Let's learn

When Osama Bin Laden spoke of "a Crusader-Zionist-Hindu war against Muslims" in a recent audiotape message, he sought to delegitimise moderate Muslims who refuse to accept violence and coercion as an integral part of their Islamic faith. Bin Laden rejected coexistence with the secular West on the basis of universal human values.

Not all Muslims support his ideas

"The West is incapable of recognising the rights of others," he declared, echoing the sentiment of Muslim revivalists bent upon turning the tide of modernity. According to Bin Laden, "The West still believes in ethnic supremacy and looks down on other nations. They categorise human beings into white masters and coloured slaves."

Something for all to learn. If you keep pushing people's backs to the wall, they are going to bounce back.

Engage, not disengage

Points stressed by President Nathan at yesterday's swearing in ceremony:



"A younger generation of post-independence Singaporeans have grown up amidst peace and prosperity.

"They have more choices to explore and high expectations of what they want to achieve in life. They are passionate about pursuing ambitions, see the world as their oyster.

"This government must continue to engage and bond with this new generation, and stay in touch with their aspirations and ideals.

"By galvanising the aspirations of the young, we will generate a sense of common endeavour and purpose among all, to shape the future of our country together."

Aid workers gunned down

Three Afghan women working for the Action Aid agency were gunned down yesterday in a rare attack on aid workers in the normally tranquil northern provinces.

The three aid workers, one aged 20, were gunned down by guerrillas on motorcycles as their vehicle travelled along a quiet rural road near Sheberghan, the capital of Jowzjan province.

This is ridiculous. Biting, no, killing the very hands that feed them. They have totally lost all common sense and logical thinking.

Now they have nothing left

Bantul, a semi-rural district just south of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, in the heartland of the island of Java where farmers grow rice, corn and chillies, was hardest hit by an earthquake that struck the area on Saturday morning. More than 80 per cent of buildings were flattened.

The total death toll stood at more than 4,600 last night, with up to 20,000 injured and more than 100,000 left homeless.

Budi Wiyana, 63, whose house was destroyed, said: "We're short of everything - clothes, food, water, all are gone. We are poor people, but our lives still matter."

Guantanamo hunger strike

The number of detainees on hunger strike at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has grown and now involves 75 inmates.

"This new hunger strike is likely a co-ordinated, but short-term, effort designed to coincide with the military commission hearings scheduled for the next several weeks as defence attorneys and media normally travel to Guantanamo to observe this process," Navy Cmdr Durand said in a statement.

How does he live with himself?

God-sent

AUSTRALIAN peacekeepers made a show of force in East Timor's smouldering capital, Dili, yesterday, throwing youths wielding machetes to the ground and handcuffing them as residents looked on.

Not a walk in the park

"They are not brave soldiers (US-led coalition forces). They are just backstreet, bad-driving thugs. They think Afghanistan is a playground where they can practise shooting," said one protester.

Seems like Afghanistan is turning out to be a park... Jurassic Park.

Radicalism spotting

An Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players were fatally shot last week in Baghdad because they were wearing shorts, authorities said yesterday, reporting the latest in a series of recent attacks attributed to Islamic extremists.

Still living in the past, some people. Sigh...

Divine help wanted

Frightened Timorese packed churches to pray for peace on Sunday, but gangs allied to feuding police or army units continued to rampage through the capital, evading foreign peacekeeping troops and torching homes and vehicles.

Dear God, we need some brains around here. And jobs too, please.

"Why aren't the Australians doing anything?" said one youth, manning a barricade on the main road leading from the airport.

"It has begun to quiet things down, it's a trickier operation than some people think," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. "Nobody should assume that it's just a simple walk-in-the-park military operation - it's quite challenging."

"This is nothing to do with the current situation," said Eduardo Villieras, a businessman. "These are just hooligans causing trouble and settling old scores.

Some want to see the Australians take a firmer hand.

"They need to crack heads to get them to stop," said Felipe Carrascalao.

