News Stories

[fertygo]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

He wasn't. He's born in Indonesia and was a naturalised US citizen.

Nope, He's only stay in indonesia about 3-years when he" a child. CMIIW

Talk about Obama, I can't understand why he is so popular on indonesia
For Hellsake he only staying for a few years, dammit.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Either Thaskin order it to fan the flames further or the military who actually thought this was a good idea. Either way Thailand is in for some Hot Hot time.

"Commander Red" is nobody's friend but his own. Hate to say this, but both factions are probably better off with him dead. To me, he appears to be a troublemaker who is deliberately fomenting violence to serve his own personal agenda.

The below are excerpts from what reporter Thomas Fuller wrote for the the International Herald Tribune, as quoted by the New York Times:

By Thomas Fuller

THE general, Khattiya Sawasdipol, 58, was struck in the head by a bullet during an interview with this report at about 6.50pm on the street in central Bangkok, near a park occupied by his hardline followers.

This reporter, who was facing the general and about two feet away, heard a loud bang not unlike a firecracker.

The general fell to the ground, with his eyes wide open, and protesters took his apparently lifeless body to the hospital, screaming out the name he is commonly known by. "Sae Daeng (Commander Red) has been shot! Sae Daeng has been shot!" protesters shouted amid growing panic.

...The general was abhorred both by the government for disloyalty and also by most protest leaders for what they suspected was his role in fomenting violence. Still, he had assumed control of security for the protesters, placing his own black-shirted paramilitaries at entrances to the makeshift barriers around their encampment, and he claimed the loyalty of a small but intense group of protesters.

...Commanding his own paramilitary force of former rangers, Gen Khattiya was suspended without pay from the armed forces. A special committee was considering whether to strip him of his rank. His involvement with the protest movement underlines fractures within the military — and, more broadly, in Thai society — after four years of political turmoil.

(source)

Regarding the paramilitary force (the Black Shirts), it's been accused of a series of grenade attacks in the capital during the early weeks of the protest. Up until then, the Red Shirts had managed to keep their promise of eschewing violence. It wasn't until after those grenade attacks that they started barricading themselves, and guess who had been conveniently supervising the setting up of said defences?

It's also been very bizarre how the Red Shirts had been acting in the past week. Premier Abhisit Vejjajiva had already agreed to elections on Nov 14, one year ahead of schedule, as a compromise with the protesters. The protest leaders had taken up the offer, but suddenly earlier this week demanded another new condition, that the Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban be charged for causing the deaths of 25 protesters during an earlier crackdown on April 10.

So, it seems there is growing factionalism within the protest movement, and one faction simply doesn't want the tensions to end until the government is overthrown. Whatever the case, the Red Shirts now appear to not have been negotiating in good faith, and that further weakens Mr Abhisit's position, as he was already blasted by the Royalist elite (the Yellow Shirts) for giving into protesters' demands for early elections.

That's the background behind the current situation in Bangkok. Now, for more background on the general.

Terrorist to the govt, cult hero to his followers

Bangkok (May 14): With his hardline stance and combative rhetoric, it was only a matter of time before renegade Thai soldier Khattiya Sawasdipol would become a victim of the same military tactics he preaches to his rebellious followers.

The Rambo-esque, self-styled warrior who commands the guards of the "Red Shirt" anti-government protest movement was rushed to an intensive care unit yesterday night after being shot in the head near their sprawling encampment, possibly by a sniper.

A household name and best-selling author who once threatened to hurl poisonous snakes and grenades at rival "Yellow Shirt" demonstrators, Major-General Khattiya has bragged about battles with communist insurgents and close connections with Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former premier regarded as the de facto red shirt leader.

The rogue major-general is loved as much as he is loathed.

Branded a dangerous terrorist by Thai authorities, he is revered by his cultish followers as a swashbuckling military hero with 20 battlefield kills to his name. The army specialist is blamed by the government for dozens of grenades attacks that have wounded more than 100 people.

A warrior shamed
Maj-Gen Khattiya's unyielding stance, and the respect he commands among hundreds of red shirt guards, ensures he is never far from controversy.

"If it's up to me, I think we should fight until next December or until the Prime Minister is in jail," he told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday (May 11), dressed in his trademark camouflage fatigues with a canteen and a jungle hat decorated with hand-grenade pins.

