Typing my first impressions of work from my new office – seems kinda weird that I do have the time to type here since my new job is supposed to be push from the start…ok, anyway, the reason to that is why I am typing this now is probably to reflect some deep feelings of mine which I know I cannot share with anyone – to do that would mean probably the end of everything for me…
One of them, which I cannot mention, is the hiding of a very dark secret which I cannot let anyone in this world know save for the other who is affected by it…To do so would jeopardise the very career which I am doing in…The only reason to why I am doing so is to help this other friend of mine in various ways possible such that he/she would be able to live well. Now my other friend has promised that she would keep it as well…as long as I am able to pay the price to it…its something that both of us committed, and it’s a price that we both have to pay…enough said. And don’t push me to say anything about this…I will end it here by saying that this is my darkest secret…
Now back to the slightly happier thing of starting out my new job. Its been a week since I have been here – and I have been feeling quite left out after a while…I happened to be roped in as my predecessor would be leaving in 2 weeks…so today happens to be her final day in the office where in the midst of doing lou hei we also did a special thank you for her – she happens to be a friend of one of my seniors in Arts Club that I deeply respect…it was an emotional day for her…but at that moment when she gave her speech, I truly realised how left out I was there…perhaps I might be expecting too much of myself as a newbie…the transition cannot be seamless. Everyone wished her well, but at the back of my mind, I was thinking of the same would be done for me 2-3 years down the road when it’s my turn to go…? I have my own doubts at that sadly…even though the environment can be said to be very warm and welcoming, but I truly realise that while taking over the duties of my upperstudy is one thing, building on the relations that she has built up in the office with the other guys, including my section, is another matter altogether – I truly felt really left out today cos I know that I am very very far away from building up dynamics even in my own section, not to say the whole branch…but preserver is the key word. Hopefully with my own willpower and never-say-die spirit I would be there sooner rather than later…It’s easy to say one should stay optimistic and things – as my experience from my previous job serves to testify – but just that for now, the borders are much harder to break down and therefore much harder to establish new relationships as well…Even as I hear it, I can feel my fellow team members who will definitely miss her absence and see perhaps as her not-so-good replacement – I am trying not to think about it. My senior’s right about this – being in a job is one thing, but to survive and do well is another. Therefore it seems to me that to achieve the second objective is far tougher than I expected, especially one which human relations define careers almost totally.
Finally, just to sign off on this Chinese New Year post, I have now formalised my own theory – the final one of course…
The ‘Ant of the Masses’ so defines that a person whose achievements are ordinary can be content if he is able to consistently perform well at work and sometimes exceed expectations. If an ant can life things 50 x its weight, anyone can sure perform his tasks beyond expectations – indeed we should follow such a strategy then all of us can do well in it…I am damn sure..
Happy Chinese ‘Niu’ Year 2009! :D
Friday, January 30, 2009
Commentary from the office desk: 2 cents worth of political events (Part IV)
On this issue of the discussion of political events for this week, there are quite a few sensitive issues of discussion that have major implications possibly for the coming 1-2 years… seems like the Year of the Ox has instead made things harder for people to live with each other. Look on…
The focus on the new Obama administration in the US seems to have reached a fever pitch following his inauguration this week, and this will definitely be so for the next few months. And with good reason. Obama and his key ‘weapons’ have too many hot issues on the table to handle – and today I would just mention 2 of them – the economic crunch and his first victory on the passing of the economic stimulus package and condemnation of too-wealthy Wall Street Bankers…and the other being the ongoing instability in Israel-Gaza and the Afghanistan issue. Obama’s actions have been decisive and calm, but his ire against the Wall Street bankers shows that he wants to identify with the common American man on the street to the end of his term, and that for now will stand him in good stead to pass even the toughest of reforms that would help the average American. As for the Middle East, he might be a little too naive on how things can be resolved, but the guile of Hillary Clinton and Richard Holbrooke means that he would get the best expert advice on handling the situation.
