Yitzhak Shamir dies - hawkish legacy revival in Israel

Terror and clandestine activities were justified for the creation of Israel in the aftermath of holocaust. Yitzhak Shamir was an unyielding hardliner. The environment now is no less difficult than those days. The present leadership deals with threat perception of growing hostility and retaliate many times over in ways that are no different from the founders. However, divisions have emerged in the country from controversial policies.  Will the first generation be disappointed with the ironic similarities of their nation's current experience and problems? 

Yitzhak Shamir, who emerged from the militant wing of a Jewish militia and served as Israel’s prime minister longer than anyone but David Ben-Gurion, promoting a muscular Zionism and expansive settlement in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, died Saturday at a nursing home in Tel Aviv. He was 96.

A native of Poland whose family was wiped out in the Holocaust, Mr. Shamir was part of a group of right-wing Israeli politicians led by Menachem Begin who rose to power in the 1970s as the more left-wing Labor Party declined, viewed as corrupt and disdainful of the public.
Stubborn and laconic, Mr. Shamir was by his own assessment a most unlikely political leader whose very personality seemed the perfect representation of his government’s policy of patient, determined, unyielding opposition to territorial concessions. 

Many of his friends and colleagues ascribed his character to his years in the underground in the 1940s, when he sent Jewish fighters out to kill British officers whom he saw as occupiers. He was a wanted man then; to the British rulers of the Palestine mandate he was a terrorist, an assassin. He appeared in public only at night, disguised as a Hasidic rabbi. But Mr. Shamir said he considered those “the best years of my life.”

His wife, Shulamit, once said that in the underground she and her husband had learned not to talk about their work for fear of being overheard. It was a habit he apparently never lost.Rather than bend to them, Mr. Shamir often simply outlasted his political opponents, who were usually much more willing to say what was on their minds, and sometimes to get in trouble for it. To Mr. Shamir, victory came not from compromise, but from strength, patience and cunning.
Prime Minister Begin appointed Mr. Shamir as foreign minister in 1980. When Mr. Begin suddenly retired in 1983, Mr. Shamir became a compromise candidate to replace him, alternating in the post with Shimon Peres for one four-year term. Mr. Shamir won his own term in 1988. He entered the political opposition when Yitzhak Rabin of the Labor Party was elected prime minister in 1992. Mr. Shamir retired from politics a few years later, at 81.

A Hard-Line ApproachAs prime minister, Mr. Shamir promoted continued Jewish settlement in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which Israel conquered in 1967; the Jewish population in the occupied territories increased by nearly 30 percent while he was in office. He also encouraged theimmigration of tens of thousands of Soviet Jews to Israel, an influx that changed the country’s demographic character.

One of the most notable events during his tenure was the Palestinian uprising against Israeli control that began in December 1987, the so-called intifada. He and his defense minister, Mr. Rabin, deployed thousands of Israeli troops throughout the occupied territories to quash the rebellion. They failed; the years of violence and death on both sides brought criticism and condemnation from around the world. 

The fighting also deepened divisions between Israel’s two political camps: leftists who believed in making concessions to bring peace, and members of the right who believed, as Mr. Shamir once put it, that “Israel’s days without Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip are gone and will not return.” 

The intifada dragged on year after year as the death toll climbed from dozens to hundreds. Israel’s isolation increased, until finally the rebellion was overshadowed in 1991 by the first Persian Gulf war. 

During that war, at the request of the United States, Prime Minister Shamir held Israel back from attacking Iraq, even as Iraqi Scud missiles fell on Tel Aviv. For that he won new favor in Washington and promises of financial aid from the United States to help with the settlement of new Israeli citizens from the Soviet Union. 

Then in the fall of 1991, under pressure from the first President George Bush and Secretary of State James A. Baker III, Mr. Shamir agreed to represent Israel at the Middle East peace conference in Madrid, Israel’s first summit meeting with the Arab states. There, he was as unyielding as ever, denouncing Syria at one point as having “the dubious honor of being one of the most oppressive, tyrannical regimes in the world.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/world/middleeast/yitzhak-shamir-former-prime-minister-of-israel-dies-at-96.html?pagewanted=all

Prof Shi Yuzhi stirs up controversial drug use for creativity - intoxicants of the past, the way forward?

Prof Shi Yuzhi's musing nearly got him into hot soup. His employer's pledge to investigate was enough to prod Prof Shi to remove the controversial blog entry. The tertiary institution NUS (and similar government bodies for that matter) has been eager to present its responsive and democratic side to the country and the world. The pressure points really came from netizens who are quick to knee jerk, play the moralist, and powerful voice in the feedback channel. If it does not threaten the status quo, NUS would not have bothered to comment. It is the internet that has brought about strong criticisms and expectation to do something to correct the "wrong".

Shi's suggestion would have been deemed harmless in liberal societies that assumes individuals knows and takes responsibility for their decisions. Worry about negative effects later. Psychedlic drugs or LSD are associated with the hypie culture in the 1960s and the attendant social issues.

