US Democrats secure sweeping win
(BBC News: Thursday, 9 November 2006, 23:43 GMT )
Democrats have gained the final seat in the battle for the US Senate, sealing their mid-term poll victory in both houses of Congress
Republican George Allen admitted defeat to his Democratic opponent, James Webb, in the close Virginia Senate race.
The Democrats had already secured the House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections.
President George W Bush has pledged to work with his rivals, and says he is open to new ideas on Iraq.
He has already accepted the resignation of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, key architect of US policy in Iraq, following the poll defeat.
(Read on...)
My Comments:
Hi friends,
The just-concluded mid-term US elections that resulted in the Democrats sweeping into both the House of Representatives and the Senate was something only the most optimistic Democrat would have dared hope for.
The resignation (or sacking) of Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defence is also one of few lights at the end of a long and desolate tunnel.
Bush is now a lame duck. He has nothing to look forward to in the remaining two years of his term. He can only try to protect and preserve whatever legacy there is left.
In my opinion, the likely scenario would be like this:
1. Gates as the new Secretary of Defence would give Bush an excuse to make a 180 degree turn to consider some way of a face-saving way out of the Irag quagmire. Bush will declare bravely now that Iraq had undergone a democratic election ( and hence is a democracy by definition) and that justice has been meted out by the Sadam conviction, America had achieved a moral victory and can leave Iraq in the “able” hands of the Iraqis.
So adios and soyonara Baghdad! (Of course, the Iraqis would also ensure that Bush’s cronies in the oil business would get all the juicy contracts in order to feed America’s insatiable appetite for the earth’s fossil fuels whilst lining their corporate pockets simultaneously).
2. Now that Rumsfeld has “fallen on his sword” like the warrior of old, could Cheney be persuaded to do likewise?
The Republican Party would surely prefer that Bush use the remainder of his term to ensure a Republican successor to the White House in 2008. Perhaps a vice-President who has a real hope of stepping into the White House could use the next two years for exposure and publicity? Cheney could be persuaded to have a “ heart attack” or any other excuse ( vertigo or erectile dysfunction even).
3.Do not expect anything exciting from the world’s only superpower as there will be only political grid-lock and partisan politicking with each side neutralizing the other on all major policy initiatives.
Do not believe all the BS about “putting the past behind us” and “moving on” or other such talk!
4. America having been bitten once (again) by this second Vietnam, will not care to be involved in the rest of the world. It will be increasingly isolationist.We, the rest of the universe would just have to manage by our poor lonesome selves! Boo hoo!
Lessons that we can learn:
1.Public accountability- Rumsfeld takes the rap for Iraq. Who in Singapore takes the rap for major “boo-boos” in Shin Corp-Temasek saga?
2. There are none so blind as those that would not want to see.
Iraq was so glaringly a wrong war for America, yet the myopic Bush Administration thought that it could still pull the rabbit out of the hat even up to the last minute. Note Saddam conviction came out “coincidentally” 1-2 days before the polls were scheduled to begin.
In Singapore, what needless sufferings do the people need to endure before policies like “GRC as vehicles for weak PAP MP’s into parliament”; “continued disadvantages for citizens in non-PAP wards”; more “Tan Jee Suan’s” who are unable to benefit from Singapore’s ascent to the first world; Widening rich-poor divide etc. get the attention required?
Our new parliament ( literally too) has just come into session and some new MP’s have given seemingly “impressive” maiden speeches. We will see how much of the talk will result in anything concrete for the benefit of the common folks.
I will give the benefit of the doubt to all and sundry in the new Parliamentary chambers ( on both sides of the political divide ) and will not prejudge anyone.
Let us see how the government leaders respond to these back-benchers’ appeals.
Cheers
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
Friday, November 10, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Harry's Island!- Is Eighth Wonder really serious??
Eco-friendly resort with unrivalled attractions promised by Eighth Wonder
By Yvonne Yong, channelnewsasia.com
Posted: 31 October 2006 1826 hrs
SINGAPORE: A childhood fantasy that everyone gets to share in - this is the proposal by Eighth Wonder for their S$5.5 billion Integrated Resort on Sentosa.