The major-general was suspended from duty in January and faces dismissal from the Thai army after a panel found him guilty of military crimes. He traces his fallout with commanders to 2008 when he publicly criticised the head of the army and was reassigned to lead aerobics classes at a local market.

"Everybody laughed at me. You don't assign a warrior like me to do a stupid thing like that," he said. "Do you know the Braveheart movie? Mel Gibson is the same as me," he said, equating himself to the kilted onscreen figure who was betrayed by the Scottish aristocracy.

Maj-Gen Khattiya has a reputation for making bizarre statements, but many see his hardline role in Red Shirt protests as a sign that Thailand's political crisis could get much worse.

Protest leaders have distanced themselves from him, especially after he called for the setting up of a "people's army" to fight against Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's military-backed government. Many speculate he is pushing for right-wing soldiers to stage a coup.

Maj-Gen Khattiya has also made no secret that he has been encouraging protesters to oppose a reconciliation deal, saying: "The Red Shirt leaders themselves are cheating the plan. They have been negotiating in secret with the government, they're doing it for themselves. They're not doing it for the people who come to rally."

- REUTERS, AFP

[SaintessHeart]

Eh, actually, in politics, nobody's is nobody's friend. There is one part which I find rather factual which he said, and that's that the Red Shirt leaders are not doing it for the people who come to the rally, but for themselves.

Consequently, I seriously doubt if any of the leaders on any side are really doing it for the people or the king. It isn't good that he died because he's the buffer in the middle either way, whether his intentions towards the people are true or not.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

*sign* I guess this is how the general populations around the world look at Korea. You know that there is something wrong with your countries image when people don't even know the name of the country and anything positive that comes out of your country is thought to be Japanese ala Samsung (or at least that is what happened in my middle school days).

I know the difference between South Korea and North Korea.

Originally Posted by Terrestrial Dream

What would be the difference anyway the country is practically dead anyway.

I posted an entire paragraph that you decided to ignore explaining why the Nork leadership think it's a bad thing, why the Chinese think it's a bad thing and why the South Koreans think it's a bad thing. But to reiterate...

North Korean elite:Lose power. Possibly face repercussion for their misrule from either their own people or the South Koreans
Chinese:Lose a buffer zone between them and the West. End up with a massive refugee problem in Manchuria.
South Korea:End up with massive refugee problem. Forced to rebuild an integrate a 4th world country.

With the cost of those outcomes everyone has incentive to just pass out dole to the Northern regime. It's astronomically cheaper than letting things fall apart.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

He wasn't. He's born in Indonesia and was a naturalised US citizen.

Obama was born in the state of Hawaii...you can find an announcement of his birth in the records for a Hawaiin newspaper from that year.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

He wasn't. He's born in Indonesia and was a naturalised US citizen.

There's no evidence for that, yet there is plenty of evidence and documentation for a Hawaii birth that has been vetted by all the relevant government agencies and even his mainstream political opponents. One can either call this an instance of idiots screaming because the facts don't suit them... or take the sheet off and expose the racist motivations of the "birthers". The longer they keep this up and the longer other conservatives tolerate it... the less credibility they'll have with the general voting public. This meme is in the same bucket as the "faked Moon landing" crackpots.

Its easier to argue that John McCain isn't a legitimate US Citizen because he was born in Panama (caveat: he was born there while his father was in the military deployed in Panama - so there are special rules for that which make John a US citizen).

----------------------
In other news, yet another agency is shown to have been hijacked by the industry it was to regulate, had its scientists suppressed by political appointees, and failed to comply with existing law during the 2000-2008 period in the US. This time its the Minerals Management Service under the Department of the Interior which assesses and approves drilling ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/14/us...er=rss&emc=rss

Originally Posted by some relevant snippets in case the article is taken down

The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species
...
The Minerals Management Service, or M.M.S., also routinely overruled its staff biologists and engineers who raised concerns about the safety and the environmental impact of certain drilling proposals in the gulf and in Alaska, according to a half-dozen current and former agency scientists.
...
Those scientists said they were also regularly pressured by agency officials to change the findings of their internal studies if they predicted that an accident was likely to occur or if wildlife might be harmed.
Under the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Minerals Management Service is required to get permits to allow drilling where it might harm endangered species or marine mammals.

...

Agency records also show that permission for those projects and plans was granted without getting the permits required under federal law (from other government agencies).