For more regimental environments, even free wheeling internet discussions frown upon wild, unconventional and out-of-line ideas that are unlikely to be translated into policies.

Prof Shi is not a healthcare professional or chemical researcher. His comments are at best social advocacy, from the viewpoint of a Chinese Studies academic and concerned citizen. He may not be fully aware of the implications of wide use of psychedlic drugs, the positives and no-man's land. Some "psychedelic drugs" are naturally occurring. However, this does not mean they are less detrimental to those who are allergic or unsuited to these chemicals. Moreover, the range of LSDs have not been fully understood and has thus far been carefully tailored for individual use out of necessity. Should we push the boundaries, and play doctors, and risk your own health? Surely, a little will not do much harm?

What triggered Shi to whip up a controversy?

Preoccupied with moneymaking, many Chinese are engaged in mindless work and hardly think outside the box. The education system geared to produce the best engineers and financial analysts is not conducive to creativity.

On the contrary, Tang and Sung dynasties saw the proliferation of countless creative works, more than any time in Chinese, or dare some say, world history.  In those days, rice wine was the stimulant. When Li Bai composed poems and lamented at the imperfect world in intellectual discussions with fellow scholars usually in a drunken stupor. However, overdose of alcohol also killed the famous poet when he fell into the river to grasp the moon's reflection, believing the image was the real thing.

However, Shi was referring to the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs who admitted using LSD. Shi was not too interested in artistic branch of creativity. Nevertheless, abuse and misuse of drugs will produce similar outcomes. Except over-the-counter drugs, many controlled medicines, definitely in the case of LSD, must be prescribed by medical doctors with a purpose to treat the patient. A luxury, optional, drug, such as hormones that could enhance one's height, botox or the likes to meddle with the biological clock, or even choosing the sex and IQ of your baby with greater certainty in the future.

Shi's idea or opinion is unlikely to be accepted widely. He probably knows that. A blog is too brief and exaggerative to truly reflect the holistic thinking of the writer and may misrepresent his good intentions. However, for a man of reputation, respect and status, the public are less forgiving when he wondered aloud. Shi's starting point is not malicious since he hopes to produce more geniuses in China. However, this scenario if actualised, will be really scary to many developed countries.  As it is now, China's competitors are lagging behind in manufacturing, research, inventions and creative piracy.

Hence, it is really doubtful if Shi will have many supporters on both sides of the fence in the world stage.

Prof Henry Lai : Cell Phone Use Increases Risk of Brain Cancer Over Time

Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.

"When you look at cancer development -- particularly brain cancer -- it takes a long time to develop. I think it is a good idea to give the public some sort of warning that long-term exposure to radiation from your cell phone could possibly cause cancer," said Dr. Henry Lai, research professor in bioengineering at University of Washington who has studied radiation for more than 30 years.

Results from the largest international study on cell phones and cancer was released in 2010. It showed participants in the study who used a cell phone for 10 years or more had doubled the rate of brain glioma, a type of tumor. To date, there have been no long-term studies on the effects of cell phone usage among children.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/31/who.cell.phones/index.html

http://depts.washington.edu/bioe/people/core/lai.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZl2MSHDKls

FB Mark Zuckerberg Married Longtime Girlfriend Priscilla Chan - formula for relationship

Nine year marathon and finally tying the knot with Facebook status update that surprised not only the world but close friends of the couple.

Lessons for enduring and happy relationship : be down to earth and forget about fairy tale stories with airy fairy endings. They do not exist in the real world. A sustainable union requires hard work and mutual support. Cherish what you have and strive for a better future.  

Behind every successful man is a woman. In Mark Zuckerberg's case, his sweetheart Priscilla Chan is a brainy medical doctor who has contributed to his success.

Now that Mark has both career and love going for him, hope he will continue to enjoy happiness and success by treasuring the most important things in life. 

Singapore's Lam Keong Yeoh : Modest Model Living - Future depends on spiritual not material wealth

Robin Hood Policies : Living by Example - Zen Buddhism, the way to the Future for resource poor Singapore? 

Singapore's social policies are not future-ready

THE LONG INTERVIEW: YEOH LAM KEONG
Are we ready for the future?

Singapore's social policies are not future-ready, says former GIC economist. He talks to Susan Long about his new cause in life

By Susan Long, The Straits Times, 18 May 2012

WHEN Mr Yeoh Lam Keong quit his job as chief economist of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation last June, his colleagues presented him with a T-shirt which read: 'Buddha says: Stop wanting stupid shit.'

It's a message that suits the 54-year-old to a T.

He lives in a Housing Board flat, takes public transport, and eschews holiday resorts with air- conditioning. 'I don't consider it spartan, it's cosier and aesthetically more pleasing,' he says.