North-South Korean relations seems to have taken a turn for the worse now with the North cancelling all agreements with the South. Of course, the North explains this as no thanks to the aggressive policies of the South led by Lee Myung Bak, but I would differ – I rather see as the North increasingly realising itself as being seen as the weak state, the pariah state…isolated and irrelevant, that it has decided to play the one card that it still has that would make the world shiver – now I am realising that my best pal’s words in his presentation more than a year ago are still very valid…
Lastly of course a word of mention must be given to the increasing unemployment situation in Singapore. Those who read would know that unemployment rate for the country rose to 2.6% at Q4 08, so that is ringing bells for everyone already. Now for what that means is simple – there is just an ongoing cloud of doom and gloom around the country – and the Chinese New Year itself is extremely reflective on that. Despite massive efforts to celebrate, the ongoing tightening of wallets means that revenues for selling of goodies and good foods have massively fallen – more people are now going out hoping to get something out of the worsening situation – employers want to tighten but more people need stable jobs to survive. I am definitely one of them some time ago – the current one I am doing is something I would definitely reject a year or 2 ago – not now, as I see myself having the need to adapt in order to prosper better. And that is the moral of the story for anyone else in Asia right now. Japan’s the latest case with calls for snap polls intensifying by the opposition over the LDP’s non effective economic reforms.
Finally, a side note has to go to the effects of global warming – the heat wave throughout Asia is tremendous. Most of us would have realised that the last 2 months have been unusually dry – when the expected Nov-Jan monsoon should be here and then a few years ago…and that the Australian Open was delayed for a while due to the searing heatwaves of 41 degrees Celsius and more…slowly, mankind is suffering for all the environmental destruction it has caused since World War II…
That’s all from me for now…the next post might be late…but it will still come =D
P.S. Some of my anger is also directed at Liverpool and the LA Lakers for not getting the wins they are getting and letting everyone else get ahead…but get ahead with it guys! Sooner or later, we will ride out of this slump…
The focus on the new Obama administration in the US seems to have reached a fever pitch following his inauguration this week, and this will definitely be so for the next few months. And with good reason. Obama and his key ‘weapons’ have too many hot issues on the table to handle – and today I would just mention 2 of them – the economic crunch and his first victory on the passing of the economic stimulus package and condemnation of too-wealthy Wall Street Bankers…and the other being the ongoing instability in Israel-Gaza and the Afghanistan issue. Obama’s actions have been decisive and calm, but his ire against the Wall Street bankers shows that he wants to identify with the common American man on the street to the end of his term, and that for now will stand him in good stead to pass even the toughest of reforms that would help the average American. As for the Middle East, he might be a little too naive on how things can be resolved, but the guile of Hillary Clinton and Richard Holbrooke means that he would get the best expert advice on handling the situation.
North-South Korean relations seems to have taken a turn for the worse now with the North cancelling all agreements with the South. Of course, the North explains this as no thanks to the aggressive policies of the South led by Lee Myung Bak, but I would differ – I rather see as the North increasingly realising itself as being seen as the weak state, the pariah state…isolated and irrelevant, that it has decided to play the one card that it still has that would make the world shiver – now I am realising that my best pal’s words in his presentation more than a year ago are still very valid…
Lastly of course a word of mention must be given to the increasing unemployment situation in Singapore. Those who read would know that unemployment rate for the country rose to 2.6% at Q4 08, so that is ringing bells for everyone already. Now for what that means is simple – there is just an ongoing cloud of doom and gloom around the country – and the Chinese New Year itself is extremely reflective on that. Despite massive efforts to celebrate, the ongoing tightening of wallets means that revenues for selling of goodies and good foods have massively fallen – more people are now going out hoping to get something out of the worsening situation – employers want to tighten but more people need stable jobs to survive. I am definitely one of them some time ago – the current one I am doing is something I would definitely reject a year or 2 ago – not now, as I see myself having the need to adapt in order to prosper better. And that is the moral of the story for anyone else in Asia right now. Japan’s the latest case with calls for snap polls intensifying by the opposition over the LDP’s non effective economic reforms.