...

Responding to the accusations that agency scientists were being silenced, (a new spokesperson for the MMS) Ms. Barkoff added, “Under the previous administration, there was a pattern of suppressing science in decisions, and we are working very hard to change the culture and empower scientists in the Department of the Interior.”

[Joojoobees]

Originally Posted by Vexx

In other news, yet another agency is shown to have been hijacked by the industry it was to regulate, had its scientists suppressed by political appointees, and failed to comply with existing law during the 2000-2008 period in the US.
The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species

Sometimes I wish I had no scruples, so I could get one of these high-paying jobs that screw over just about everybody on the planet in order to make more money than I will ever need. Unfortunately my sense of basic decency has caused me to get into fights with management at just about every job I have ever worked. As everyone knows, being willing to snort crystal meth and have sex with oil industry execs is required to hold a position like that.

[SaintessHeart]

Former Deputy PM Goh Keng Swee dies

SINGAPORE: Former Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee died early Friday morning after battling a long illness.

Dr Goh, who was also a former Finance Minister, was 91.

He is survived by his wife, son, daughter-in-law, two grandsons and three great grandchildren.

According to his wife, Dr Phua Swee Liang, Dr Goh died from pneumonia and old age.

The late Dr Goh had seen the country through self government, survival, and hard-earned success.

And as the architect of modern economic Singapore - he had laid the foundation for much of what now exists in Singapore

"At first I had no initial vision. You just start it and hope for the best. If you've a vision, that means you're a dreamer. I'm not a dreamer," said the late Dr Goh.

Dr Goh came to Singapore at the age of two, and was later educated at Anglo Chinese School before going on to study economics at Raffles College.

He worked as a civil servant till the Japanese Occupation of Singapore during the Second World War.

After the war a scholarship took him to the London School of Economics.

After obtaining his PhD on a University of London Scholarship in 1956, Dr Goh rejoined the civil service on his return to Singapore.

Later, he quit to enter politics running in the 1959 Legislative Assembly Election on the PAP ticket.

With self-government, Dr Goh being the only economist in the first Singapore cabinet, was given the portfolio of Finance Minister.

The strategy of Dr Goh was to build a manufacturing sector to attract foreign multi-national corporations to invest – and so provide jobs very quickly.

In 1961, Dr Goh set up the Economic Development Board with the objective of attracting foreign multi-national companies to Singapore.

"It's Dr Goh who thought of the various economic policies, he's very creative. We talk nowadays about our lack of entrepreneurship in Singapore, I think the greatest entrepreneur that Singapore has seen is Dr Goh," said S Dhanabalan, who was cabinet minister from 1980-1994.

Through his efforts 15 thousand acres of swamp in Jurong was turned into a modern industrial park.

In the late 1960s, Dr Goh became Singapore's first Interior and Defence Minister, overseeing the introduction of National Service and the building of the Singapore Armed Forces.

After his success in the Finance and Defence ministries, Dr Goh who had earned himself the nickname, "Mr Fix It" went on to be appointed Education Minister in 1979.

During his term the streaming policy and Gifted Education Programme were introduced, the Curriculum Development Institute was set up and the foundations laid for the computerization drive in schools.

During his tenure in government service Dr Goh was also instrumental in the creation of Singapore's first defence hardware company Chartered Industries of Singapore, the Jurong Bird Park and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

In 1984 Dr Goh retired from politics.

By then, he had been in the Cabinet for 25 years, serving the last 11 as Deputy Prime Minister.

Wait! Someone perform a voodoo spell to resurrect this old man! He hasn't solved our entrepreneurship problem! He can't die yet!

Anyway, along with Albert Winsemius, Henry Kissinger and a few others who built Singapore's laughable economy into a lightspeed market, as well as being part of the few who transformed SEA into a trade central, he deserves his due respect.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Joojoobees

Sometimes I wish I had no scruples, so I could get one of these high-paying jobs that screw over just about everybody on the planet in order to make more money than I will ever need. Unfortunately my sense of basic decency has caused me to get into fights with management at just about every job I have ever worked. As everyone knows, being willing to snort crystal meth and have sex with oil industry execs is required to hold a position like that.

Kinda makes me wonder what goes on behind the scenes of just about any large oil company with major influence on the industry, or any large company at all for that matter.