He has not moved from the Marine Terrace flat he bought in 1987 because he wants his children to grow up in an HDB setting. 'So they have a choice. They don't have to live in private housing, they can go and live in a three-room flat in Sengkang if they need to and be totally comfortable,' he says.

To his mind, he is not under-consuming. 'Others are over-consuming. Most of us have enough resources to live comfortably, yet we kill ourselves to drive a Lotus, instead of an ordinary car.

'We end up killing the environment and stressing each other out. Perhaps, as Lord Robert Skidelski, professor emeritus of political economy at Warwick University said, mass consumption capitalism has outlived its usefulness.'

Social awakening

MR YEOH grew up in a bungalow along Bukit Timah Road. He was the eldest of four children born to an orthopaedic surgeon and doctor-turned-housewife. His three siblings include Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, permanent secretary for Education.

His social awakening happened five years ago, when he was roped in to help analyse Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports data on poverty. As he examined the grim figures, he realised serious structural problems were creating a growing underbelly of poverty in Singapore.

Before long, he found a face to the problem.

While watching football with his son in a coffeeshop one evening, he chatted with a neighbour from a nearby rental block, and found out that the latter, after working as a cleaner for 10 years, earned $700 a month.

Mr Yeoh ventured in Mandarin: 'That's really tight, I don't suppose you have kids?' The guy's response: 'You mad, ah?'

His son, then 11, soon became aware of the substance of the conversation - that there were people too poor to have children. Later that night, he asked his father: 'Pa, do you think the Prime Minister knows about people like him?'

Mr Yeoh said: 'I hope so.' His son prodded: 'I think someone should tell him.'

Before long, father and son had added to their coterie of coffeeshop companions an odd-job labourer, who had been unemployed for 10 years because of a history of mental illness. The man had not eaten properly, surviving on a giant vat of green bean soup for days.

Mr Yeoh offered to go with him to see their Member of Parliament. But the man refused, fearing social workers 'will bother my brothers and sisters'.

'It became clear to me that the so-called social safety net was both undignified and insufficient. It was undignified where sufficient, or plain insufficient.

'He didn't want to be ashamed before family, or for government officials to bug his family to look after him, which he himself would not do,' says Mr Yeoh, citing a 2009 Lien Foundation survey which showed that being a burden to family and friends was the top death-related fear of Singaporeans, followed by medical costs.

Early influences

HE CREDITS his Anglo-Chinese School mate and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam for first stimulating his social conscience.

He was all set on becoming a naturalist - and studying marine biology - but was persuaded by Mr Tharman that economics was more 'socially useful' . They both applied to the London School of Economics and were accepted.

In London, Mr Tharman encouraged his interest in the underprivileged, social issues and student activism. Mr Yeoh returned to Singapore in 1983, and worked at the Skills Development Fund in the Economic Development Board for two years, then left to become a senior economist at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

He was soon seconded to help start up the Economics and Strategy Department at GIC and ended up staying a total of 26 years because the work was so riveting.

GIC, he says, taught him all about 'real-world economics, politics, markets, people, policymakers, under the most extreme stress'. Six major financial crises unfolded during the time he was there. 'It was a huge education in economic policy analysis, what could go right and wrong.'

The department he headed at GIC became infamous for its high-quality analysis, independence and daring to challenge convention, say Mr Yeoh's colleagues.

GIC's chief economist Leslie Teo says: 'Lam Keong was never afraid to speak his mind even if his views were not popular or politically correct; he was not afraid to explore new and unconventional ideas. He always stood apart from the prevailing culture of the industry - big money, flashy, top of the world - by his concern for the average person and his simple tastes.'

He worked under Mr Lim Siong Guan, group president of GIC, whom he says drummed into him the importance of being ready to meet the future.

'He taught me that being future-ready is being strategically on top of the most important relevant long-term trends even before they became conventional wisdom,' he says.

'Because catching up is the worst position to be in, you are chased and dragged and not the master of your own destiny. You become like Nokia, or Blackberry, as opposed to Apple.'

One of his top worries for Singapore today is whether its social policies are future-ready.

He worries that the old social compact is eroding, because the delivery of public services in social security, housing, health care, education and infrastructure is fraying at the edges, and excessive immigration has crowded out quality in such services.

'It's not ready for the world that faces us now; a world where median wages are stagnating, inequality is rising sharply, our population ageing, our maturing economy is growing much more slowly. And it's not going to be ready for the decades ahead, or maybe even the next five years,' he vexes.

Time for social reform

HE FEELS that now is the time for the Government to embark on large-scale social reform because it can.

Singapore is in a 'uniquely privileged' position to make these changes, he says. 'We have extremely low taxes, such that we can afford to raise them somewhat and still remain very tax- competitive, and we are unnecessarily conservative in our budgetary accounting, even by International Monetary Fund standards.'

He notes that the Government's spending, as a share of GDP, of around 17 per cent is among the lowest in the developed world, compared to 35-40 per cent in most OECD countries and 25-30 per cent in other advanced Asian economies.