Finally, a side note has to go to the effects of global warming – the heat wave throughout Asia is tremendous. Most of us would have realised that the last 2 months have been unusually dry – when the expected Nov-Jan monsoon should be here and then a few years ago…and that the Australian Open was delayed for a while due to the searing heatwaves of 41 degrees Celsius and more…slowly, mankind is suffering for all the environmental destruction it has caused since World War II…
That’s all from me for now…the next post might be late…but it will still come =D
P.S. Some of my anger is also directed at Liverpool and the LA Lakers for not getting the wins they are getting and letting everyone else get ahead…but get ahead with it guys! Sooner or later, we will ride out of this slump…
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Commentary from the office desk: 2 cents worth of political events (Part III)
Part III of this series today now comes with a twist – a mixture of the good, bad and ugly. Now one might understand the good and bad – but ugly? Allow me to explain. Ugly news happens because it is something nobody wants to happen. Of course things that fall into this category can include natural disasters biological epidemics and etc…ok I think you will get the point.
Speaking of the good, there are quite a few things that occurred this week…maybe a listing will be gd:
- Ceasefire in Gaza by Israeli troops – good that the carnage generated has been halted, but one can be sure that it will not be long before the Israelis come in again…and the case for justification may be as blurred as the previous one…
- Barack Obama’s inauguration – certainly one well watched by the world and hopes for him rise exponentially. His first call to Mahmoud Abbas, and then later to Olmert and the rest indicate that the Middle East is priority to him. And of course to add to that, he added heavyweight diplomats in his arsenal for dealing with Israel and Afghanisatan/Pakistan. Hope that he displays the same audacity and boldness for the economy as the whole world needs it
- Budget Statement – The ‘resilience’ package sure has a lot of measures which will try to soften the blow. But as the government mentioned, they are ‘soft beds to cushion a hard landing’ – so everyone will have to pray and ride it out still.
Now of the bad, definitely one or 2 things have to be mentioned, and the one that comes up to mind definitely is the media resurgence of Al-Qaeda. Following addresses by Osama Bin Laden, now other senior figures called up to declare all out war to attack targets in US and Britain for the ‘atrocities’ of the war. If that happens, US may have no choice but to smash Pakistan to get to Osama, but that itself faces difficulties due to the resilient Pakistan premiership and presidency. Also the fallout of the Mumbai incident in November 08 does not look to cease with India apparently ‘not impressed’ with the arrests made by the Pakistanis…so this looks to point to another period of instability in South Asia in 2009.
The ugly – is the occurrence of natural disasters and ecological problems in Indonesia and HK respectively. Seemingly earthquakes increasingly common in the last 4 years after the Tsunami indicates that that event had long lasting consequences on Indonesia’s geological formations, while the rise in pollution levels in HK indicate that the inevitable discussion of air pollution and traffic cannot be discarded in Asia’s 2nd most developed city after Tokyo – so watch this space.
Finally, one final mention that has to go to football today is that sanity has resumed with Kaka’s rejection of Manchester City. I have to confess, that was a close call coming – I certainly would not have expected that to come…but at least the good thing shows that money cannot buy everything for a person – but it is still a weapon that many people can do with.
Many happy returns, and have a happy Chinese New Year 2009 of the Year of the Ox =D
Speaking of the good, there are quite a few things that occurred this week…maybe a listing will be gd:
- Ceasefire in Gaza by Israeli troops – good that the carnage generated has been halted, but one can be sure that it will not be long before the Israelis come in again…and the case for justification may be as blurred as the previous one…
- Barack Obama’s inauguration – certainly one well watched by the world and hopes for him rise exponentially. His first call to Mahmoud Abbas, and then later to Olmert and the rest indicate that the Middle East is priority to him. And of course to add to that, he added heavyweight diplomats in his arsenal for dealing with Israel and Afghanisatan/Pakistan. Hope that he displays the same audacity and boldness for the economy as the whole world needs it
- Budget Statement – The ‘resilience’ package sure has a lot of measures which will try to soften the blow. But as the government mentioned, they are ‘soft beds to cushion a hard landing’ – so everyone will have to pray and ride it out still.