[killer3000ad]

Thai PM warns of civil war

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- At least eight people have been killed as Thai security forces declared a "live firing zone" in downtown Bangkok on Saturday following days of deadly clashes with anti-government protesters.

Saturday's fatality takes the total number of deaths to 25 since a government-backed clampdown on protesters exploded into violence on Thursday. More than 150 people have been wounded, according to emergency officials.

In a televised address, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said a small group of protesters among the opposition "Red Shirts" was trying to foment civil war.

The prime minister urged the citizenry to understand and embrace the government's stance. The country couldn't allow the rule of law to fail, he said, warning that the longer the protests continued, the higher the risk for the public.

"The government proposed a reconciliation plan but it was rejected," Abhisit said. "This benefits no one. It only benefits a small group which wants to harm the country and lead it to civil war. It is unbelieveble that they use peoples lives for political advantage."

Thousands of Red Shirts, who support ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, have been occupying a central area of the city for weeks in a show of opposition to Abhisit.

The escalating unrest prompted the U.S. Embassy to issue a travel warning Saturday advising Americans to defer travel to Bangkok, spokeswoman Cynthia Brown told CNN.

Several other western embassies, including the UK, Japan, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands have also advised against travel to Bangkok.

Tensions remained high Saturday, with protesters yelling and screaming as they stood behind barricades of tires, spikes and bamboo poles.

But a military spokesman said security forces planned to put the protesters under more pressure Saturday as they cordoned off an area of several square kilometers, CNN's Sara Sidner reported.

"In the next few days, they will be stepping up their security measures," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, the acting Thai government spokesman.

Security forces rolled out razor wire and erected warning signs as they surrounded the area where the protesters have been clustered, CNN's Dan Rivers reported. He said Thai troops had also come under fire although it was unclear who was shooting at them.

"There's been quite a fierce gunfight where we are in the northwest corner of this zone that they have tried to surround a Ratchaprarop Road which has been declared a live fire zone by the army," said Rivers.

"There are signs up all along it warning residents to stay indoors, that there is live ammunition being used. We've been effectively pinned down while the army tries to deal with incoming fire. We're not sure who's firing on them but it's certainly been a very volatile situation with lots of explosions and gunfire going on."

Sidner, a few kilometers away inside the security force's cordon reported witnessing two people shot. Both appeared to be unarmed she said. Those present at the scene claimed rooftop snipers were responsible for the shootings, she said.

"The protesters clearly blame the army for the deadly force," said Sidner. "There is no way to know for sure who exactly is doing the shooting but neither of the people we saw injured were armed."

The Thai capital has been in chaos since Thursday, beset by gunfire, tear gas and stone-throwing that boiled over after Thai authorities set a new deadline to seal off the Bangkok intersection where protesters have gathered by the thousands for the past month.

A government official said Thai forces were slowly getting control of the downtown area, with video footage showing soldiers shooting rounds toward the area with protesters. Among those wounded on Friday was a journalist from a French television station who was shot in the leg.

The government said it was forced to take action after demonstrators disregarded an ultimatum by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to vacate the intersection by Wednesday.

Wattanayagorn said Friday that security forces who have been the objects of attacks have no choice but to respond.

He told reporters that forces have been dutifully following the rules of engagement, which allow them to use live ammunition to protect themselves and their comrades. He assured Bangkok residents and foreigners that the forces have no intention of harming anyone.

The government, he said, is "very confident" it will be able to "stabilize the situation" and get it "under control very soon." Also, he said the prime minister is looking forward to working with others in hammering out reforms.

The United Front for Democracy, the formal name of the Red Shirt opposition, has been demanding that Abhisit dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections. The Red Shirts support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup.

Tensions ramped up when Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdipol -- a renegade general better known as Seh Daeng, which means Red Commander -- was shot and wounded by a sniper's bullet Thursday, leaving him in critical condition.

Brown, of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, said that family members of embassy personnel had been offered voluntary departure. She said the embassy would remain closed on Monday and that staff were assessing the situation "day to day."

8-year old girls doing 'Single Ladies' dance routine raises questions.

[NinjaYali]

One step at a time until victory.

Civil liberties group, Pirate Party, will contest the upcoming Federal Election.

The Party has the required 500 members needed to register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as a fully fledged political party.

All that is left is to file the paperwork to the AEC. Applications take up to three months to approve. “Hopefully, that will all be done in time for the next Federal election,” Pirate Party president, David Crafti, said.