Harry’s Island, as the resort will be called, is based on the fictional founder of the resort, "Hurricane" Harry O’Brien, who was born in Raffles Hotel in 1900.(read on...)
My comments:
Hi friends,
When my colleagues at the tea-room told me that one of the contenders was going to name their resort "Harry's Island", my first reaction was,
"You guys gotta be kidding!!"
Unfortunately, truth is indeed stranger than fiction!
Eighth Wonder, the erstwhile dark horse ( favourite is apparently Genting with its Universal Studio bid), is really going for broke and is resorting to what I would consider a "cheap trick".
Harry, if you do not already know by now, is the name that our first Prime Minister, called himself when he was studying in the UK. I do not know why or when he stopped using the name.
So, what does Eighth Wonder hope to achieve by using the namesake of MM?
What would the panel members of the selection committee think now that they are essentially faced with Hobson's choice?
If Eighth Wonder's bid is chosen, would the rest of the world think that it was chosen so as to honour MM with a resort? Would they dare reject the bid as it may be deemed to be a rejection of MM's legacy?
Eighth Wonder's S $5.5 Billion bid, looks impressive as it is. There is no need to resort to cheap marketing ploys like this. By so doing, it reveals the people of Eighth Wonder for what they are- lowclass desperados!
For the sake of transparency and public accountability, I hope that Eighth Wonder's bid comes in last, even behind the hideous "whatchumightcallit" of Kerzner!
And to rub salt into raw open wound, I hope the chairman of the selection committee would say,
" We would have chosen Eighth Wonder if not for their distasteful stunt"
Nah-nah nah nah nah-NA !
May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in the Eighth Wonder's chairman's armpits!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
By Yvonne Yong, channelnewsasia.com
Posted: 31 October 2006 1826 hrs
SINGAPORE: A childhood fantasy that everyone gets to share in - this is the proposal by Eighth Wonder for their S$5.5 billion Integrated Resort on Sentosa.
Harry’s Island, as the resort will be called, is based on the fictional founder of the resort, "Hurricane" Harry O’Brien, who was born in Raffles Hotel in 1900.(read on...)
My comments:
Hi friends,
When my colleagues at the tea-room told me that one of the contenders was going to name their resort "Harry's Island", my first reaction was,
"You guys gotta be kidding!!"
Unfortunately, truth is indeed stranger than fiction!
Eighth Wonder, the erstwhile dark horse ( favourite is apparently Genting with its Universal Studio bid), is really going for broke and is resorting to what I would consider a "cheap trick".
Harry, if you do not already know by now, is the name that our first Prime Minister, called himself when he was studying in the UK. I do not know why or when he stopped using the name.
So, what does Eighth Wonder hope to achieve by using the namesake of MM?
What would the panel members of the selection committee think now that they are essentially faced with Hobson's choice?
If Eighth Wonder's bid is chosen, would the rest of the world think that it was chosen so as to honour MM with a resort? Would they dare reject the bid as it may be deemed to be a rejection of MM's legacy?
Eighth Wonder's S $5.5 Billion bid, looks impressive as it is. There is no need to resort to cheap marketing ploys like this. By so doing, it reveals the people of Eighth Wonder for what they are- lowclass desperados!
For the sake of transparency and public accountability, I hope that Eighth Wonder's bid comes in last, even behind the hideous "whatchumightcallit" of Kerzner!
And to rub salt into raw open wound, I hope the chairman of the selection committee would say,
" We would have chosen Eighth Wonder if not for their distasteful stunt"
Nah-nah nah nah nah-NA !
May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in the Eighth Wonder's chairman's armpits!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Saddam sentenced to death, but Bush, Cheney and Rumseld please bring your troops home!
Saddam Hussein sentenced to death by hanging
POSTED: 5:07 a.m. EST, November 5, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced former President Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.
Iraqis, under a curfew in Baghdad, spilled out onto the capital's streets in celebration of the verdict, news footage showed.
