Too many thoughts, too little time

I'm too lazy to think. I think too much. And yes, the prior two statements are truthful contradictions. Who said life wasn't interesting? ;p
You see, I think alot. About everything. But I'm too lazy to analyze things in depth. Too easily contented with what I have, I take a step back and with a sigh of satisfaction, declare my mediocre efforts sufficient. I mean, come on! How lazy can a person get?? Apparently, very..
I have a smart friend, very talented and inspired friend, who calls me smart too *smug look sweeps across my face*. She says, "the world needs another Great Depression". And I find myself surprisingly taken up to the idea.
I've been wondering, in the face of this "crisis of the global economy", about the reasons and true definition of "growth". Across the globe, nations abound clamour for more growth. And to what end? Caught up in the endless race for growth, I take a step back and wonder, Why?
Mathematically, our theory of economics are rather sound, and ceteris paribus, amount to very rationally panned out thoughts. But ultimately, isn't the study of economics purely a reflection of the hunger for growth that our society exudes? If that is so, then the fact that our economic policies are governed by people who are studied in the "art" of economics, will make our economy a self-perpetuating endless cycle. It's hilarious really, but it seems to me that the "flaw" that leads to crisis and recessions is nothing more than a by-product of the mentality perpetuated by society's elite. For who else profits the most from "growth" but the people who leads them (the growth).
Call me anti-elitist, but I feel that a change in mindset is in order. It can only be for the better, at least in reference to the spiritual health of humanity.

Onto other issues... the Lehman Mini-bond debate. "The MAS – a desperate headless chicken?", "Minibonds : No leadership in times of trouble....!", and on the flip side, "S’pore’s financial system is sound, S$150b guarantee for deposits sufficient". The case made is that MAS and the Singapore government have been slow to react to the "plight" of the investors "conned" into buying Mini-bonds, and that we have been lagging behind in monetary policies, most prominently being the guaranteeing of deposits which came a day after Hong Kong made theirs. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to shoot down the investors. On the contrary, I pity them for their plight. They have been misled into wrongfully investing their savings into a product which isn't as risk-free as is proclaimed. Whose fault is it though? The banks who sold them? The banks who packaged them, which may or may not be the same? Or the investor, for not doing enough research? Definitely, some individual responsibility should be taken, BUT if the banks really did misrepresent the products, knowing the risks involved and understating them, then that IS a fraudulent act. There is no fault in them banding together to take up action against the financial institutions involved. But to rant about the incompetence of MAS? I beg to differ.
Short of proclaiming the ignorance of these prominent bloggers, lets view the directives of MAS.

"MAS is the central bank of Singapore. Our mission is to promote sustained non-inflationary economic growth, and a sound and progressive financial centre."

MAS FUNCTIONS

• To act as the central bank of Singapore, including the conduct of monetary
  policy, the issuance of currency, the oversight of payment systems and
  serving
  as banker to and financial agent of the Government
• To conduct integrated supervision of financial services and financial
  stability surveillance
• To manage the official foreign reserves of Singapore
• To develop Singapore as an international financial centre

From this, we can already see that MAS has no obligation to the plights of the investors as individuals and they had every right to ask them to take up the issue with the court of law. Their duty to supervision extends only as far as to ensuring the integrity of the system. If any, we should question the failings of that duty rather than MAS's reaction to the situation. Also, MAS's first and foremost priority is the integrity of Singapore's finance, which unfortunately, does not include the plight of these investors.
In view of this, Singapore financial institutions are in good stead (relative to the global situation), hence there was no reason to guarantee deposits. This explains the reactionary stance which MAS has adopted. The only reason why MAS made an about-turn has nothing to do with improving the state of the economy, but rather with the competitiveness that Singapore offers as a financial hub. Singapore is unable to ignore the actions which Hong Kong, as a direct "rival", undertakes, regardless of how redundant some of the policies may be. Guarantee-ing deposits is akin to money sunk, that is, that money may be, with high confidence, unable to be recovered. But in terms of competitiveness, it is money that Singapore can ill-afford to save, if she is to continue attracting investors and maintaining her reputation of being a strong and competitive financial hub.

Perhaps, MAS has to be blamed. Not for their indecision, but for their failure to uphold their task. To supervise the integrity of our financial services. The dent in MAS's reputation lies in this fact, that they have been lax in their control over financial institutions in exchange for the growth potential which they promise to the country.