Will the real threat please stand up

"This is only the beginning," Bush said. "The message has spread from Damascus to Tehran that the future belongs to freedom, and we will not rest until the promise of liberty reaches every people in every nation."

"If our enemies succeed in acquiring such weapons, they will not hesitate to use them, which means they would pose a threat to America as great as the Soviet Union," he added. "Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never back down we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory."

What exactly is he on about now?

Last July, Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations, Samir al-Sumaidaie, accused the Marines of killing his 21-year-old cousin in cold blood during a search of his family's home in Haditha, a city of about 90,000 people along the Euphrates River 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.

That is not the only case pending: On Wednesday, the military announced an investigation into allegations that Marines killed a civilian April 26 near Fallujah. The statement gave no further details except that several service members had been sent back to the United States pending the results of the criminal investigation.

Together, the cases present the most serious challenge to U.S. handling of the Iraq war since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

A videotape shot by an Iraqi journalism student, obtained by Time magazine and then by Arab television stations, showed the bodies of women and children, some in their nightclothes after the search operation by US Marines in Haditha last July.

Other evidence such as photographs taken by a Marine intelligence team have convinced investigators that a Marine unit killed as many as 24 unarmed Iraqis, some of them execution-style, in the insurgent stronghold of Haditha after a roadside bomb killed an American in November.

Who is the threat here?

Here comes the South Pacific Police!

"Did you remember to bring dah bahbecue grill?"

Australian commandos clad in full combat gear flew into East Timor today as the advance guard of an international force called in to prevent a rebellion by disaffected ex-soldiers descending into civil war in the tiny island state.

"Hey mate, reckon they got the Socceroos-Greece game on da tele?"

The violence is the worst since East Timor won independence from Indonesia in 1999. "We can’t control the situation," said Jose Ramos Horta, the Foreign Minister.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has confirmed some of the rebel soldiers leading the unrest in East Timor were trained in Australia (GASP!).

That has been confirmed by East Timor's Ambassador to Australia Hernani de Silva.

Rodrigo Vasquez playing ninja with the neighbourhood kids

"These are soldiers who have been sacked and so yes you are completely right they will know how to fight," he added.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that not all of them will be armed. Some of them are armed with rifles, machetes and rocket propelled grenades. How cute.

Trigger-happy

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, urged the international community yesterday to confront Iran quickly over its uranium enrichment program or risk "nuclear aggression" that could plunge the Jewish state and the entire Middle East into chaos.

Here's an idea: Why don't everyone just stop their armament policies, starting with the biggest culprit, the US?

Tall order I must say, since they seem to enjoy bombing everything and anything for whatever reason, no matter who's involved.

Sixteen civilians died in an American air strike over their houses last Sunday.

Their excuse?

"The military did not know civilians were in the houses when A-10 warthog planes fired at buildings," said Col Collins.

Gimme a break! Hello! What do you expect to be in houses!?

Wronging rights

"They're going to kill women one way or another," said Leyla Pervizat, a women's rights researcher in Istanbul.

Honour-killings. Where's the honour in that?

In this day and age, some people still stick with age old customs that completely do not make sense.

For instance, a woman gets raped. She is forced to commit suicide or be murdered. The assailant walks away.

This is not Islamic culture. This is just plain twisted.

Dumb and Dumber get smarter

President Bush, facing political pressure for troop cutbacks, said Tuesday he would make a fresh assessment about Iraq's needs for U.S. military help now that a new government has taken office in Baghdad.

So does Blair. It seems both are attempting to improve their credit ratings back home. That could only be good for the world.

They will discuss plans for an accelerated exit of troops from Iraq, starting in July.

The US will increasingly play a supporting role as Baghdad's new government gains its footing, the American president has said.

But George Bush offered no timetable for a US withdrawal despite the new prime minister's promise that Iraqi forces would be in charge in most of the country by December and a British prediction that foreign troops may be out within four years.

Save common sense

Eighteen-year-old Iranian, Nazarin, is not a child offender. She unintentionally killed a man in self-defence against three of them who attempted to rape her niece and her in March this year.

