Some may say that fake news needs policing. Others see nothing wrong with it. But I want to be clear just because they see it that way doesnt make it the right thing to do. To me its got nothing to do with fighting fake news. If that were really true then the final arbiters of winnowing truth from lies will not rest with the current custodians of power…the indictment is as singularly simple as that.
So what is goal?
The goal in my view is to put a policeman into the head of every stakeholder of Singapore. That’s their mission. But to that I say – you fudging around with stuff that you don’t know anything about….why dont you go juggle live hand grenades or stick your tongue to lick military grade plutonium.
For me this whole idea of putting a policeman in every persons head is way too big for any government or anyone to do…its like removing your skull and digging a piece of your brain out and hooking it up to a chip or something!….its too big – if we humans have a proven record of being wise decision makers that might make whether its a good idea moot…but in truth, we humans are lousy decision makers and we are very far from the wisdom quotient…we don’t know for instance why even mushrooms flares up like they do after a thunderstorm in one place and not another or whether even dogs dream about being owned by other owners. As humans we make terrible decisions like sanctioning lobotomies and approve products and services that make chewing on razors look kosher. One top of all that we humans are guilty of terrible crimes – we continue to poison the earth and oceans as there’s no tommorrow, we declare war with the innocent and form alliances with crooks and murderers and in two thousand years of recorded human history we havent quite figured out how to be even kind and reasonable and loving to ourselves. Above all we continue to con ourselves that our lives are getting better even when the bus is heading to the edge of the cliff….. So who are we really to say putting a policeman in everyone’s head is somehow going to make the problem of fake news go away….to me this is just too much power to give governments or anyone.
To me this will always be a very big mistake even if it manages to solve the problem….as the cost is simply exorbitantly high.’
America’s tech boycott of Huawei will backfire.
May 22, 2019
Like all world class stupid strategies, it can only make those who they mean to weaken stronger.
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‘If you want to hasten the demise of an oligrachy or hegemony or any group of people. All you have to do is let me them have their way complete with icing and cherry topping….its like the anti ‘fake’ law news that the PAP just rolled out. The irony is their stupid leaders believe this is a reliable, sustainable and effective means for them to monopolize power in Singapore. What they dont seem to realize is all this would do is riven their ranks with complacency, weaknesses and stasis.
I understand what I have mentioned is a very bold claim. But if you peruse thru the annals of history with a fine tooth comb. You will find what I have mentioned has a fidelity factor of 100%. That’s to say the application of this rule is virtually axiomatic and it applies irrespective of whether it is a fortune 500 firm, regime, political hegemony or even a class of individuals who share a common body of beliefs.
Its fair to say as unbelievable as it seems, in the next ten years. There will be no such thing as the PAP any longer. You will probably find them as a dusty artifact next to the Dodo bird exhibit in a museum.
On the subject of Mr Koreana – Part 2
May 21, 2019
I think if there’s such a thing as a ‘take away’ from this story of Mr Koreana and Miss D, it is the notion – you can never out run your past….you can certainly try and try hard enough like all things, maybe you can get ahead of it for a while. But eventually the past will over take you and get ahead.
Where I might differ from others is probably the idea – I dont think its a complete waste if one doesnt live well the first half of one’s life. As I happen to believe even if you took a wrong turn in the moment of your youth and lived an existence that’s so base and devoid of all the goodness humanity has to offer…..you can still use all that hurt and pain as raw material to make the second half of your life better.
In the case of Mr Koreana he just doesnt know how to make that transition between the world of the past and the present and future….he’s stuck in a sort of transit zone where it seems he’s in a perpetual state of dissonance. You know that place where you have to be in to get to wherever you want to go. But in the case of Koreana, he’s like a permanent resident of transit land.
I think when I reflect back on my own experience that’s really how I relate to the world. Most people back home in Singapore dont really experience this lag in consciousness becauze they’re always marinating around people. So that process by itself desentisizes one. But for me since I live and work alone in an alien environment. I literally live a life of a lone astronaut. I am for instance hyperconscious of many things that you may very well be oblivious too because you have been so desensitized by the act of ordinary living…you simply cannot register it. To sense this difference spatially, emotionally and spiritually. I think one has to mentally and spiritually remove oneself from the world. So when I crafted this character, Mr Koreana….I think yes, its somewhat true to say he’s definitely a vantage to how I see the world.