I feel that the leadership has been unnecessarily criticised. With this rationale, what MAS is doing may not be the wisest, but it is the best course of action to fulfil its directives. What should be criticised though is the direction and fundamentals of MAS and our government as a whole. The fact that our citizens regularly complain about the actions taken by our government and government bodies, despite the actions being "by the book", so to speak, shows that there is a lack of unity between the ideals of the citizen and the direction in which the government is heading. If this is the case, it is then not a question of leadership, but rather a question of "leader". Is the government which leads us today, the one that we truly want? We fault our leadership for being weak and reactionary, slow and uninspired. The truth is, so are we, the citizens, for being blind to the truth that since a decade or more ago, the path that our government seeks for us, and the path that we desire, have been divergent. Do not criticize others of faults which you own. It may be time that Singaporeans reflect on their political mindset. This is no longer about PAP or opposition. It's about how we want our country to be led. Regardless of opposition or PAP, I can say with some confidence that growth will always be prioritised over welfare, for it is the nature of our society. "We are not a welfare state.". Sounds familiar? Enough said.

Do we still want growth? I don't know.. I'm too lazy to think further. It is greed, a manisfestation from the desire for growth, that has led us to this state. A simpleton will agree that we don't want growth, but where will that leave us then? This is something which this simpleton, yours truly, cannot comprehend. It seems I've many years of thinking yet to be done.

p.s. I like this site. Den of The Lion Investor

F1

F1's 1st night street race.
Singapore's 1st night street race.
blah blah blah.
You'd think we'd suffer from overexposure n be bored by the time it actually starts.
I'm not a hardcore fan, but I've enjoyed watching the odd races, and following the leaderboards, both constructor n driver.
But to actually HEAR the engines ROARING through the gears down the straight, LIVE.. priceless.
Last night, I was at bugis to pick my sis up from tuition before heading home. It was there that I heard them. One after another, shifting through the gears, mini-jet planes roaring down the street. To say I was excited is an understatement. I was ecstatic!
Tonight, I'll be at Orchard for dinner. No prizes for guessing where I'll be headed after that ;)
Did I also mention that my dad has a all-access pass for the race? He's not a fan though :( He's just there to do his job. Man.. if only we could swap places LOL

p.s. Not wanting to be branded as a mindless guy following the crowd, but I really like the Ferrari team, and that's who I normally look out for on the leaderboards. Needless to say, the driver I support is also from Ferrari. He's not Massa though. He's last year's champion, Raikkonen. Guy to look out for? Sebastian Bourdais. The only driver with specs. Girls, aside from his cute looks, he's also a good driver (imho). A pity his car flopped on him in the Italy Grand Prix, else we'll be hearing more from him. Instead, it was his teammate and the driver in pole position who stole the limelight, Sebastian Vettel. No resentment though. That guy drove a faultless race.
p.p.s. Why don't I support Hamilton? It's not that he's a bad driver. I respect him for his driving skills, aggressive though they may be. Respect, though earned through exhibition of skill, takes more than just talent to be retained. I'm afraid Hamilton's character needs more refining if he's to earn back the respect he's lost from me. Arrogance is not a character most welcomed by most people. That said, he's pushing for the title, and it'll be sad if he gets pipped to it by Massa. Raikkonen, for all my support, is a shade of his former self. Ever the cool driver, calm in any situation, but lacking that winner's touch this season. Would love to see him in the red colour of Ferrari next season though. I do hope to see more of him ;)

Drifting

Post-JesusCamp Post.

urm.. yeah.
so i watched Jesus Camp yesterday. it's mindblowing to say the least ^^
for starters, there's CHRISTIAN TECHNO! i mean.. how cool is that!! =D i so wanna grab some of that haha! i'll be dancing all day and all night! XD
well, aside from that, the documentary is focused on evangelical christians, and no offense, they're cool in the way that they are; but as much as i believe that everyone should not be ignorant of politics, i do not enjoy either the indoctrination of political views into religious teachings. the reason quoted was that America is God's nation, or rather, "a Nation under God", but i'll have to read up on that. *oh boy.. american history.. shudder =p but seriously, major turning points in american history are sooooo interesting! declaration of independence (thomas jefferson), gettysburg address (lincoln), i have a dream speech (martin luther king jr), .. ... and many others! ^^ (i quote these coz these r the ones i've actually read up a little =,='")*

but honestly, how many of you believe that the war we're meant to fight, being God's army, is to be fought on this world? raise your hands so i can see you! no? none? good.
coz the battle we have to fight is not the battle without, but within. we fight sin. we fight temptations. we fight ourselves, and satan. we fight in the spiritual realm, and our short lives (despite rising life expectancies.. yad-dah-yah-dah-day.. =p) is but a stepping stone to prepare ourselves for the world beyond. call me moderate, call me conservative, but heh, though i'm not sure i can do it now, i'm working towards the day when i can say i WILL die for God, and i believe all men of faith (and women. fine. damn gender discrimination laws =p) will be able to do so too. to stand up to others for your faith.