'Our current levels of spending are low even by our own historical standards of up to 25 per cent of GDP seen in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. These are levels of a public spending we can afford to return to while maintaining competitiveness and long-term fiscal sustainability,' he says.

He applauds the Government's pledge announced by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong to double health-care expenditure from $4 billion to $8 billion in 2017, which will raise it from 1.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent of GDP. However, he points out, Taiwan was already spending 3.5 to 4 per cent of GDP on health care in 2001.

Notwithstanding the superiority of quality and efficiency of Singapore's health care, he asks: 'Is it enough for Singapore, which is steadily ageing, to spend half of Taiwan's 2001 budget in 2017?'

He adds that Mr Gan, to his credit, has assured that no Singaporean will be denied medical care if he or she needs it. 'But rather than say it, why not design policy for someone to afford it, rather than have him deplete his own savings and his family's Medisave accounts first?

'The most important reform needed, which is still missing, is that we still do not have universal financial access to medical care for all citizens, which is politically unacceptable in most democratic developed countries.'

Citing figures, Mr Yeoh notes that a relatively large proportion of health-care expenditure in Singapore is still funded out of pocket, with 55 per cent of spending financed by patients, with the rest borne by the state or insurance.

In comparison, patients in other developed Asian economies like Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan pay about 15 to 30 per cent out of pocket. The World Health Organisation's recommendation is 33 per cent and below.

He says the key driver of Singapore's success, going forward, will hinge on how substantively the government can overhaul social policies and win back voters.

The Government still enjoys strong credibility and trust, he says, though he fears that too is eroding, 'especially if they keep to their current course and the public continues to feel the level of provision of these basic needs is inadequate'.

'It will take a decade to build up a credible alternative government capability as the opposition, while making impressive strides, is starting from such a low base.'

He worries that if the government continues with piecemeal tweaks but does not restructure sufficiently to meet the future, 'it will be like a big company not doing enough to keep market share, like Nokia or Blackberry, which refused to go touch screen till it was too late'. Both are now eating the dust of Apple.

'A key business of government is strategy, says US statesman Zbigniew Brzezinski. Right now, we are forgoing strategy for tweaks. The trouble with tweaks is that you are not spending strategically and not making headway in things that matter, you are just reacting to pressure from the ground,' he says.

One example: The many rounds of cooling measures that have failed to arrest runaway housing prices.

Although most Singaporeans can afford $150,000 to buy a Build-To-Order flat in Sengkang, on a lower floor and facing a car park now, they worry that future HDB flats will be priced out of their children's reach, he says.

'They know that prices will converge towards resale and private residential prices which, at five to six times median annual household income, are extremely unaffordable. On current trends, how likely is it that HDB can keep prices at $150,000 if they price off market price plus costs?'

He thinks that HDB needs to abandon its 'market fundamentalist' pricing formula and revert to its original mission of meeting 'social needs'. For starters, he suggests pricing entry-level three- room flats at around two times household income in all locations - only for citizens - which he says would be 'in the spirit of HDB's original inspiration and success'.

But will these sweeping changes he suggests - radically increasing health and housing subsidies - depart too much from the ethos of cautious continuity and fiscal prudence that the People's Action Party has come to symbolise?

He disagrees: 'The original brand of the PAP, as I remember it, was pragmatically meeting the needs of the ordinary citizen and often exceeding expectations in doing so on a universal basis. And it did so from the 1950s to 1980s.

'Back then, their policies were revolutionary and ahead of time, because they anticipated and drove and mastered the future. I would love to see them recapture that original brand.'

Life after GIC

LAST June, Mr Yeoh left GIC to spend more time with his family, as well as outdoors, where he fishes, does ink sketches and pens poetry on nature. He intends to apply his economist training to 'social investigation' projects, especially on inequality and poverty.

He is a senior adjunct fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, a fellow of Civil Service College and an adviser to Singapore Management University's economics faculty.

He is married to Dr Lai Ah Eng, a senior research fellow at the Asian Research Institute. Their son Lai Hsin, 16, studies at Victoria School, and their daughter Lai Lin, 19, at Cambridge University.

The self-styled 'Engaged Buddhist' says his goal in life is 'to seek peace of mind, happiness and freedom from suffering, for all sentient beings'.

The person he most admires is Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who helped rebuild bombed villages, set up schools and resettle homeless families during the Vietnam War.

'In his books, he describes movingly how he went about rebuilding villages each time they were bombed and destroyed. I am convinced you need these deep- seated values: compassion, reverence for life and its beauty and a sense of the eternal rather than just chasing money, power or fame. Unless you have that spiritual foundation, it's very hard to stay sane or be truly effective.'

Prince Sihanouk - Cancer Survival, Cambodian National Symbol and Controversial Alliances

Following the publication of the first blog entry, Prince Sihanouk has  passed away peacefully on 15 Oct 212 at the age of 89.  The current Cambodian monarchy has lost much of its former glory and influence to the elected government headed by a ruthless, repressive and powerful Prime Minister Hun Sen. 