Now she is facing (has faced?) the gallows (as of 19 May, we have about one week to petition against this sentencing - according to a release by Canada's University of Winnipeg whose president, Lloyd Axworthy, is the former Canada Foreign Affairs minister). I am unable to find more information, but I have signed the petition.

She is but a child whose common sense – and sense of righteousness – is way beyond her years, acting in self-defence, defending her body and her niece's under duress.

Shame on the courts (probably run by adults), the authorities (adults again), and especially to the men who tried to rape innocent young girls. Shame on Iran.

It has not been widely reported, so I've tried to verify the authenticity of this case and it appears to be true.

Given below is the link to the international petition calling for a review of her case and the appalling verdict against her. Also, there are the links to the Amnesty International report and the website of one her top defenders - Iranian-born Miss Canada 2003, Nazanin Afshin Jam.

The Petition.

Amnesty International.

Nazanin Afshin Jam.

Looking the other way

Britain has provided no financial assistance to the five main pro-democracy organisations in Myanmmar for the past three years. The Government has also failed to provide assistance for the Karen tribespeople, who have been under attack by the Burmese army.

The Government did, however, spend £120,000 of public money to fund scientific surveys of bats near the region where some of the worst repression is occurring.

Lord, get your priorities right!

How does bat-research take precedence over human rights abuse?

John Duh

It's amazing how Howard is closing himself to the Bush regime when others are staying away, or staying neutral.

In my opinion, Howard has sold out. He's sold Australia out.

Australians can't seem to figure out how to get rid of him so they have learned to live with him and apologize to the world for him. Howard sees himself as a great leader and Australians see him as an embarrassing U.S. parasite.

Somebody needs to remind him who's boss - The Australian people. They hate seeing their country playing right into America's hands.

I mean what's this? Seems that Howard is doing America's bidding here. What has Australia got to do with the European Union's economy?

Guantanamo cha cha

Here's the world's most despicable female.

"We will be delighted when we can close down Guantanamo," Rice said on Fox News Sunday.

"(But) if we do close down Guantanamo, what becomes of the hundreds of dangerous people who were picked up on battlefields in Afghanistan, who were picked up because of their associations with Al Qaeda?"

Got prove?

Superwoman

Now here's a person who has very strong beliefs.

Ms Suu Kyi never intended to be a heroine for Burmese democracy. She was nursing her ailing mother in Rangoon when General Ne Win staged the coup in 1988 and the military fired on student protesters, killing thousands.

She spoke out against army brutality and was detained at gunpoint and put under house arrest at her family's rundown house. But she became revered as an icon for the dispossessed and a thorn in the junta's side.

She even chose her country above her dying late husband. Exceptional!

Read on. It's a long shot but hopefully the military junta that's running Myanmmar do not extend her house arrest any longer.

Resolve Iraq

"We will use maximum force against terrorism, but we also need a national initiative," Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki said in reference to previous calls for "national reconciliation" among all Iraqis.

In my opinion, when push comes to shove, I believe the best resolution for now is for the country to be split in three between the Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.

It's a tough call but if living together can cause so much sectarian violence, I guess this is the most obvious way to go. And then, there's the oil.

There's always the oil, isn't there? I bet they're going to argue about that as well. And USA's going to stick its nose in and complicate things.

Dead right

New Prime Minister Romano Prodi called the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a “grave error” and vowed to withdraw Italian forces from the war-torn country.

Here is an honest man. Nothing more to add.

Fire power

Prime Minister John Howard says he has an open mind on the development of nuclear power in Australia, which has 40 percent of the world's known reserves of uranium, and has called for a full debate on the issue.

Australia must be one of the world's top three most self-sufficient countries. It has everything from coals, to cattle, to human resource and it also the world's supplier for uranium.

I've always thought this was coming. They have it, so why not use it for their own peaceful purposes?

Papa don't preach

Inmates at the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have attacked guards after luring them with a staged suicide attempt.

