transfer penalties are removed, announced the Public Transport Council (PTC) yesterday. This means fares will be calculated based on the distance travelled, regardless of whether a commuter decides to make a direct trip or multiple transfers between buses, or between buses and trains."Depending on the decision, you can save money or you can end up paying a bit more, but for the benefit of faster travelling time," said PTC chairman Gerard Ee.(bold mine)Seriously, sir, how big is Singapore that is befitting of a distance-based fare system? Singapore's land area is ~700 km2 and the main island is about 42km in length and 23 km in breadth. The coastline is a mere 193km. I have travelled from Melbourne to Sydney 800+km one way and then back. That probably constitutes going around in circles 8 times around Singapore altogether.My point? Perhaps Singapore is too small to have a distance-based fare system. I can understand countries like Australia and Japan. But hey, Singapore? And the fare calculations are really, really fishy. Whatever happened to the word 'public service'? I also doubt the 'benefit of a faster travelling time' promise.Let me spell it to you in simple terms - the commuters only want to have a CHEAPER, BETTER and FASTER transportation (as coined by a certain 'deaf frog').Don't talk so much smack. Can you do that? Here's looking at you, Singapore Well about time a government not only stands up, hears and understands the people's concerns but also have the guts to implement the unpopular decision. I'm sure a lot of investors are hopping mad. This is big news (at least for me) in Australia and I hope many young couples and families are rejoicing. Read all about it here.I am all for investors coming in. Especially when there is a downturn and their investments help people to continue to have their jobs. But when the citizens and common people get slowly edged out, the policy has to be tinkered. Or thrown out of the window. The current house prices are really, really crazy right now. And the situation is aggravating. Sometimes I think I see a disgust on some faces during auctions. Of course the owners are the only ones beaming with joy.I am glad the Australian government got this one right - their duty is to the Australians FIRST. I truly hope Singapore government does the same thing. But I have this familiar (pessimistic?) feeling that nothing is going to change drastically. What can you do when we have ministers telling us 'housing is still affordable'. About time someone 'wake up his idea' (meaning stop dreaming). The truth is out... what are you gonna do now? So they finally figured out the truth.The state counsel confirmed the Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionesco is the prime suspect and 'murderer'.Harsh words from me? Yeap. A young man and newly-wed husband's life had been snuffed out because of a cowardice act. Mr Ionesco then chose to flee the scene and country. Why would anyone do that? To return to Romania at -5C temperature in December versus sunny Singapore at 30C.Now no one knows where he is.Perhaps a good quote related to a similar Mas Selamat's escapede by the Home Affairs Minister Wong KS will diffuse the situation:"Silviu Ionesco is either in Romania, or he is not."Too bad the late Mr Tong is not related to LKY. You see a few years ago when a certain Mrs Lee had a minor stroke, the SAF bothered to set up a make-shift hospital in an SIA plane and fly her back to Singapore. I am sure this special arrangement can be made for Mr Ionesco to return to Singapore. The cost is just an insignificant fraction compared to the losses by GIC and Temasek.The onus is now with Prime Minister Lee, Foreign Affairs Minister George, and Home Affairs Minister Wong KS to call for the extradiction of the ex-diplomat from Romania to stand trial. Not in some country where his whereabouts are not even known. But here in the Lion City.Well you wanna be a Lion Leader? Here's your chance to prove it. And surely hit-and-run cases in Singapore don't bode well for the culprit drivers.This is a spaghetti situation. I know it is complex with international and legal laws thrown in. Hence we are paying you 'millions' to prove your worth.Don't let us down. Be the lion you often claim to be.---Romanian diplomat was driver in Singapore fatal accidentJan 27, 2010, 8:04 GMT (link here)Singapore - A Singapore state counsel confirmed Wednesday a Romanian diplomat was behind the wheel of an embassy car when it ran over and killed a Malaysian man in December, a news report said. Silviu Ionesco, 49, the highest-ranking Romanian diplomat in the city-state, had filed a police report that the embassy car had been stolen and left Singapore three days after the accident. But in a court briefing on Wednesday State Counsel Lau Wing Yum said police investigations proved that the car had not been stolen and that Ionescu was the driver in the fatal hit-and-run accident, the online edition of the Straits Times newspaper reported.The Romanian embassy car hit Malaysian Tong Kok Wai, 30, who was walking on a pedestrian crossing, and another man on December 15.The car then sped off and hit an 18-year-old student at another junction.The car was found later with its front screen smashed and bonnet dented, according to the newspaper. Tong died 10 days after the accident from severe brain damage, the two other victims were injured. Romania's Foreign Ministry recalled Ionescu shortly after the accident and said it was conducting an internal investigation in the matter. According to the state counsel, the whereabouts of Ionescu were not known.An inquiry into the death of Tong would be held from March 3 to 10, said the report, adding that at least 35 witnesses would be heard. Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur Of 'Ovis Aries' and Leadersheep by SM Goh I am bemused by SM Goh Chok Tong's statement (from Temasek Review),"(The ancient saying is) ‘an army of sheep led by a lion is stronger than an army of lions led by a sheep’. In other words, leadership is critical in battles; the leadership qualities, the courage and the ability and getting the team to follow you is crucial."With this mentality there is no wonder why GM is down in the dumps. That goes for Temasek and GICs which are losing so much of our public money. Write off, mind you, and not something recoverable. And they are still paying top dollar for these 'lion-headed' leadersheep.Stop over-selling yourself and the PAP. As I have blogged before, it is both the captain _and_ the crew working together to steer the ship through the storms. This 'higher-than-thou' attitude needs a good dose of bad voting to 'wake up your sheepish idea'.First I am a lesser mortal, now I am categorised a sheep. But you call the elites - lions. In future when I fill in a form, I will remember to write:Country: Lion CityRace: SheepLet me tell you that the lions are among the laziest animals in the animal kingdom. Been to the zoo lately? They are always basking in the sun, lazing and sleeping. The male lion seldom makes the effort for the kill but he always claims credit and takes the largest share. Hence 'a lion's share' is coined. Are you saying the PAP party exhibits this trait?Do stop linking me a Homo sapien with animals. I have had enough of MacDonalds' zoo chronicles of trying to convince me that a Cu-pig (cupid) is actually a Pig.Frankly speaking we don't need leaders with leadersheep qualities. I need leaders with both leadership and leader-heart qualities A good start is to watch and learn from 'The Lion King' movie.True leadership always has the 'Servant King' mentality.*roar* Food for Thought: Amusing piggy issues (Latest) This is so humorous that I had to append it here. I laughed so hard that I actually forgave MacDonalds. Comment found in Straits Times:"McDonald is stu-pig to kill-pig by changing it to cu-pig "---I was responding to to mrbrown's article (read here) and felt prompted to pen my thoughts. Yeah these days too free. What to do, still in holiday mood.Why did the Mcdonald pig go missing? Because not halal, I'd think.The funny thing is how can other races respect our Chinese traditions, customs and culture when we had to blatantly change the type of animal to an angel. It's not as if we are associating the pig with a jew or muslim. So why are we so hung up about it?I mean Catholics don't believe in using contraceptives. Does it mean 7-11s should stop selling them?In addtion Christians are against the use of the dragon symbols. I don't see Chinese New Year decorations taking out those dragon images and symbols and replacing them with angels? Or perhaps Singapore should ban the movie Babe the pig.Sheesh, sometimes people make matters worse by trying to be too smart. Another BIG loss? Ugh... GIC lost USD$675 million in poor investments on New York apartment complex. And it is not even just paper loss but write down. (read Reuters)Look if you don't know what "write down" means, simply put - "it refers to (in accounting terms) the recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset".Big fat gee-ro (zero in English). Kosong. Lost. Hilang.Again I have reiterated so many times. Paying top dollar to senior executives will NOT steer a company away from disasters or crisis (read here).My top dollar question then is "How did it happen? Did we not have checks and balances in place?"What checks and balances? As Singapore Finance Minster Tharman Shanmugaratnam (in)famous words were, "It is not the government's role to comment on or second-guess whether it was timely for the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Temasek Holdings to make their recent investments. "So why are you as Finance Minister sitting in the Investment Committee of GIC. Aren't your title in the GIC committee website stated as 'Minister for Finance'? How can you say it's NOT the government's role?Pray tell me what is your capacity as an Investment Committee member there for? And I always wonder if there could be a conflict of interest.When pressed again for answers a year later when both GIC and Temasek experienced substantial investment losses, Mr Tharman assured the Parliament House with "both Temasek and GIC monitor their investments very closely, but that they were ultimately long-term investors."In that session MP Inderjit Singh did ask, "In July last year, Temasek invested a few billion dollars into Barclays Bank... From what I understand, these values have now gone down to half of the investment. Is the minister not worried that if GIC and Temasek continue with this kind of multi-billion (dollar) investments all in one sector - in the banks, this could quickly wipe out a significant portion of our