Horrible News

Vivian Balakrishnan once "revealed" that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had asked him if he would have bid for the YOG if he had known it would cost more than S$300 million. To this, Balakrishnan said that he would still do it, and had no regrets. Well, if his intent was to just put Singapore in the international spotlight, there's a cheaper way.

Only You

Only you

Can make this world seem right

Only you

Can make the darkness bright

Only you and you alone

Can thrill me like you do

And fill my heart with love for only you

She must have had the Johnny Mathis record on the turntable when our founding lady of Singapore literature was inspired to pen her eulogy. Too bad it wasn't set to verse, maybe some rap artiste of Eminem calibre will update the crooner's classic into an iTunes hit download.

• If only you had done so without so much human cost.
• If only this single-mindedness had not blinded you to the need for change in the evolving political landscape of Singapore.
• If only you had shown one more attribute of great leadership—the ability to acknowledge mistakes made and the humility to say sorry for policies that had caused pain and hardship to others.
• If only this deep sense of family closeness and love had been paralleled by a sense of compassion for the families of those political dissidents who were jailed for decades or had to flee into permanent exile.

And to the touchy feely part about devoted bedside duty for his ailing wife, we may add:

• If only you understood the Sonnets you read to her, the Bard's words refer to a human heart of love and compassion, not a mechanical pacemaker contrived by scientists without soul.

Three days have not yet passed, and already a 17 year old has been arrested. No wonder they always say,  it ain't over till the fat lady sings. Writers don't count.

Je Suis Amos

Contrary to popular misconception, the word liberally peppered in his powerful diatribe is not of Anglo-Saxon origin. The f-word is of Germanic origin, related to Dutch, German, and Swedish words for "to strike" and "to move back and forth." If you were embarrassed, you will definitely flush red in the face at the explicit reference to procreative activity in this historic uttering in the staid house of parliament:
"Repression, Sir, is a habit that grows. I am told it is like making love - it is always easier the second time! The first time there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course with constant repetition you get more and more brazen in the attack. "

And there was this reference to a religious figure that could be discomfiting. Francis Seow must have been similarly disturbed by the dubious boast of one former politician, one decidedly no longer with us today, when he was speaking at an election rally in Cheng San. Something to the effect that, in the course of human history, only one person can claim to be able to rise from the dead.

More than one person was upset when same said expired politician used the word "Repent" with identical bold audacity at Aljunied.

There will be others with differing reactions to the young man's unpleasant truths, notably the grassroots leader honoured by Lim Swee Say with a Long Service Award. One who seems to have a fetish for the things he can get away with, in a particular the genital mutilation intents he had in mind for a little boy's pee-pee.

The Missing Man

Shades Of Stockholm Syndrome

It was Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong who castigated Singaporeans by pointing out the trash that was left behind at the Laneway music festival (mostly Ang Moh fans) and contrasted it with how Myanmar football supporters (dressed suspiciously like hired help) picked up after themselves after a match at the National Stadium. Singapore's unique rubbish headache stems from its small size and high population density (Reuters, 21 May 2008).

But all is forgiven when garbage piled up along various parts of the meandering queue to Parliament House - where  Lee Kuan Yew’s body was lying in airconditioned comfort - despite an army of cleaners being deployed on the ground. A 57-year-old cleaner (Singaporean, not Burmese) who should have collected his CPF and be at home playing with his grandchildren told TODAY, “We have to constantly walk around to clear the rubbish... If there are more people we may have to work overtime depending on instructions.” The irony of the situation was not lost on one commentator, “Remember to keep the place clean and green. Don’t forget (Mr Lee’s) legacy.” Wait till the old man gets up and scold you, then you know.

Imagine the horror if the keechiu general had ordered packet rice to add to the hordes drawn in by freebies like bottled water, umbrellas, and snacks. Dismissing the freeloader mentality, there is another plausible reason for the horrendous queues snaking towards the casket for a 3 second viewing.

Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon which explains why hostages express sympathy and develop positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors. Popularised in the 1988 movie, Patty Hearst, an American heiress from the Hearst publishing family kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), was a dramatic demonstration of the transition from victim to supporter.

The shift in Hearst's inexplicable behavior with the SLA has been widely attributed to the psychological phenomenon, an effect thought to occur when victims' initially frightening experiences are later countered with acts of compassion or comradery by those same perpetrators. The horror of the Central Provident Fund nest egg being held hostage are quickly forgotten, in exchange for GST vouchers, Pioneer Generation cards and other "acts of compassion". Either that or the surfeit of celebratory champagne is kicking in.