When do you know if you are living in times where history is in the making? Answer: When the world's political scene is unfolding even more dramatically than any TV drama on air.
Now, let's look at the most exciting events that has been unfolding. The different countries, are like different characters with different personalities. The main characters these days seem to be the US and Iraq. Supporting casts are like Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, France and so on. But like any good long running sitcom, the story of the world can shift its focus between the different characters and keep it interesting. :) For now, let's see what's happening to these key characters.
US - is going through a change. A big one ... and the world is watching. Who's gonna be the new leader of the pack? The interesting thing is how the US's relationship with the rest of the world is affecting the election this time. Particularly with Iraq. Many outside US are seeing US as the big bully, but many of the Americans are crying, "We're really nice people!!". Try telling that to the Iraqis who lost 100,000 innocent lives just because US wanted to liberate them of their evil ruler.
Iraq - feeling disgruntled instead of liberated. But how can you blame them for feeling this way, when it was the US who planted their leader there, then went to war with them not once, but twice. And both times by the Bush family, father and son. So who's flip flopping? Some terrorists (mostly Saudis) decided to ram their planes into the World trade center and killed 3000 Americans, and through some way or another, led to US deciding to attack Iraq in their crusade of ridding the world of terrorism. Even if I was not a Iraqi, I would still find the whole scenario a little absurd.
And today, voila! The guy who is responsible for the deaths of the 3000 Americans in the 911 incident is back! And the video announcemnt by Mr Bin Laden has added a new twist to the election that is just merely 2 days away.
Now is that drama or what??? :)
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Kids and chocolates?
Recently, I had the opportunity to bring a bunch of kids from a home to a "Kids Fest" organized by the CAAS (what that stands for I am not sure, but it has something to do with Changi Airport and its terminal and some of their operations). Seems like the kids enjoyed themselves - I think not so much that they've learnt anything in the process or that they had done anything that couldn't be done elsewhere. Ironically, they hardly saw any planes considering that they knew they were heading to an airport terminal and that seemed like the whole point of the event. The day went by seeing them being zipped from one place to another, taking pictures instead of really staying at any one place and enjoying themselves, or learning anything. It was like "oh this is the pool!, do not step on the green area, let's take some pictures, let's go!" .. So what's the point of heading there? "Now we're at the cactus garden! Let's take some pictures!, let's go!" .. So, what's the deal with the seeing the cactus garden for 3-4min? Then woo ... zipping off to the restaurant, and that was the place where we spent the most time and took the most pictures. :)
Nonetheless, I thought they enjoyed themselves because of the company, the people, the chance to get out of the home and just do something silly. All thanks to Jean Hung most of all who organized the event and generously included the kids. :) The helpers like Melvyn, Badu and the rest of the entourage. Uncle Ronald, and the fat Pied Piper. Rita who was so sporting :P and the helpers - Steven & Betty. And of course the lovely crazy girl whom i thought made the kids' day definitely - more so than the clown, pied piper and the chocolates combined sorry to say.
Nonetheless, I thought they enjoyed themselves because of the company, the people, the chance to get out of the home and just do something silly. All thanks to Jean Hung most of all who organized the event and generously included the kids. :) The helpers like Melvyn, Badu and the rest of the entourage. Uncle Ronald, and the fat Pied Piper. Rita who was so sporting :P and the helpers - Steven & Betty. And of course the lovely crazy girl whom i thought made the kids' day definitely - more so than the clown, pied piper and the chocolates combined sorry to say.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Bushes for Kerry
Now this is truly hilarious!
Several distant cousins have put up a website to urge people to support Kerry.
http://www.bushrelativesforkerry.com
Report on CNN:
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/25/bush.cousins.ap/index.html
This is a quote from one of the cousin from the website:
"Jeanny House (Wisconsin): I'm voting for John Kerry because I'm a Christian. I know that my second cousin, George Bush, claims that he is the anointed leader of the American people and that God told him to run for office. I believe he may even believe that. I don't.