* * * 

Prince Sihanouk may be frail, but he has survived cancer and diabetes for three decades. He is a VIP of Chinese hosts who were instrumental in ensuring he enjoyed both quantity and quality of life. 

Most diagnosed with the C illness believed their days are numbered. But it is amazing that Prince Sihanouk managed to live another three decades despite having the terminal illness since the 1980s. The latest removal of a prostate tumour is the third or fourth bout of cancer Sihanouk has endured. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/sihanouk-has-tumour-removed-1510413.html

Even the most ardent supporter of TCM would not claim that there is a miracle cure, but it certainly would convinced many that there is hope and proven efficacy of TCM.  If patients maintain a positive thinking and perseverance, more will have success in winning over the battle over illnesses. Regular and continued checkup and treatment would be necessary to keep relapse of cancerous growth at bay. 

Has Sihanouk lived a fruitful life with borrowed time extended? He is widely respected by Cambodians, and many leaders in Southeast Asia. He has been pivotal in cobbling a peace settlement that ended the war in Cambodia. 

Nevertheless, like any leader, Sihanouk has been criticised for his controversial decisions.  He was condemned by some for a marriage of convenience with the genocidal Khmer Rouge. This is in spite of the fact that the alliance included non-communist resistance groups in the fight against Vietnamese invasion and occupation of Cambodia with Soviet backing. 

The circumstances are more complex and difficult for any leader to choose between the lesser of the two evils. In fact, some argue that the US bombings and subsequent withdrawal from Vietnam spurred the rise of the radical Khmer Rouge. Certainly, Sihanouk was forced to walk the tight rope, performing a dangerous balancing act. Members of royalty had been victims of genocidal elimination, and Sihanouk himself was at risk of being killed too.  

http://wn.com/Norodom_Sihanouk

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharon-wu/press-coverage-of-the-cam_b_1469187.html

Naturally, the Khmer Rouge was solely responsible for systematic murder. However, many scholars, including Noam Chomsky, very publicly criticized the U.S. for contributing to the genocide as well. These scholars published long editorials regarding the issue of responsibility.
Firstly, they believed the U.S. played a large role in creating the political atmosphere from which the Khmer Rouge grew. Due to U.S. bombing and Lon Nol's inefficacy, Cambodians suffered immensely in a dysfunctional society. Their growing frustration drove them to support the Khmer Rouge, who promised to help the nation recuperate.
Secondly, the U.S. was strongly criticized for the extensive bombing, which destroyed vital resources. Critics of American foreign policy blamed the U.S. for the deaths related to disease and starvation. Even if the Khmer Rouge had not taken over, these deaths still would have occurred due to destruction.
In defense of all the people who stood by without taking action, one could ask, "What could we have realistically accomplished?" After Vietnam, no one in the U.S. wanted to see troops in Cambodia. It was an enormously complicated situation that couldn't easily be resolved simply with money or soldiers. Stopping the Khmer Rouge was one thing; rescuing the Cambodian population was another. Cambodia was burdened with a decade of fighting, corruption, famine, and murder. Saving Cambodia would mean a complete reformation of Cambodia's society, government and economy. There were no simple solutions.

Anthony Salim : Asian billionaires beneficiaries of political cronyism

Anthony Salim is fortunate to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth. The actual worth of his father Liem Sioe Liong is said to match the world's richest men. Political fortunes may rise and fall and personalities who received patronage lose popularity according to the times. However, the Liem (Salim) family appears to have survived the turmoil of uprisings, racism and economic crises. Indeed, savvy players never fade away. 

A few ultra rich Indonesian Chinese will give ethnic minorities a bad name, and the impression that all are wealthy, exploitative and oppressive against the native Indonesians. The reality is that most Indonesian Chinese belong middle class with some even in the lower income groups. They bear the brunt of attacks when things go wrong. They also struggle to build up what little they have that can vanish with every policy or regime change. 

http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=26886&sec=1

Quote :

Forbes magazine’s 2011 list of Indonesia’s richest people placed the leader of the Salim Group at fifth place, with a net worth of US$3.6 billion.

Anthony’s ranking in the Forbes’ lists over recent years has improved. In 2010, he was also in fifth place, higher than the ninth position he occupied in 2009. In 2008, Forbes put him at 11th position.

Anthony is the son of Sudono Salim, also known as Liem Sioe Liong, the founder of the Salim Group, which now controls dozens of major businesses including the world’s largest instant-noodle maker, PT Indofood Sukses Makmur.

Sudono, widely-known for his close connections to the Soeharto family, turned over the management of the group to Anthony in 1992.

Anthony is believed to have shifted the way he approaches power since Soeharto’s fall in 1998, which brought a revolutionary change in Indonesia’s politics.