As for your second question – whether he (Mr Koreana) represents my struggle with autism.
I definitely struggled before when I was in Singapore and maybe the first five years here. But these days. I dont struggle to seek the approval of others. Infact, I do even feel the necessity to command their respect. I realize this may come across as narcistically self indulgent. But it isnt actually. I think its a product of ageing and mellowing and settling down and reconciling. Because one cannot keep on fighting all the time.
You see I am what I am.
I cannot be someone else.
I can only be myself…who I am.
As so seeking acceptance. Or understanding. I dont think that can ever come before the idea of who I am. If it does, then something is definitely very wrong with my thinking.
As you can see. i have spent alot of time thinking over this matter.
On the subject of Mr Koreana
May 21, 2019
I think its quite futile to talk about Mr Koreana coherently…..only because the narrative is not linear. The story begins sort of in the middle or maybe its near the end. Or maybe its before the beginning like an appendix or another book involving the same characters….so there you go…you will have problems.
But having said its a futile endeavor to talk about Mr Koreana doesnt necessarily mean we wouldn’t yield good results from such a discussion….we can…only my feel is we have to first step out from the corsetted idea of what a story is and how its supposed to read.
You see its conceivable even the way we make sense of a narrative is completely topsy turvy….I dont want to be accused of running before I can even crawl. But it wouldnt be far fetched to say Mr Koreana is a very complex character.
On one hand you can say quite correctly he has an extraterrestrail quality about him like someone who just stepped out from a flying saucer…but at the same time, he’s familiar enough for each of us to identify with….for example his job description – I sell coffee…its simple, but yet it isnt, because that aperture opens up a new dimension into another life of another person.
So you see now. Its not so simple for me to just have a casual conversation about Mr Koreana. Maybe we will do it much later a few years after I have completed the book…its really too early now.
The season of love…
May 20, 2019
Ladies and gentlemen,
i am pleased to announced the continuation of the long awaited love series of Miss D and Mr Koreana.
Only pleaze note, if evil people pump me full of holes like Emental cheese….I can no longer write in this dimension.
‘I happen to fall into the category of thinkers who believe love is very powerful. By that I recognize first hand, the idea love as a concept, school of thought or even ideologue has to be probably the most intimidating concept to the man.
That if you must know is why most men and some women dont feel comfortable with the subject of love….dont get me wrong, they dont mind rimming you or even giving you a one hour epic blow job. But when it comes to discussing the guts and internals of what constitutes love….you will find few takers.
That’s because most people are not truly comfortable with the idea of love….I think to be at one with the concept and school of thought of love, one must first be destroyed, that’s to say the self, the ego must first go thru a sort decay where its completely destroyed and only then can something significant emerge from that wasteland of the empire of the bones…..this is why love is so powerful.
As true love first demands the complete destruction of the self…specifically the ego. I dont know of any other human emotion or impulse that demands that sort of sacrifice!’
This will be my last year on this planet..
May 20, 2019
Whenever my mind wants to tell me something…a dwarf dressed in a tuxedo will appear in my dreams. He’s always in a crowd. He’s always holding a mahogony box and within it…is the message.
It can be in a letter or montage like a movie.
On this occasion.
A man is dining in the restaurant all by himself. There is nothing unusual about this. As this man is always alone. A assassin walks in – he bears a pistol, the other diners stream out hastily. A few scream. But most run as fast as they can – but this one man remains.
As the gun man approaches his table – the man puts down his cutlery calmly, wipes his mouth with his napkin and straightens his bushjacket. He seems to know the time has come. Nothing seems to surprise him. As he has probably replayed this scene in his mind eye a thousand times – he knows it so well that he even tries to calm down the nervous gun man, as he struggles with the safety by asking him in a calm voice – to proceed slowly….and please don’t make a mess.
When the gun is leveled at this man – he does not cringe. Neither does he show any resistance. Instead looks directly into the barrel and simply express to this lone gunman or maybe himself or perhaps even to providence – today is a very good day to die.