The group was set up in early 2009 in a bid to be a political party to represent civil liberty issues. They include opposing Internet filtering, pushing for R18+ rating for computer games and decriminalisation of electronic file sharing.

“What we don’t plan on doing is developing policies that are so detailed; like coming up with a budget for education,” Crafti said. “Our primary platform is civil properties and intellectual property reforms and we are happy to extend our policies that affect other areas.”

"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender"- Winston Churchill.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by killer3000ad

8-year old girls doing 'Single Ladies' dance routine raises questions.

Wrong section. Should be in Silly News instead.

But I guess :

Lolis + MTV = WTF. Who choreographed the dance for them anyway?

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Former Deputy PM Goh Keng Swee dies

...along with Albert Winsemius, Henry Kissinger and a few others who built Singapore's laughable economy into a lightspeed market, as well as being part of the few who transformed SEA into a trade central, he deserves his due respect.

He's also a man that most of the world outside Singapore doesn't know. The tribute is wasted here unless you can conjure up the immensity of what he has done for this country in a few words.

Dr Goh Keng Swee was Singapore's Zhuge Liang. He was a giant of a man upon whose shoulders we stand today. The stratified education system you rail against — he created it, so that every child could realise his full potential at his own pace. The national service you curse and swear at — he created it to serve as the ultimate guarantor of our nation's sovereignty. The economy that supports and feeds us today — he created it out of several acres of fetid swampland.

The political system that we live in today — he made it possible by being Mr Lee Kuan Yew's fiercest and most loyal critic. Without Dr Goh, Mr Lee could never have taken the People's Action Party has far as he has.

And contrary to the popular belief that power corrupts, here is a man who handed power back to the people at the height of his prowess. He could have had anything he wanted — he deserved it, and so much more — yet all he ever coveted was his own privacy.

Through his life and his personal example, Dr Goh embodied in totality what it means to serve. In his own words, addressed to the young officers stepping into public service even as he was stepping out of it in 1984:

"You are coming into this. You are joining a holy order and your job is to build on what we have done, not treat it as a pinnacle, but as a foundation to make it better."

May he rest in peace.

Dr Goh Keng Swee (Oct 6, 1918 - May 14, 2010)



Words can only convey so much. If you're interested, you can watch the documentary tribute here, and watch the man in action while he was still with us.

[Zu Ra]

Source

Gay marriage & Abortion are ' Insidious Challenge to Society ' says Pope


Pope Benedict XVI yesterday condemned gay marriage and abortion as “among the most insidious and dangerous challenges” to society.


Speaking on a visit to Portugal, which is preparing to legalise same-sex partnerships, the Pontiff also criticised Catholics who are ashamed of their faith and too willing to “lend a hand to secularism.” The gay marriage legislation was recently passed by the Portuguese parliament and is due to be signed into law next week by President Anibal Cavaco Silva, a conservative Catholic. Ninety per cent of Portuguese define themselves as Catholic but Portuguese society is increasingly secular, with well under a third saying they attend mass regularly. The Pope was speaking after a packed open air mass at the Marian shrine at Fatima, the Portuguese Lourdes, 120 kilometres north of Lisbon. The mass was attended by half a million people.


Meeting Catholic charity workers at the shrine, the Pope called for “defence of life” and “indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman” in response to what he described as the dangerous threats of gay marriage and abortion. He offered his thanks to those who helped people “wounded by the drama of abortion”. His words will be studied in Britain where Catholics prepare for their own visit by the Pope in September. In the pre-election television debates, David Cameron said he disagreed with the Pope’s teaching on homosexuality. The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg indicated he agreed with Mr Cameron. The Pope’s condemnation of gay marriage was itself condemned by secularists and gay rights campaigners. Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, accused Benedict of trying to interfere with the country’s democratic will. “If the President of Portugal approves the law on gay marriage – and there is every indication that she will – it will represent a slap in the face for the Pope’s authority.”


