The modern day "First They Came" poem:
First they came for the landlords, and I did not speak out because I was not a landlord.
Then they came for the businesses, and I did not speak out because I do not own a business.
Then they came for the grab drivers, and I did not speak out because I was not a grab driver.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.
Everyone deserve a place to stay, keep the rent low. Screw the landlords. They are rich and parasites, anyway.
Everyone deserves cheap groceries, keep the prices low. Screw the small businesses, the people who thought you would help them.
Everyone deserves a cheap fare. Screw the drivers. They can afford to drive, they should pay for it.
Socialism is rising in popularity. The reason is simple. When you come of age, but you are saddled with debt (either student or credit card) due to your own immature and stupid choices, and there is no way out of the hole you dug for yourself, and you see the older generation "living well" — the kind of life you dream of, but can never achieve. You want to enjoy the fruits, but not put in the labour, cos success should be easy, just like in Hollywood movies, right?
What do you do? You want social re-distribution, "to make it fair". That's socialism. Socialism promises welfare, free stuff. It needs a lot of money. When they first come into power, they will fund it through increased taxes. Tax the rich! It's popular. The rich should "pay their fair share".
It's not that the tax isn't high. It's that the rich have too many ways to avoid tax. Then they flirt with wealth tax — tax for being wealthy. Headline, $1 billion networth, but is actually only $100 million in the bill. That's still ultra-rich, right? The problem is these bills will come down over time. In the future, it will be lowered to $10 million, then $1 million. No $1 mil? They will include your future potential. People who don't know history is doomed to repeat history.
The most funny thing to me is that you don't need id to vote, but you need id to buy subsidized stuff. Yeah, they need to make sure you are eligible for subsidized stuff — cos it costs real money. Hmm, don't you need to check if someone is eligible to vote? Oh no, because it will cost them votes. It's so absurd that you can only laugh at it.
Does socialism work? Margaret Thacher (former PM of UK) puts it best: "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
The D party is now overrun by socialists. Their traditional candidates have lost to socialists upstarts. They counted on the liberal, the woke and the socialists for years, they are just reaping what they sowed. You play with fire, one day the fire will consume you. The socialists have grown big enough, they don't need the 'old guards' anymore, and they finally reveal their true colors.
D is getting a taste of its own medicine. Couldn't have happened to a bunch of nicer folks...
What I don't understand is rich white young woke liberals supporting their cause. Don't they know they will be the first on the chopping board after the 'revolution'?
Surely they couldn't have seen it coming...
Trump calls this group of people "communists". He is right and wrong. They are socialists. They believe in private property — theirs. Everyone else, they have to "share". But Trump uses 'communists' because America is fearful of the godless communists, so it is good to use that label. Americans have no experience with socialism. But they are far more insidious. They look harmless — until they get into power. Then it's too late.
"Beware of the man who gives you free things. One day he will take from you to give others."
HDB announced they would build new HDB flats at Maju Forest and Gillman Barracks.
Many people immediately voiced their opposition and asked the Government to reconsider. If you are in Singapore long enough, you know when the Government announces something, it is already a done deal.
Sometimes, the Government does not want to give the real reason (because it is too politically sensitive), so the reasons they make up can be rather comical.
Singapore has been clearing a lot of greenery for housing. Maju Forest is just next on the list. To the city planners, there is no point keeping these greenery around, they are just wasted space.
Whatever wildlife, cooling effect, they can be sacrificed. You can't put a value on them, so they have no commerical value.
Some people dismissed Maju Forest as a mere secondary forest, the implication being that it has no worth and can always be re-grown. It ignores the fact that it has taken root and has become a natural forest.
I dare say if the greenery is not Bukit Timah Hill, MacRitchie Reservoir or Botanic Gardens, it is on the table. Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve is a marsh, so it is safe, but they will build right up beside it.