This is one of the worst things to happen to a human being - to be detained without trial and I guess the inmates there have just had about enough.

How a country like the US can tell other countries like Myanmmar and China to improve their human rights policies is beyond me. It seems that the US believes they're bigger than anything in this universe.

I say, practice what you preach before telling others what they should do.

Scary thought

"The United States is not very moral, despite the fact it possesses technological, military, and economic power," highlighted Fidel Castro in his conversation with the Iranian President.

It's not about having nuclear technology for whatever purpose anymore it seems. It seems that the world have had enough about the double standards practiced by the self-styled world police that is the US and are just doing things to piss them off.

Doesn't look good.

Doesn't look good when even Venezuela had staged a mock foreign invasion on its own soil to prepare themselves for a real one.

In the words of one high-ranking official, "When oil reaches US$100 per barrel, who knows, anything could happen?"

Scary thought.

Charm/Offensive

Bush bans arms sales to Venezuela. Uh hmm.

How does it feel to be threatened for a change?

They mentioned reason for doing so because Chavez has been supporting terrorist activities by allying his country with Cuba, Iran, etc but as usual, failed to mention the oil that they rely on Venezuela, 1.5 million barrels a day to be exact.

Nit-picking comes to mind.

And it's not suprising to see Chavez reacting angrily to this sanction.

"Bush is the world's biggest terrorist!" he remarked citing bombing whole towns, civilian populations, killing innocent people and women and children in Iraq as some examples.

At home, Bush's government have fire on their asses right now from the latest blunder they manage to get themselves into - phone tapping. It puts American liberties at risk.

It is time to call the bluff of the Bush administration and Republican water-carriers. The US is not a nation at war. The so-called war on terror has never been a war. It is a threat from a wide variety of autonomous groups that hate the US. But it is not a war, and they cannot justify abandoning the existing laws to fight it.

If they need domestic surveillance, then a new law needs to be created to justify it. Unauthorized gathering of classified information also helps terrorists and their enemies.

Away from home, it's been discovered that the US had been sending possibly mentally unfit soldiers to Iraq while being kept on potent antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs, with little or no counseling or medical monitoring..

The suicide rate among troops serving in Iraq reached an all-time high in 2005 when 22 soldiers killed themselves - accounting for nearly one in five of all army non-combat deaths.

The investigation found that at least 11 service members who committed suicide in Iraq in 2004 and 2005 were kept on duty despite exhibiting signs of significant psychological distress.

In at least seven of the cases, superiors were aware of the problems.

Also, at least three soldiers who have killed themselves since the war began were deployed despite serious mental conditions, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

It's no wonder Chavez left his unofficial visit to London with his head held high recently. His charm offensive seems to work better than Bush's "if you can't control 'em, bomb 'em" attitude.

Before he left, he quoted Rousseau, "Between the poor and the rich, liberty is oppressive. Only law can liberate".

Grateful dead

BRAZIL’S richest and most populous state suffered a third day of fear and chaos yesterday during a violent campaign by the largest criminal network in the country.

The attacks, in which 81 people have died, are aimed at forcing the state government to back down in its effort to break the gang’s control over the state prison system. A series of drive-by shootings has targeted law enforcement officials and a state-wide rebellion has engulfed 80 prisons in São Paulo.

It's things like this that make me feel grateful for being in Singapore... and then there's this. Ha ha.

Liberate Liberia

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who took office in January after winning the first elections since the war ended in 2003, has pledged to rebuild the country, which is still without running water or electricity years after the guns fell silent.

He highlighted that it is important sanctions should be lifted on the country for the new government to have access to needed resources to execute its programme and improve the living standards of the people.

The danger is that if democracy does not produce quick dividends in both Sierra Leone and Liberia... apathy and cynicism may begin to set in.

American Mafia

First there was George H, then there was George W. Now brother Jeb may become the next member of the clan to step forward as a presidential contender.

Oh bejeez... to do what? To take over the dirty work?