Along with Hussein, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan, and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Bandar also got death. ( link to read on )
Dear friends,
This verdict is not unexpected.
The trial has been termed by skeptics as a form of victors’ justice, as the US, being the occupying force, has an interest in a guilty verdict.
The timing of the verdict, coming days before the US mid-term elections, is highly suspect especially as Bushes’ Republican Party is at imminent risk of losing its majority in the Congress due to widespread public disquiet over the administration’s handling of the Iraq conflict.
Let us make no bones about it. Iraq is now a full-blown civil war with no settlement in sight. Scores of Iraqis are slaughtered for no reason other than that they belong to different offshoots of Islam. Together with these dead Iraqis, numerous Western troops are also going home in coffins, never ever to see their homelands again.
As things stand, the Sunnis and Shites will not be able to live in any semblance of civility. Iraq faces a fractured future with the possibility of it being fragmented into many pieces.
Bush entered this conflict on the false premise that Saddam has WMD-“weapons of mass destruction” and this has been found to be a dastardly lie! The tragedy of September 11 allowed the Texan cowboy to take advantage of the groundswell of “knee-jerk nationalism” to order the US military into her second Vietnam.
This Vietnam,would prove just as costly and as painful as the first. There is no way out but for an unequivocal withdrawal. There is no graceful way out. Just run with the tail between the legs and blame the cowboy and his posse.
It is tragic that American, British and other coalition troops’ lives have to be sacrificed due to the actions of these untruthful and incompetent American politicians.
I have always considered Americans as friends (although occasionally some can be self-centered and arrogant). America is still the world’s greatest nation but I marvel at how this world's only superpower finds itself in the hands of dubious men again and again.
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, if you can hear me, for the sakes of your own men and women, admit your foolishness and please go home!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
PS. Read George Yeo's comments of the Sunni-Shite divide ( written before the verdict was known)
POSTED: 5:07 a.m. EST, November 5, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The Iraqi High Tribunal on Sunday sentenced former President Saddam Hussein and two other defendants to death by hanging for a brutal crackdown in 1982 in the Shiite town of Dujail.
Iraqis, under a curfew in Baghdad, spilled out onto the capital's streets in celebration of the verdict, news footage showed.
Along with Hussein, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Hassan, and former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court Awad Bandar also got death. ( link to read on )
Dear friends,
This verdict is not unexpected.
The trial has been termed by skeptics as a form of victors’ justice, as the US, being the occupying force, has an interest in a guilty verdict.
The timing of the verdict, coming days before the US mid-term elections, is highly suspect especially as Bushes’ Republican Party is at imminent risk of losing its majority in the Congress due to widespread public disquiet over the administration’s handling of the Iraq conflict.
Let us make no bones about it. Iraq is now a full-blown civil war with no settlement in sight. Scores of Iraqis are slaughtered for no reason other than that they belong to different offshoots of Islam. Together with these dead Iraqis, numerous Western troops are also going home in coffins, never ever to see their homelands again.
As things stand, the Sunnis and Shites will not be able to live in any semblance of civility. Iraq faces a fractured future with the possibility of it being fragmented into many pieces.
Bush entered this conflict on the false premise that Saddam has WMD-“weapons of mass destruction” and this has been found to be a dastardly lie! The tragedy of September 11 allowed the Texan cowboy to take advantage of the groundswell of “knee-jerk nationalism” to order the US military into her second Vietnam.
This Vietnam,would prove just as costly and as painful as the first. There is no way out but for an unequivocal withdrawal. There is no graceful way out. Just run with the tail between the legs and blame the cowboy and his posse.
It is tragic that American, British and other coalition troops’ lives have to be sacrificed due to the actions of these untruthful and incompetent American politicians.
I have always considered Americans as friends (although occasionally some can be self-centered and arrogant). America is still the world’s greatest nation but I marvel at how this world's only superpower finds itself in the hands of dubious men again and again.
Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, if you can hear me, for the sakes of your own men and women, admit your foolishness and please go home!
Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan
PS. Read George Yeo's comments of the Sunni-Shite divide ( written before the verdict was known)
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