My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the poor and the marginalized, yet Bush's actions in office have repeatedly cut funding for health care, aid to failing schools, jobs programs, after school programs, Head Start, and many more services that provide real help and hope to those living in poverty. Under the Bush administration, over a million additional people have dropped below the poverty line. 1.2 million more have gone into "deep poverty," which is one-half the $18,810 for a family of four that defines "poverty."
My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the health and welfare of all of God's people, yet 45 million people in this country have no health insurance. The Bush administration, working hard to protect the interests of large, rich insurance companies, has done nothing to address the real health care crisis.
My Christian faith tells me the peacemakers are the blessed ones, yet George Bush wants to resurrect the Crusades, one of the most shameful experiences in Christian history. I fail to understand how lying to the people of the United States about any of the many justifications they have used for going to war in Iraq can be considered in any way, shape, or form a remotely Christian activity. Yes, Jesus once said, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." He was talking about liberating his OWN people from within, not invading an oil-rich country out of purely selfish motives, then claiming it was for the liberation of others. The only true liberation comes when the oppressed claim it for themselves. This is something George Bush and his Imperialist cabal will never understand.
My Christian faith moves toward greater inclusiveness and acceptance, George Bush moves toward punishment, division, and exclusion. My Christian faith seeks to bring people into the circle of decision-making, George Bush seeks to keep them out. My Christian faith seeks to afford equal rights and responsibilities to all, George Bush seeks to reserve more rights for the privileged few.
My Christian faith is not looking for a new Messiah named George Bush.
I am, however, looking for a leader. I believe that leader's name is John Kerry."
Bushwhacked!!! :)
Several distant cousins have put up a website to urge people to support Kerry.
http://www.bushrelativesforkerry.com
Report on CNN:
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/10/25/bush.cousins.ap/index.html
This is a quote from one of the cousin from the website:
"Jeanny House (Wisconsin): I'm voting for John Kerry because I'm a Christian. I know that my second cousin, George Bush, claims that he is the anointed leader of the American people and that God told him to run for office. I believe he may even believe that. I don't.
My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the poor and the marginalized, yet Bush's actions in office have repeatedly cut funding for health care, aid to failing schools, jobs programs, after school programs, Head Start, and many more services that provide real help and hope to those living in poverty. Under the Bush administration, over a million additional people have dropped below the poverty line. 1.2 million more have gone into "deep poverty," which is one-half the $18,810 for a family of four that defines "poverty."
My Christian faith leads me to a concern for the health and welfare of all of God's people, yet 45 million people in this country have no health insurance. The Bush administration, working hard to protect the interests of large, rich insurance companies, has done nothing to address the real health care crisis.
My Christian faith tells me the peacemakers are the blessed ones, yet George Bush wants to resurrect the Crusades, one of the most shameful experiences in Christian history. I fail to understand how lying to the people of the United States about any of the many justifications they have used for going to war in Iraq can be considered in any way, shape, or form a remotely Christian activity. Yes, Jesus once said, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword." He was talking about liberating his OWN people from within, not invading an oil-rich country out of purely selfish motives, then claiming it was for the liberation of others. The only true liberation comes when the oppressed claim it for themselves. This is something George Bush and his Imperialist cabal will never understand.
My Christian faith moves toward greater inclusiveness and acceptance, George Bush moves toward punishment, division, and exclusion. My Christian faith seeks to bring people into the circle of decision-making, George Bush seeks to keep them out. My Christian faith seeks to afford equal rights and responsibilities to all, George Bush seeks to reserve more rights for the privileged few.
My Christian faith is not looking for a new Messiah named George Bush.
I am, however, looking for a leader. I believe that leader's name is John Kerry."