Tony Green, spokesman for the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, which will be debating gay marriage and civil partnership at its annual conference in London tomorrow, said: "It is one thing to oppose gay marriage from religious convictions and another to make such a claim about it when you look at issues such as teenage pregnancy, sexual disease, drug abuse, world poverty and war. This is an appalling, unfounded and unjust claim. I do not really see on what basis he can say gay marriage is among the most dangerous challenges to society. It ignores real social evils the Church and others should be addressing with far greater urgency." Peter Tatchell, of the gay rights group Outrage, added: "The Pope is fast losing all his sense of moral priorities. Compared to war, poverty and racism, gay marriage is a minor issue. It is not worthy of the Pope's moral outrage. In a world filled with hate and violence, he should be encouraging love and commitment, not denouncing it."


The mass at the shrine at Fatima marked the anniversary of the day in 1917 when three shepherd children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary as the sun “spun” in the sky. They claimed the Madonna confided to them three secrets foretelling the Second World War, the conversion of Russia to Christianity and the attempt on the life of John Paul II in 1981. John Paul believed the Virgin Mary helped save him from the attempted assassination, which took place on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima . In his homily at the shrine, Pope Benedict, dressed in white and gold vestments and sounding hoarse, said “We delude ourselves if we think that the prophetic mission of Fatima has come to an end”.

[WanderingKnight]

Dio is dead.

RIP and farewell.

\m/

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

He's also a man that most of the world outside Singapore doesn't know. The tribute is wasted here unless you can conjure up the immensity of what he has done for this country in a few words.

Dr Goh Keng Swee was Singapore's Zhuge Liang. He was a giant of a man upon whose shoulders we stand today. The stratified education system you rail against — he created it, so that every child could realise his full potential at his own pace. The national service you curse and swear at — he created it to serve as the ultimate guarantor of our nation's sovereignty. The economy that supports and feeds us today — he created it out of several acres of fetid swampland.

The political system that we live in today — he made it possible by being Mr Lee Kuan Yew's fiercest and most loyal critic. Without Dr Goh, Mr Lee could never have taken the People's Action Party has far as he has.

And contrary to the popular belief that power corrupts, here is a man who handed power back to the people at the height of his prowess. He could have had anything he wanted — he deserved it, and so much more — yet all he ever coveted was his own privacy.

Through his life and his personal example, Dr Goh embodied in totality what it means to serve. In his own words, addressed to the young officers stepping into public service even as he was stepping out of it in 1984:

"You are coming into this. You are joining a holy order and your job is to build on what we have done, not treat it as a pinnacle, but as a foundation to make it better."

May he rest in peace.

Dr Goh Keng Swee (Oct 6, 1918 - May 14, 2010)



Words can only convey so much. If you're interested, you can watch the documentary tribute here, and watch the man in action while he was still with us.

I considered myself as a rather apathetic and cynical person but even I can't help but feel touched at what he has done for Singapore.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

I considered myself as a rather apathetic and cynical person but even I can't help but feel touched at what he has done for Singapore.

You should. If you read about the economic situation in Singapore in 1965 after the separation from Malaysia, we had nothing. No natural resource, no nothing. Only a couple of million mouths to feed, clothe and educate. He saw these people as a resource, not a liability, and that pretty much started the ball rolling : just a single perspective.

Originally Posted by Zu Ra

Source

You mean this?

[Tsuyoshi]

Another attempt by the Vatican to take over the world with false, unjustified morals. Boy, am I glad the crusaders no longer exist. Or are they?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Yoko Takeo

Another attempt by the Vatican to take over the world with false, unjustified morals. Boy, am I glad the crusaders no longer exist. Or are they?

The dark side of the force is hard to see, youngling. Just like how Palpatine corrupted the Chosen One through weasel words, you shall not underestimate the malice within the lines!

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Wrong section. Should be in Silly News instead.

But I guess :

Lolis + MTV = WTF. Who choreographed the dance for them anyway?

No fucking clue.

It's kinda strange to see western society blast on Japanese media for it's sexual objectification of children (which kinda creeps me out to)...but then to go ahead and do stuff like this and think it's just the girls being so talented.

Do the people who organized this understand why the post pubescent MTV music video dance girls dress and move like that?

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

The dark side of the force is hard to see, youngling. Just like how Palpatine corrupted the Chosen One through weasel words, you shall not underestimate the malice within the lines!

I find it funny that someone younger than me calls me youngling But you are right. Hard to see, the Dark Side is.

Truth is, you can't trust anything the Vatican does anymore, but the problem is that there's so many people who've given their unconditional support (often because there's no one else who can give them support sadly) that they have obtained great power, consolidated after centuries of propaganda.