Blair quits

Forced to show hand, Blair is said to be keen for a “stable and orderly” transition of power by naming a date after increasing calls from parliamentary colleagues for a firm pronouncement on the matter as continued speculation could be harming the party long-term.

Reason for optimism

For all the PAP's grandstanding about forging a more open society, even oblique political criticism still warrants severe reprisals. Singapore's first family has a long history of filing crippling criminal defamation suits against feisty journalists and opposition politicians, including most recently a libel suit threat against the Singapore Democratic Party related to its allegations of a government cover-up of corruption at the National Kidney Foundation.

The local news media are renowned for their world-class self-censorship. Big foreign news agencies, which for years through their reporting had challenged then-prime minister Lee Kwan Yew's less-than-democratic credentials, have in recent years also been cowed by the threat of litigation and now regularly report glowingly on his economic accomplishments.

The time has come for Singapore to open up more. More freedom to the opposition is how Singapore turns into a full fledged democracy. That will close the door on criticism about lack of freedom or full democracy there; and keep people fully happy and contended.

It is notable that the younger Lee is mindful of this, as is seen from his statement after the ruling party's fresh mandate for another term. "We have a lot to work ahead of us...I want to continue to encourage open, serious debate on issues as neither the PAP, nor the government, nor the opposition has all the solutions and answers to all the questions and all the problems".

The younger Lee is obviously between a rock and a hard place. His PAP advisers are cognizant of the economic importance of more openness, but at the same time fret about the potential repercussions if the PAP loosens its political grip too fast. Judging by the proliferating number of Singapore-based blogs, however, a new, Internet-savvy generation of voters has already reached a critical mass and is less satisfied to wander aimlessly around the mall while the PAP unilaterally handles the rest of Singapore's business.

For the first time in years, Singapore has a group of better-organized, forward-looking alternative candidates to the PAP that, among other things, are trying to leverage rather than restrain the democratizing force of the Internet for political change.

Not enough is enough

An aging population that has generally been supportive of the government now finds that decades of forced savings have had such low returns that a comfortable retirement is not in sight. But it could be another decade before Singaporeans decide that enough is enough, and have their own velvet revolution.

Skewed

Below is an email exchange by a fellow netizen called Desmond Yen and S Ramesh of ChannelNewsAsia. I couldn't help chuckling to myself.


-----Original Message-----
From: Desmond Yen
Sent: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 00:23:09 +0800
To: sramesh@channelnewsasia.com
Cc:
Subject: PAP Propoganda

Dear Mr Ramesh:

Your story tonight was basically an advertisement for the PAP. I have
several questions about your coverage:

- Why should opposition parties announce their new candidates according to the schedule the PAP wants?
- Why didn't you get an opposition party point of view? Isn't fairness and
balance the hallmarks of good journalism?
- Why don't you ask some voters how important it is to have opposition
candidates to give them a choice in their district?
- Why don't you instead ask the PAP why it hasn't determined the election date, keeping all of the voters in the dark, and preventing any meaningful planning by the opposition?

Finally, why should you even echo the complaints of the PAP, when your news
organisation -- and you in particular -- won't even cover the opposition
candidates with any sense of fairness?

Regards,

Desmond Yen

On 5/10/06, S Ramesh wrote:
Dear Mr Yen,

Hope you are keeping well and I hope you enjoyed the news coverage of the general elections.

Long Live the PAP!

Ramesh

Moving on

The PAP – in power since its separation from Malaysia in 1965 – retained its 82 seats in the republic's 84-seat Parliament with 66.6% of the votes.

Papa don't preach! I'm not in trouble deep!

I mean hey, you won. Good job in fixing the Opposition. Now 1/3 of the nation who voted for the Opposition are only represented by two out of the 84 seats in Parliament. "Yeah!"

It was an election quite unlike what Singaporeans had seen before and the results reflected the generational shift in the city-state.

While burning issues like jobs, housing upgrading, living costs and healthcare dominated the campaign, it was also the way politicians were forced to sit up and take notice of the power of the younger voters that made the polls so interesting.