reserves?"To this the minister replied, "We have to leave it to them - timing, decision as to whether to invest, how to protect yourself in each investment, which GIC and Temasek have indeed done in each of these large deals... We do have an understanding with both GIC and Temasek as to the government's overall risk tolerance, so this is not a situation where we are completely hands-off."First I am told it is not the government's role. Now I am told the government is NOT hands-off. Can someone make up his mind? And it also begs the question, "Are these long-term investments? Or did you mean long-term losses?" I can assure you that USD$675million write down is not just paper money.The truth is the citizens are the real stakeholders of the monies. These people in GIC, Temasek, Investment Committee members, etc are just stewards. Yet time and again they seem to portray themselves as the owners of the monies, and the citizens are mere nuisances in asking too many questions.Heads rolled when investments go awry in the corporate world. If Singaporean ministers keep emphasizing that top dollar had to be paid for 'A-team' quality; then likewise we must see heads must roll for such staggering losses.PAP has always pride itself with integrity. Don't just talk. Have accountability.Put your mouth where your money is. Coolin' off period for General Elections? Anyone heard of a 'coolin' off' day before voting? Read here if you don't believe me.Hmm... whoever gave such a highfalutin idea?I have only known of someone getting 'heated up', or rather to be precise - 'lighted up' during a 'Meet the People' session. Surely I have never heard of anyone flamin' up before voting. Maybe only the human torch.Perhaps the ugly truth is that the people have stored pent-up 'heat' throughout these years. Heated and worked up because they have not been voting for the past donkey years.Or perhaps the day of elections will be a hot one. You know, higher mortals can predict 'golden era'. So one can surmise Election Day will be hot with a 'golden sun' in the sky.Surely you would have thought Singapore being a developed country would have her mature citizens voting with their cool heads.Hold on. We are NOT a country. We are just a city.But Singaporeans are a strange lot. People do get heated up while queueing up for Hello Kitty. Or some condo units. But nobody complains when buying Toto or 4D under the hot Saturday afternoon.Some cycling events can be rejected with "You may be well-behaving, but there may be other people whom you come across when you cycle who may stop you, may want to debate with you and that may attract a crowd, and therefore will result in problems the police want to avoid."Gee, that concludes Singaporeans aren't all that apathetic if we are always finding opportunities to have 'heated' debates. Mayhaps some do get all heated up enough to debate with an opposition member, attract a crowd and warrant a police arrest... on the opposition member. So who can seriously predict what can happen before voting?My question is has the 'coolin' day' been approved by the president or did he give his approval within days? I wonder if he too had a 'coolin' off' period after giving his consent.Anyway has a study been done on the stress level before voting? Surely the scholars must have done some study about Singaporeans getting all heated up before voting. I mean if Singaporeans can master two languages without getting all worked up for years (er, excluding parents), I am pretty sure a tick on a piece of paper is mere child's play.I hope the banks will also adopt the 'coolin' off' period for future mini-bonds and high-risk structured investments. Investors, do read the fine invisible prints carefully before you sign.Seriously where in the world does an election need a 'coolin' off' day? Shouldn't it be after the event rather? I can attest to my need for 'coolin' off' when we spent monies to rename 'Marina Bay' to 'Marina Bay'. Or when told 'GST is to help the poor'.Totally flabbergusted.I don't know what tune PAP is playing. But it definitely sounds politics. How about an MJ version of 'Cool It'? If they can sing and dance hip-hop in Chingay, I'm sure they can pull this off.Cool ItThey told the Oppo not to come around hereDon't wanna see their face, they better disappearThe fire's in their eyes and their words are really clearSo cool it, just cool itYou better run, you better do what you canDon't wanna see no jail, don't be an Oppo manYou wanna be hot, better do what they saySo cool it, but you wanna be hotJust cool it, cool it, cool it, cool itNo one wants to be defeatedShowin' how funky and strong is their fightIt doesn't matter who's wrong or rightJust cool it, cool it...(sung to MJ's Beat It tune)Maybe they are expecting a 'freak' result. I mean if a freak downpour can occur once in 50 years, do I need to parallel it to Singapore politics?Or dare I say the one 'coolin' off' day is to mobilise the army if there is a freak result as quoted by a Leeder.Lee Mai Hum Hiam. No hot chilli please. We are Singaporeans.Uniquely Singapore. Rest (Part 2) Matt 11:28 - 30"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."These verses are often used in evangelical outreach - rest for the weary souls from worldly affairs, materialism chasing, personal glory and success building. Only Jesus can fill the void in our hearts and bring refreshment to the needy soul. But during the time of trial, new revelations about this verse emerged.ComeThe first word is to come. Come as we are. Broken and tired. Jesus will never turn any who comes to Him away. If we who were once sinners were received into His presence with joy, how much more will we receive now as sons and daughters of God when we come?To HimRecognise that we are not in control. Jesus is. He who holds the universe in the palm of His hand can number the hairs on your head. Amazing but true.Keep ComingI used to think this verse was meant for non-Christians. Or perhaps for Christians at the very end of themselves and when they most needed Jesus in their struggles.Until God told me, “Son, it is not a one time thing. You keep coming. Not only will you receive rest, you will continue to remain in the realm of rest.”Keep coming to Him and remain in the realm of rest.All You Who AreThere is no condition in this verse except to come, all you who are. How difficult is it to come to him then?The truth is it can be difficult for someone who still wants to be in control. Yet at the end of day, every knee will bow and confess His Lordship. Why wait till then?This brings into remembrance that when Jesus walked the earth, NOT all in Israel were healed. But ALL who came to Him received healing.All who came, received. Do you fall into the category defined as ‘All you who are’?I Will Give You RestIf we read the original Greek meaning, it is actually a causative statement. It should be interpreted as “I will cause you to rest”.Not only will Jesus give our souls the much needed rest, He will make, cause or enable us to rest. It reminds me of Psalm 23.1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,3 he restores my soul.He guides me in paths of righteousnessfor his name's sake.4 Even though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil,for you are with me;your rod and your staff,they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before mein the presence of my enemies.You anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows.6 Surely goodness and love will follow meall the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the LORDforever.We can rest in the many assurances from the Good Shepherd who leads and causes us to rest in Him. Six times in this six-verse Psalm.The only reason why we are not at rest is because we choose to walk into the shadowy valleys of our own makings. Valleys created using our own strength and human understanding. Yet the good news is even when we fail, He is with us walking THROUGH the troubles.We will always pass through to the other side. There is always hope.TakeThis is a very commanding and blunt word - TAKE. It borders close to rudeness. Yet Jesus says, “Take from me”.It pleases him when we allow Him to be God. He is not El-Cheapo but El-Shaddai. He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider and Abundance.Take from Him. Draw from Him. Use Him (I put this in a respectful way).Allow Him to wash your feet. Anything less and you have no part with Him. Allow Him to transform the mundane plain water of our daily lives into excellent, intoxicating wine for His glory. Allow Him to love and serve you.When we fail to take from Him, we dishonour Him as God. When we refuse to draw from Him but lean our own understanding, we disrespect Him as Lord.Recount the Samaritan woman who took from Him at the well. She drew forth the everlasting water from the Fountain of Life Himself and was changed. So dramatically and instantly that she preached Jesus to the very town people who had scorned her. And they believed Him because of her testimony.See the Roman centurion who took the power and authority of Jesus’ words. Just say the word and his servant was healed.Learn from the woman with the issue of blood who stopped the Creator in His tracks when she drew forth healing power from Him.Revisit the five-thousand strong crowd who took from Jesus when He blessed the five loaves and two fish. They, including the women and children, ate until they were all satisfied.Ask the fishermen who received the net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish. So much that the uncouth fisherman Peter fell to his knees before Jesus.His blessings overflows. God doesn’t know when to stop.Allow Him to be God. Take.My YokeJesus was speaking to the Jews who were under the yoke of the Law. The yoke is the heavy wooden weight tied upon the neck of oxen to toil the soil. These people were hard pressed to achieve the unattainable standards of the Law.Our burdens and sins we exchanged for His rest and acceptance before God at the cross. Take my yoke, He says, and give me your self-efforts and struggles. I am gentle and humble. My grace is easy because I carried your burdens at the cross.When we know how much He loves us enough to sacrifice for us, we will enter into that rest. Rest from our guilty conscience. Rest from our efforts to produce a holy living.He looked up and cried, “It is finished!” There is nothing you can do or add to what He had already done.At the foot of cross, lay your burdens down. At the feet of Jesus, we find rest.Rest. Rest (Part 1) It has been a good long while since I have written any encouragements. Allow me to give you a glimpse of my struggles in the past two months.I have been swarmed