Now of the bad, definitely one or 2 things have to be mentioned, and the one that comes up to mind definitely is the media resurgence of Al-Qaeda. Following addresses by Osama Bin Laden, now other senior figures called up to declare all out war to attack targets in US and Britain for the ‘atrocities’ of the war. If that happens, US may have no choice but to smash Pakistan to get to Osama, but that itself faces difficulties due to the resilient Pakistan premiership and presidency. Also the fallout of the Mumbai incident in November 08 does not look to cease with India apparently ‘not impressed’ with the arrests made by the Pakistanis…so this looks to point to another period of instability in South Asia in 2009.
The ugly – is the occurrence of natural disasters and ecological problems in Indonesia and HK respectively. Seemingly earthquakes increasingly common in the last 4 years after the Tsunami indicates that that event had long lasting consequences on Indonesia’s geological formations, while the rise in pollution levels in HK indicate that the inevitable discussion of air pollution and traffic cannot be discarded in Asia’s 2nd most developed city after Tokyo – so watch this space.
Finally, one final mention that has to go to football today is that sanity has resumed with Kaka’s rejection of Manchester City. I have to confess, that was a close call coming – I certainly would not have expected that to come…but at least the good thing shows that money cannot buy everything for a person – but it is still a weapon that many people can do with.
Many happy returns, and have a happy Chinese New Year 2009 of the Year of the Ox =D
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A tribute to my late great grandmother
I will break off for a while here to pay my last respects and salute probably one of the greatest people that I have ever known in my life - my great grandmother...
Was told by my mum that she passed on at 7am today...so in my state of mourning and deep reflection, I hereby present this tribute to her...
A legendary lady in her own right, she was born just when the Chinese Revolution of 1910 happened or after that...in the instability of the times in China, she managed to brave the elements and sailed down to Malaysia where she struggled with a lot of boat immigrants to try to find a new life overseas...
No doubt she would have heard of the favourable times in Malaysia compared to her hometown in Fujian...the thing I was not sure was whether she had met her husband by then...that was one thing which I cannot ascertain forever...
She struggled and tried to make ends meet, but somehow luck seemed to get worse for her...no one would have known about a crazy group of Asian idiots who wanted a 'co-prosperity sphere' for themselves...and when my own hometown was invaded in early January 1942 - my great grandma was caught together with her husband like so many Chinese peoples in Asia...
However, just as luck would have it, just as she was to become executed after great grandpa was slain by the Japanese sword...when she was next in line...she was spared. That, as she told me herself, the Japanese would leave her for another day.
That day never came of course - that very next day the Japanese under Yamashita stormed Johor Bahru and subsequently smashed British hopes at a certain City hall with their surrender. But she was spared - instead asked to do slave labour and grow crops for the troops - if I did not get my facts wrong.
When the war was over, she moved in with my grandfather and his kids as she had nowhere else to go - that now my mum vividly remembers as she slept in the same room with great grandma until her wedding to my dad. And my great grandma never forgot the care that was given to her by grandfather and the rest. The gods' blessings were with her as things improved in the 1960s...she recovered as well - she managed to see to see her own descendants expand their families and see her grandchildren, and subsequently 2-3 decades later, her great grandchildren.
It was then when she decided that she discovered with her reborn life, she decided to do something that she never did - tour the world and meet new friends. It was remarkable as for one like her she never did something like this since she sailed down from Fujian - she travelled alone for the next 2 decades to and fro between Singapore and my hometown...and made many new friends in Singapore itself. And she was overjoyed to be here...I would always remember the time where she even made the trip to Tiong Bahru to buy the famous buns for us. To tell the truth, the reason to why I strived to be a 'street directory' is all due to her unpresevering spirit - if she can remember places so well, so should I as well... In those times she would always take care of us and ask me to check phone numbers as she would always recorded her visits to her friends...
However, as time caught up with her...so did her body and subsequently, her spirit...she got weaker, and was unable to move - needed constant taking care of already...in the last 5 years or so she was not the same familiar chirpy old lady that I knew - as she began to lose her memory and not recall a lot of people.
But some things that matter to her a lot somehow do not go away...in her dying days my grandma told my mum that she would constantly mention great grandpa's name...and wished my grandpa and us well... So at the end, just as when it seemed that she would not remember anyone...these thoughts kept coming back to her. But at the same time, as these moments happened while her physical condition deteoriarted, I told my mum that her time was really not long...soon...