Bushwhacked!!! :)
Monday, October 25, 2004
Kudos to to the Guardian
Dear fellow world citizen, the US election is happening in less than 2 weeks. For those who had been following, you know that both Bush and Kerry are hanging around the Swing States (those states with fairly even split votes, and would "swing" the direction of the election should they be won) quite a bit.
An interesting exercise by a UK newspaper, Guardian, was set up recently targeting one of the swing states, Ohio. They were encouraging and helping people to write to the people in Ohio to encourage them to vote against Bush. Now they had gotten alot of backlash from those Bush supporters regarding this, but what struck me was, if they wanted, they could have easily gotten another international paper to do the same for Bush. However, they probably know that it wouldn't be easy because Bush has gotten a terrible reputation outside the US.
From reports, Guardian has got plenty of positive letters and responses (close to 70,000) while some negative ones. Their site was even hacked because of this experiment they were running.
Well, here I pay salute to Guardian for their bravery, their innovative thinking and for standing by their beliefs. This US election is probably the most important one in the recent history because the Bush administration has shown that when superpower is misused based on cranky intelligence, it can lead to war, deaths and create a whole lotta mess in the world.
An interesting exercise by a UK newspaper, Guardian, was set up recently targeting one of the swing states, Ohio. They were encouraging and helping people to write to the people in Ohio to encourage them to vote against Bush. Now they had gotten alot of backlash from those Bush supporters regarding this, but what struck me was, if they wanted, they could have easily gotten another international paper to do the same for Bush. However, they probably know that it wouldn't be easy because Bush has gotten a terrible reputation outside the US.
From reports, Guardian has got plenty of positive letters and responses (close to 70,000) while some negative ones. Their site was even hacked because of this experiment they were running.
Well, here I pay salute to Guardian for their bravery, their innovative thinking and for standing by their beliefs. This US election is probably the most important one in the recent history because the Bush administration has shown that when superpower is misused based on cranky intelligence, it can lead to war, deaths and create a whole lotta mess in the world.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
My loving problems?
Now ... breaking up is hard to do .... and so is letting go. Well, that's my problem. I get attached to things too easily ... and I get attached for a long long time. Last year this time, I was crazy about this girl. And for the first time in the longest time have I since fallen so hard for a girl. Well, let's just say that I was a persistent ass and she was just too hard to pass. Rejections after rejections, I finally gave up, though it was still hard trying to let it go deep in my heart. Had to put up a farce, and straight face pretending that i have finally gave up. That was the toughest part .... pretending ...
Well ... fast forward 1 year now ... she's happily attached to someone else ... and I am really really envious of the other guy. We still talk, and she recently told me how much she is willing to give up her job for the relationship. Very cool. Guess some part of me wonders, when will I find a girl that will do something like that for me? Come to think of it, both my previous girlfriends, will never do that for me.
I figure the problem is that, in both my previous relationships, it was always the case of me loving the girls more than they love me. I was always the one willing to sacrifice, not the other way around. I should probably find a girl who loves me more than I love her. But the problem is, these girls probably would be easy to get, but I typically do not like easy targets. What a dilemma!!?? When will the right one come along? One whom I would love oh so much, and she would actually appreciate it, and not take it for granted?
Anyways, I do wish my friend all the best with her man. And I am truly glad to have moved on. What a relief!! :)
Well ... fast forward 1 year now ... she's happily attached to someone else ... and I am really really envious of the other guy. We still talk, and she recently told me how much she is willing to give up her job for the relationship. Very cool. Guess some part of me wonders, when will I find a girl that will do something like that for me? Come to think of it, both my previous girlfriends, will never do that for me.
I figure the problem is that, in both my previous relationships, it was always the case of me loving the girls more than they love me. I was always the one willing to sacrifice, not the other way around. I should probably find a girl who loves me more than I love her. But the problem is, these girls probably would be easy to get, but I typically do not like easy targets. What a dilemma!!?? When will the right one come along? One whom I would love oh so much, and she would actually appreciate it, and not take it for granted?
