Comparison Flood Pictures & Screwing the Peasants

Environment minister who is more famously known as Youth Olympics Overbudget Minister commented on his facebook in Sept that his fav jogging track is submerged. Netizens picked it up & spread it on forums as it was the worst flood so far this year - blogpost: Biggest Flood So Far in 2013.

"My regular jogging track under water. 

This morning's heavy storm brought more than 100 mm of rain to the Kent Ridge area with major flash floods especially at AYE and Commonwealth Avenue. Both the Sungai Ulu Pandan and Sungai Pandan Kechil overflowed their banks. 

Drainage improvement work at Commonwealth Avenue will be completed by June 2015. 

The flooding at AYE will require expansion of the Sungai Pandan Kechil which drains south to the sea and is subject to tidal influence. This is a major project that PUB has been considering. Will have to expedite this." -Youth Olympic Games Overbudget Minister

Now that i have a digital camera i can finally show the no flood & flood pictures. What intrigued me about the picture he posted is how near it is to where i live because i can recognize the vertical concrete cylinder. Below is the flood picture taken by him & subsequently spread online.

Above is my approximate picture - 4 trees to left of cylinder, 10 trees to right of cylinder. In terms of height you can obviously see from the railings that he is standing on higher ground to avoid getting his legs submerged in floodwaters. This type of storm drain is consider the biggest capacity on this tiny island. Look at how overwhelmed it is from the heavy downpour due to climate change.

Got taxpayers $$ to waste on this smaller underutilized track.

How does his fav jogging track look like & where is it? It is opposite the Ghim Moh jogging track at the Pine Grove estate(i seriously doubt he lives there but at the landed houses close by). Another shocking fact you might not know is that this smaller jogging track is built for elites like him. Why his favourite? One can easily guess to avoid the peasants like me cycling or jogging on the bigger track opposite.

I took the no flood comparison picture by traveling further up a bit on this 'elite' jogging track used by the Youth Olympic Games Overbudget Minister. Waste of taxpayers $$$ building this underutilized smaller & shorter track.

Look at how new the cement surface of the shelter is.

Though not very visible at the background but there is a bridge to the Ghim Moh track(right side of pic) used by peasants. Those staying in landed houses can cross the bridge over to jog & cycle so there isn't a real need to waste taxpayers $$ on the above 'elite' track.

But no taxpayers $$$ to build footpath for peasants like you & me.

While the hybrid regime got taxpayers $$$ to waste on building the smaller & shorter jogging track, they don't spend taxpayers $$$ to build a footpath & stairs for the peasants staying at Clementi Avenue 4 to access Ulu Pandan park connector. Look at the picture above which show blocks 301 & 305 up the stairs. Behind those 2 blocks are:

• blk 301 (in picture)
• blk 302
• blk 303
• blk 304
• blk 305 (in picture)
• blk 306
• blk 310

How many peasants live in those pigeon holes compared to private houses in same land space in tiny SG?

The footpath for peasants is sponsored by a supporter of the hybrid regime. In return his name is shown to joggers & cyclists at the park connector where i took the picture.

It bewilders me why 60% vote for the hybrid regime which screws them - temporary short footpath some more compared to the longer permanent 'elite' one.

Singapore Elites Can't Compete With Japanese Elites

Excellent! Another example to prove the point that it is the rich/elite in SG that can't compete with their overseas counterparts- test driving of self-drive vehicles on public roads in Japan on Sat, 9th Nov.

"Abe say he wants Japan to lead the world in technological innovation."

3min


It came as a shock to me when economist Chang Ha Joon state that it is the rich in poor countries who are unable to compete with the rich in rich countries which is why the poor country remain poor. He didn't cite any example but it open my eyes in detecting such examples.

Earlier examples i've blogged about:

• What Google's Homepage Can Teach S'pore's Overpaid Ministers
• Why Different Wages for Same Job in Rich & Poor Countries

Look at how the japanese business elite in the auto industry compete with the rich in other rich countries. Now look at how our overpaid scholar ministers in government & govt-linked companies compete by:

• 2 casinos.
• Flood in hordes of cheaper foreign workers.
• Sucking $$$ from local captive market.
• Suppress local wages.
• Low productivity.

Again, i want to stress the point that it is not our locals who can't compete with the natives in other countries. It is our bunch of useless overpaid scholars in govt & govt-linked companies who can't compete with their counterparts in Japan. The japanese elite/rich can compete & thus very productive & able to pull up the salaries of the japanese population hence a japanese bus driver is decently paid.

Can those in SG compete? Can they pull up the masses? If they can't then do they deserve obscene salaries?

Here is the comparison & similarities between the CEOs of S'pore Inc & American auto CEOs Vs Japanese Auto CEOs.

Obscene salaries = poor performance. The CEOs of american autos & S'pore Inc are grossly overpaid compared to their japanese counterparts. Monkey see monkey do. Our scholars CEOs saw that American CEOs are paid obscenely & thus followed suit to pay themselves the world's highest political salaries. Their breathen who didn't make it into political office are slotted into CEO positions of govt-linked companies to enjoy obscene salaries.

