SG Fairy

I read the story about the situation in Thailand now.. the political situation... and I felt a sudden knot in my stomach.

I was surprised; I actually was grieved by what I was reading. I thought, "How could Thailand, Bangkok, reach this stage?"

It's no longer just about camping on the grounds of Government House. You have airports outside of Bangkok getting closed down, a report about the union leader of Thai Airways calling for its 15,000 members to go on strike to show their support with PAD, and so on.

And you know what the really ironic thing is? PAD is doing all this because they want Samak (the current PM) to resign as they believe that he is the proxy for Thaksin... it's all about the abuse of power, PAD says.

BUT what they have failed to added is that even if Samak resigns, the protests will continue as long as PAD is not placed in power of the government. It's not about, "Oh, if Samak resigns, we'll go away and not disturb everyone in the future." No, there will be more demands for more changes in government, and perhaps even in the army leadership.

That's how PAD defines a good government = a PAD-led government.

And that's what is really really sad about all this. It's not about democracy.. oh please, if you believe that then you're vey naive... it's all about the power struggle. And the people (ie. the common people actually protesting) let themselves get dragged around like that in this sick game. The common people may have real concerns, a real desire to have some form of change... but unfortunately for them, it's a case of "different actors, same story plot".

What PAD is doing is not even civil disobedience at all, because innocent people are being harmed, not being able to work (eg. invasion of TV station etc). Maybe back when they were trying to get rid of Thaksin, they were a credible group fighting for genuine change. But this time, they have crossed the line.

The fact that they have broke into the office of Samak coz the PAD leaders wanna use it, indicates that this is just about wanting power, not democracy.

So sad... this whole thing will never end.

Interesting quote in the Bangkok Post... an academic political scientist, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, said this:
"If the PAD succeeds in ousting Samak, it will be a huge setback for Thai democracy," Prof Thitinan said. "It will be the crowning success for the right-wing conservative contingent who are against election-based democracy."

Never really saw it that way.. right-wing conservatives... hmm.. the Professor has a point there.

Oh, and from that same article, there was this:
PAD leaders, such as retired Maj-Gen Chamlong Srimuang, have said the Thai electorate is too uneducated to vote in honest politicians and continues to sell its votes to the highest bidders.

So who educates the electorate?

I really wonder how much royal backing PAD has...

Sigh.. dear Thailand, you have been so good to me... I hope things get better for you.

head hurts.. sleep.

don't expect much for a while.

Just sharing an interesting read.


Extract:
So Mote will stand before the freshmen, implore them not to drink and threaten them with enforcement -- and then, because it's the responsible thing to do, he will tell them how to handle it when they get plastered. Which they will. But we don't want to see it, because there's a law on the books.

That's the first lecture in Cynicism 101.


Kinda like the whole 'sex abstinence VS education & protection' debate, ain't it?

As with ANYTHING, for all mentally-healthy humans, give them a little waft of a forbidden fruit, and the chances are that people will try their darnest to get hold of that sweet fruit and use it, more often than not, excessively.

It's what is known as human nature, curiosity, a natural tendency to test authority, plain stupidity, blah blah blah.

But, when nobody has to hide, there will be moderation... and safety.

Conversation between two Singaporeans:

Person A:
"You damn one kind leh! People got to produce medal for you first then you say that actually hor, you like China Singaporeans a lot! No more call them 'China-people' liao hor? That's seriously damn one kind and fake lah!"

Person B:
"What to do? I'm a true-blood Singaporean what! So am like that lor, very practical one!"


Now, guess.. which individual was I? A or B? Lol...


It's one of those things you approach with mixed feelings. You remember how your grandfather (and that's not too many generations ago) came from China to Singapore... how Singapore is really in essence a migrant country. And so you think, you should be more welcoming towards the planefuls of guests we are receiving these days. That the 'foreign talent' we have are really, what your grandparents were all those years ago.


So I am proud of the table tennis ladies...


At the same time though, I can't help wishing that it was a 'true' Singaporean that got us the medal. I'm sorry I just cannot help it.

But I promise to try my very best to think only good thoughts of them... not just the sports people, but all those I encounter every day.

But really ah, come to think of it... it's really just the China people I have more difficulty accepting... Strange hor?

I'm only doing this for the chance of winning a free movie ticket... ya, that's how cheapskate I am.

Wanna join me? This is what you do...

1) Cut n paste the following statement of mine (below) into your blog.

2) Follow on with your own statement, starting with "The craziest thing I have done for love is..."

3) Tag a bunch of people you know


So because I was tagged by TheDude... here's how mine goes:

(1) The craziest thing I have ever done for love, it's standing out in the rain with an umbrella waiting to catch a glimpse of this girl I had a crush on...just to ask her for her name and number. :D

...hey, I was 18 then!

Catch Wall-E in cinemas from 28 August 2008″

(ORGINATOR BLOG: http://www.peranakandude.com/)

(2) The craziest thing I have done for love is to cry over a lost one.. what a waste of tears.

Catch Wall-E in cinemas from 28 August 2008

(Blog: http://sgfairy.blogspot.com)

Tagging:
1) Ms. Jade
2) Ms. Niki
3) Ms. NIs
4) Expat@Large

Let's go to the movies!

... I would like to take some time to appreciate a man who is definitely a Singapore Icon.

In case you're wondering, no, it's not MM Lee, though he is a great man too (regardless of what the critics say). I just thought I'll take some time to appreciate someone who's often not appreciated.

I'm talking about Dick Lee, the great talent who, especially in the 80's-early 90's, didn't just just write songs, he paid attention to our local cultures, and 'reinvented' ethnic folk songs.

Although he has written songs that poke fun at our island and *cough* our government, on the whole, I think he really does love this place.

Here's a good example of his music, a national song of sorts:


Lol... I was soooo happy when I found this video... now, I'm looking for the NDP one - there was one year when Dick was creative director for the NDP, and he performed this song at the National Stadium, with a mobile ship and all. If anyone has that performance, please let me know!

At his 30th anniversay concert in 2004, Dick also sang this as his finale song with an additional stanza. As he introduced the song, he said that he was trying to create "folk songs for our future generations"... I'm glad someone is trying.

You can view that performance here.

Another video of Dick Lee's which I recently found was this... some of you may remember it:


Wasn't Jacintha Abisheganaden such a beauty? She still is one.. and I like her voice.

Now, this one... this one is just priceless:


Such a beautiful song.. when I came across it in YouTube, I was like, "Oh.My.God!!!! I can't believe there's a clip of this!"

*Giant Grin* It's just one of those songs which make you go "Awwwwww...." when you hear it.

And well, just because... remember this one? Well, at least some of you may remember the Indonesian folk song which Dick incorporated - wait for the chorus, and at 3min, you get the stanza.

Isn't this all nostagic? Lol... wait til you listen to this one.

Anyway... enjoy the fireworks this evening, people!

... can you have a whole range of languages at your disposal for something so vital to every person, something necessary for daily use.

Cursing.

I stumbled upon this video while surfing for the upcoming '12 Lotus' trailers.



Nice? Lol

I like that they included the Malay language... I guess it might have been too difficult to get the actors to curse in Tamil/Hindi.

Somehow... I felt so patriotic after watching the video... weird, no?