The following 'comments' may be found following ‘Solo Bear’s’ article, ‘Race Discrimination in Singapore? Who Doesn't Know That?’
ed:
It's about time that the situation has some international recognition. The 3 responses I personally, and without exception, get when speaking about this issue to the chinese is,
1. There's no racism here
2. Everywhere also got racism what
3. Silence and subject-change
Legalist-cum-confucian culture, with its focus on traditionalism, conformity, uniformism, being unquestioning, rules as opposed to reason, etc, has long been a foundation for the production of bigoted tendencies of all genres. Thus, all that had to be done was to promote it, elevate it, and turn it into a national culture; whilst clamping down on egalitarian multiculturalism and diluting difference; and aiding the economic ascendency locally and regionally of those identified as 'chinese' via the mother tongue policy, etc. All that has transpired.
What kind of people do you think this is going to produce? It's no wonder that the 'opposition' has precious little to say about these things. (That's why, in my more irate moments, i'm inclined to state that the likes of Ken J, Chee, and their bevy of followers, amongst others, can kiss my ass if they want to present themselves as 'democrats'.)
The purpose of 'institutionalised racism' is to cause its transfiguration into 'constitutional racism' at the popular level. That has long been achieved.
SB:
Ed:
>>The 3 responses I personally, and without exception, get when speaking about this issue to the chinese is,
1. There's no racism here
2. Everywhere also got racism what
3. Silence and subject-change
>>
Me:
In an attempt by minorities to emphasize that Singapore is a racist country, I have to remind you that you should not fall into the same trap. The above is stereotyping Chinese the way PAP is stereotyping minorities.
If you are not already aware, I am Chinese. In the first of my post on race issues which I linked up in the main article, I mentioned a friend from Toronto who told me Singapore has racist policies. He was a Chinese Singaporean too. That incident was in the 1980s and my post I linked was made in 2007 - long before the UN Expert gave his report.
I find most minorities do not speak up and that could be because of their culture.
However, do appreciate that I, a Chinese, have a much more difficult time fighting for YOUR RIGHTS, when you are silent. The majority just say to me that if they (the minorities) are silent, who am I (a non-minority) to make a big fuss?
See the problem? I suppose that there are many Chinese who feel they should fight for minorities but because of the above, are silent too.
ed:
"SB:
In an attempt by minorities to emphasize that Singapore is a racist country, I have to remind you that you should not fall into the same trap. The above is stereotyping Chinese the way PAP is stereotyping minorities."
That is not stereotyping SB, as i've stated, that is personally the response i've gotten the past 11 years in all my personal interactions without exception.
I'm sure that there are empathetic individuals such as yourself, but it is surely telling that i've never met any here (and my social circle is wide and spans those of various socio economic status, and are mostly chinese with a smattering of Indians and Eurasians) - whilst the inverse is true in the UK. The contrast has always served as a 'culture shock' since my first return from the UK. And generally speaking, what is considered as gross racism there is past unnoticed in singapore, or at least without any fuss whatsoever online or off. What do you think that indicates? And about the people?
The point is if these are exceptions rather than the rule. If the latter is true, we ought to be inquiring after the conditions that produce it. As i've always stated, it is not the 'race', but the perspective/culture.
And yes, i'm aware that you have claimed that you are Chinese - and i'm willing to take your word for it.
As for my remaining silent whilst you are fighting for 'my' rights. I suppose you meant the Indians. For myself, personally, i've never really considered myself as an 'Indian' since my late teens (80s) when i realised that i would do better being cosmopolitan. However, the problem is that others refuse to see myself as anything but, and therefore do not accept my 'idiosyncrasies' as they might the 'whites' - the inverse is true in the UK where i enjoyed quite a bit of popularity.
From my personal interactions, since the 80s, i've often noticed that the Indians tend to shrug off politics with the oft-heard phrase - 'ah, what can we do? The Chinese are the majority, and they aren't going to listen.' Perhaps that is quite defeatist, but in my personal interactions, for the purpose of testing their assumption, as stated, that has been my personal 'offline' experience without exception.
Again, the purpose is not to vilify, but to find the cause.
Alright, i'm off to the UK. Have a good weekend.
*****end
In sum,
It's not enough to state that we know there is discrimination. What we have to consider is the our personal response to it; the degree to which we notice it in its various manifestations; and our reactions to discussions of it.
I have found, over the course of more than a decade, that 'offline' reactions aren't too dissimilar to 'online' ones. For instance, an article on discrimination could garner as much as more than a hundred 'hits', but with no comments. It is an interesting situation indeed. As stated, inquiries have to be made into its causes so that it may be eradicated. It's never the 'race', but the perspective, and the conditions that produce it.
God/Providence bless all, regardless of race.
a2ed
Friday, 30 April 2010
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
'Britain is a nation of migrants' - recommended read for SG bloggers/opposition
Certainly a must-read for aspiring democrats. Singapore's 'opposition', take note.
"
Britain is a nation of migrants
Our rulers have always tried to sow divisions among workers but there is a powerful history of class solidarity, writes Gary McFarlane
Britain is a land built by migrants. After all, there was no one inhabiting these islands 50,000 years ago, and for most of human history there were no international borders.
The emergence of the modern British nation state and the advent of a global economy brought with it the movement of capital in search of profit and the movement of people in search of work.
Britain, home of the industrial revolution, saw successive waves of immigration from the 19th century onwards.
It was driven by the needs of capitalists to find an adequate supply of workers.
However, from the beginning, the capitalist class also grasped that the migration of cheap labour into the country provided them with a ready mechanism for dividing working people.
This was not automatic. It depended on an invented common identity of Britishness, which offered a false sense of solidarity between workers and bosses, while dividing native born from “foreign workers”.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the treatment of Irish workers who came to Britain in the 19th century to work on the canals and railways.
They were forced to leave their homes—much like Roma people in Slovakia today—because of impoverishment or oppression, and usually both.
Competition
The next time you walk down a canal towpath or ride a train think of the thousands of Irish labourers—the navvies—who died building the infrastructure of the industrial revolution, housed in the most squalid living conditions imaginable.
Textile mill bosses also imported Irish workers. Initially this was often to use them as strikebreakers.
In situations of sharpened competition in the labour market among low-skilled workers, it is not difficult to see how tensions arose.
Karl Marx observed the process and got straight to the heart of the matter:
“Every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a working class divided into two hostile camps… The ordinary English worker hates the Irish worker as a competitor who lowers his standards of life.
“In relation to the Irish worker he feels himself a member of the ruling nation and so turns himself into a tool of the aristocrats and capitalists of his own country against Ireland, thus strengthening their domination over himself.”
Marx went on to explain how this antagonism was kept alive by “the press, the pulpit and the comic papers” in much the same way that the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express do today, with their relentless attacks on migrants and Muslims.
But there was another process cutting aganist the divisions between workers.