Remember me always…..I will have to prepare for death. Do not be sad. The circle will never be broken. I will definitely return and be reincarnate again as….maybe your hamster, bunny wabbit or gold fish…we will always be together.
Meanwhile fuck those sister fuckers cheebai who are out to kill me! Fuck your mother lah!
Do not be sad.
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Mr Koreana was a very easy man to love. Only because he was very good at throwing that ball called love. That was how Miss D saw the politics of love – to her, the process didn’t have anything to do with some lofty disquisition – it differed only slightly from two people playing catch with a ball. May seem childish, but to Miss D being able to throw a ball straight and with just the right amount of strength was the clearest indication of a consummate lover. Miss D was aware not every man can always be relied to throw right. Most men just chuck the ball – it always came to her only after having to perform somersaults or rolls…and even if they could some how sort out their aim. There was the other niggling issue of being either to soft or hard. Seldom did she ever experience the satisfying joy of catching one where the feeling between desire and fulfillment was just right like the ones Mr Koreana threw at her.
He seemed born. No. Destined to throw her number 10 balls…that’s how she rated his throws, from one to ten…they were all tens.
In fact one could well be forgiven for believing – this skill in being able to throw perfect balls could really only have come from having been a lifelong prisoner on the island called Mr Koreana. Miss D knew a thing or two about how a man comes of age to throwing perfect balls.
She even suspected. What looked like gentle rolling hills on this placid island were in fact jagged blood stained ridges. Sometimes only a little of that showed whenever he was in the mood to talk. But nearly all of who he really was or what he once belonged too revealed itself in the starkest possible terms when Mr Koreana threw one perfect ball after another – it was as thought when he threw the ball. All he ever wanted to do was to reach out beyond the ocean of time into some distraught past.
For Mr Koreana must have been none other than a tragic victim of…whatever. Yes, whatever. As what really haunted him was always hidden by an impenetrable veil of mystery that Miss D could never hope to ever beacon out and so she termed it under the broad geography of whatever…. besides it was too faraway for her to ever imagine….as it all probably stood like a moss riven shipwreck…..another life of another man, possibly even another plane of existence and whatever little Miss D was able to make out was simply the sugar coated shell of the impeccable ball thrower – who she suspected could only have honed the perfection of his skills by throwing out letters stuffed in bottles from that deserted island where he was marooned – it was this quality of lingering detachment about Mr Koreana that always filled Miss D with longing. Whenever this feeling descended upon her, she would simply stop, let her arms flop and stare hard at Mr Koreana. As if to tell him – I know your secret…but no matter how hard Miss D searched with her eyes. All she could make out was his outward appearance of lovability as he prepared for yet another perfect throw of the ball. Even after when she had refused to play catch the ball any more unless he told her his mystery. All he could do was look at her pleadingly with that, ‘are you ready?’ expression of expectancy.
Even when Miss D insisted she no longer wanted to play. Mr Koreana could always be counted to supply his well crafted and heroic construction of why they should play on. And this feeling Miss D believed was intertwined, ultimately to the point of indistinguishability, with the very finality of Mr Koreana’s imprisonment in this fictitious island that he had constructed somewhere in his head; for Mr Koreana the perfect ball thrower. The act of was sharper than addiction, much more satisfying than fiction. It was probably his only means of redemption from the terrible past that haunted him.
Eventually the game would always end the same – they would both fall silent and stare at each other. As if each knew what was in the others head. That was at least how Miss D saw it in her mind’s eye – not anything near resolution. Rather closer to a point of indistinguishability where both their hidden lives would suddenly coaveslece into a sort of happy reverie resembling nothingness.
Nothingness being none other than the very form of Miss D and Mr Koreana.
13 min to the moon – BBC podcast
May 20, 2019
https://player.fm/series/13-minutes-to-the-moon
‘When I think about the whole idea of putting a man on the moon. It could really only have been an American project. That was because America at that moment in history was a very idealistically driven country that had perhaps the clearest sense of destiny for where it wanted to go along with taking the rest of the world with it. America at that period of history saw space as a strategic asset in the same way the Romans regarded road building or the British their extensive navy as a jugular cornerstone of sustaining an empire.