“The tycoons’ secret to survival was basically in line with the political shift. The tycoons, who used to be centralized under Soeharto’s patronage, are now liberated, in the sense that the tycoons are now more motivated to create their own political networks,” political analyst Fachry Ali told The Jakarta Post.

Before Soeharto’s New Order regime collapsed, major Chinese-descent tycoons were mostly “affiliated” with Cendana (the name of the street where Soeharto’s private residence was located) and enjoyed facilities such as easier procedures for obtaining permits and very low risk of being stung with legal problems.

“On the other hand, Soeharto’s family members also benefitted from the patronage; while Soeharto himself utilized the patronage to dominate the government, the parliament, as well as the police and military,” Hendardi from the Setara Institute told the Post.

The reform movement in 1998 brought the nation to euphoria with the ending of the Soeharto-era cronyism.

But many Chinese-Indonesian moguls, who enjoyed the “glorious” New Order years, did not disappear; they merely shifted their “methods” in influencing power, Fachry said.

“Their capital posed significant attractions to political groups, which have become increasingly more diverse today. The richer a political party is, the greater its influence and ability to gain support,” Fachry said.

The Chinese-Indonesian couple Murdaya Widyawimarta Poo and Siti Hartati Tjakra Murdaya is a perfect example. After the fall of Soeharto, the tycoon couple entered the political arena.

Murdaya, who assumed 14th position on Forbes’ 2011 list, became an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker, while his wife joined Democratic Party.

Another example is Chinese-Indonesian tycoon Hary Tanoesudibjo, the owner of the media conglomerate, the MNC Group, who chairs the board of experts at the newly established Nasdem Party.

“In the past, Cendana was the only patron. Today, each of the moguls has become patron to the network established and controlled by the moguls,” Fachry said.

Although, he added, not all of the tycoons are eager to publicly disclose their political ties. “In most cases, they established their connections silently because the networks involved more than one political party,” he said.

http://debujadiintan.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/liem-sioe-liong-soedono-salim.html

http://www.theasiamag.com/people/liem-sioe-liong-bringer-of-strife?page=0,1

Greg Smith : Goldman Sachs Toxic Culture -Conscience Conscious Insider Exposes Moral Deficit in High Banking Society

Most of us struggling just to make a living may quietly swallow our pride and integrity and accept nonsense from unconscionable bosses and organisations. Some have become partners in crime knowingly or unwillingly. 


Greg Smith prefers to step out of line to speak his mind with a heart. 


How we measure SUCCESS nowadays! 

Certainly not earning an honest living, provide good products and services, but driven purely by greed and profit?  Big businesses especially in banking and finance have "lost the moral fibre".  Reaping short term impressive gains prevail over public good, accountability to small shareholders and employee welfare.

Sadly, the GFC has not got rid of chief executive leeches. They are still lurking around steadfastly, gobbling small helpless consumers, taking huge fat salaries, only conjuring tricks in a more discreet manner. The immoral continue to dominate the financial and political scene. 

QUOTE : 

This week people have been buzzing about Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith's high-profile resignation from Goldman and his description of the way that company's ethics and morals have declined over the last decade and more, especially under current CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

But Smith's revelations aren't really news at all, and the moral decline he describes at Goldman has been replicated throughout our corporate culture. Behavior at Wall Street firms like Goldman may have been more overtly criminal, but the shift from respect for the customer to the desire to rip customers off is pervasive and insidious.

Wall Street has, of course, been the epicenter of this behavior. Years ago it was reported that traders at Morgan Stanley used to get off a phone call and gleefully shout "I ripped his face off!" - about their own clients - after successfully selling them what they knew were garbage investments. The surprise isn't that Goldman Sachs encourages its employees to mislead clients and put its own interests above theirs - the surprise is that anybody is surprised.

We should know better.

Capitalism has always been based in part on predatory behavior. But a series of progressive reforms that began more than a century ago managed to bring the predators among us under control. Laws and regulations were a key part of that control, but a four-decade long conservative crusade against them has brought us to the point where Democratic Presidents can echo the anti-regulatory rhetoric of the right without fear of reprisal from their own base.

We need to restore the respect that regulations and those who enforce them have earned over their decades of service to the country. But there needs to be even greater change - cultural change - before we can stop the kind of behavior that Smith described in his editorial. We need to end the culture of predation and stigmatize the corrupt business leaders who are tearing our society down.

It's true that Blankfein's a particularly egregious example of the culture of predation. But there isn't an executive on Wall Street whose company hasn't done things he should be ashamed about - and shunned for. And many of them should be under criminal investigation right now. Instead they're attending plush fundraisers with leaders from both parties and whining to subservient journalists that today's coverage of them isn't universally congratulatory. These guys don't want reporters, they want praise-singers like the ones that flattered ancient princes - and more often than not they get them.

But the culture of predation goes way beyond Wall Street. It's all around us. Here's an example from my own corporate life: While I was working in the insurance and risk management area back in the 1990s, a group of us were sent to one of those offsite 'bonding' get-togethers that were so popular at the time.