The bringing together of workers in the factory system created a need for unity against the common enemy exploiting their labour.
Despite the best efforts of the capitalists to stoke racism, the impulse to class solidarity was often stronger.
Many leading members of the Chartists, Britain’s first mass workers’ movement in the mid 19th century, came from the ranks of Irish labourers.
Class fighters such as Feargus O’Connor and James Bronterre O’Brien led British workers into struggle, as did other “foreign” workers like the black Chartist organiser William Cuffay.
Unfortunately the Chartists were defeated, and racist ideas were able to fester.
Liberal
The New Unionism of the 1880s brought a new wave of Irish activists into politics.
Ireland was officially part of Britain at this time so there was no issue of immigration controls—it was the availability of work not controls that adjusted the flow.
At the end of the 19th century millions of Jews from the economically undeveloped parts of eastern Europe fled poverty and persecution.
State-sponsored pogroms killed thousands of Jews in Russia and Poland.
Three million largely poor Jews migrated to the US and perhaps a quarter of a million to Britain.
Ruling class figures responded with racism. Tory MP William Evans Gordon said in parliament in 1902, “Not a day passes but English families are ruthlessly turned out to make room for foreign invaders.”
This racism paved the way for the Aliens Act of 1905, the first to limit immigration and which defined some groups of migrants as “undesirable”.
It made it easier for racists to argue that Jewish people were a problem in British society.
However Jewish workers came together with other sections of the working class.
In the 1930s fascist attempts to turn “native” Britons against Jews were defeated on the streets
The long economic boom after the Second World War saw capitalists respond to increasing demand for labour by again looking to workers from overseas.
This time they looked further afield in the British Empire—to the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent—for workers to plug the shortages in areas such as public transport and the hospitals.
Black people soon found that the land of opportunity was also a land of racism.
Some landlords and pubs in places like London and Birmingham put up signs saying, “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”.
But members of the Communist Party organised reception committees to welcome the new workers and to help them settle in.
However there was no automatic unity among the oppressed.
Some established migrants, who had become assimilated into British society, came to view more recent immigrants as outsiders, and at times as a threat.
Superior
Some British people of Irish backgrounds could be among the most antagonistic towards Black people, seeing their own “whiteness” as making them superior to African-Caribbeans.
Post-war Britain’s open door policy wasn’t to last as the boom ebbed and turn into crisis towards the end 1960s.
The Tory politician Enoch Powell who had once implored Jamaicans and others to come to find work in the “mother country”, now scapegoated black and Asian immigrants for the mounting problems faced by a British economy in decline.
This was even though many so-called immigrants were in fact born in the country.
The 1971 Immigration Act brought a shuddering halt to “primary” immigration to Britain.
Future migrants would be the dependants of those already here and not new workers.
But the rising racism, especially in the mid 1970s, led to a powerful anti-racist response that reached a crescendo with the formation of the Anti Nazi League (ANL).
The ANL drove the predecessors of the Nazi British National Party (BNP), the National Front, off our streets.
Today asylum seekers, living in forced destitution, are blamed for “ruining areas” and bringing crime.
Or in the case of “economic migrants”, like those from new European Union countries in eastern Europe like the Irish before them, lowering wages.
It can sometimes appear easier to kick the “foreign” worker next to you, especially during times of low class struggle, such as after the defeat of the Chartists in the 19th century.
Equally however, during times of rising struggle, divisions are overcome time and time again.
A key task of socialists today is to harness that class solidarity to fight both against the bosses and in defence of the rights of all working people, regardless of spurious notions of nation and race.
Socialists must act as “tribunes of the oppressed”, as the Russian revolutionary Lenin put it. We must oppose all racism and bigotry
Today that means standing up against Islamophobia and racism, and breaking the back of the organisations these twin poisons are breeding, the Nazi BNP and the English Defence League."
source: Socialist Worker
"
Britain is a nation of migrants
Our rulers have always tried to sow divisions among workers but there is a powerful history of class solidarity, writes Gary McFarlane
Britain is a land built by migrants. After all, there was no one inhabiting these islands 50,000 years ago, and for most of human history there were no international borders.
The emergence of the modern British nation state and the advent of a global economy brought with it the movement of capital in search of profit and the movement of people in search of work.
Britain, home of the industrial revolution, saw successive waves of immigration from the 19th century onwards.
It was driven by the needs of capitalists to find an adequate supply of workers.
However, from the beginning, the capitalist class also grasped that the migration of cheap labour into the country provided them with a ready mechanism for dividing working people.
This was not automatic. It depended on an invented common identity of Britishness, which offered a false sense of solidarity between workers and bosses, while dividing native born from “foreign workers”.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the treatment of Irish workers who came to Britain in the 19th century to work on the canals and railways.
They were forced to leave their homes—much like Roma people in Slovakia today—because of impoverishment or oppression, and usually both.
Competition
The next time you walk down a canal towpath or ride a train think of the thousands of Irish labourers—the navvies—who died building the infrastructure of the industrial revolution, housed in the most squalid living conditions imaginable.
Textile mill bosses also imported Irish workers. Initially this was often to use them as strikebreakers.
In situations of sharpened competition in the labour market among low-skilled workers, it is not difficult to see how tensions arose.
Karl Marx observed the process and got straight to the heart of the matter:
“Every industrial and commercial centre in England now possesses a working class divided into two hostile camps… The ordinary English worker hates the Irish worker as a competitor who lowers his standards of life.
“In relation to the Irish worker he feels himself a member of the ruling nation and so turns himself into a tool of the aristocrats and capitalists of his own country against Ireland, thus strengthening their domination over himself.”
Marx went on to explain how this antagonism was kept alive by “the press, the pulpit and the comic papers” in much the same way that the Sun, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express do today, with their relentless attacks on migrants and Muslims.
But there was another process cutting aganist the divisions between workers.
The bringing together of workers in the factory system created a need for unity against the common enemy exploiting their labour.
Despite the best efforts of the capitalists to stoke racism, the impulse to class solidarity was often stronger.
Many leading members of the Chartists, Britain’s first mass workers’ movement in the mid 19th century, came from the ranks of Irish labourers.
Class fighters such as Feargus O’Connor and James Bronterre O’Brien led British workers into struggle, as did other “foreign” workers like the black Chartist organiser William Cuffay.
Unfortunately the Chartists were defeated, and racist ideas were able to fester.
Liberal
The New Unionism of the 1880s brought a new wave of Irish activists into politics.
Ireland was officially part of Britain at this time so there was no issue of immigration controls—it was the availability of work not controls that adjusted the flow.
At the end of the 19th century millions of Jews from the economically undeveloped parts of eastern Europe fled poverty and persecution.
State-sponsored pogroms killed thousands of Jews in Russia and Poland.
Three million largely poor Jews migrated to the US and perhaps a quarter of a million to Britain.