The younger voters now will grow older and be replaced by other way younger people in future and hopefully our future governments will take a less top-down approach which although had worked in the past to give the nation some footing while in the growing stage, will not be so effective then.

1) Out with strong arm tactics
- For one (out of a few), attempting to "force" James Gomez out of politics while also trying to discredit his party through public sledgehammering, character attacks and still picking on him with a criminal intimidation charge after the elections is downright ugly.

2) Out with dangling carrots that comes from taxpayers' pockets
- It's OUR money. Don't use it as a bait like that. If upgrading is a must and if money has been promised at the time of rallies by the PAP, it should be made available now no matter who won because now we all know the money is there. It can be used in Opposition wards as well. People in these wards are Singaporeans just like any other in any area in this country.

3) Out with media control
- Channelnewsasia and The Straits' Times (bar Sumiko Tan) have been very one-sided in their elections runup coverage. The only reason the Opposition was BIG news was when the PAP was attacking them. We, the younger folks are not stupid. We watch and read the news but we also decipher the hidden message behind it and it's been plain unfair. Coverage, positive or negative, should be equal.

I'm glad that PM Lee has somehow acknowledged this, the fact that younger folks have a mind of their own and I concede that he has indeed loosen up some rope in the two years he's been in charge. Hopefully more improvements will come.

Let's grow with the times, from top to bottom to top to bottom... till the next elections.

Majulah Singapura!

Paddy-eating fence

There is an old saying that goes "rely on the fence, the fence eats the paddy".

It refers to the fence that is supposed to protect the paddy fields from predators and yet the fence itself is the predator.

Just like in Liberia where humanitarian workers and peacekeeping soldiers have been exploiting the plight of young girls to satisfy themselves in exchange for little and in some circumstances, nothing.

The adults know about this but they're too weak to do anything about it for fear of a pullout in aid from these very people that were sent to look after them and to protect them.

How sad.

I understand that these humanitarian and peacekeeping men have needs too, and in most cases these "services" are provided with consent but uh, isn't there a global law that says underaged human beings are not really ready to consent to these sort of things, or something to that effect?

Pushy

Hugo Chavez intends to raise taxes on companies operating in the Venezuelan industry from 34% to 50%.

Dang, I see the bad point in that already.

I mean, that would deinitely help his country raise money that they need from a commodity that is guaranteed to have a demand but uh, wouldn't this drive prices of oil WAY higher?

Is war inevitable?

Venezuela does have an armed forces but are they ready to defend themselves from this much offensive of late? There is a limit to everything and from the outside, it does seem to me that they're pushing their luck a bit.

From Iran, with love

"Washington and its allies don't give us anything and yet they want to impose sanctions on us!" exclaimed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He called the threat of sanctions "meaningless."

Nevertheless, he intends to send the US a letter proposing "new solutions for getting out of international problems and the current fragile situation of the world."

This would be the first time in 27 years such a thing is happening.

Well, as long as there is a chance for a peaceful resolve, why the heck not? Go for it! Worth a shot.

Elections clarification

I must say that the whole process of the General Elections went well as far as I'm concerned. It took less than five minutes of my time in total, couldn't have been more.

This was the first time I ever voted. Although I could be wrong, I noticed that the ballot paper had no signs/marks/evidence/indications to suggest that anyone would know who I had voted for and as such, this applies the same to everyone else I suppose.

And if this is true, I must apologise for being too quick to criticize in my post a few days ago on the whole thing about having our particulars on the polling card.

There was no need for the polling card to be submitted along with the ballot paper. It was only used for registration purposes as far as I observed.

This little island goes to the polls

Singaporeans go to the polls Saturday with the ruling People’s Action Party widely expected to win another crushing victory despite the strongest opposition challenge in almost two decades.

PAP candidates and supporters

The healthy economy is expected to work in favor of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s party, which is credited with turning multiracial Singapore into a wealthy and stable society and has never lost an election since 1959.