As was the custom in those days, slightly hippie-ish baby boomers (usually ex-teachers or ex-social workers) were hired as 'facilitators' to get us 'thinking outside the box' (I used to say "I have ADD; I lost the box," but they made me attend anyway.) This typically involved 'team-building exercises' like making a house out of string while blindfolded.

(Yes, that was one of our exercises.)

In one of the sessions we were encouraged to come up with an innovative idea for our own work area. To stimulate our 'creative juices,' we were given three examples from the real business world. One of them will be familiar to any man who shaves: Our granola-eating facilitators enthusiastically told us how the Gillette company managed to send its revenues sky-high by selling their razors at a low cost and then charging an arm and a leg for the blades. Gillette constantly changes its razor design so that lower-cost competitors can't sell blades to its customers.

Millions of American men have contemplated spending the rest of their lives looking like ZZ Top, just because of the Gillette company. Gillette has a stranglehold on the razor market and uses it to shaft its customers any chance it gets. The sleazy, anti-consumer Gillette strategy has even been adapted by formerly decent companies like Hewlett-Packard, who under prominent Republican Carly Fiorina because selling cheap and unreliable printers whose cartridges constantly run out of ink and cost a fortune to replace.

In Corporate America, however, that's not called sleazy behavior. It's called "thinking outside the box."

The second example was that of a public telephone company in some Midwestern city that decided it could make more money by making it unpleasant to use its pay phones. So, as our Birkenstock-wearing guides told us gleefully, some young executive suggested putting a heavy weight in the receiver and slanting the shelf underneath the phones so that you couldn't put anything there without having it fall off. Pretty soon they were all doing it. (Now pay phones are a thing of the past. It's like they say: Karma is a bitch.)

I forget the third "innovation," but it was equally repellent. But what I do remember is that only two or three of us in the group exchanged looks of disgust. A few other people were as excited as the group leaders, and the rest didn't care one way or the other.

What's the point of bringing this up? That the bond between business leaders and customers has been broken, and that businesses aren't being punished for it. They're not being punished by loss of customers or social disapproval, and when they break the law they're not being punished with jail time.

People have come to expect that the businesses which are supposed to serve them will do everything in their power to rip them off instead - and that nobody inside or outside of government will do anything about it. When people buy shoddy products and call the manufacturer for help they've come to expect endless wait times, followed by soul-killing robotic interactions with underpaid script-driven hirelings. When they open their bank or credit card bills they expect to be slammed with unadvertised and unaffordable add-on charges.

And they're rarely disappointed.

The Democrats' attempts to change this culture have been tepid at best (with the possible exception of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will only be as good as its Presidentially-appointed director). But even those tentative steps have been met with a firestorm of reaction, which too often is met with offers to water the reforms down even more.

What can be done? For one thing, computer owners can boycott companies like Hewlett-Packard, too. And we can explain why. For another, the men of America can boycott companies like Gillette. If we all wind up looking Amish it'll be worth the effort. Because you know what? The Amish are scrupulously fair and honest in their business dealings.

You can't say that about bank executives like Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs, or any of the other CEOs on Wall Street. And you can't say that about most other corporate CEOs these days, either. Sure, there are notable and admirable exceptions. But we need a movement to clean up our entire corporate culture. Maybe we could call it "Beards, Not Banks." And along with it, we need to restore our nation's respect for the laws and regulations that protect us from bandits, rascals, and thieves - and for the people who enforce those laws.

As long as we reward bad behavior with our money and our respect, things will only continue to get worse.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/culture-of-predation-that_b_1352718.html

Why Greg Smith Quit?


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2115352/Greg-Smith-Goldman-Sachs-sees-2bn-wiped-market-value-trader-attacks-firms-toxic-culture.html 


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/goldman-sachs-exec-greg-smith-blasts-bank-op-ed-called-clients-muppets-bank-lost-moral-fiber-article-1.1038682

Osama Bin Laden - terrorist repentant? tells children not follow jihad

A terrorist who did not bat an eye at the deaths of innocent people finally saw light?

That is if you believe wholesale the words of Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law.

In an interview with a western media, Zakaria Al-Sada claimed that Osama urged his children to get a good education (modern secular?) in the West and refrain from the extremism and religious war path he followed. (paraphrased on condition that meanings are not hidden or lost in translation)

The immediate and superficial impact of resignation would be a blow to Islamist jihadists morale and propaganda to recruit new suicide bombers and warriors.  Is this a tactical retreat for longer term recoup and consolidation.

Conspiracy theorists and sceptics, however, believe that sending fundamentalist kids to the West and receive modern education would raise their stature and allow them to blend in with the crowd, cultivate and breed local-born to join jihad.

Is this really a deception spread by Osama's brother-in-law to impress upon the West not to be too hard on Osama's wives, children and grandchildren. Soothing words - what we love to hear rather than the hard truths - would coax target countries and innocent victims to let our guards down.