And then she passed away today...my grandma told us that she died happy - a smile on her face.
My emotions are so mixed....on one end I feel heartwrenched - if there is such a word - but on the other hand, I feel at peace now that with that, I am certain that she has lived a long and meaningful life. To be able to see the world, enjoy various things at various stages of her life, and yet be appreciative of the many things that happened to her - I know that she has gone to seek her next life in a better world.
In the end, this - to my great grandma - my blessings go to you and go happy after enjoying a very long life...
Was told by my mum that she passed on at 7am today...so in my state of mourning and deep reflection, I hereby present this tribute to her...
A legendary lady in her own right, she was born just when the Chinese Revolution of 1910 happened or after that...in the instability of the times in China, she managed to brave the elements and sailed down to Malaysia where she struggled with a lot of boat immigrants to try to find a new life overseas...
No doubt she would have heard of the favourable times in Malaysia compared to her hometown in Fujian...the thing I was not sure was whether she had met her husband by then...that was one thing which I cannot ascertain forever...
She struggled and tried to make ends meet, but somehow luck seemed to get worse for her...no one would have known about a crazy group of Asian idiots who wanted a 'co-prosperity sphere' for themselves...and when my own hometown was invaded in early January 1942 - my great grandma was caught together with her husband like so many Chinese peoples in Asia...
However, just as luck would have it, just as she was to become executed after great grandpa was slain by the Japanese sword...when she was next in line...she was spared. That, as she told me herself, the Japanese would leave her for another day.
That day never came of course - that very next day the Japanese under Yamashita stormed Johor Bahru and subsequently smashed British hopes at a certain City hall with their surrender. But she was spared - instead asked to do slave labour and grow crops for the troops - if I did not get my facts wrong.
When the war was over, she moved in with my grandfather and his kids as she had nowhere else to go - that now my mum vividly remembers as she slept in the same room with great grandma until her wedding to my dad. And my great grandma never forgot the care that was given to her by grandfather and the rest. The gods' blessings were with her as things improved in the 1960s...she recovered as well - she managed to see to see her own descendants expand their families and see her grandchildren, and subsequently 2-3 decades later, her great grandchildren.
It was then when she decided that she discovered with her reborn life, she decided to do something that she never did - tour the world and meet new friends. It was remarkable as for one like her she never did something like this since she sailed down from Fujian - she travelled alone for the next 2 decades to and fro between Singapore and my hometown...and made many new friends in Singapore itself. And she was overjoyed to be here...I would always remember the time where she even made the trip to Tiong Bahru to buy the famous buns for us. To tell the truth, the reason to why I strived to be a 'street directory' is all due to her unpresevering spirit - if she can remember places so well, so should I as well... In those times she would always take care of us and ask me to check phone numbers as she would always recorded her visits to her friends...
However, as time caught up with her...so did her body and subsequently, her spirit...she got weaker, and was unable to move - needed constant taking care of already...in the last 5 years or so she was not the same familiar chirpy old lady that I knew - as she began to lose her memory and not recall a lot of people.
But some things that matter to her a lot somehow do not go away...in her dying days my grandma told my mum that she would constantly mention great grandpa's name...and wished my grandpa and us well... So at the end, just as when it seemed that she would not remember anyone...these thoughts kept coming back to her. But at the same time, as these moments happened while her physical condition deteoriarted, I told my mum that her time was really not long...soon...
And then she passed away today...my grandma told us that she died happy - a smile on her face.
My emotions are so mixed....on one end I feel heartwrenched - if there is such a word - but on the other hand, I feel at peace now that with that, I am certain that she has lived a long and meaningful life. To be able to see the world, enjoy various things at various stages of her life, and yet be appreciative of the many things that happened to her - I know that she has gone to seek her next life in a better world.
In the end, this - to my great grandma - my blessings go to you and go happy after enjoying a very long life...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Commentary from the office desk: 2 cents worth of political events (Part II)
I discover that it is easy to criticise and comment on some things, while it is tougher being on the ground and having to make hard decisions that will not be seen as rational until hindsight... But that does not mean that one is not allowed to express his view...