Today America no longer embodies these values of clarity, vision and purposefulness….America the country along with both its incoherent and incomprehensible domestic and foreign policy is now like an old senile and decrepit man confined to his wheelchair. From time to time, this old fool will stand up and talk passionately about whatever piques his fancy…..but sadly, no one listens to America any longer.
One day many people will ask – what was America’s finest hour. I say it has to be just around the period when the lunar missions came into the American scenery. As that was the zenith of American will to power…it was just after the second world war and the American candle burnt so brightly that it could only go very dark thereafter. What many people didnt realize was it was the last gasping crie de couer of a dying dream. A dream that gave itself all away to the atmosphere in one brief moment like a beautiful starburst on the fourth of July…..to me at least America will always be this beautiful yet tragic swan.’
The suprise raid launched against my business rivals was so brazen…reckless and possibly insane. That no one would ever believe it could be pulled off by someone who did not have unlimited reserves…..So even as their mighty carrier fleet tries to search and destroy my imaginary fleet.
I can tell fear of the unknown has riven their ranks like a debilitating disease….I have categorically refused to come to the negotiating table to talk peace. Instead the issue is open as to whether I might sink more carriers!
They have even sent emissaries…I rebuffed them all with that cryptic message…I am only a simple man who wants to turn the wheel of life on my veggie patch peacefully…but there are stupid people who force me to the path of evil!
It is only a matter of time before they will succumb to the terror of their own mind games…..
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‘You must always be careful of WHERE your thoughts are taking you. Go on a ride you most definitely will. As that’s the nature of a mind that’s under pressure.
Understand this! if you are not mindful, you might very well end up in a very rough neighborhood where your mind will end up running helter skelter.
If that happens your mind is no longer your friend and will turn around and eat you like a tiger.
This is how people lose their head…..usually…nine out of ten, its not what others did or did not do to them….usually they were defeated by their own thinking. To put it in another way, they are their worst enemy….knowing this gives you insight…it is power….so keep this chip in a safe place because one day this knowledge will save your bony ass!’
I can smell carriers….
May 16, 2019
Who wins is two parts skill and cunning and the rest lady luck…..I will keep it short. I’ve started a war with my business rivals by launching a pre-emptive surprise attack….so they believe.
Now their carriers have combined together in one giant monster fleet to destroy me….they’re searching for what they believe to be my tiny carrier fleet in the needle of haystack of time and space.
They believe such a fleet exist…otherwise I would not be as brazen in my attack.
Conditions. The fog of war makes this ghost carrier fleet realer than real…I continue to act and speak as if this deadly fleet is roaming like a wild pack of feral and restless wolves….they can only believe and pour men and materiale into the search and destroy mission.
Meanwhile I run deep and silent…I want you all to know, deep down in my heart. All I ever wanted was to turn the wheel of life quietly, peacefully and uneventfully…..I had no choice.
I had to attack first!
Life is hardly like the movies…
May 15, 2019
Today someone saw me sitting all by myself deep in thought in the Planter’s club. This person came to me and said, ‘I know what’s in your mind.’
That was when I said, ‘Good…now you know life is hardly like the movies.’
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‘It wasn’t just movies that couldn’t quite squeeze in the entire narrative of what’s life is about….not without threatening to burst at the seams. The problem with us…the human species. Or maybe its just life itself, is this – we have to constantly winnow real life down into something that resembles a movie script; and the problem is too many people out there actually believe that’s what life is all about….it’s as if a story about my, your, his, her or their lives has to be wordsmithed and some how be compressed into a two hour plus yarn that starts rough and uncertain in the very beginning, gets maybe a little sweeter in the middle with a dash of hope throw in and at the end, it all some how manages to end with a pretty bow complete with redemption and even closing the circle.
But real life is never like that.
You dont ever get to met that special person and even if you do that person peels off because either you or her change trajectory….as for money. At the end of it…you just say to yourself, ‘huh this is it?’
No life is not like the movies…we actually dig our arse as it gets itchy there…..and some times the good guy doesnt always win.
For one its too ruthlessly varied and relentless…life that is – mostly it consist of me nurturing my own self doubt…I constantly vex over my the power and politics of my business rivals like chess pieces….I mull endlessly about how much I am sticking my neck out…the extent of how much I am bluffing and the fear of someone calling me out.