at work since my Sydney holiday trip on 1 Oct. I have been working at least 55 hours per week including weekends. My customers are UK-based, thus conference calls usually start at 7:30pm and end around 9:30pm.I had a new assignment to a project which had gone off-rails. My job is to get it back on track. All sounded easy until I realised the huge financial impact for the year if this project fails. All other projects within that account are tentatively ‘put on hold’ until this project goes successful ‘live’. To miss the deadline is to miss two major payment milestones. Now that something the executives do not want to hear.This means there is absolutely no room for any failure. The drop date is 14 Dec (which recently got changed to 7 Dec). There is barely two months left when I came aboard! Within moments, I discovered numerous outstanding issues and risks. Furthermore the project team members were distraught and unmotivated because the previous project manager was not a team player. He had been quite unresponsive to technical issues and escalations. Key project members had left the company because of him and his style of management. There were huge technical gaps due to the exodus that needed filling in. Even if new resources came aboard, they would need time to assimilate into the project team. Time is something I do not have.During this period I was so stressed that I accidently burst my right eye capillaries while rubbing my tired eyes too hard. That resulted in a corneal abrasion. The GP doctor diagnosed it as ‘sore eyes’ and gave me a wrong medication which resulted in swollen eyelids for a few days!Nearly every morning waking was an agonising effort. The intense pain to the optic nerves whenever sunlight enters the eye had caused a dull throbbing headache. My sleep had been interrupted because I often woke up from the pain and ceaselss flow of tears. I practically had to wear sunglasses all day and night. Any sort of light hurts the eye. I was basically mopping around at home. I could not watch TV and I could not look at my laptop for too long.After two weeks, the eye got a little bit better. However recurrent corneal abrasion symptoms followed in which the healing wound on my cornea would open again whenever I wake from sleep.Has the thought of being blind ever crossed my mind? Absolutely yes! I kept browsing the internet and reading up on the medical articles and stories on corneal abrasions. I felt I was going to end up like the bad cases described there.Good news is that you will not go blind in a corneal abrasion except experiencing a lot of discomfort. In worse cases there might be a remote chance of infections which can lead to blindness. The cornea healing takes just 72 hours. However the restoration of vision can take several weeks. Or months. Praise God, my vision is nearly complete even I write.In all these struggles I still had to continue my project work with one eye. As each day pass there is mounting pressure from the senior management to deliver. I cannot recount how many times I was asked if we could deliver. At this moment I felt like quitting work, lay back and rest. And that’s what God revealed to me – REST.(Part 2 continues...) What language does your heart speak? Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”Our senses are bombarded with a lot of news and information everyday. Most news we hear from the media and sometimes even well-meaning colleagues and friends are usually not healthy news.“1 in 11 Australian women will develop breast cancer before the age of 75.”“If your family member has died of cancer, you had better go for a check-up.”Is that good news to you at all? Does it not cast doubt, bring fear and worry into your life?Yet we readily believe and accept these words into our heart. We put more trust in what man and his limited understanding of our bodies than our trust in the good news found in the supernatural Word of God. Yes, the very same life-changing words which promise “With long life I will satisfy you.”Such media news when read is transmitted to our brains. Our brains acknowledge and process the sense of the news. Our inner minds of intellect attempt to comprehend the facts. When we accept the facts, we receive it into our thought processes and the allow the ‘power’ into our lives. And ultimately into our hearts.Our Minds and Our HeartsDeuteronomy 11:18 (NIV)Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.God has designed our minds to be extremely powerful. Our minds can have the power to turn what is spiritual or virtual into its real or physical equivalent. If our minds are not guarded, all kinds of bad news will get into our heads. And when the bad news drops into our hearts, they will be so real for each one of us.2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity EVERY THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ;"Our Hearts and Our WordsDeuteronomy 30:14The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.Luke 6:45For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.Proverbs 18:21The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.Just like our minds and our hearts, our mouths and our hearts are also interlinked. If we hear of economic downturns and we watch news of companies laying people off, it is so easy to accept this news as the truth and agree with the world. When we watch advertisements and read magazines about the problems medical studies have found in our bodies, we believe them as the truth.And so we have a tendency to say as the world says:“Better don’t travel too much because swine flu is spreading like wildfire. I might catch it.”“I think I’m going to be the next person to get the golden handshake from the company.”My beloved friends, fact and truth are two separate matters. Facts are temporal and subject to change, but the truth remains forever. And knowing the truth will set you free.It was once thought that the world was flat. That was a fact during that age and time. But nothing is further from the truth because the world has been round from the beginning God created it. What more can we say when God has ordained that He has plans for us to have a good future - plans of prosperity and hope.Jer 29:11For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.In Luke 9 “Feeding of the Five Thousand”:It was getting late and the disciples asked Jesus to send the crowd into the nearby villages for food. They brought to Him five loaves and two fish.Jesus looked around at the five-thousand crowd (excluding women and children). They had followed Him and had been with Him all day as He taught. Now they were tired and hungry. The skies were darkening. He peered down at the five loaves and two fish in His hands. Turning to His disciples, He exclaimed, “Wah how come so little? Do you know how many people are here? How to feed all at once?”Did Jesus say that? Did he see the lack and the limited resources within the physical realm? Or perhaps when God saw into the darkness in Genesis, He said, “Eeewww, it’s so dark!”No, instead God saw light in the darkness and called it forth. Likewise Jesus did not proclaim the lack. Instead He took the food in His hands, looked up towards His Father and gave thanks. Gave thanks for the abundance He is about to receive. Gave thanks that God is Jehovah Jireh. the Provider. Surely God’s name is not El-Cheapo! His name is El-Shaddai, the God Almighty!The Benefits of God’s Word – Health and WealthProverbs 820 My child, pay attention to what I say.Listen carefully to my words.21 Don’t lose sight of them.Let them penetrate deep into your heart,22 for they bring life to those who find them,and healing to their whole body.23 Guard your heart above all else,for it determines the course of your life.Keep God’s words within our hearts. Do not lose sight of them. For they are health to our bodies and faith and hope to our minds and hearts. God’s will is for us to prosper and succeed but He leaves the choice to us.3 John 1:2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.The Bible has stated very clearly that it is the will of God for all believers to be prosperous in both health and wealth. Being rich does include having a lot of money.If you are a believer and you are poor, it is the will of God for you to receive your riches and be rich. However, you will not be forced nor threatened to do so. You have the freedom to reject God’s will in your life, believe in the heresy of theology and remain in poverty. This is one of the main reasons why so many Christians are poor. They choose to believe in the lie that God does not want them to be rich. This false belief has caused them to reject the blessing of prosperity from God.While God has the power to exercise full control over our lives, he will never do it without our direct approval because he has too much respect for us. In the previous Proverbs verses, we have the right to determine which course we wish to take in our lives and we do it by guarding our hearts above all else, and speaking forth the words according to what God had said.And this goes for our health. Symptoms and outward physical appearances are facts. They are there for our eyes to see, our touch to feel. Remember facts are temporal and can change, but the Word of God is eternal and it will never change.The truth is that God has put all our diseases and sicknesses upon the body of His Son at the cross. The sickness or disease cannot be at two places at one time! It’s either in your body or in Jesus’ body.Isaiah 53:5But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.When you look to the cross, see the sickness there on Jesus. He is your substitute lamb. The sickness will soon lose its power and its hold on your body. Just like when the Israelites were bitten by snakes in the desert. They were told to look at the bronze serpent. Either they look at the serpent on the pole, or they continue to look at their snake wounds.Bronze means judged and the serpent represented the snake bites. See the snake bites (your lack, your sickness) judged on the bronzed serpent (Jesus). For those who looked, they were healed. But there were many who did not look at God’s provision for healing and rather focused on the snake bites. They all died.The snake bites are as real as the money in your bank account or body symptoms. Instead turn your eyes towards the cross and see the healing and provision in our beautiful Jesus.How do we guard our hearts?The question here is how to guard our hearts? How are we supposed to prevent bad news from getting into our minds and hearts? The answer is we can’t. Everything we see and hear will go straight into our brains and minds. We cannot stop this flow. However, we can present the information to create a positive impression for our minds. We can align ourselves to what God says about us.As in the news, you read that many people are getting laid off from their jobs and how they are suffering. When this information gets into your brain, add in a few lines like:“Thank God, I am in this world but not of this world. God’s promise to prosper me will still hold despite the poor state of economy right now.”