Personally, I am more attached to Gillman Barracks. The place is so serene. The old buildings are so full of charm. It's like you travel back to a bygone era — a time where life was slower and less stressful? In the future, it will just be another cookie-cutter HDB housing estate.
The Gillman Barracks we see today is actually quite new. It has been "renovated". It was relaunched as a arts cluster in 2012. The Gillman Barracks before was restaurants, bars and furniture shops — more full of life.
SLA launched a S$2 million rejuvenation project in 2022 to give Gillman Barracks new life. It tried to make it into another Dempsey Hill, but it did not work out.
Why does HDB need to clear land?
There has been a shift in policy how HDB 'recycles' old flats. Previously, it was done through SERS. SERS is costly for HDB, the tenants get a cheap upgrade in the same area and most important of all, it resets their 99-year cycle.
VERS was announced in 2018. Basically, HDB will buy back flats over 70 years old, obviously at reduced price. The other important thing is that it does not come with a replacement flat — no more lease reset!
HDB's strategy is to build new flats until it can recycle flats using VERS. The loop is then formed — it can then reclaim the land and build new flats. No new land is needed. No flats have reached 70 years, but some are very close — 2030. In the mean time, existing 'free' space needs to be used. Wildlife, conservation? Sorry!
By doing this, flat 'owners' don't get a cheap upgrade — and lease reset — at HDB's expense. No more free lunch, oops!
The first few batches of VERS should be quite attractive. Otherwise the residents will vote no — they need a place to stay, or they can rent the place out.
Rental value is a good estimate of the flat's residue value. If rental is $1k/month, its A.V is $12k. 30 years is $360k.
(This assumes rental drops drastically after 80 years old as the flat gradually falls into disrepair. The last 10 years will be rough.)
The three classic ones:
Stand Up for Singapore is very upbeat and energetic.
Count On Me, Singapore asks not what Singapore can do for you, but what you can do for Singapore: "We have a vision for tomorrow." It is about a future that is shaped by you. Singapore counts on you.
We Are Singapore starts with a very emotional "There was a time when people said Singapore won't make it, but we did". The song is about feeling Singaporean. "This is my country, this is my flag." It also integrates the pledge into the song. That always choke me up.
Sadly, it is difficult to feel the Singaporean identity today, and it is difficult to see a livable future. Perhaps that's why I get emotional when I hear these songs. The future I imagined in my childhood, only existed in my imagination.
McDonald's came up with a Rendang curry beef burger this year. I waited enthusiastically for it and I tried it on the first day it came out — 23 July.
It was bland. Super bland.
BK finally released their yearly special Rendang burger a few days later. The price seemed to have increased ($8.30) and the burger was visibly smaller. But it tasted good!
Samsung has a problem with its S line of phones. The phones started to have green lines starting with S20.
My S22 developed a green line just under 3 years. I got it changed. And now, 2+ years, it developed green lines again.
It first developed a green line at the left edge in May. Then another line at the right edge a month later. It developed a bright green line late last month. This was the most infurating. It was a faint line, then I rebooted the phone. For some stupid reason, Samsung used max brightness when booting up. And it did some "UI optimization", so it was stuck there for quite some time. The green line turned from faint to bright.
It is a common feedback that green lines show up during firmware upgrade — the screen is at max brightness for the entire process. It is hard to believe, but setting brightness to max just exacerbates its formation. Samsung claimed to have lowered the brightness, but it is still rather bright.
The green lines are due to damage to the display cable. I believe the cable is routed around the battery, and when the battery bloats with age, it stresses the cable and causes this. It is a design flaw.
Another green line just formed. Looks like it is worsening.
I was hoping the phone would hold out until S27 next year. Previously, S22 was expected to get One UI 8.5 — what 8.0 was supposed to be — but because of delays, it got past the 4 years OS upgrade cycle. It was disappointing.
(S24 onwards have 7 years of software support.)
Sadly, S27 may be cost prohibitive due to high RAM and flash price — it may be more expensive than a decent notebook.