Ruling class figures responded with racism. Tory MP William Evans Gordon said in parliament in 1902, “Not a day passes but English families are ruthlessly turned out to make room for foreign invaders.”
This racism paved the way for the Aliens Act of 1905, the first to limit immigration and which defined some groups of migrants as “undesirable”.
It made it easier for racists to argue that Jewish people were a problem in British society.
However Jewish workers came together with other sections of the working class.
In the 1930s fascist attempts to turn “native” Britons against Jews were defeated on the streets
The long economic boom after the Second World War saw capitalists respond to increasing demand for labour by again looking to workers from overseas.
This time they looked further afield in the British Empire—to the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent—for workers to plug the shortages in areas such as public transport and the hospitals.
Black people soon found that the land of opportunity was also a land of racism.
Some landlords and pubs in places like London and Birmingham put up signs saying, “No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”.
But members of the Communist Party organised reception committees to welcome the new workers and to help them settle in.
However there was no automatic unity among the oppressed.
Some established migrants, who had become assimilated into British society, came to view more recent immigrants as outsiders, and at times as a threat.
Superior
Some British people of Irish backgrounds could be among the most antagonistic towards Black people, seeing their own “whiteness” as making them superior to African-Caribbeans.
Post-war Britain’s open door policy wasn’t to last as the boom ebbed and turn into crisis towards the end 1960s.
The Tory politician Enoch Powell who had once implored Jamaicans and others to come to find work in the “mother country”, now scapegoated black and Asian immigrants for the mounting problems faced by a British economy in decline.
This was even though many so-called immigrants were in fact born in the country.
The 1971 Immigration Act brought a shuddering halt to “primary” immigration to Britain.
Future migrants would be the dependants of those already here and not new workers.
But the rising racism, especially in the mid 1970s, led to a powerful anti-racist response that reached a crescendo with the formation of the Anti Nazi League (ANL).
The ANL drove the predecessors of the Nazi British National Party (BNP), the National Front, off our streets.
Today asylum seekers, living in forced destitution, are blamed for “ruining areas” and bringing crime.
Or in the case of “economic migrants”, like those from new European Union countries in eastern Europe like the Irish before them, lowering wages.
It can sometimes appear easier to kick the “foreign” worker next to you, especially during times of low class struggle, such as after the defeat of the Chartists in the 19th century.
Equally however, during times of rising struggle, divisions are overcome time and time again.
A key task of socialists today is to harness that class solidarity to fight both against the bosses and in defence of the rights of all working people, regardless of spurious notions of nation and race.
Socialists must act as “tribunes of the oppressed”, as the Russian revolutionary Lenin put it. We must oppose all racism and bigotry
Today that means standing up against Islamophobia and racism, and breaking the back of the organisations these twin poisons are breeding, the Nazi BNP and the English Defence League."
source: Socialist Worker
Saturday, 24 April 2010
on Migrant workers & International Labour - no, we did not build this city on rock & roll
“Britain is a land built by migrants”...goes the latest article featured in The Socialist Worker (UK).
[Socialist Worker: Britain is a nation of migrants]
Whilst, on the one hand, many Socialists chant this mantra in the face of fascist impulses, and on the other, call for international solidarity amongst workers, what is not stated in the same breath is the fact that just about any nation is built, not only by migrants, but by international labour.
Foreign contribution to Britain’s economy, for instance, did not begin with the influx of migrants and foreign labour, but with the exploitation of resources in foreign climes. If not, why would the west have ‘scrambled for concessions’ in China, or colonised Africa, India, South America, s.e.Asia, et cetera? And are not products of varying origins, worked by a nationally fragmented labour force? The profits may be nationally accrued, or perhaps shared amongst a transnational elite, but the efforts put into are international in origin. No sir, we did not ‘build this city on (homegrown) rock & roll’ as juvenile minds once crooned. We built this city, any city, on the concerted efforts of nationally blinkered international labour. And hence, all are sleeping partners, silent investors, in the nation of of humanity despite nationality. If 'Rock & Roll' served any purpose, its most significant achievement is in presenting the proles with an impotent alternative to philosophers, and enabling the disempowered to live their significance vicariously. Pah!
The fascist shite-meisters populating all nations on the planet, and who require the continuation of the hallowed ‘nation-state’ to fragment labour and keep them toiling for them and against each other will have it no other way - at least till regions have been developed into culturally disparate superstates.
In this sense, to go on about how our nation is built by migrant workers, as I have myself in stating that singapore is largely a land of migrants and the xenophobic fascists ought to shut up about how foreigners are ‘taking our jobs’, sort of validates the nationally-fragmented status of labour does it not? But, no discredit to The Socialist Worker as they have, many a time, stated the need for international worker solidarity. But to the rest of of us, we ought to watch ourselves in our fight with fascism and not fight for the inclusion of foreigners, whilst validating the fragmentation of international labour by what is left unsaid.
a2ed
[Socialist Worker: Britain is a nation of migrants]
Whilst, on the one hand, many Socialists chant this mantra in the face of fascist impulses, and on the other, call for international solidarity amongst workers, what is not stated in the same breath is the fact that just about any nation is built, not only by migrants, but by international labour.
Foreign contribution to Britain’s economy, for instance, did not begin with the influx of migrants and foreign labour, but with the exploitation of resources in foreign climes. If not, why would the west have ‘scrambled for concessions’ in China, or colonised Africa, India, South America, s.e.Asia, et cetera? And are not products of varying origins, worked by a nationally fragmented labour force? The profits may be nationally accrued, or perhaps shared amongst a transnational elite, but the efforts put into are international in origin. No sir, we did not ‘build this city on (homegrown) rock & roll’ as juvenile minds once crooned. We built this city, any city, on the concerted efforts of nationally blinkered international labour. And hence, all are sleeping partners, silent investors, in the nation of of humanity despite nationality. If 'Rock & Roll' served any purpose, its most significant achievement is in presenting the proles with an impotent alternative to philosophers, and enabling the disempowered to live their significance vicariously. Pah!
The fascist shite-meisters populating all nations on the planet, and who require the continuation of the hallowed ‘nation-state’ to fragment labour and keep them toiling for them and against each other will have it no other way - at least till regions have been developed into culturally disparate superstates.
In this sense, to go on about how our nation is built by migrant workers, as I have myself in stating that singapore is largely a land of migrants and the xenophobic fascists ought to shut up about how foreigners are ‘taking our jobs’, sort of validates the nationally-fragmented status of labour does it not? But, no discredit to The Socialist Worker as they have, many a time, stated the need for international worker solidarity. But to the rest of of us, we ought to watch ourselves in our fight with fascism and not fight for the inclusion of foreigners, whilst validating the fragmentation of international labour by what is left unsaid.
a2ed
Sunday, 18 April 2010
On this ‘native-born singaporean’ nonsense, in brief
At first, to the ‘opposition’ and most bloggers, it was ‘singaporean’ vs ‘foreigner’, and now the lingo has mutated into ‘native-born singaporean’ vs ‘foreigner.