“I am an ambassador in Christ. The laws of the world do not govern my life. I am a citizen of heaven and a child of the Most High God. I am governed by His Spirit who guides and prospers me according to His word and faithfulness.”“Jesus died poor for me to live rich. I am glad Jesus’ death at the Cross is more powerful than the effects of the bad economy right now. So, I will still be rich regardless of the circumstances. With this wealth, I can bless more people.”When you add in positive interpretations to your mind, you are effectively positioning your minds to think positive and subsequently your mind will make those positive impressions captive and you will speak them forth to come true. This is the way we guard our minds/ hearts.In addition, we should not meditate on the bad news. After you read the bad news, put it aside and move on. Do not meditate on it or you mind will start making it real for you.In conclusion, God has made in clear that he has given us the freedom to decide on the course of our lives.What type of future do you want? Do you want to be rich, healthy and successful? Do you want to have a long life like days of heave on earth and see your children’s children?If you do, fill your minds with eternal truths in God’s word. And isn't the Word of God none other than Jesus and Him alone. Never allow your heart (mind) to think on anything that you do not wish to have and you do it by flooding your mind with thoughts on the future you want.Philippians 4:7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.In short, let God's peace in Christ Jesus guard your hearts and minds. General Motors (GM) ran out of gas Wow... how the mighty automobile icon of America has fallen! It actually ran out of gas!GM stocks tumbled from a >$20US two years ago to a mere $2.67US today! And GM is now considering (or perhaps have already considered) bankruptcy. Just a year ago, the reowned financial institution Citibank fell heavily, wiping out 93% of the stock value. And not too recent it traded for $1.00US! Wonder if one can actually buy a bank from eBAY.What gives? Why the sudden shake-up? Didn't we pay millions to the top executives to put in place robust measures so that the company stays afloat during crisis? What had happened?I am fully convinced that paying top dollar to senior executives will NOT steer a company away from disasters or crisis. I believe rewards and encouragements go all the way down to the last man in the company doing mundane or administrative tasks.Everybody counts in both good and bad times. It is not only the captain of the ship charting the course but also the lookout point person to the sweat-covered engineers in the engine rooms to the chefs and waiters serving the customers.However in recent years, we have this 'I-know-it-all' attitude from many top executives, including cabinet ministers and politicians. Hey you know nothing until the 'sh*t hits the fan' as the saying goes. Your policies are considered sound when they are still left standing after the storms of crisis have passed.That can be seen when the common folks grit their teeth and pull in the muscles to help steer the ship through the storm. And that includes YOU! Yes 'you' includes the million-dollar self-paid executives and politicians going down into the engine room and rolling up their sleeves to assist the engineers and sweating with them.These policies will stand... simply because the people believed in what you stood for, instead of you thinking how to please your shareholders and only concerned with achieving the bottom line results. Many things are not just about statistics and tangible results.I can only wish the workers in GM and their families well. Because they are the most likely impacted by the bankruptcy. We are worth much more If you happen to see a $10,000 dollar bill (I know it doesn't exist but let's assume it does) in the mud, would you pick it up? Many I know would pick it up because of the stated value of the bill. There is substantial value in it.Does it matter if it is made of paper? Does it matter if it is covered in dirty, yucky mud? All these matters little to none at all. All because of the value stated on the paper.Likewise, God sees the value in us. We are so precious in His sight that He sent His only Son to die for us and redeemed us back to Himself. Once in a while, we fall into mud (ie sin). But that does NOT change the value He had placed on us. There is nothing the washing of the water (ie Word of grace) cannot do to wash the exterior.The purchasing power He had used to redeem us back gave us our worth. It was an overpayment for us in fact. More than we could ever think of. We deserved only the lowest but He gave us the Highest.If a friend tells you that the $10,000 dollar bill is only worth $10 dollars, would you believe it?None of us would. Simply because we can see the value for ourselves. Someone had printed the value on this piece of flimsy paper.If we can believe the power vested by the monetary authority on that paper (even though it is just a paper), surely we can more than believe the Creator and Almighty who had placed our precious worth in His Word. He calls us Beloved, Redeemed, Precious, Children of God, Sons and Daughters, Heirs, a Holy Nation and Royal Priests.The $10,000 dollar bill was just an illustrated value.Dear brothers and sisters, we are worth MUCH MORE than that. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.Eph 2:4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. What happened to Jesus during the three days of His death? I pray this sharing will shed light to what happened to Jesus during the three days of His death.I want us to focus on Jesus - God's redemption and the eternal home He had prepared for us. I do not find joy speaking about Hades or hell. However hell is as real as Jesus claimed it to be.Read Luke 16 The Rich Man and Lazarus19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried.23In hell (original Greek is Hades), where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.' 27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "This story is real.So is Lazarus. He is not a story-made person by Jesus because Jesus does not use real names for parables in which He uses "There was a certain Jew, rich man, priest" etc. So we know a beggar named Lazarus actually existed during Jesus' time. And this story is not a parable but an actual situation.Both died. Where did they go?Lazarus went to be with Abraham in a place called Abraham's Bosom while the rich man went to Hades, or Sheol and was in torment, awaiting judgement. It was not clear why Lazarus went into Abraham's Bosom and why the rich man went into Hades.However it cannot be that the rich man was rich therefore he went to Hades, or sheol. Because Abraham himself was rich, and so was Jacob and David, etc. I strongly suggest that Lazarus believed Jesus while Jesus was on earth while the rich man rejected Him. But that is another topic for discussion beyond this subject matter.Where is Abraham's Bosom? Where is Hades?No one could be justified through the Law. All have sinned through Adam's one disobedience. Yet there is a group of people known as the Righteous Dead. These are the people who believed in faith that God will provide a saviour and Redeemer in time to come. These people looked forward (or ahead) by faith that one day their sins would be cleansed and taken away completely. Not covered by sacrifices of the blood of bulls or lambs which were temporary.That's why Abraham, even when he had lied was not struck dead. This included Jacob. All these people lived before the Law. Even after the Law was given, God's judgement was tempered with mercy. That's why David pleaded mercy when he committed adultery. Yet a death had to be wrought for his sins because David lived under the Law. However David looked forward for a time in future when he prophesied "Blessed is the man whose transgessions are not counted against him"! That's us, brothers and sisters in Christ. David saw us as - Blessed!These people were put in a holding place called Abraham's Bosom. For those who rejected God's provision for a Saviour, they were put in Hades, a place of torment awaiting God's judgement. These are two different places because there is a great chasm between Abraham's Bosom and Hades (or Sheol) as mentioned in the story. These rightoues dead waited patiently for His death for them to be set free. That's where Lazarus went, I believe.Hades is also a place of darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth. See Luke 13:28 "28"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out." And Matthew 25:30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'Where is Paradise?Recount the thief who asked Jesus to remember him and Jesus assured him "Today you will be with me in paradise"?The thief too looked forward for his sins to be forgiven and he was counted as part of the Righteous Dead, awaiting the Saviour to cleanse and save him completely. Hence I believe Paradise is in truth Abraham's bosom because Jesus had yet to ascend into heaven. First Jesus must pay for the sins he had carried (see later).Where was Jesus in the three days He died?We know that when Jesus died, He carried the sins of man throughout time, even those of Adam. Thus Jesus died a sinner, even though He committed no sin. There is a deeper purpose why He died a sinner too.First He descended into the lower regions (Hades, or Sheol) carrying our sins. He died a sinner. One of his victorious work was to wrestle the keys of Death and Hades from the devil, which He did.Ephesians 4:8 This is why it says:"When he ascended on high,he led captives in his trainand gave gifts to men."9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)Revelations 1:17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.And then He crossed over and went to Abraham's Bosom to bring the Righteous Dead with Him into heaven. See in Ephesians "He led captives in his train"? These were the Righteous Dead who could not ascend into heaven because of Adam's sin.Another supporting verse John 1014"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."There are other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I believe most refer to the sheep from another pen as the Gentiles. But can it also not refer to the Righteous Dead?These righteous dead were those people (ie Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, including the thief, etc) who died before Jesus' death but were awaiting for Him to come and free them and bring them into heaven. Thus when Jesus died, the tombs of many holy men broke open and they became alive in Christ!Matthew 27: 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.Why did Jesus tell Mary not to touch Him?John 20 Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." 