Anyways, I do wish my friend all the best with her man. And I am truly glad to have moved on. What a relief!! :)
June 21st, what does that make me?
Now I am born on a Cusp. June 21 and that makes me share some attributes from Gemini and Cancer. I always had problems deciding which sign to read cos there are books that put me as a Cancer and there are those that put me as a Gemini. I recently decided to write to Susan Miller to ask for opinions and I even gave her my birthtime GMT and the works to let her decide for me. The answer I got was pretty interesting. Here's a portion of the letter :
"Dear Yee Wei,
Thank you for your letter! I get lots of questions about being born right on the cusp, between two signs. In answer to your question, you are very fortunate, because you take the best of BOTH signs. For personality profiles you probably fit the earlier sign but for forecasts, read the latter of the two (in your case, the forecast for Cancer). It's a long explanation as to why--but it seems to work well this way."
So I have a personality of a Gemini but I will inherit the fate of the Cancer. Mystery solved! :)
Susan Miller's Astrology Site is awesome. Probably the most detailed forecast you can find anywhere. :)
"Dear Yee Wei,
Thank you for your letter! I get lots of questions about being born right on the cusp, between two signs. In answer to your question, you are very fortunate, because you take the best of BOTH signs. For personality profiles you probably fit the earlier sign but for forecasts, read the latter of the two (in your case, the forecast for Cancer). It's a long explanation as to why--but it seems to work well this way."
So I have a personality of a Gemini but I will inherit the fate of the Cancer. Mystery solved! :)
Susan Miller's Astrology Site is awesome. Probably the most detailed forecast you can find anywhere. :)
Fortune telling, Tarot cards blah blah ....
Now recently I had a friend of mine who visited my restaurant and brought along a shrink of sorts who dabbles in tarot cards. Now this is entertainment. I do have a few questions and I wondered if it can gimme some straight answers. Now that night's experience, left me feeling like I had dealt with some politician. You cannot get any damn straight answers from the cards. And the shrink who reads from the book trying to explain what she claims to be as "clear as the skies" (it happens to be raining that very night), is like a politician who tries to convince you that she knows you more than you know yourself. And she gimme 2 paragraphs of crap when I am asking for a straight Yes or No answer. I told her, nevermind what the book says. You tell me is this YES or NO? And the battle rages on .....
She will try to say things like "Are you sure?", "What makes you think you know yourself" and shit like that. Then she tries to tell you what your problem is. Reverse psychology. Instill self doubts, then impose their opinions, which would make them seem like they are the wiser one.
Well granted, people who ask questions at tarot cards reading or fortune tellers do so because they are not sure, or have doubts about any issue. However, I do hope that the receipient, keep a clear mind and do not subject themselves to purely accepting those crytic answers as the WORD. Feel free to reject any ideas that might not seem/feel right, and never succumb to the psychological trap which they set up for you. REMEMBER, if the shrink can't offer you a straight answer, this is because THE SHRINK DOES NOT KNOW THE ANSWER. I still have questions which I want answered, but if anyone knows any shrink who can do better and not gimme some crap load of "are you sure???", please pass on the contacts. :) I would love to explore the unknown. :)
She will try to say things like "Are you sure?", "What makes you think you know yourself" and shit like that. Then she tries to tell you what your problem is. Reverse psychology. Instill self doubts, then impose their opinions, which would make them seem like they are the wiser one.
Well granted, people who ask questions at tarot cards reading or fortune tellers do so because they are not sure, or have doubts about any issue. However, I do hope that the receipient, keep a clear mind and do not subject themselves to purely accepting those crytic answers as the WORD. Feel free to reject any ideas that might not seem/feel right, and never succumb to the psychological trap which they set up for you. REMEMBER, if the shrink can't offer you a straight answer, this is because THE SHRINK DOES NOT KNOW THE ANSWER. I still have questions which I want answered, but if anyone knows any shrink who can do better and not gimme some crap load of "are you sure???", please pass on the contacts. :) I would love to explore the unknown. :)
Friday, October 22, 2004
Palmasutra!!!