Perhaps, due to the bashing the ‘opposition’ in singapore has been receiving from the few out there whom are not obtuse enough to appreciate the fact that most singaporeans have ‘foreigner’ forefathers, terminology has changed, albeit not the fascist stance.
I would put this pervasive fascism down to largely 3 causes. Firstly, the eradication of the socialist spirit; secondly, the infusion of the legalist-confucian ethos; and monocultural policies pursued, along with its consequential impact on the population who’ve basically been taught that the ‘majority’ way is the only way worthy of cognizance. All three compromise the egalitarian spirit. Hence, it is no surprise that even the ‘opposition’ can reflexively disregard the interests of the non-majority time and again.
Getting back to the issue of ‘native-born singaporeans’, it seems that oppositional elements are certainly painting themselves into a corner with such terminology. ‘Singaporean’ vs ‘foreigner’ was bad enough, and a2ed has quite often bashed these fascist twits on this point. So perhaps they think they can hide themselves behind ‘native-born’ instead.
There are quite a few arguments against the sense of such a term. For instance, would it be alright if the ‘foreigner’ was allowed to hang about long enough before they pop out a kid whilst here? The child would then be ‘native-born’ wouldn’t they. Would the oppositional/fascist elements have a problem with it then? So is their angst based on nothing other than the ‘foreigner’ having yet to cervically dilate locally?
And if you were to think about it, how much more value would the ‘foreigner’ have added to the economy upon their arrival than your kid who’s yet to be weaned of her/is pacifier. By the time your kid comes of age and contributes to the nation’s economy and be able to pay for an exorbitantly priced and cholesterol-rich fried kway tiao out of her/is own pocket - and to the PAP’s salary hikes - wouldn’t any ‘subsidy’ that s/he might have, and will enjoy, come from, in part, from the exploitation of the non native-born ‘foreigner’?
Or are you going to say that you, as a ‘native-born’ parent, have already contributed to the economy in lieu of your child’s contribution? Well, I don’t see why a ‘foreign-born’ parent can’t say the same thing.
And, of course, let’s not forget - and this goes out to the non-Malays - that at some point in the not too distant past, your progenitors were ‘foreigners’ as well. Well, you ought to be glad that the Malays didn’t take the stance you’re taking at present in the historical past, or you might possibly, and presently, be crying foul of tainted milk products in China, or, walking a mile for water in India.
So please, to all you oppositional elements, bloggers, ‘netizens’, and whatever out there, shut up about your being ‘native-born’ and try another.
ed
Perhaps, due to the bashing the ‘opposition’ in singapore has been receiving from the few out there whom are not obtuse enough to appreciate the fact that most singaporeans have ‘foreigner’ forefathers, terminology has changed, albeit not the fascist stance.
I would put this pervasive fascism down to largely 3 causes. Firstly, the eradication of the socialist spirit; secondly, the infusion of the legalist-confucian ethos; and monocultural policies pursued, along with its consequential impact on the population who’ve basically been taught that the ‘majority’ way is the only way worthy of cognizance. All three compromise the egalitarian spirit. Hence, it is no surprise that even the ‘opposition’ can reflexively disregard the interests of the non-majority time and again.
Getting back to the issue of ‘native-born singaporeans’, it seems that oppositional elements are certainly painting themselves into a corner with such terminology. ‘Singaporean’ vs ‘foreigner’ was bad enough, and a2ed has quite often bashed these fascist twits on this point. So perhaps they think they can hide themselves behind ‘native-born’ instead.
There are quite a few arguments against the sense of such a term. For instance, would it be alright if the ‘foreigner’ was allowed to hang about long enough before they pop out a kid whilst here? The child would then be ‘native-born’ wouldn’t they. Would the oppositional/fascist elements have a problem with it then? So is their angst based on nothing other than the ‘foreigner’ having yet to cervically dilate locally?
And if you were to think about it, how much more value would the ‘foreigner’ have added to the economy upon their arrival than your kid who’s yet to be weaned of her/is pacifier. By the time your kid comes of age and contributes to the nation’s economy and be able to pay for an exorbitantly priced and cholesterol-rich fried kway tiao out of her/is own pocket - and to the PAP’s salary hikes - wouldn’t any ‘subsidy’ that s/he might have, and will enjoy, come from, in part, from the exploitation of the non native-born ‘foreigner’?
Or are you going to say that you, as a ‘native-born’ parent, have already contributed to the economy in lieu of your child’s contribution? Well, I don’t see why a ‘foreign-born’ parent can’t say the same thing.
And, of course, let’s not forget - and this goes out to the non-Malays - that at some point in the not too distant past, your progenitors were ‘foreigners’ as well. Well, you ought to be glad that the Malays didn’t take the stance you’re taking at present in the historical past, or you might possibly, and presently, be crying foul of tainted milk products in China, or, walking a mile for water in India.
So please, to all you oppositional elements, bloggers, ‘netizens’, and whatever out there, shut up about your being ‘native-born’ and try another.
ed
Saturday, 17 April 2010
In sum, Gatecrash Water Festival - Nazi Scum wall of shame
The fascist 'Gatecrash Water Festival' Facebook site, publicised with a write-up and site-images by Nazi Temasek Review under 'headlines', further publicised by TOC under 'main stories', and colluded with by all other 'oppositional' parties via their silence-cum-'singapore for singaporeans' rhetoric, reads,
"Dear Singapore Citizens,
Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisation (GRO) is organising a Water Festival specially to welcome the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
http://www.bukitbatok.sg/node/45
The funds used to host the event are likely to come from the mega $10-million dollar Community Integration Fund unveiled by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) last year to make the foreigners feel accepted and happy in Singapore.
I hope that those who are not supportive of the government wasting taxpayers' money on foreigners to turn up in BLACK on that day.
Please help forward this invite and encourage your friends and family to attend this event.
Thank you."
A2ED initiated a counter movement - Support Water Festival - which was publicised under 'letters' with no accompanying write-up, site-images, etc. TOC didn't respond to the email regarding this initiative. Our standpoint,
"Dear Singaporeans,
Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisation is organising a Water Festival specially to welcome the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
The funds used to host the event are certainly derived in significant part from the amount of profit accrued from the exploitation of foreign and local labour. In this, we are one.
We are pro-integration and do not view the majority of existing singaporeans as having a monopoly over culture, economics, etc. If we have a problem, we ought to take it up with the government and not vilify new foreigners or view their cultural practices as an intrusion.
I hope those whom are not supportive of the Nazi Scum comprising the 'Gatecrash Water Festival' will join this site in support of egalitarian multiculturalism, appreciate that the distinction between 'foreigners' and 'locals' is illusory, and that most of 'us and them' share the same plight in the face of the elite.