16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.Mary could not recognise Jesus because He was in his glorified form. She only recognised Him when He called her and opened her eyes. When she looked to embrace Him, He told her not to touch Him. Yet in later scriptures, we see that He allowed Thomas to touch His side and hands. Why?Because His work as High Priest had not yet been completed. Remember He still had to present His blood before His Father in the Holy of Holies and sprinkle them before the Mercy Seat. We also know the physical tabernale is a shadow copy of the one in heaven. Thus the final work was God's acceptance of His blood and believing man is completely cleansed and sins taken away. Jesus was doing the exact priestly work as required in the Old Testaments. He came to fulfil the Law, every bit of it, such that it satisfied God completely! For more understanding, read Hebrews in details to see Jesus' priestly work.Hence He told her, "Do not hold (or touch) me as I have not yet returned to my Father." A High Priest cannot be defiled or touched just as he enters the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood upon the Mercy Seat on top of the ark. Likewise Jesus was carrying His own perfect blood for the cleasning of all of those who believed in Him, including the Righteous Dead. If only Mary's eyes were opened, she would have seen the spirits of many righteous men of the Old Testaments around Jesus.So when Jesus went into heaven carrying his blood, the angels sang in joy. Man is now allowed into heaven for the first time. And heaven exploded with:Psalm 24: 7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;be lifted up, you ancient doors,that the King of glory may come in.Because of the perfect sacrifice and atoning work of Jesus was completed. The Lamb that that was slain was obedient till death and fully glorified God in Himself.What is hell then?Death and Hades are not a state of mind or being. Because Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire which is called Hell. How could a state of being or mindset be thrown into hell? It does not make sense. Hell is now a place for those who rejected God's redemption through Christ. It is also for the devil and his fallen angels. It is a place completely separated and apart from God. There is no redemption here. It is the second death.Confusion also arose in 1 Peter 3:19...whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.That word preached is NOT 'the gospel preached for redemption' but 'to herald, or proclaim Lord's judgement' that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Not as a particular teaching by Catholics who hold that there is a second chance for redemption.Jesus literally went through three days of 'hell' to save us completely.May you be blessed by this sharing. Is love a chore? I read something about reasons for obeying and serving God. Are we doing it because because He first loved us, or we love Him, or because it is the right Christian thing to do, or because we want His blessing, or because we fear His wrath?1 Corinthians 13:4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails.I used to think this is the kind of love we must exhibit as Christians. I used to think this is the kind of love I must show to my neighbour. I was wrong. I can never in my lifetime reach or achieve this kind of love. Only God can. Thus this verse is the kind of perfect love God has for us.Love will automatically fulfill His commandments, of which the two pillars are based upon - Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and all your mind. And love my neighbour as myself. I can never do it. But Jesus can.This love as described in both Corinthians and the Law comes only when we know how much we ourselves have been loved by God. And this love was shown when Jesus willingly died for me. Without accepting His love, I can only sustain my own kind of love. My own selfish love.Perfect love casts out all fears. This love comes only from God. There is no other perfect love, except that which a righteous man died for sinful men to redeem us back for His own. His blood shed completely cleansed me so much that I can stand before a holy God righteous and pure, and dispel the accusations thrown at me. His blood has drawn aline around me, protecting me and crying, "Redeemed!"Love covers a multitude of sins. How much and how deep is the multitude of sins? Wide enough when His arms were thrown open wide on the cross. Deep enough that He went into the very depths of hell to wrest the keys of death back for us.When this love displayed by God through Christ sits rooted within you, you don't have to be told not to kill your neighbour. You won't steal his stuff either. You won't commit adultery because you love your wife. All these are possible when we are first filled with His love for us. We, on our own, can only love so much.Obedience out of fear has good short-term effects - but for how long? Eventually people will just run away from the prospect of an angry, judgmental God because we could not fulfill what is required from Him. Or turn away as the Israelites did because fulfilling those laws becomes a chore. How can we even fulfill the first commandment which is to have no other gods before or besides God? Who can truly say God is always #1 in our lives all the time?And wanting blessings alone without knowing His love is only selfish gain. It is not worship of God but worship of self.When we come to understand and experience how much God loves us, worship becomes a natural response. It fills our entire person even as our souls' longings are satisfied. We no longer fear Him because His perfect love for us, shown by sending His Son while we were deep in sin, drives out all our fear. And receiving His blessings is as easy as a child receiving from a loving father.In Proverbs 10:22 (Amplified Bible) The blessing of the Lord--it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].This is the kind of blessings I want from the Lord - no sorrows and no toiling (or self-effort). Some people have told me this refers to spiritual blessings. Think again, if these blessings are spiritual, how can sorrow be added to them? Surely it means more than spiritual blessings. Can it not mean *gasps* material things too?A story I once heard:There was a woman who was married off to a tyrannical man. He dictated her every move and made her his servant. He wrote a list of her daily duties: waking up at 5am everyday, cooking his breakfast and serving it to him in bed, making coffee, getting his newspapers for him to read, basically waiting on him hand and foot. She was miserable.One day the man died, and the wife was free. She married again later, to a patient, gentle man who loved her. One day she was looking through her stuff when she found the old list her husband had drawn up for her. She realised suddenly that she did the exact same things for her current husband - but because now she did them out of love, it was no longer the chore it had been. No way, Jose... er, Josie The response from DBS in relation to Josie Lau's appointment as AWARE President is laughable.Quote:“Banks worldwide are facing very challenging times and her role as VP in the credit card space today is even more challenging, given the environment we are in,” the spokesperson said.How ironic and absurd. If I remember correctly, one of the core values in large MNC is to do volunteerism work, isn't it? I guess it isn't so for DBS since there aren't gonna be any monetary gains.I felt it was eerily high-handed and arrogant like the PAP. Pray tell me, do you pay her after-hours 24 x 7? What has her role in AWARE got to do with her VP appointment in DBS? Are there conflict of interests between the goals of AWARE with that of DBS for you to make such a statement? My finite mind thinks not.Let me ask you a truthful question:Can you be certain none of your senior management has ever held a post as an Executive Committee member in golf resorts or town clubs before? I think you'd better do your checks before you response to my question.Anway who are you to tell what I can or cannot do in my free time as long there is non-conflict of interest and it does not degrade my performance at work? You don't jolly pay me for after-hours outside the office and it is not as if Josie gave a credit card fraud teaching session to your competitors.For that matter, I know of a Victorian senior policeman who is casually employed by universities to give talks on youth and crimes. And yes he is paid hourly. I am proud of him because he went beyond his call of duty to teach and enhance public awareness in youth crimes since he has the knowledge.In Australia, organisations allow and encourage employees to be part of the volunteerism work. Hey, the staff are even honoured for their effort especially during the Victorian Bushfire Black Saturday!I wish you could praised her. Praise her for her dedication and for her leadership qualities which the members saw to lead them. In addition AWARE is a non-profit organisation to help women, and doesn't even come close to the functions of golf resorts or town clubs.Our Minister Mentor says it best about knowledge sharing. To quote:"Singapore will assess a country’s ability to absorb the transfer of ideas and knowledge before deciding whether to collaborate with the country on joint projects."Oh wait, being an AWARE President doesn't benefit the bank. Hey, you don't even get paid. You should have assessed if AWARE is able to absort your transfer of ideas and knowledge before you decided to collaborate with them.Heh, no wonder Josie, you got the shaft. I guess you are only allowed to hold appointments where there are significant financial gains, connections or networking.You can forget about being a president. That goes for us, lesser mortals. There are Leaders, and there are Leeders Told missus that the Top 10 Best Paid Politicians should be filled with all Singaporean ministers. I wonder if their salaries include other director fees they had received. They beat even the second-placed Donald Tsang hands down without a blink