that doesn't mean we should take a confrontational stance. John15:18-21, and John16:1-4 (yes i found the verses! so happy!). basically, we WILL be marginalised, for who we are. but we must stand strong, and faithful, for we are the truth-bearers. there was no talk of fighting, conflicts, aggression.

and back to politics. if the founding fathers of America were to see modern America, they'd be turnin in their graves. America was not meant to be a global peacekeeper. America was supposed to be a sovereign entity, proclaiming liberty and prosperity to the world. and to hell with earthly conflicts like those of the balkans, like those of the taiwanese. they're neither a vital interest to america, nor are they a threat to the liberty of the country. as for sept 11, usa can only blame themselves for inciting it. it was precisely due to their global interventionist (read hegemony) policies that churned up osama bin laden and his never-ending production line of extremists. it has to stop somewhere, so either you go all out and take over middle east for your own, or you defend what you can and leave middle east alone, as cruel as it sounds.

but that's american politics, and i'm a singaporean, so lets talk abit more about matters closer to home.

have you realise something amiss in the recent years? do you feel that singapore society is moving towards a foreign direction? you know, you might be right. more and more, developments are shaping towards the construction of a new elite class, that of political clout, and an immunity to all threats, both militarily, legally, and financially. increase pay, laws that prevent slander and transparency of politicians, shifting contituency.. what we're seeing are attempts in preservation of power by the majority political power, and because it's so subtle, no one in singapore is making a genuine attempt against it! we're giving concession to them because 1) they're the "founding fathers of singapore" 2) they're bringing in the moolah 3) they're efficient. a little too efficient i say. where's the heart?

socialism is quite a dirty word, so is welfarism. even our dear LKY doesn't call himself a socialist-democrat anymore. i believe the label now is dictator, tho i'll be sued for slander haha. nah, in honesty, he's no more of a dictator than bush is, but he does hold considerable influence, and his ideals are not necessarily best for the people of singapore. good for singapore, yes; for the people of singapore? i'm not so sure.

what we're seeing is statistical growth, but broken down in sectors, we see singapore's growth being propelled by the top 20% of the population, with the growth of the last 20% less significant. i'm not quoting facts, so do not take my perspective for truth, but if i recall, the growth of singapore's last 20% is slower than the growth of the top 20%, and if that's the truth, that's bad. real bad. not sure if singapore stats board has the details, and even if they do, they probably won't release them =p haha.

so sue me for caring for singaporeans. the opposition are working with the heartlanders not because they'll get propelled to electoral victories on the back of a majority class, but because it's us heartlanders that'll bear the brunt of the eliti-cising of the PAP political class. don't u feel the vibes? even the "middle-class" is starting to feel anxiety, feeling insecure. there's a reason for it, and i assure you it's not just paranoia =p

i watched bourne ultimatum yesterday too! nice =) tho i missed the 1st 15min =,='"
... ... and that was out of point haha =p that, and i lost my train of thought after shutting my comp down =p i'm picking up this post from where i left off 10hrs ago =p

i'd like to bring to attention the lyrics of "Hanging by a Moment" - by Lifehouse. quoted from http://www.lifehousefans.com/lyrics/nonamelyrics.html.
it goes..
"Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
Closer to where I started
Chasing After you

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with You"

About what is holy and what is not holy, in the eyes of God. Of what practises in a church is right or wrong.. who are we to judge? we are but humans, mere mortals. we may feel strongly for something, or against it, but don't let worldly cares hold sway of your heart. 1Thessalonians5:19-22. "Do not restrain the Holy Spirit; do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test: keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil." yes indeed. who else knows best, but God himself? put all things to the test. spiritually, for we cannot attest to it's being good or not except through God's judgement. Amen.

to Jo, with regards to our debate about gay and homosexuality. I am not anti-gays, neither do i attempt to change their lifestyle. I respect their decision. but at the same time, I'm Christian. so though I do not discriminate and judge, neither should I condone "heathen acts". Romans1:27. "In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing."

I am not a holy man, but that doesn't mean I should sink into despair. For I am saved, and I can repent. So can you :)
p.s. all Bible quotations are quoted from New Life Good News Bible.