As usual now, (and I hope this can be maintained for as long as it can be), Part II of the comments from the resident political couch is here...
Now the most important thing is probably, for here at least, the attempted burning and scarring of an MP during an event organised by a community centre. For those who might see it as making it a mountain out of a molehill, I will not say that this qualifies as a molehill - indeed, this could be the tip of the iceberg of increasing discontent by groups of people who are hit the worst by the economic recession and may be very unhappy with government measures in relieving their situation thus far. Indeed I might be inclined to agree that such resent is simmering, but for such a person to act beyond rationality is a sign and a warning of how badly things have hit here - indeed there is a realisation that majority of Singaporeans are quite ambivalent about those. I may be wrong of course, but my opinion is that most Singaporeans take their current living for granted and think that they would be the last ones to be hit by it - highly to the contrary when considering actual events on the ground of course.
Of course now on the ongoing invasion (I refuse to say clash as it is a totally one sided invasion by the Israelis) in Gaza. Strictly speaking attacking is fine in the nature of self defence, and if it is justified of course, but even that becomes blurred when the UN is attacked not once, but twice. From a neutral's perspective, it could be that Israel is taking a pot shot at telling the UN to mind its business and hit whoever their intelligence determines Hamas' rockets are coming from. That, of it, is purely hypocritical - I may be totally wrong of course. But no one will disagree that this invasion has totally violated all forms of international law. That - is extremely regrettable. Make no mistake - it is totally right to react in self defence - but as Sun Zi himself mentioned, to kill the civilians is the most despicable form of war.
Part 3 of this commentary is on the focus of the fuel squabble between Russia and Ukraine over the payment of gas and subsequent boycotting. This sadly is a preview of what happens when natural resources get increasingly tight in supplies and more countries fight over it. Cue - China, which everyone on Earth will know will be the one big consumer of all resources even outlasting the Russians themselves. The problem over the current spat is that the EU is suffering as a result due to Ukraine being the outlet to where gas reaches them - so now there is the scenario of two men fighting over the same thing which their clients suffer. Those who pay attention to European politics of the last decade would know the ongoing sensitivities and even tensions of relations with Ukraine and Russia, as there is much at stake - not just the gas, but political and strategic implications as wel. I am quite sure that this will be resolved soon, but how soon is a big question mark.
And finally, who can forget the fact that this week is the last week of the reign of President George W Bush? Now of course there were critics who mentioned just after Bill Clinton's terms that George W's term will be less positive, if not rocky - come to think about it, that's about the same thing that can be said of his reign. However, of course to just say that would be too sweeping a statement - a better way to put it is that the negatives happen to be more serious than the positives of his 2 terms in the White House. For the positives of engaging the PRC, Russia and traditional American allies, and reacting in the right way towards global terror, the negatives which include a misled invasion of Iraq, worsening relations between Iran, DPRK, Russia, African and Southeast Asian nations have overwritten all of that. What Obama can do now, sadly - is to do damage limitation. What Ma Ying Jiu did after Chen, Obama will have to do that - and more in order to write over the mistakes of Bush Junior. Now that takes some doing, and the world waits in bated breath over his appointment next week.
One parting shot amongst all of this, has to be back to soccer again. And any soccer fan who has the slightest idea of international football will surely be aware of a crazy 110 Million pound transfer by Manchester City for Milan's playmaker Kaka. Obviously in the world of transfers and player prices, the most expensive remains one Zinedine Zidane who cost Real Madrid less than half of that bid from Juventus, so this breaks the stratosphere of football transfer dealings. What I can only comment is that while City's ambitions are well listed in this bid, the implications of player dealings if this goes ahead is that clubs will be held ransom even more than before - that of which no one wants except 'naughty' players.
There goes a very turbulent week then - but in my opinion, there are more things to expect, more things that will surprise every week - so stay tuned.
Have a nice week ahead! =)
As usual now, (and I hope this can be maintained for as long as it can be), Part II of the comments from the resident political couch is here...