of an eye! (Read the rest in The Australian)Anyway, I had a good laugh when there was a proposal to up the pay of Australian MPs. Result? There was a furore and backlash by the public to even dare mention it during this period.In addition I was following the G20 summit in London. The Australian showed all the other countries' figures. There were Korea, France, Japan, Canada, Germany, even Luxemburg! But no Singapore. Checked the actual countries - no Luxemberg. Luxemburg was categorised with Singapore and Switzerland on the tax havens list. Read here.Then I realised Singapore was not invited because she was not in the Top 20 largest economies of the world! But her leader sure is paid the highest. Mind-boggling, isn't it? Sheesh we must really be so unique.Indeed there are Leaders, and there are Leeders.Lee Hsien Loong - SingaporeSalary in dollars - $2.47 millionSalary in local currency - S$3.76 millionDonald Tsang Yum-Kuen - Hong KongSalary in dollars - $516,000Salary in local currency - HK$4 millionBarack Obama - United StatesSalary in dollars - $400,000Brian Cowen - IrelandSalary in dollars - $341,000Salary in local currency - €257,000Nicolas Sarkozy - FranceSalary in dollars - $318,000Salary in local currency - €240,000Angela Merkel - GermanySalary in dollars - $303,000Salary in local currency - €228,000Gordon Brown - UKSalary in dollars - $279,000Salary in local currency - £194,250Stephen Harper - CanadaSalary in dollars - $246,000Salary in local currency - C$311,000Taro Aso - JapanSalary in dollars - $243,000Salary in local currency - Y24 millionKevin Rudd - AustraliaSalary in dollars - $229,000Salary in local currency - A$330,000 Missing links? This 'thoughts and rambling post' was in draft. Until the recent Cabinet re-shuffle announcement triggered the release.Currently I am pretty busy at work. Blog time is whatever spare time I have. Being busy is a good thing in this 'so-called' time of downturn. Well, I had never believed in downturns as a matter of fact. My perception is what people often see as failures are really opportunities. Read Joseph (of Eygpt) in the bible and you won't be far off.Anyway back to the main topic. This re-shuffle got me seriously thinking about the recent slew of questionable and mind-boggling events that had occurred recently.David Widjaya's deathThe MSM (mainstream media) reports were highly suspicious when they began to publish the likely causes of the death in spite of in-progress investigations. More sickening was pointing the finger at World of Warcraft. Right... that made me a 'suicidal person' since I had been playing it for many years. The most striking thing was that an official coroner's report had yet to be published!I did remember commenting on MM Lee's statements some time ago about the Mat Salamat's escape. He said those statements while an independent inquiry was investigating. MM Lee is a very highly respectable person in Singapore. His words can effect and affect the outcome of a situational crisis. So it was no surprise when the independent inquiry report showed the lack of vigilance and total complacency. Duh! I for one felt two persons actually walked away scot-free.Anyway it was as if MM Lee had either knew the details of the report beforehand or that he had sat with the 'independent' inquiry throughout the investigations.Censorship on Dr Alan Ooi's farewell letterNow that was really uncalled for. What was the MSM trying to achieve when it played the 'mind-game' of censorship?Don't you think the truth will be out sooner considering how information is now shared on the Internet? Well it cuts across human barriers for one. The later the truth got out, the more the disgruntlement is bottled up. Be it through blogs, alternative reads, or just foreign press coverages - when people want to get the information, they will get it.And I had to read the whole letter posted online by the Wayang Party instead of the MSM (though Wayang Party initially posted a partial letter to protect the farewells to personal friends and family).Following this the MSM decided to publish the letter as an act of damage control. At a national level, it seemed all good to put to rest unanswered questions about the death of a scholar. The catch however was that a whole paragraph about Dr Allan Ooi's grievances with the SAF was 'snipped out'! And we had to read the unadulterated and unblemished version in Wayang Party blog!Wow... that sure was a sinking feeling, isn't it? To have the truth withheld from me. What are you hiding? Could it be true about his grievances? Even if it was, it should be the people to decide how they want to digest the information. These are real opportunities for Ministers and SAF to stand up and respond. Instead the MSM chose the censor... what gives?It's no fancy that the bloggers had a field day of throwing 'rotten tomatoes' and 'bad eggs' at the MSM. So much for our national paper global rankings.CDC 8-month bonus to 2 senior managersI will never blog about it. Except now.In my opinion that is NWC (National Wage Council), PA (People's Association) and/or Dr Teo Ho Pin's business. And they are free to declare it and rightly so too, without any misgivings or misinterpretations. Well, on a personal note, to say 'I don't know' is a lousy answer to give to the press. Afterall Dr Teo himself is drawing money from the taxpayers too.Just like the Perm Sec Tan Yong Soon open declaration in spending S$46,500 to learn French cooking. It's his business anyway. Who am I to say if it was well-spent or not? It's not as if he had taken his salary through underhand methods. And I truly respect him for even saying it aloud. Takes a lot of guts and confidence. Hmmm... perhaps not so smart in this 'economic recession'; maybe he should have published it in ICON or Plush magazines. At least the people who read them are in his category.The disgruntlement became more acute within the blogsphere when the online media started a 'black-out' on this topic (read here). To make it inaccessible is to openly declare that 'we have something to hide'. Well, sort of.This categorises under a major PR department glitch.BBC interview with PM LeeIn the recent interview, PM Lee was asked, “Finally, Prime Minister, I read that you are apparently the highest paid head of government in the world. Your salary is about four or five times what President Obama gets. Are you worth all that money?” PM Lee laughed and said:"I am not comparing myself and I don’t look at these rankings. We go on a system which is open, honest, transparent – what is the job worth, what is the quality of the person whom you want. We need the best people for the job and these are jobs where you make decisions which are worth billions of dollars.And you cannot do that if you are pretending and you just say, ‘Well, we are all in it for the love of King and Country’. We want it to be honest, we want people not to come in for the money. But at the same time the sacrifice cannot be too great. And at times like these, you want the best possible government you can have."Now you have just gone and shot yourself in the foot.In lieu of the recent predicaments by the MSM in trying to publish 'half-truths' or hide them (I don't know which), how can you say "we go on a system which is open, honest, transparent"?What about how the President approval of touching the reserves? Was it open? Or based on trust? Surely not open if you had asked any man on the street until you were pressed for more answers.Let me also draw you to the recent Town Council, Temasek and GIC invesments. Can you truly say it's transparent? I'm not too sure... and if I have doubts, it means you haven't been very transparent at all.So if there is 'little' openness and much improvement for transparency (in my opinion), how can the word 'honest' be thrown it? It's pretty contradictory, don't you think?And to top it off - now hear this:Your whole answer (yes, your answer, PM Lee) was MISSING from Straits Times publication!Why? Isn't the act self-contradictory again? It looked so, so silly from my point of view. Really. Anyone can just pick it up the missing pieces quickly (just like here) especially reading from other foreign online press. So it behooves me about the unnecessary censorship.I'd reckon the current MSM wouldn't had 'blacked-out' your answer if there had been another independent media publishing the full transcript of your interview with BBC.I just don't know where to hide my embarrassed Singaporean face. Again I ask - why?Cabinet re-shuffleWhy on earth do you need these people when you are the highest paid politician in the world?!!1x Minister Mentor2x Senior Ministers2x Deputy PMs3x Ministers in the Prime Minister’s OfficeMind-bloggling, isn't it? Gee, that's a lot of top-notched salaries to give out. And under the super-super scale salary scheme, they must be drawing millions! They must be truly the best politicians in the world.On a personal note, if I were a Chairman of a company, I'd fire the CEO straightaway. Either the CEO is totally incompetent, or his workload is so uniquely 'out of this world' that he needs all these 'supporting' seniors. I wonder also how in the world does one justify drawing all these million-dollar salaries without declaring their assets?CompetitionSo where does all these ramblings lead to? I'd reckon the missing links are choices and competition.Think about it. They are the same reasons why many readers turn towards online media like blogs and foreign press to have an alternative read. It is not that the current newspaper is lousy (well, it may be but that's another topic) but people want choices and competition. We want to see from another angle but alas, we don't really have a choice, do we?I mean if I want to know more about aerodynamics physics, it would be foolish to just read from a book or article or from one author, wouldn't it? And how much I want to read depends on how much information I want to get from the various sources of whitepaper, academic books and analytical findings.We agree that not all these theories are correct. Well, so does reading it from one academic source alone, isn't it? In fact it's even riskier!And how does one get better in sports or in a soccer game? Well, simply pit your skills against your opponents on a level-playing field. Of course sometimes the referee is kayu (biased).So why should it be different in reading about news and politics in Singapore? Wouldn't alternative read enable us to question and fine-tune the system better? If we are really open, honest and transparent, then healthy competition should be encouraged. Shouldn't it?Competition brings in healthy checks. More often it draws the best candidate too! If the