Oh dear, the bitter lessons of complacence have taught us to become so disbelieving that we can't even trust anything at face value without suspecting others'  intentions!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/al-qaeda/9077505/Osama-bin-Ladens-told-his-children-not-to-follow-him-down-path-of-jihad.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/297889/20120213/osama-bin-laden-zakaria-al-sadah-pakistan.htm

http://my.telegraph.co.uk/cheechdog/cheech/15953283/osama-bin-ladendo-not-follow-me-down-the-road-to-jihad/

Would you trust the words of this neat young cool looking guy who is Osama's brother-in-law?

Warren Buffet's Religious Affiliation and Economic / Social Principles

Almost half of the billionaires in the USA are Jews. But Warren Buffet, the world's second richest man, is strictly not a Jew (religion).  He claims to be agnostic though he has many Jewish friends and business associates and has invested in Israeli companies.

 http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation/article/warren_buffetts_jewish_connection_20060602/

Unlike many influential Jews in Hollywood who had manipulated the media to condemn countries which could challenge Israel and US dominance in the Middle East and Africa, Buffet has been neutral and pragmatic.

On the contrary, Buffet has demonstrated lots of strategic patience (as opposed to rash reaction) and generosity towards social equality and redistribution of wealth.

Not one to flaunt his wealth, Buffet continues to live in the same five bedroom house in Ohama, Nebraska, for many year although he has more recently invested in a Californian beach house for chill out.

Buffet may be too old to learn foreign languages, but his friendly gesture on the eve of the Lunar New Year is well received by Chinese and Asian audiences. The guru's next investment destination?

China is no stranger to Buffett. He is venerated among China's wealthy as a "model investor," according to the AFP. Likewise, Buffett is no stranger to China—he's been positive about the country's growth in the past and has a nearly 10% investment in Chinese auto company BYD.

Read more: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-05/wall_street/30592195_1_warren-buffett-china-byd#ixzz1lByQYpiA

Rethink of lese majeste :reform proposal divides Thais with divergent interests - wither the King?

Is the monarchy a dinosaur in a modern democracy?

Even the divine status of the Thai King seems to be facing serious challenges. Until today, criticising the King was unthinkable. While the King had been a stabilising force in the days when military coups, protests and security threats were rife, it may no longer be necessary as the country reaches a higher level of economic and political development. Ousted PM Thaksin had tried to weaken the monarchy who is heavily influenced by ex-military chiefs but had cost him dearly. Lese majeste criminal code has been used against foreign visitors who showed disrespect to the monarchy, symbolic or ideological.

The red and yellow shirts have receded when the floods inundated Bangkok. The most hotly debated issue now is to challenge the code which teflons the from threats and insults, and virtually above the law.

Democracy demands debate on lese majeste law

Bangkok Post  1 Feb 2012

Section 112 defines lese majeste as the defaming, insulting or threatening of the King, Queen, Heir-apparent or Regent. The maximum punishment is 15 years in jail for each offence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16805096

Reform of S 112 is more pressing now than ever as the successor to the ailing King Bhumipol is his only son, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, a well known playboy and spoilt brat who has not earned the people's respect.  There is every chance that the next King is not wise and temperamental, hence he could be easily manipulated by both sides. The Crown Prince has been cultivated by the Thaksin camp as well. S 112 may serve as a useful tool for the older generation of power brokers.

Interestingly, the revered Thai King has ever remarked that he is not above the law. However, the Thai establishment prefers to be deaf to such hints. Indeed, ultra-royalists whose power and wealth rests on the unquestionable position of the King and the monarchy as a divine institution, have been the most stake in ensuring continued protection of lese majeste laws. In this latest agitation by academics and intellectuals, conservative oligarchs have again accused reformists of being proxies of Thaksin. The Thai government headed by Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra has been keeping mum for fear of threats. Protectors of the monarchy are powerful forces that continue to dominate Thai politics albeit from behind the scenes and above politicking.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/category/thailand/lese-majeste-thailand/

There is an age-old Thai belief which prophecised the demise of the Chakri Dynasty with the passing of King Bhumiphol (Rama IX). Perhaps these are early signs of what is to come. Stay tuned.

http://www.economist.com/node/15718981

Has Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong come of age? Confidence, Maturity, Humanity and Humour

Lee Hsien Loong has projected himself and Singapore's image well at an interview with CNN during his attendance of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The PM of Singapore has shown humility by making the unprecedented move to reduce Ministerial salaries, thought to be an unthinkable concession in the past.

He has treated tricky questions on international relations, income disparty and his personal / family succession issues in a diplomatic and relaxed manner.

It is often said that the best time for a leader to retire is when he is at his best and not to overstay his welcome and become a nuisance. However, at this point in time, it appears that no one has developed the calibre and charisma to win the hearts of Singapore voters to place their confidence in a post-Lee successor.