Now the most important thing is probably, for here at least, the attempted burning and scarring of an MP during an event organised by a community centre. For those who might see it as making it a mountain out of a molehill, I will not say that this qualifies as a molehill - indeed, this could be the tip of the iceberg of increasing discontent by groups of people who are hit the worst by the economic recession and may be very unhappy with government measures in relieving their situation thus far. Indeed I might be inclined to agree that such resent is simmering, but for such a person to act beyond rationality is a sign and a warning of how badly things have hit here - indeed there is a realisation that majority of Singaporeans are quite ambivalent about those. I may be wrong of course, but my opinion is that most Singaporeans take their current living for granted and think that they would be the last ones to be hit by it - highly to the contrary when considering actual events on the ground of course.
Of course now on the ongoing invasion (I refuse to say clash as it is a totally one sided invasion by the Israelis) in Gaza. Strictly speaking attacking is fine in the nature of self defence, and if it is justified of course, but even that becomes blurred when the UN is attacked not once, but twice. From a neutral's perspective, it could be that Israel is taking a pot shot at telling the UN to mind its business and hit whoever their intelligence determines Hamas' rockets are coming from. That, of it, is purely hypocritical - I may be totally wrong of course. But no one will disagree that this invasion has totally violated all forms of international law. That - is extremely regrettable. Make no mistake - it is totally right to react in self defence - but as Sun Zi himself mentioned, to kill the civilians is the most despicable form of war.
Part 3 of this commentary is on the focus of the fuel squabble between Russia and Ukraine over the payment of gas and subsequent boycotting. This sadly is a preview of what happens when natural resources get increasingly tight in supplies and more countries fight over it. Cue - China, which everyone on Earth will know will be the one big consumer of all resources even outlasting the Russians themselves. The problem over the current spat is that the EU is suffering as a result due to Ukraine being the outlet to where gas reaches them - so now there is the scenario of two men fighting over the same thing which their clients suffer. Those who pay attention to European politics of the last decade would know the ongoing sensitivities and even tensions of relations with Ukraine and Russia, as there is much at stake - not just the gas, but political and strategic implications as wel. I am quite sure that this will be resolved soon, but how soon is a big question mark.
And finally, who can forget the fact that this week is the last week of the reign of President George W Bush? Now of course there were critics who mentioned just after Bill Clinton's terms that George W's term will be less positive, if not rocky - come to think about it, that's about the same thing that can be said of his reign. However, of course to just say that would be too sweeping a statement - a better way to put it is that the negatives happen to be more serious than the positives of his 2 terms in the White House. For the positives of engaging the PRC, Russia and traditional American allies, and reacting in the right way towards global terror, the negatives which include a misled invasion of Iraq, worsening relations between Iran, DPRK, Russia, African and Southeast Asian nations have overwritten all of that. What Obama can do now, sadly - is to do damage limitation. What Ma Ying Jiu did after Chen, Obama will have to do that - and more in order to write over the mistakes of Bush Junior. Now that takes some doing, and the world waits in bated breath over his appointment next week.
One parting shot amongst all of this, has to be back to soccer again. And any soccer fan who has the slightest idea of international football will surely be aware of a crazy 110 Million pound transfer by Manchester City for Milan's playmaker Kaka. Obviously in the world of transfers and player prices, the most expensive remains one Zinedine Zidane who cost Real Madrid less than half of that bid from Juventus, so this breaks the stratosphere of football transfer dealings. What I can only comment is that while City's ambitions are well listed in this bid, the implications of player dealings if this goes ahead is that clubs will be held ransom even more than before - that of which no one wants except 'naughty' players.
There goes a very turbulent week then - but in my opinion, there are more things to expect, more things that will surprise every week - so stay tuned.
Have a nice week ahead! =)
Friday, January 09, 2009
Commentary from the office desk: 2 cents worth of political events the past few days
In order to find more use for my space here, and I have been thinking about it for a while...I have decided to use this space as a column for commenting on political events and my own take on them...
Of course there will be nothing derogatory - just in my own words - a comment from the 'ant of the masses'...
Now of course, anyone would know that there are a few issues of note in Singapore and the rest of the world that one would have to take notice:
1 - The latest announcements here with regards to extending packages and retraining for the unemployed and elderly workers. This is obviously a massive boost for these groups of people (and I know it full well as I was in one of them for quite a while) and at a time where money counts more than anything else, hopefully these moves do instil confidence in the economy one way or another here.