government can think that a company would pay a lower wage to a foreign talent to compete on the same job, would not the people think likewise to have a lower-paid government yet performing up to par with the incumbent? I mean that's why we have tender processes to evaluate and pick out the best company to deliver the solutions. And that's why we have more than one interviewee for a job opportunity and then another round for the short-listed candidates. To instill choices for employers and competition among the employees.Shouldn't it be likewise for elections and MPs representing us? But we don't seem to have such a choice because the MPs and policies have already been selected for us. At least for me because I have never had a chance to vote.Why would it then be different in Singapore politics and the MSM? Perhaps the missing links are choices and competition. Sheer genius, or complete dodo I... AM... STUMPED.Speechless. Flabbergasted. Silenced. Call it whatever you want.After reading this article from Today, I no longer know the depth of rubbish-ness that can come out from the Singapore msm (main stream media). Seriously. I don't know how to react, or comment any further.Maybe it is such a brilliant move to be so unorthodox, obscure and uncomprehensible that bloggers kena stunned (caught off-guard). I mean, how are we going to answer that article? Snubbed. Totally pwned.Either it's sheer genius, or complete dodo.It's like saying we should go back to postage because emails and e-cards are causing world-wide companies to be obliterated. Fax machines will no longer exist and post-boxes will no longer be seen. And stamp collectors will soon fade away. There goes First-Day covers...Wow, where did that analogy come from?I don't know. Just like the electoral boundaries, the lines keep changing until it's all blurred now. Perhaps it is using ridiculous and highly questionable articles to increase readership. Maybe there is an angle which I had failed to see. Mayhaps it wants to test its media boundaries, or even try to stretch the limits of Singaporeans' patience to get a reaction.I really don't know.This is my fourth article back to back concerning the Singapore msm. Doesn't help when the press is ranked a lowly >140 out of 195 countries.You are losing readership because you suck. No one wants to waste money for useless stuff that continues to produce junk, especially in a recession. Either you change your content or ship out. As far as I can remember, the blogging community has been telling you for ages .You still don't get it, do you? Anyway, the Elite One has spoken. Doesn't matter a hoot to him, so why should it bother you?"Singaporeans are free to read whatever they want, the influential founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew said of his country, which ranks near the bottom on a watchdog's index of press freedom."Sheesh, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record now... Did you leave your brains on your desk, or was it bashed out? Online editor of Straits Times, Joanne Lee, wrote such a stupid, moronic piece of goondu (silly) junk that left me aghast and disgusted.Appalled to be precise. First I have politicians who claim to be qualified psychiatric doctors enough to call an opposition party leader lunatic. Now I have editors who are qualified Aunt Agonys enough to give domestic violence advice to public.I bet she must have left her grey matter on her desk when she wrote it! Perhaps her boyfriend had bashed her on the head hard enough to write in such a concussed state.By gawd, she is the _EDITOR_, mind you! Not just some freelance, or small-fry journalist! Doesn't it make anyone wonder about the quality of journalism the msm (mainstream media) has been dishing out these days? Why would anyone want to pay to read junk anyway? And to think I had just blogged about it here and here.And it has to be Straits Times again? Wow... these days they seem to be desperate for readers thus these controversial articles to boost their readership.Stupid is as stupid says, dear Joanne Lee.It’s like saying maybe a wife should change her attitude towards sex if her husband had raped/violated her. Afterall, the husband had provided for the family so she should change herself to suit his needs. What a dumbo statement!At no point, even provoked should a man hit a woman. Period.So just because a driver in front of me provoked me, I can come out and bash the daylights out of him so that he can LEARN something from my bashing?Gee, are you nuts?!! Just look at the picture and you say it's semi-ok? Or do you have to write some moronic commentaries to get paid? Wake up your idea and get a life!Here is what Joanne Lee wrote. You make your own judgement, readers.---Was Rihanna semi-responsible?March 13, 2009 Friday, 06:08 PMJoanne Lee looks at her own experience with dating abuse.I ONCE dated a guy who hit me.Not in the full-on Chris-Brown-biting-Rihanna's-ears kind of way, but we'd argue and he'd get so worked up, he'd punch the wall and shove me around a little. (It'd usually be a one-off punch because he was inherently a decent guy who knew it was wrong to hit anyone.)Domestic/dating abuse has obviously blown up in the news since the R&B stars' violent episode last month came to light and Chris Brown was charged in court this week. Oprah Winfrey dedicated her show to the two of them and, while sending her love to the two, also said: "If a man hits you once, he will hit you again."Initially, the condemnation all over the Internet and media was against Chris Brown. A man raising his hand against the weaker sex is just something absolutely socially unacceptable.But a second strain of judgement has surfaced, turning against Rihanna, saying: Yes, she might be a victim but she also probably provoked Chris Brown to violence.Domestic abuse social workers would absolutely dismiss this secondary reaction, and I don't purport to know the natures of Chris Brown or Rihanna at all, but I can understand why some people would think the victim is not entirely blameless.You see, my ex was Chris Brown's age, 19 (give or take) at the time. We were young, we had tempers and we had not the maturity to control those tempers. When he hit me those few times, I'll freely admit, I had a part to play in the outcome.When I was younger, I was argumentative and it didn't help that I had a way with words - twisting words, to be precise. If he got frustrated and ended up hitting out at animate (me) or inanimate objects (mirrors), I honestly can't say it was entirely his fault.Was this the case in Rihanna's situation? I don't know. Is it the case in all domestic abuse situations? Absolutely not. Some men just cannot control their violence and there is nothing to be done for it except for the woman to leave the monster to protect themselves and, God forbid, their children.But what I do know, is that in my case, I contributed to his anger - which is why I forgave him time and time again (not that there were many times) and did not leave him. When we broke up in the end, it was for entirely different reasons.As far as I know, he's now happily married, a father and doing well in his career. As for me, I think I've learned to bridle my tongue and be a more give-and-take kind of partner. (And I stress, give-and-take. Not give-and-give.)So my humble advice to anyone out there facing mild cases of domestic/dating abuse is this: If you can help the situation by changing yourself, perhaps that's something to try if you truly love the guy.Operative word: MILD.If he's saying "I'm going to kill you", arm-locking you and biting your ears, no matter how much you look within yourself to try to improve your relationship, I really doubt your man is going to grow out of his temper tantrums.Rihanna, leave the dude already. I must be a mushroom That's how the Singapore msm (mainstream media) and SPH (Singapore Press Holdings who owned the msm) treat me. A mushroom. Why?Because they keep me in the dark and feed me nothing but bullsh*t all day.---I could have included Temask Holdings also owns SPH. But I won't sink to your underhand methods and rather keep things in perspective and objective. However you, SPH, time and again have brought in unnecessary details to smear others.For a good example is bringing in Chia Tik Lek's Tan Lead Shake's name in an article over his brother's death. You also did not fail to mention him as the Slippers Independent Candidate in an election. Pray tell me, what has that got to do with the death?But for Mas Selamat's escape, you conveniently heaped the blame on us Singaporeans for being complancent, on the guards and duty officer-in-charge, and the upgrade of the TV cameras, etc. Everything except the real people who ought to get the boot - MHA minister and the Head of the Detention Centre.Does not take a rocket scientist to wonder why you are stuck at 154th media position in the world.Now there is a furore over how the MSM skewed the article to pin the blame on Dr Allan Ooi. And even censored parts of the letter to protect the SAF. Oh the audicity of it!I mean what have we been fed all these years?! Yes, bullsh*t.So I concur then that the government must have foreseen huge investments and profits in mushroom farms in the coming years.Coz definitely we are all mushrooms.More read here. What you read is not what you read Oxymoron? Yeah you bet!Especially when SPH has sunk to a new all-time low in gutter journalism. Yes I'm refering to the death of Dr Allan Ooi.See for yourself here and here.Everyone was taken for a ride if you had just gardner the contents from SPH. I mean it's so blatantly different and the spin story will spin you until you feel the late Dr Allan Ooi is just a love-sick puppy. Which he is NOT!Really, I’m absolutely disgusted and appalled that even a letter has to be censored! I mean it’s his last letter for God’s sake!Why would you do that, SPH? Isn’t it as bad as North Korea to have a tightly-controlled media? Why hide the facts and truths? It doesn't bring you any glory except now you have lost your pride and credibility? And it’s not as if in recent years you have had any.You used to be good. I liked reading the newspapers many years ago. I don’t know what had happened. You had just lost the plot. Totally.Thank you Wayang Party for portraying the truth. I cannot imagine how we would think of the late Dr Allan Ooi if you hadn’t published the first half of the letter not omitting SAF.You truly sicken me, SPH! I’d never thought you will sink to a new low. Pui! You had left an utterly bitter (and not even close to satisfying) aftertaste as my punchline for this blog Kaffein-nated goes.No wonder your government bosses are so afraid