Those whom are in support of this anti-fascist initiative, please turn up for the event with a sign of any sort welcoming the new foreigners and/or join in the festivities - or at the very least, join the facebook site to show your support.
No violence please."
Well, just for the record, the following 'Nazi Scum Wall of Shame' is included in this observation. Those signing up with the GWF site may have various reasons for doing so. But whatever their reasons, it serves to validate the perspective that fronts their site. A2ED stands in firm opposition to this and the all too pervasive mindset founding it.
NAZI SCUM WALL OF SHAME
Anti-Fascist Members of the 'Support Water Festival' Initiative
Thanks to my dear old friend, Yeo Hong Ho, aka, 'lobsang Sanggye', for publicising this initiative amongst his circle.
related articles:
Irate netizen calls on Singaporeans to gatecrash “Water Festival” with TR's support
Anti-Fascist Initiative - Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival!
Partial Retraction & Thanks to TR: counter-'Gatecrash Water Festival' initiative
Support Water Festival initiative - in comment, at Temasek Review
a2ed
"Dear Singapore Citizens,
Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisation (GRO) is organising a Water Festival specially to welcome the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
http://www.bukitbatok.sg/node/45
The funds used to host the event are likely to come from the mega $10-million dollar Community Integration Fund unveiled by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) last year to make the foreigners feel accepted and happy in Singapore.
I hope that those who are not supportive of the government wasting taxpayers' money on foreigners to turn up in BLACK on that day.
Please help forward this invite and encourage your friends and family to attend this event.
Thank you."
A2ED initiated a counter movement - Support Water Festival - which was publicised under 'letters' with no accompanying write-up, site-images, etc. TOC didn't respond to the email regarding this initiative. Our standpoint,
"Dear Singaporeans,
Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisation is organising a Water Festival specially to welcome the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
The funds used to host the event are certainly derived in significant part from the amount of profit accrued from the exploitation of foreign and local labour. In this, we are one.
We are pro-integration and do not view the majority of existing singaporeans as having a monopoly over culture, economics, etc. If we have a problem, we ought to take it up with the government and not vilify new foreigners or view their cultural practices as an intrusion.
I hope those whom are not supportive of the Nazi Scum comprising the 'Gatecrash Water Festival' will join this site in support of egalitarian multiculturalism, appreciate that the distinction between 'foreigners' and 'locals' is illusory, and that most of 'us and them' share the same plight in the face of the elite.
Those whom are in support of this anti-fascist initiative, please turn up for the event with a sign of any sort welcoming the new foreigners and/or join in the festivities - or at the very least, join the facebook site to show your support.
No violence please."
Well, just for the record, the following 'Nazi Scum Wall of Shame' is included in this observation. Those signing up with the GWF site may have various reasons for doing so. But whatever their reasons, it serves to validate the perspective that fronts their site. A2ED stands in firm opposition to this and the all too pervasive mindset founding it.
NAZI SCUM WALL OF SHAME
Anti-Fascist Members of the 'Support Water Festival' Initiative
Thanks to my dear old friend, Yeo Hong Ho, aka, 'lobsang Sanggye', for publicising this initiative amongst his circle.
related articles:
Irate netizen calls on Singaporeans to gatecrash “Water Festival” with TR's support
Anti-Fascist Initiative - Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival!
Partial Retraction & Thanks to TR: counter-'Gatecrash Water Festival' initiative
Support Water Festival initiative - in comment, at Temasek Review
a2ed
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Socialist Party UK : Come to Lewisham
The following is an email received by myself from Sarah of the TUSC.
A2ed supports the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Now the election has been called we are getting a better response from people so please come out and canvas or leaflet with us to keep the Socialist Party councillors in Lewisham. This is an urgent task!
Please call me to let me know if you can come.
I met Jack from Basildon and he said he would come if he was contacted.
The manifestos of the main parties avoid the main issues of the day and are unstintingly anti-working class in content, pretending to offer choice. In reality, as we know, it will be more of the same... cuts, cuts, cuts...
Canvassing and leafleting
We're out Monday - Sunday at 11am, 2pm and 6pm for two-hour slots.
I know it's a lot to ask but there's only 20 odd days until 6 May. Once people know we're standing they are happy to hear there's an alternative to the sound-bite politics of the machete-wielding big business parties.
Take care,
Sarah Sachs-Eldridge
A2ed supports the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.
Now the election has been called we are getting a better response from people so please come out and canvas or leaflet with us to keep the Socialist Party councillors in Lewisham. This is an urgent task!
Please call me to let me know if you can come.
I met Jack from Basildon and he said he would come if he was contacted.
The manifestos of the main parties avoid the main issues of the day and are unstintingly anti-working class in content, pretending to offer choice. In reality, as we know, it will be more of the same... cuts, cuts, cuts...
Canvassing and leafleting
We're out Monday - Sunday at 11am, 2pm and 6pm for two-hour slots.
I know it's a lot to ask but there's only 20 odd days until 6 May. Once people know we're standing they are happy to hear there's an alternative to the sound-bite politics of the machete-wielding big business parties.
Take care,
Sarah Sachs-Eldridge
Monday, 12 April 2010
Support Water Festival initiative - in comment, at Temasek Review
Comments for ‘Support Water Festival’ Initiative @ Temasek Review as of 12th April, 2010, 3:35pm. The article was published by TR on 3rd April, 2010.
Comment by a2ed may be found at the end.
stop wasting water:
April 3, 2010 at 11:43 am
“Those whom are in support of this anti-fascist initiative, please turn up for the event with a placard or sign of any sort welcoming the new foreigners and join in the festivities.”
turn up wwith placard? can ah? so if people hold a placard that read “Stop Wasting Water! Stop Now!”, is this ok?
Papsmear:
April 3, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Obviously this guy is new to SG !
Turn up in placards ? He must be an idiot living in Dreamland.
Jus 5 ppl walking will be enuff to become a Case…..hey ! haven’t you read ?
Stupid F/ts ,talking stupid nonsense !
Lee Suan You:
April 3, 2010 at 1:47 pm
joke of the day, seriously. he deserves some cum splashing instead.
cy:
April 3, 2010 at 3:06 pm
wow, is the water festival going to turn into a la bangkok red shirt vs pink shirt vs yellow shirt vs …
i bet the police will be stationed there. hope TR will cover this event.
LIONS ROAR:
April 3, 2010 at 6:20 pm
could we be more honest by changing the name to ‘SUPPORT THE WASTE WATER CAMPAIGN” instead…that is more apt!
gm:
April 4, 2010 at 12:59 am
Bunch of lucky PR/ foreigner already have enough blessing from PAP/ PA member, unless PR/ foreigner are same as PAP/ PA member who are too obsessed with own achievement
Sole illusion is PR/ foreigner think too highly of themselves, but sad fact is Singaporean has long lost pride in country with government that no longer represent people
However, most upright common Singaporean would not stoop to any mischief; neither would most Singaporean oblige to be in cohort with such extreme pro-foreigner stance
brownleo:
April 4, 2010 at 1:08 am
not only the gahmen does not represent the people the gahmen longer respect the people and r not sensitive to the feelings of the people. The citizens who are around, they take it for granted that these people won’t leave.