But critics say a growing income divide, the plight of the elderly and less-skilled workers and a desire by younger voters for a less authoritarian system could help the opposition spring a few surprises.

The Workers' Party's Low Thia Kiang hopes to keep Hougang district

The PAP held all but two of the 84 seats in the last parliament. The opposition is contesting 47 seats, more than in any election since 1988, but is the first to admit it cannot win a majority.

About 40 percent of today's eligible voters were born after Singapore became an independent nation in 1965. Whether their elders like it or not, they are their country's future, and their vision now stands side by side with Mr. Lee's.

"What we want is a choice," said Mabel Lee, 28, an editor and television presenter. "What we want is political vibrancy. What we want is a media that could reflect both the views of the opposition as well as of the ruling party fairly. What we want is to see that the opposition is being given a level playing field. What we want is fairness in the political sphere."

"You have a choice!" is The Workers' Party's motto

The Singapore elections on Saturday are being seen as a form of plebiscite for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who inherited the post in 2004. Although his ruling People's Action Party is virtually assured of a majority of seats in parliament, even a small improvement by the tiny opposition could prove an embarrassment for Mr. Lee.

It is the first time in almost 20 years that the opposition is contesting more than half of the constituencies in the tightly-controlled city-state.

"Instead of spending my time thinking of what is the right policy for Singapore," said PM Lee on Wednesday night in response to this issue, "I have to spend all my time thinking what is the right way to fix them, what's the right way to buy my own supporters over."

And for this remark, he issued an apology on Friday, after the opposition had protested over it the night before.

"Oops. Shouldn't have said that. I'm gonna need a new spindoctor."

Lee's press secretary said what the PM meant to say "was that if there were many more opposition MPs in Parliament, the government and opposition would spend all their time and energies countering each other, and Singapore would be worse off for it."

Latin America roundup

The presidents of Brazil and Argentina promised Thursday to respect Bolivia's nationalization of its natural gas sector but called for more talks on gas prices and foreign production in the Andean nation to avoid a regional crisis.

The deal was reached at an energy summit which also included Venezuela.

(L-R) Presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela

By announcing an agreement on energy pricing last night, they seek to dispel the impression that the continent's left-wing leaders were sharply divided over Bolivian President Evo Morales' shock nationalization of the Andean nation's energy sector.

On the other side of Latin America though, Venezuela had pulled out its own ambassador to Peru after Peru had done the same earlier after Hugo Chavez had called Alejandro Toledo and Alan Garcia "crocodiles from the same water hole" for turning their backs on the region by agreeing to a FTA with the US.

Situation looks sticky here. If left unchecked, it could add fuel to the fire and spark a war.

Singaporean situation

"Yes, we thank MM Lee for what he has done since the 1950s but we wish to be allowed to shape our country's future in our own way," wrote Clement Wee Hong En in a letter to Today newspaper.

"A great father is one who nurtures his children to prosper in adverse circumstances, but even greater is one who knows when to let go, and who trusts that his children can take care of their future," he added.

He couldn't be more right in summing up my own sentiments.

His son, the current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his People's Action Party (PAP) want nothing less than a crushing victory in tomorrow's election - one that will obliterate the opposition and confirm Lee's right to rule.

Lee Hsien Loong, current Singaporean PM

A stronger showing by the opposition parties could also help attract young, well-educated voters, as well as Singaporeans who have been reluctant to speak out against the monolithic PAP.

Despite the pitfalls such as defamation lawsuits and negative coverage by the state-owned broadcaster and pro-government newspapers, opposition parties are attracting more overseas graduates and upwardly mobile professionals.

The bedrock of PAP support has always been with older voters, who lived through Singapore's rocky post- independence years and witnessed its transformation into an economic powerhouse.

But some older voters, particularly low-income workers, have grown increasingly disgruntled because of job cuts, higher consumer taxes and rising transport and utilities costs.