Do you have a Palm? I just got a T3 and I am enjoyin it :P
And this is one cool program to try :P ....
http://www.palmasutra.org
And this is one cool program to try :P ....
http://www.palmasutra.org
The Book
MY BOOK
My life is an open book.
Read it if you wish, read it if you dare.
But read it carefully I plead
Read it with a heart indeed
Do not just the cover you screen
The fancy and cheerful gleam
The interesting title is but a scheme
To mislead the proud and confuse the weak
Do not just the introduction you peruse
The short and concise brief
The quick summary is but a ruse
To hide the truth from those who only skim the news
Patience is a virtue you need
To appreciate the book for what it is
Time is a precious gift
Spent to understand the words that you read
So a sincere heart is required
To comprehend this book of mine
And reveal this mystery
that is the life of mine
My life is an open book.
Read it if you wish, read it if you dare.
But read it carefully I plead
Read it with a heart indeed
Do not just the cover you screen
The fancy and cheerful gleam
The interesting title is but a scheme
To mislead the proud and confuse the weak
Do not just the introduction you peruse
The short and concise brief
The quick summary is but a ruse
To hide the truth from those who only skim the news
Patience is a virtue you need
To appreciate the book for what it is
Time is a precious gift
Spent to understand the words that you read
So a sincere heart is required
To comprehend this book of mine
And reveal this mystery
that is the life of mine
Jon Stewart Rocks CNN
Now this is last week's news. But hey if you are a Singaporean, you might not know who is Jon Stewart cos the freaking PAP banned his shows.
Again, a little background. Jon Stewart host "The daily show" - a "fake" news program that airs everynight on CableTv on Comedy Central (in US). What he does on his show, is takes news feeds from different sources, and finds absurdities and makes fun of them. So if you do not follow the news, you might not know what he's talking about. And his news does not just cover US news, there was once he made fun of Singapore launching a "SARS" channel too.
Well, recently, he was invited to a program called "Crossfire" on CNN. From what I understand (I did not watch this show before), this is a debate program on CNN and what they do is they invite 2 persons ... and they have 2 hosts, each taking a different stand on an issue and the 4 will debate.
What happened was Jon stewart was invited to this show last week. After the host tried to accuse him of being soft on John Kerry, he basically went on blasting the show and criticizing CNN for not being helpful to the public they are supposed to be serving. It was a hell of a ride watching 16min of seeing how the CNN hosts tried to defend themselves and kept trying to shut Jon up. If you wanna catch it, search on the net, or on any P2P (Kazaa, Limewire etc) network for "Jon stewart, crossfire" and you should be able to find it. Awesome to see Jon Stewart kick some butt, and really saying what's so true.
This is the url for the transcript:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html
News.com report:
http://news.com.com/Jon+Stewart+Crossfire+feud+ignites+Net+frenzy/2100-1026_3-5417676.html
Seattle Post Intelligencer:
http://news.com.com/Jon+Stewart+Crossfire+feud+ignites+Net+frenzy/2100-1026_3-5417676.html
This is a NYtimes report: (Free registration)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/arts/television/20watc.html?oref=login
Again, a little background. Jon Stewart host "The daily show" - a "fake" news program that airs everynight on CableTv on Comedy Central (in US). What he does on his show, is takes news feeds from different sources, and finds absurdities and makes fun of them. So if you do not follow the news, you might not know what he's talking about. And his news does not just cover US news, there was once he made fun of Singapore launching a "SARS" channel too.
Well, recently, he was invited to a program called "Crossfire" on CNN. From what I understand (I did not watch this show before), this is a debate program on CNN and what they do is they invite 2 persons ... and they have 2 hosts, each taking a different stand on an issue and the 4 will debate.