These PRs, New Citizens and Foreigners even talk down . I think Singaporeans have been too accommodating? Too nice?
Confused:
April 4, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Water festival or Blood festival?
Can we spray BaBi blood instead?
Singaporean not stupid3:
April 5, 2010 at 2:49 pm
This idiot , must be a FT .
He think singapore can walk in group holding placard .
Crazy son of a Gun , he don’t know what is call ISA number 55 .
Knn.. lu Pui Pui smelly FT how much water you
pour also smelly lar.
Bird Talk:
April 7, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Straits Times Jan 23, 2003
Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew has on occasion reminded Malaysia’s top leadership that Singapore would not hesitate to go in and defend the water catchment areas in Johor in an emergency in order to ensure that Singapore continued to receive its water supply.
He told British Foreign Office officer, Ms Veronica E. Feign secretly that “if Malaysia attempts to amend the terms of the agreement, Singapore will see it as an act of war”.
———————
Yet, Bukit Batok Community Club is planning to waste our precious water for fun and party!
sukhoi27:
April 7, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Singapore Minister Yaacob Ibrahim Addresses the World Water Forum in Turkey Mar 20, 2009.
“Dr. Ibrahim spoke about Singapore’s experience in Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), and facing similar water challenges to what many countries experience today, notably the need to provide sufficient water and basic sanitation.”
Is Singapore a part of the world community on World Water Day?
“A shortage of water resources could spell increased conflicts in the future. Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon.” — Ban Ki-Moon (UN)
wetones:
April 7, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I will surely support this event!
Please tell me if i can use Boiling Hot Water!! can make tea at the same time.
bloc:
April 9, 2010 at 9:21 am
confused you illiterate fool. Whats the point of the “babi” blood comment? Im not a muslim but you are obviously trying to take a crack at em for something. Maybe you should get your head out your arse and notice that many Singaporeans are Muslims and that Cambodians, Laotians, Burmese, and most Thais are not. Even if you did find something equally offensive to splash on these people what is the point?
Blame the policies not the people. If an opportunity is there you will take it. They owe us nothing. Our government owes us everything.
Please stop being such a Nazi thug, and use your head and your heart.
stupid-son-of-Singapore:
April 11, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Hello Bird Talk – well rationalised.
native Singaporean NS Men to be sent to defend n die for precious water catchment areas while waters are wasted on foreigners.
Next maybe native Singaporean NS Men deploy on our streets to suppress protestors and supporters of oppositions.
stupid-son-of-Singapore:
April 11, 2010 at 2:03 pm
We should frequently verify the words n actions of public servants who are in powerful positions; especially those who are also highly paid.
We can cross-reference what they do & say today with those of yesterday, last week, last month, last year, 3 years ago and 10 years ago or their actions n words from other issues.
Consciously one can scheme n fabricate our actions n words to deceive others; however,
One’s sub-conscious and un-conscious state of mind will betray one in moments of anxiety, excitement, stress, forgetfulness, urgency, emergency and etc.
My advice to all of you who aspire to have a more democratic, more leveled, fairer Singapore to scrutinize all who are in public service – including the politicians – more so the entrenched old foxes n wolves.
A2ed:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
April 12, 2010 at 3:24 pm
One can support the Water Festival in the spirit of cultural egalitarianism but still have reservations with regards to the water. In this, we are appreciating the culture of another whilst seeking a way to address related and pragmatic concerns.
To do otherwise is to throw the baby out in favour of the bathwater mates.
ed
postscript: p.s. I retracted the original supportive 'placard' call in favour of participation or a sign of some sort that does not amount to a demonstration - since the water festival isn't being held in 'speakers corner'.
Comment by a2ed may be found at the end.
stop wasting water:
April 3, 2010 at 11:43 am
“Those whom are in support of this anti-fascist initiative, please turn up for the event with a placard or sign of any sort welcoming the new foreigners and join in the festivities.”
turn up wwith placard? can ah? so if people hold a placard that read “Stop Wasting Water! Stop Now!”, is this ok?
Papsmear:
April 3, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Obviously this guy is new to SG !
Turn up in placards ? He must be an idiot living in Dreamland.
Jus 5 ppl walking will be enuff to become a Case…..hey ! haven’t you read ?
Stupid F/ts ,talking stupid nonsense !
Lee Suan You:
April 3, 2010 at 1:47 pm
joke of the day, seriously. he deserves some cum splashing instead.
cy:
April 3, 2010 at 3:06 pm
wow, is the water festival going to turn into a la bangkok red shirt vs pink shirt vs yellow shirt vs …
i bet the police will be stationed there. hope TR will cover this event.
LIONS ROAR:
April 3, 2010 at 6:20 pm
could we be more honest by changing the name to ‘SUPPORT THE WASTE WATER CAMPAIGN” instead…that is more apt!
gm:
April 4, 2010 at 12:59 am
Bunch of lucky PR/ foreigner already have enough blessing from PAP/ PA member, unless PR/ foreigner are same as PAP/ PA member who are too obsessed with own achievement
Sole illusion is PR/ foreigner think too highly of themselves, but sad fact is Singaporean has long lost pride in country with government that no longer represent people
However, most upright common Singaporean would not stoop to any mischief; neither would most Singaporean oblige to be in cohort with such extreme pro-foreigner stance
brownleo:
April 4, 2010 at 1:08 am
not only the gahmen does not represent the people the gahmen longer respect the people and r not sensitive to the feelings of the people. The citizens who are around, they take it for granted that these people won’t leave.
These PRs, New Citizens and Foreigners even talk down . I think Singaporeans have been too accommodating? Too nice?
Confused:
April 4, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Water festival or Blood festival?
Can we spray BaBi blood instead?
Singaporean not stupid3:
April 5, 2010 at 2:49 pm
This idiot , must be a FT .
He think singapore can walk in group holding placard .
Crazy son of a Gun , he don’t know what is call ISA number 55 .
Knn.. lu Pui Pui smelly FT how much water you
pour also smelly lar.
Bird Talk:
April 7, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Straits Times Jan 23, 2003
Singapore Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew has on occasion reminded Malaysia’s top leadership that Singapore would not hesitate to go in and defend the water catchment areas in Johor in an emergency in order to ensure that Singapore continued to receive its water supply.
He told British Foreign Office officer, Ms Veronica E. Feign secretly that “if Malaysia attempts to amend the terms of the agreement, Singapore will see it as an act of war”.
———————
Yet, Bukit Batok Community Club is planning to waste our precious water for fun and party!
sukhoi27:
April 7, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Singapore Minister Yaacob Ibrahim Addresses the World Water Forum in Turkey Mar 20, 2009.