About 40 percent of today's eligible voters were born after 1965. These Singaporeans faced few hardships and may be tempted to vote for the opposition.

Yet there is scant evidence of loosening up. Lee's government has cracked down on a political filmmaker, banned a gay Web site, and strictly enforces limits on public speaking and demonstrations. Last month, the government said it would require political parties and individuals to register if they wished to post political content on Web sites.

No wonder we're No 140 out 167. That's a far cry from what we're accustomed to, having the No 1 airport, seaport and all.

Inhumane

Even after being held at Guantanamo Bay without trial, three British residents have been refused a petition for their release from the US government.

Iraqi Omar Deghayes has lived in Britain since 1985

How these things occur is beyond me, especially when democracies like USA and Britain are involved.

The British Foreign Office mentioned that they couldn't do a thing as these folks are not British citizens. The reason why USA is using Guantanamo to imprison policial dissents is because since it's not US territory, American laws don't apply - hence they can be held without trial.

Bullcrap. The issue of human rights is global.

Hello!

The Workers' Party must have stated this issue of having our names and IC numbers on our polling cards in jest, especially towards the end where it says "Your vote is secret".

I mean you know, they might as well include our favourite hobbies, favourite food, our whole biodata on there! Might also as well leave a few empty lines for us to fill in why we vote for whomever we vote. Hello!

Oil shake

Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's president, has been promising to build a "Bolivarian axis" of like-minded anti-American governments.

Usually when people talk about Latin America, they talk about Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and even Cuba. So it does surprise me that of late, a country like Venezuela is taking the lead in uniting the region in their mission to achieve a common goal.

Of course, Brazil and Argentina are shaking in their pants because they may be the No 1 and 2 biggest economy in Latin America but they're oil supplies mostly come from other countries in the region, like Bolivia.

Brazil for instance had just invested $1.5 billion in Bolivia's natural gas industry and spent $2 billion dollars to build a pipeline from Bolivia to Brazil but now, Bolivia is giving them a six months notice to agree to new deals or get their current deals declared null and void in their bid to nationalize their economy which seems to be the trend in the the region right now.

Shaken, but not stirred, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner will convene a summit on Thursday at Puerto Iguazu near Argentina-Brazil border with his counterparts from Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia to discuss the latter country’s move to nationalize its huge gas industry.

Circle of life

It's almost two decades since the last contested election but using tactics that play on voters' uncertainties about the future the incumbent government has little to fear.

1) Promise of upgrades (or else, no lifts on every floor for you-hoo heh heh heh...)
2) Progress Package carrots (No, no it's not vote-buying! Really it's not, I promise)
3) Biased media coverage (the only way the OPP is gonna get a big story on the front page of Straits Times is to accidentally forget to submit some election paperwork)
4) Personal attacks against the entire OPP which will repeatedly be covered by the media
5) Disqualification of OPP candidates (You got something to say? Well now you can't. Woo!)

Let's face it, the PAP will still win by a landslide this time around but what goes up must come down in the end. It's just how it goes.

Malaysia can!

Malaysian technology companies superior to Singapore’s.

Sure. Whatever you say, dude. *Chuckle* Empty cans... empty cans... .

White out

It's sick. Picking on defenceless women is sick. Picking on the minorities is sick.

This is white supremacy syndrome at its worse.

Imagine if it was the other way around. What if a team of black lacrosse players was to rape a white girl instead? Dang, they're asses would be in prison right away!

But because the assailants here are white, they get to walk around scot-free for a while and perhaps even have a chance to defend themselves at a trial.

Only in America...

Messed up

Like I said, blinded by oil, they probably didn't see this coming.

You've admitted your mistake, so now let's be gracious, wash your hands off the oil and if you're genuinely there to fight on the side of good, it's pretty obvious now it ain't happening, so get most of your non-crucial personnel (and armaments) out and help their new government clean up the mess YOU made.

Don't be naughty now.

Throattle

Right, now that they've successfully forced King Gyanendra to step down, what do they do?

Why, get at each others' throats of course! How efficient!