If I had a story it would never make it to the cutting room floor of a movie director…no, too many scratching my balls for one…no, its too real and I am convinced most people simply dont really find that interesting at all…the reality of life that is.’
Absinthe
May 14, 2019
This is not a drink, where you just buy, dunk some ice cubes in and just drink casually while watching TV…..you could very well die if you did just that. Look at the proof…see it…Bingo. 72%.
Absinthe is served with its own spoon.
Might also need a mini fountain
The Planter’s way of life has hardly changed
May 13, 2019
Nothing has really changed….but it will soon.
Room with a view
May 13, 2019
I think when a space has a right balance of the really important things. Then it has that magical quality to transform any other day of the week to feel like a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Maybe its time to change the way showers are built
May 13, 2019
Toilets and showers were designed according to functional reasons many many years ago. But with the advent of camera smartphones, maybe its time to factor this in the design of toilets and showers.
In remembrance of Richard Holbrooke
May 12, 2019
He was a mid level diplomat. A product forged at a time when America had a sense of destiny in the world and believed everyone could be part of that dream.
He never got to where he wanted to go….but his achievements are very impressive nonetheless.
As the US continues its epic decay into the long kang…rest assured, there are none of his ilk any longer.
https://player.fm/series/the-book-review-1785564/the-real-life-of-a-diplomat-told-like-a-novel
The art of letting go
May 11, 2019
All of us….rich and poor, well or poorly schooled, tall or short, well or least endowed with whatever attributes one chooses to set their eyes on….all of us will at some point in the long journey of life realize….life consist only of a few things.
One of the most important being letting go of things that you hold dear to your heart.
Maybe its time for the PAP to just take a break
May 9, 2019
‘But Mr Tong said Singapore could issue a “general correction order” to any platform, even one that is not carrying the falsehood in question. This could mean such platforms could be ordered to push out a mass correction note to users.
The BBC has asked Singapore’s Law Ministry how the law would be enforced and whether it would encompass all chats, including those between individuals.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia division, called the idea of the Singapore government policing private chats “frankly insane”.
“This is really moving towards a Big Brother style of control and censorship project,” he told the BBC. “It’s a direct threat to freedom of expression and is something the entire world should be alarmed about.’
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‘Tong and his ilk are stupid! That’s to say they believe its possible to put a policeman in the head of everyone. That may well be possible some fifty years back ago during the good olde analog age, but these days its just incredibly five chili world class stupid to believe that’s doable…..maybe its time to step off the bus. I mean if one has to resort to such drastic measures to hold on to power….maybe its time….time to step off the bus that is.’
Tuxedo
May 9, 2019
Because the anti fake news law will give ministers extraordinary powers to issue out corrections and take down notices arbitarily. This means ministers do not need to work very hard to check the facts or for that matter defend what they have to say or write.
This will only create a flabby, complacent and probably good for nothing party political outfit.
Everyone is born with power over their destiny. Even a slave has this power what more of a free person….and those who are truly strong never ever just give this power away.
Why is this insight so important?
Because in this world there too many nonsensical people who will tell that so and so has the ability to control your life…manipulate your emotions and imprison your sense of who you are.
These people are wrong….as they do not know of this power that I speak of.
Mentally and emotionally disciplined people if you observe carefully never give others the power to make them feel inferior or bad.
Observe carefully…its like taking shots at a tank with a pea shooter.
They understand they are ALWAYS in control.
They know their power that accounts for their strenght lies in their ability to manage the way they manage their emotions and responses.
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‘If you observe a man who is trained in the art of war. It is almost impossible to press any of his hot buttons. Try to humiliate or put him down and it would be like dropping a pebble into a bottomless well….it will just go on and on without yielding even the slightest sound.
There’s a good reason for this – people who are well versed in the art of war will always choose WHERE and WHEN they fight.
This is axiomatic of warcraft. As the ability to control WHERE and WHEN is what actually determines victory or defeat.
So when you come across an adversary that shows no reaction…be careful…be fearful. As it doesnt mean that person is a pushover, it just means he’s keeping his powder dry and its not the right time for him to respond.’