“Dr. Ibrahim spoke about Singapore’s experience in Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), and facing similar water challenges to what many countries experience today, notably the need to provide sufficient water and basic sanitation.”
Is Singapore a part of the world community on World Water Day?
“A shortage of water resources could spell increased conflicts in the future. Population growth will make the problem worse. So will climate change. As the global economy grows, so will its thirst. Many more conflicts lie just over the horizon.” — Ban Ki-Moon (UN)
wetones:
April 7, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I will surely support this event!
Please tell me if i can use Boiling Hot Water!! can make tea at the same time.
bloc:
April 9, 2010 at 9:21 am
confused you illiterate fool. Whats the point of the “babi” blood comment? Im not a muslim but you are obviously trying to take a crack at em for something. Maybe you should get your head out your arse and notice that many Singaporeans are Muslims and that Cambodians, Laotians, Burmese, and most Thais are not. Even if you did find something equally offensive to splash on these people what is the point?
Blame the policies not the people. If an opportunity is there you will take it. They owe us nothing. Our government owes us everything.
Please stop being such a Nazi thug, and use your head and your heart.
stupid-son-of-Singapore:
April 11, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Hello Bird Talk – well rationalised.
native Singaporean NS Men to be sent to defend n die for precious water catchment areas while waters are wasted on foreigners.
Next maybe native Singaporean NS Men deploy on our streets to suppress protestors and supporters of oppositions.
stupid-son-of-Singapore:
April 11, 2010 at 2:03 pm
We should frequently verify the words n actions of public servants who are in powerful positions; especially those who are also highly paid.
We can cross-reference what they do & say today with those of yesterday, last week, last month, last year, 3 years ago and 10 years ago or their actions n words from other issues.
Consciously one can scheme n fabricate our actions n words to deceive others; however,
One’s sub-conscious and un-conscious state of mind will betray one in moments of anxiety, excitement, stress, forgetfulness, urgency, emergency and etc.
My advice to all of you who aspire to have a more democratic, more leveled, fairer Singapore to scrutinize all who are in public service – including the politicians – more so the entrenched old foxes n wolves.
A2ed:
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
April 12, 2010 at 3:24 pm
One can support the Water Festival in the spirit of cultural egalitarianism but still have reservations with regards to the water. In this, we are appreciating the culture of another whilst seeking a way to address related and pragmatic concerns.
To do otherwise is to throw the baby out in favour of the bathwater mates.
ed
postscript: p.s. I retracted the original supportive 'placard' call in favour of participation or a sign of some sort that does not amount to a demonstration - since the water festival isn't being held in 'speakers corner'.
Sunday, 11 April 2010
More on TR’s bias toward the fascist ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’ initiative
More on TR’s bias toward the fascist ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’ initiative
For all those whom might be inclined to believe that Temasek Review is unbiased and non-fascist on the basis of their publishing a2ed’s ‘Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival’, well, one just has to look at the write-up and facebook screenshot that accompanied and served to support Aurora Long’s fascist ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’ initiative. I
The GWF initiative was also filed under ‘headlines’ whilst the SWF initiative was filed under ‘letters’ and no write-up or screenshot accompanied it. There is no reason why the SWF initiative could not have been filed under ‘headlines’ or accompanied by a supportive write-up and screenshot. It is in such differences that varying distinctions are accorded varying stances despite their being granted visibility. This is how agendas are set, and information variably presented for an intended effect, and by which public opinion is manipulated, along with the transmission of the perspective of the media source.
I’ll leave it to the reader to judge, on the basis of this evidence.
a2ed
For all those whom might be inclined to believe that Temasek Review is unbiased and non-fascist on the basis of their publishing a2ed’s ‘Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival’, well, one just has to look at the write-up and facebook screenshot that accompanied and served to support Aurora Long’s fascist ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’ initiative. I
The GWF initiative was also filed under ‘headlines’ whilst the SWF initiative was filed under ‘letters’ and no write-up or screenshot accompanied it. There is no reason why the SWF initiative could not have been filed under ‘headlines’ or accompanied by a supportive write-up and screenshot. It is in such differences that varying distinctions are accorded varying stances despite their being granted visibility. This is how agendas are set, and information variably presented for an intended effect, and by which public opinion is manipulated, along with the transmission of the perspective of the media source.
I’ll leave it to the reader to judge, on the basis of this evidence.
a2ed
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Partial Retraction & Thanks to TR: counter-'Gatecrash Water Festival' initiative
UPDATE
Thanks to 'the Exilian'(via the 'contact form' above) for directing my attention to Temasek Review's publishing of the Support Water Festival initiative the day after it was dispatched by a2ed.com.
See HERE
As previous communication between a2ed and TOC/TR had always resulted in an email dispatched by either, and this was not forthcoming in this instance, it was assumed that it had been ignored. Hence, thanks to TR for publicising this article - albeit to abjectly poor response.
But we are not about to fall for the usual strategy of whitewashing a main-fare fascist stance, as evidenced by their approach time and again, via the supply of side-dish egalitarianism. This acknowledged oversight on the part of a2ed does not, however, invalidate all previous points. That has to be proven, and not claimed via said oversight.
As of today, the 'Support Water Festival' initiative has 3 members - 2 of whom are old personal (chinese) friends of ed.
a2ed
***************
Just for experimental purposes, a2ed sent the ‘Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival’(SWF) statement to both The Online Citizen and Temasek Review for publishing a week ago to study their reactions or lack of.
Earlier, a2ed had taken issue with the silence of bloggers, TOC, TR, and political parties and their stooges in the face of the ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’(GWF) fascist initiative by ‘nazi scum’ Aurora Long et al. It was also interesting to discover that ‘democrat’ Alex Tan had also signed up with the Shutzstaffel of the GWF group. Well, it was presumed that TR would at least publish the SWF statement in order to cover up their fascist and racist stance in the face of ‘foreigners’ and difference. It is a simple enough strategy - put out a significant number of xenophobic/racist articles, garnish it with economic pragmatism, and then present a democratic image by throwing in a few egalitarian-type articles.
However, both TOC and TR didn’t even have the sense to do that and have thus made their support for the xenophobic/racist GWF initiative clear enough. (perhaps Ng E-Jay, the political editor of TOC, wants to preserve unity amongst the opposition as opposed to ensuring its democratic nature) That both are fascist is obvious enough to the astute observer, but it was thought that their effort to take advantage of this opportunity to whitewash their fascist stance with the SWF statement could at least be used to garner more exposure for this initiative.