What happened was Jon stewart was invited to this show last week. After the host tried to accuse him of being soft on John Kerry, he basically went on blasting the show and criticizing CNN for not being helpful to the public they are supposed to be serving. It was a hell of a ride watching 16min of seeing how the CNN hosts tried to defend themselves and kept trying to shut Jon up. If you wanna catch it, search on the net, or on any P2P (Kazaa, Limewire etc) network for "Jon stewart, crossfire" and you should be able to find it. Awesome to see Jon Stewart kick some butt, and really saying what's so true.
This is the url for the transcript:
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html
News.com report:
http://news.com.com/Jon+Stewart+Crossfire+feud+ignites+Net+frenzy/2100-1026_3-5417676.html
Seattle Post Intelligencer:
http://news.com.com/Jon+Stewart+Crossfire+feud+ignites+Net+frenzy/2100-1026_3-5417676.html
This is a NYtimes report: (Free registration)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/20/arts/television/20watc.html?oref=login
Kerry Flip-flopper, George Bushwhacker
Been following the US election? You should. Why should I care? I am a Singaporean right? ... Well, considering that this is the presidency of a superpower with the fire freaking power to destroy any country, I think we better the hell care. The US president is one powerful man, and we don't need an idiot running that country. The Bush Administration has shown us what can happen when a Droon is running the country - backed out of the Kyoto Treaty, , entered an illegal War and then trying to use "liberation" as an excuse (haven't we heard that before in WWII when Japan tried to "liberate Asia"), losing track of Osama bin Ladin and more ...
So in case you haven't been following, here's a quick recap ... the election is in 2 weeks. 3 rounds of debates came and went, but still, no clear winner. Statistic is swinging between 45-47% for Kerry and 47-49% for Bush, very tight race. Bush loves taking words out of context to malign Kerry. Kerry loves to explain his points with too much details and provide material for others to pick on. I wish we have a much clearer choice. Kerry is better in my opinion (note this is an opinion!), but not good enough to mark a huge distinction. I think the polls explains my point. Nonetheless, I see him as the lesser evil.
What bothers me is many Americans do not look at the big picture when making decisions. They look at one or two details that matters the most to them and vote. They see who they like as a person, and they vote. That's very disturbing. Many of them get not-so-fair and reliable news from FOX and treat it as facts. Many of them do not know how to filter facts from personal opinions and biases injected by those irresponsible reporting. Thankfully not every American is like that, but a huge percentage of them still are. They also do not realise that, who they vote, will determine how US is being viewed by others - and to a larger extent, who they vote, will determine whether there will be another bombing/sanction/whatever elsewhere. But why should they care? The people who are dying will not be Americans ... but then again, how many Americans had died since Bush invaded .. oh, sorry .. liberated Iraq?
So in case you haven't been following, here's a quick recap ... the election is in 2 weeks. 3 rounds of debates came and went, but still, no clear winner. Statistic is swinging between 45-47% for Kerry and 47-49% for Bush, very tight race. Bush loves taking words out of context to malign Kerry. Kerry loves to explain his points with too much details and provide material for others to pick on. I wish we have a much clearer choice. Kerry is better in my opinion (note this is an opinion!), but not good enough to mark a huge distinction. I think the polls explains my point. Nonetheless, I see him as the lesser evil.
What bothers me is many Americans do not look at the big picture when making decisions. They look at one or two details that matters the most to them and vote. They see who they like as a person, and they vote. That's very disturbing. Many of them get not-so-fair and reliable news from FOX and treat it as facts. Many of them do not know how to filter facts from personal opinions and biases injected by those irresponsible reporting. Thankfully not every American is like that, but a huge percentage of them still are. They also do not realise that, who they vote, will determine how US is being viewed by others - and to a larger extent, who they vote, will determine whether there will be another bombing/sanction/whatever elsewhere. But why should they care? The people who are dying will not be Americans ... but then again, how many Americans had died since Bush invaded .. oh, sorry .. liberated Iraq?
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