We have seen american banks(Merrill Lynch, Lehman Bros) & autos going bankrupt compared to none of the Japanese during the Great Recession. Being paid ridiculous salaries & leading their American companies to ruin. Here in SG, ridiculous salaries are leading the country towards ruin.

Not only both the USA autos & S'pore Inc CEOs overpaid now, they are also overpaid compared to their predecessors who helmed the company & SG(1st generation leaders) during the glorious period.


Taxi Drivers Would Be Out of Jobs in Future
Presently taxi drivers is a livelihood reserved for sinkies. With global trend in robotics, many if not all of the cab drivers would soon be replaced with self-drive taxis.

Any job that is repetitious is in danger of being automated. Any worker who think he/she has job security just because he/she is a dumb sheep following instructions without question would be replaced by a robot.

Or cheaper foreign cog labor as what the hybrid regime is now doing.

Severe Storms Will Result in Higher Oil Prices

Flood pictures surfacing early last week of Clementi jolted me, a few days later Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines. Death toll as of now has breached 10,000. Though the storm is much stronger than Katrina which hit the US in 2005 & claimed more fatalities, Haiyan didn't do extensive damage compared to what Katrina did to the highly industrialized & urbanized gulf coast of USA.

Increasing intensity of storms which obtained their energies from the warming oceans are an indication of the unsustainability of economic growth dependent on fossil fuels.

Super Typhoon Haiyan reminded me of a point made by economist Jeff Rubin about offshore oil drilling which is the susceptibility of oil rigs due to storms & flushing $$$ down the toilet on repairs. When oil companies drill for oil in deepwaters (Deepwater Horizon accident), it's a sign the cheap & easy oil are gone.

Look at the large capacity refineries built along the Gulf Coast to process the offshore oil:

The achilles heel of America's oil refining capacity is along the gulf coast. As storms form & rampage across the Gulf of Mexico, the oil rigs are damaged & tossed loose from their moorings. Then the storm make landfall & the refineries get hit.

As a result of the storm:

• Oil rigs damaged & can't produce oil
• Repairs taking months for oil rigs need $$$
• Refineries damaged & can't process crude oil
• Repairs for refineries taking months need $$$

Do factories cut down on their production? Do people drive & consume less oil while repairs are being made? Henceforth is a fact pointed out by Jeff Rubin that oil prices rises due to low supply of oil arising from storm damage.

"Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks."-Warren Buffett

$$$ flushed down the toilet on storm-damaged repairs is $$$ that could be spent on exploring/producing oil elsewhere. What happens to oil prices when global demand is ever rising? Meanwhile another severe storm is gonna arrive...

Super Typhoon Haiyan path lies across the South China Sea which China & the surrounding Southeast Asian nations are claiming a stake on the islands & vicinity due to oil/gas deposits. Producing oil with oil rigs in South China Sea in the future is beset with the same storm problems as the Gulf of Mexico.

If high oil prices don't put enough of a brake on economic growth, increasingly severe storms will help to do so by knocking out facilities & coastal cities(eg. New Orleans by Katrina, New York City by Sandy). Mankind has reached a point where fossil fuel driven type of economic growth is hitting its limits.

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Related:
Climate change is upon us. Reduce our carbon footprint. Repair instead of discard & buy new.
- Repairing Backrest of Chair & Punctured Bicycle Tubes

There's No Free Market to a Large Extent in Singapore

So ultra-capitalistic that this tiny island has turned into by the hybrid regime yet there is no free market to a large extent? Yes, there is no free market to a large extent. Many prices are politically determined.

There are choices available for example in choosing a telco for our cellphone plan & internet plan. However the freedom to choose is an illusion as all the 3 telcos are controlled by the hybrid regime.

Hybrid regime dictates:

- Salaries of Peasants
Open floodgates wide & flood in hordes of cheaper foreigners to suppress the locals salaries & replace them. Plenty of natives should have realized by now that their salaries are politically determined.

- Cost of housing
Manipulate public housing costs till absurd levels to bleed the peasants retirement savings dry. Private housing prices soar upwards as a consequence as well as rental for housing & business space.

- Driving Costs & Public Transportation Fares
Manipulate no. of permits required to buy vehicles. Public transportation companies are govt-linked which the hybrid regime will dictate fare prices.

- Food Costs
Never build hawker centres for 26 years to force peasants into paying more for food in high rental coffeeshops.

- Healthcare Costs
Don't build hospitals as the hybrid regime floods in foreigners. Supply stagnant while demand explodes.

- Communication Costs
The 3 telcos are govt-linked companies. Their prices are pretty much similar for their offerings.

By controlling those key prices affecting the lives of peasants & the costs of doing business, the hybrid regime (PAP = Pay & Pay) basically dictates the high costs of living by ensuring the peasants are bled dry through Pay And Pay policies & its associated companies.

There's no escape from politically determined prices for the above essentials for the peasants who live & do business in the tiny island. For major shipping companies like Maersk & Evergreen which are the 1st & 2nd largest shipping companies in the world, there's freedom of choice for them. Both ditched S'pore & moved over to the johorean port(Malaysia) of Tanjung Pelepas.