of the Internet because truths will be exposed and outrightly published without your control. And you have sought time and again to discredit bloggers, especially socio-political blogs.So now I being to wonder if you had been telling us the truth about the recent deaths of David Hartanto Widjaja and Zhou Zheng.I feel total disdain for you, SPH! One man's ideas? I think not If you want to have an analytical overview and alternative read about what PAP claims, go no further and read Part 1 and Part 2. These articles are a really, really good. I think these should be in the history lessons, or at least an economic model of how not to screw up. I have always had my misgivings whenever the PAP blows its trumpet that the modern day Singapore attributes herself to the wisdom and analytical vision of my godfather - LKY. Eversince I had started reading alternative views and commentaries (with just a simple pick up of an SDP newsletter at Orchard Road ages ago), I had begun to suspect that there are underlying truths that will never be published or made known publicly. You can get yourself a copy of the book - 'A Nation Cheated' here. There are also other alternative reads.These articles not only walked through how Singapore had progressed through the years but also debunked the fact that the succes of Singapore was just LKY’s vision and wisdom that brought her thus far. Rather LKY had also followed other economic models, an example is the Switzerland one. There is nothing wrong with such claims but to attribute the country's success were based on his ideas/vision and his alone is a tad far off.No, I am not saying he did not contribute to the success. In fact, I rather liked certain policies like making education compulsory. Yet again, it was not just his idea alone. Another one of the good policies is the death penalty on certain major crimes like drug trafficking, firearms possession, kidnapping, murder, etc. I am not a strong advocate on death penalty because life is precious. However there are some 'jokers' who are not only a menace to society by their mere existence, they are also sinisterly dangerous to our kids and well-being. They ought to be locked up for life, or perhaps life snuffed out of them.Of course we have questionable ones like the 'Speak more Mandarin, less dialects' and the 'Stop at Two' and many others which we are now seeing the 'side-effects'.I have digressed.Now that Singapore has developed and progressed (at least at the educational and academic level and has been called a developed country), I believe we ought to be mature enough to handle alternative political reads. Many of my colleagues and friends (while I was still in Singapore) still hold the passive approach that 'government knows best' and continue to have the 'don't touch this if it ain't broken' attitude.Like I have written a comment in Lucky's 'Diary of a Singaporean Mind', many Singaporeans need to open up their thinking and see the world for themselves. I do not claim that I have reached a thought level good enough to advise others. But after reading the comments published by some (young?) Singaporeans in response to the David Hartanto Widjaja saga, I could not help lamenting that they have a rather silo view of 'the state media is always right else it won't be published, will it?' mentality.So much for musings. I believe it's time to move on from our past victories and successes so often trumpeted by the PAP who claimed to have brought Singapore thus far. It is starting to sound like a broken record these days. Photos galore @ Tasmania (26 Sep - 4 Oct) - Part Three More photos as promised (see also Part 1 and Part 2).The remaining three days of our trip were spent at Cradle Mountain. There is a reason why it's called Cradle Mountian.The drive from Launceston took slightly more than two hours at a good leisurely pace. We stopped for lunch break at a small town named Delorain. Remembered we did a couple of wrong turns too during the journey.A very beautiful countryside churchOnce we reached the base of the Cradle Mountain, the drive got more scenic and beautiful . It was drizzling on our way up so there was a misty and surreal feeling like we were in heaven when we finally reached Cradle Mountain Lodge. We stay there for two nights.During the day, there are a lot of graded forest walks and hikes (check here). We took The King Billy track (~1 hour) and also the 45-min The Waterfalls Walk (Pencil Pine Falls and Knyvet Falls).We were told the weather changes frequently. So we brought along our jackets. As usual Rachel became grouchy and irritable after a while as there wasn't any kids to play or chat with. And missus showed her displeasure. I got sandwiched in-between.Beautiful, lush and natural forest Sunlight creeping through the canopies, on the forest floor and a creek Family shots, waterfall in the backgroundIt got colder at night. and the wild noturnal animals came out looking for food. In fact there was a wallaby standing just outside our cabin door. We also came up close and personal with different varieties of possums running along the rails and beams.Another small creek, a wombat having lunch out in the open Trekking to Pencil Pine Falls and Knyvet Falls, Rachel the Amazon Princess(Apologies: too dark to take good pictures of the waterfalls)On the way back to Hobart we stopped by Richmond. The Richmond Bridge (built in the 1820s) is the oldest bridge in Tasmania. The town itself was quaint and cozy. Beautiful mansion overlooking the Richmon Bridge Beautiful and all grown-up RachelDid you see how much my dear princess has grown up? She indeed looks so different from her earlier photos (see here and here). Gee, they grow up so fast. Don't we love family trips? Latest: Got money also cannot use?! This 'no travel deposit' feature in the new ez-link card is a no-brainer (read here).Here are my long-standing grouses against the LTA and transport companies (which I think are all in cahoots together):Public transport is er... public transport.What can I say? I don't know how you justify your profits if you are providing a public service. Shouldn't your profits be channeled back into the public in terms of stablising fares and providing better systems?.When you lower your fares, you say as if you have done us a great service and feel that you have given me an orgasmic feeling. You don't. Get over it..From the newspaper article: "But the Land Transport Authority (LTA) explained that the new features of the card make this system more convenient."Shouldn't you be making the system more convenient for the PUBLIC? Gee, this one absolutely no-brainer. I guess the word public is no longer in your vocab..Nobody asked for special features like Mobile TV, electronic tags or cards, or even high-tech transport systems implementations.If you had taken public transport like we do, you will find that people just want to get from one place to another through the more accessible route, at a reasonably comfortable journey and in the quickest time.All other jazz pales in comparison..If you want to move towards a cashless society and use the latest technology, by all means do it. Support yourself with the profits you have been having all these years. The common man should not be penalised..Paying for something which is useless is... useless. The inital purchase of the ez-link card can't be returned. Till now, you have not told me what I can do with this card?.Do care to explain how much you have earned from advertisement alone? I could hardly look outside the windows these days without straining my eyes when I visited Singapore three months ago. They have been blanketed by your advertisement posters.If you already have a steady stream of income from these advertisements, how come you are still justifying transport hikes? Reminds me of TV licenses..Now you implement an absolutely confusing system/policy and we have to adapt. See how moronic your statement in the article is:"When you bought the old ez-link card, you had to pay an extra $3, known as a travel deposit, and this was not reflected in the card's balance.So, when the card reader shows a balance of $0.01, there is actually $3.01 still on the card. And you can still take a bus or a train.With the new card, the $3, which is no longer known as a travel deposit, is reflected in the card balance. That's all."Wah how come so cheem (hokkein meaning complicated)? There is $3 but actually it is $0? Pray tell me, which smart-alec government scholar made simple mathematics so complicated? At least in the old card, the travel deposit is not reflected. So when you reach $0 or close to it, you know it's time for top-up.Now it is there but still cannot use? Sounds like the dreaded CPF blackbox. *koff koff* Photos galore @ Tasmania (26 Sep - 4 Oct) - Part Two Procrastination.The bane of man. If it hadn't been for missus' constant nagging reminder, I would have conveniently forgotten about them. I am certain God thought Adam had procrastinated far too long in naming all the animals He had created.Left alone, I reckon Adam will still be naming them today. No wonder God said Adam needed a helper. And a secretary.Remember to thank missus, dear readers. Here's Part One to refresh your memory.--- Some coastal beach (very cold with Antarctic wind blowing)We travelled from Hobart to Bicheno. Along the way, we visited the Freycinet National Park.The park is very scenic and beautiful. I was told the hike to reach the Wineglass Bay lookout used to be >2 hours from the old carpark.I believe the Tasmania Tourism Board decided to spare tourists like me from fatigue torture and had constructed a new carpark further uphill. It now takes 1 - 1.5 hours.The hike up was totally worth the view as you can see below.Rachel trying to convince the wallaby to hike along I think it retorted, "Are you crazy?!"Do you see the mountainous backdrop in the photo below? The Wineglass Bay is just behind it. No wonder the smart wallaby refused to tag along.Rachel's partners in 'crime', family photo Solid as a rock Breath-taking scenery! Worth every effort...... and the after-effectsAfter spending a night in Bicheno, we continued our journey to Launceston.Launceston is much smaller compared to Hobart but definitely more bustling than Bicheno. Bicheno feels like a surfers' town.We visited the Penny Royal World & Gunpowder Mill. Unfortunately it was under renovation and closed to public. There is also a nearby hand-made sweet factory named Gourlays Sweet Factory. Gunpowder Mill and Gourlays Quaint cafe and service apartment reception Random photos shots, prominent windmill in town Click to view Part One. I will be uploading Part Three with Cradle Mountain photos soon... :P