For those whom might not have perused earlier articles by a2ed, TOC, TR and most bloggers and ‘netizens’ in singapore are verifiable ‘nazi scum’ (as the British would put it - and as they did in a recent demonstration against the EDL in Bolton, UK, March 20th). They have, on the one hand, turned nationality into ‘race’ and either vilify ‘foreigners’ or remain silent in the face of their vilification; and do not take as much issue, if at all, with that which impacts on the interests of the local non-Chinese. Hence, in essence, the local ‘democratic’ movement (which i term, ‘fascist democrats’, and whom are seeking to maintain or acquire more privileges for those advantaged as a result of the fascist ‘Singapore must always have a Chinese majority’ policy and ‘appreciate Mandarin and Chinese culture campaigns) can be viewed as a result of the fusion of xenophobia-cum-racism.
Personally, on the basis of previous email interactions, a2ed suspects there is a connection between TR and TOC. If so, one can understand the 'division of labour' betwixt both, with the former being blatantly fascist, whilst the latter adds the 'pragmatic' touch. But whether this is intentional on their part or not, it is a fact that the latter, along with political parties, etc, do not take issue with the Totally Reprehensible Nazi stance of TR. In this, they form a symbiotic union.
God save singaporeans from themselves.
a2ed
Thanks to 'the Exilian'(via the 'contact form' above) for directing my attention to Temasek Review's publishing of the Support Water Festival initiative the day after it was dispatched by a2ed.com.
See HERE
As previous communication between a2ed and TOC/TR had always resulted in an email dispatched by either, and this was not forthcoming in this instance, it was assumed that it had been ignored. Hence, thanks to TR for publicising this article - albeit to abjectly poor response.
But we are not about to fall for the usual strategy of whitewashing a main-fare fascist stance, as evidenced by their approach time and again, via the supply of side-dish egalitarianism. This acknowledged oversight on the part of a2ed does not, however, invalidate all previous points. That has to be proven, and not claimed via said oversight.
As of today, the 'Support Water Festival' initiative has 3 members - 2 of whom are old personal (chinese) friends of ed.
a2ed
***************
Just for experimental purposes, a2ed sent the ‘Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival’(SWF) statement to both The Online Citizen and Temasek Review for publishing a week ago to study their reactions or lack of.
Earlier, a2ed had taken issue with the silence of bloggers, TOC, TR, and political parties and their stooges in the face of the ‘Gatecrash Water Festival’(GWF) fascist initiative by ‘nazi scum’ Aurora Long et al. It was also interesting to discover that ‘democrat’ Alex Tan had also signed up with the Shutzstaffel of the GWF group. Well, it was presumed that TR would at least publish the SWF statement in order to cover up their fascist and racist stance in the face of ‘foreigners’ and difference. It is a simple enough strategy - put out a significant number of xenophobic/racist articles, garnish it with economic pragmatism, and then present a democratic image by throwing in a few egalitarian-type articles.
For those whom might not have perused earlier articles by a2ed, TOC, TR and most bloggers and ‘netizens’ in singapore are verifiable ‘nazi scum’ (as the British would put it - and as they did in a recent demonstration against the EDL in Bolton, UK, March 20th). They have, on the one hand, turned nationality into ‘race’ and either vilify ‘foreigners’ or remain silent in the face of their vilification; and do not take as much issue, if at all, with that which impacts on the interests of the local non-Chinese. Hence, in essence, the local ‘democratic’ movement (which i term, ‘fascist democrats’, and whom are seeking to maintain or acquire more privileges for those advantaged as a result of the fascist ‘Singapore must always have a Chinese majority’ policy and ‘appreciate Mandarin and Chinese culture campaigns) can be viewed as a result of the fusion of xenophobia-cum-racism.
Personally, on the basis of previous email interactions, a2ed suspects there is a connection between TR and TOC. If so, one can understand the 'division of labour' betwixt both, with the former being blatantly fascist, whilst the latter adds the 'pragmatic' touch. But whether this is intentional on their part or not, it is a fact that the latter, along with political parties, etc, do not take issue with the Totally Reprehensible Nazi stance of TR. In this, they form a symbiotic union.
God save singaporeans from themselves.
a2ed
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Easter is yet to be, Good Friday always is
[Jesus Christ Superstar, 'Overture']
I first watched the film, Jesus Christ Superstar, in the cinema when I was 4 or 5 back in the early 70s. Thereafter, my brother bought the soundtrack, on cassette tape, and I recall stumbling out of bed at 5 or 6 in the morning to listen to it whilst everyone, except my father, who was preparing to go off to work, were still asleep. I was thrilled by the whole story, hoping each time that I listened to it, that the ending would somehow be different and not end up with Him on the Cross. One morning, when I awoke at about 5am, I attempted to fit the plug into the wall socket so that I could listen to the tape, yet again. In doing so, i was electrocuted and cried out. My father rushed out, but I had already managed to disengage myself. I remember him starting to cry before getting a hold of himself and telling me not to do that again. It didn’t seem to matter to me, as I stared at my hands which were blue.
After waving goodbye to my father, as he went off to work, I put on the tape and listened to the story, yet again, hoping that the end would be different....
4 scores down the road, I realise that Easter is yet to be, and Good Friday always is. The Cross is being prepared and bloodied daily. Xenophobia, racism, exploitation, the class system, nationalism, ethnocentrism, capitalism, war, the profit motive, nationalised religion.......and the belief that we have arrived at the shores of modernity, which is nothing more than a period in history where an enforced and iniquitous system has gained wide acceptance for nothing other than the masses, with the passage of generations, having built up systems of coping that enables them to make sense and dollars within a paradigm that belittles them enough for them to make much of little.
Hence, I’ve been inclined to state, ‘if the Christ was a blogger, He would receive far less hits than he did upon Pilates instructions (39 strokes of the whip) in a lifetime.
So, I put on the tape yet again, hoping that the end would be different, and find myself, in this effort, unwittingly taking on the persona of both Jesus and Judas, the Angels and Demons, Heaven and Hell, in the hope to reconcile both so that I might find the stairway to heaven through the abysmal mires of modernity.
“Play”
[Jesus Christ Superstar, 'Superstar']
a2ed
Friday, 2 April 2010
Anti-Fascist Initiative - Support (Bukit Batok) Water Festival!
Support Water Festival
Dear Singaporeans,
Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisation is organising a Water Festival specially to welcome the New Year in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
The funds used to host the event are certainly derived in significant part from the amount of profit accrued from the exploitation of foreign and local labour. In this, we are one.
We are pro-integration and do not view the majority of existing singaporeans as having a monopoly over culture, economics, etc. If we have a problem, we ought to take it up with the government and not vilify new foreigners or view their cultural practices as an intrusion.
I hope those whom are not supportive of the Nazi Scum comprising the 'Gatecrash Water Festival' will join this site in support of egalitarian multiculturalism, appreciate that the distinction between 'foreigners' and 'locals' is illusory, and that most of 'us and them' share the same plight in the face of the elite.
Those whom are in support of this anti-fascist initiative, please turn up for the event with a placard or sign of any sort welcoming the new foreigners and join in the festivities.
No violence please.
note: This initiative is in response to the fascist, 'Gatecrash Water Festival'.
a2ed