2 - Whoever that says that gas is not important should literally bang themselves on the wall with news on the spat between Russia and Ukraine and the suffering EU in between. Now of course there are moves to resolve it quickly (and they better do), this is definitely a warning of what it can mean in the future. China and Japan squabbling over it now is another sign of it in case you still do not get the idea yet.
3 - Some things die hard - in the eyes of fundamentalists that is. Israel's latest offensive in Palestinian territory is with no thanks to their allegations of attacks by Islamic fundamentalists in Gaza. The question is not the extent of Israel's attacks, which sadly occupies the no. 2 on my own list - it rather is whether this attack is legal in the first place. Thinking back to the previous understandings of 'self defence' thanks to a module which I studied earlier, this notion as Israel's reason of officially attacking remains extremely questionable. It is not the first time Gaza's attacked, but hell, not a lot of people can do anything no thanks to Israel's backers - I seriously do get the feeling that somehow, power politics still pays in the world of IR... This is still highly regrettable - and serious questions have to be asked of the strength of international law - as most of it, until today, was crafted by the chief victor, that being of course the USA in 1949...
This is a preview of what should hopefully be a weekly instalment from me on my own 2 cents view of political issues...
But that of course has to be wrapped up by a 'sweetener' - for me I think...so the 'sweetener' this week has to be English football...
Contrary to what British football's most successful manager has to say about my favourrite football club as 'chokers' and 'imploding', I will maybe want him to consider that if this is the sort of mind games that he wants to play, than that is a off to a very lousy start. Seriously, I think that there is as equal as a chance of Liverpool taking the title as well as Man Utd and Chelsea. Perhaps Fergie better be concerned about how not to slip up against the Blues this Sunday....one that I would definitely watch.
=)
P.S. Comments are welcome
Of course there will be nothing derogatory - just in my own words - a comment from the 'ant of the masses'...
Now of course, anyone would know that there are a few issues of note in Singapore and the rest of the world that one would have to take notice:
1 - The latest announcements here with regards to extending packages and retraining for the unemployed and elderly workers. This is obviously a massive boost for these groups of people (and I know it full well as I was in one of them for quite a while) and at a time where money counts more than anything else, hopefully these moves do instil confidence in the economy one way or another here.
2 - Whoever that says that gas is not important should literally bang themselves on the wall with news on the spat between Russia and Ukraine and the suffering EU in between. Now of course there are moves to resolve it quickly (and they better do), this is definitely a warning of what it can mean in the future. China and Japan squabbling over it now is another sign of it in case you still do not get the idea yet.
3 - Some things die hard - in the eyes of fundamentalists that is. Israel's latest offensive in Palestinian territory is with no thanks to their allegations of attacks by Islamic fundamentalists in Gaza. The question is not the extent of Israel's attacks, which sadly occupies the no. 2 on my own list - it rather is whether this attack is legal in the first place. Thinking back to the previous understandings of 'self defence' thanks to a module which I studied earlier, this notion as Israel's reason of officially attacking remains extremely questionable. It is not the first time Gaza's attacked, but hell, not a lot of people can do anything no thanks to Israel's backers - I seriously do get the feeling that somehow, power politics still pays in the world of IR... This is still highly regrettable - and serious questions have to be asked of the strength of international law - as most of it, until today, was crafted by the chief victor, that being of course the USA in 1949...
This is a preview of what should hopefully be a weekly instalment from me on my own 2 cents view of political issues...
But that of course has to be wrapped up by a 'sweetener' - for me I think...so the 'sweetener' this week has to be English football...
Contrary to what British football's most successful manager has to say about my favourrite football club as 'chokers' and 'imploding', I will maybe want him to consider that if this is the sort of mind games that he wants to play, than that is a off to a very lousy start. Seriously, I think that there is as equal as a chance of Liverpool taking the title as well as Man Utd and Chelsea. Perhaps Fergie better be concerned about how not to slip up against the Blues this Sunday....one that I would definitely watch.
=)
P.S. Comments are welcome
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