tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post8275524355784817469..comments2024-03-19T18:44:15.041+08:00Comments on Little Stories: US Soldier States the Bleeding ObviousGilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-39318307209248570032007-03-18T12:39:00.000+08:002007-03-18T12:39:00.000+08:00No, the article does not discredit the effort. Tha...No, the article does not discredit the effort. That's why the US soldier affirms<BR/><BR/>But you know what? I'm finding the US military increasingly more attractive to join than the Singapore military, not because it's easier, but because they treat their members as more than just figures and expendable numbers. <BR/><BR/>Plus, the soldier wasn't taking potshots at the SAF: it was quite an objective analysis. Obviously the government is too stupid to realise what the soldier's true criticisms were. "Soldier takes potshots at SAF" is a very neutral title indeed.le radical galoisienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14684821442296479803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-19660576916891654772007-03-15T18:01:00.000+08:002007-03-15T18:01:00.000+08:00I took the liberty of taking a screenshot of your ...I took the liberty of taking a screenshot of your blog so you can see how your fonts look like on my laptop.<BR/><BR/>I think some of your fonts on the right might be a little big.<BR/><BR/>http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w44/jdtoh/mrwang.jpgJ D TOHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04610524261078195447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-13989394889499731092007-03-15T15:52:00.000+08:002007-03-15T15:52:00.000+08:00anon @ March 14, 2007 9:11 PM AFAIK, there are alr...anon @ March 14, 2007 9:11 PM <BR/><BR/>AFAIK, there are already such companies in existence.<BR/><BR/>by the way. I have to say i liked the beetle bailey pictureAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-11691019405261539942007-03-15T12:20:00.000+08:002007-03-15T12:20:00.000+08:00anon wrote: "Ask yourself seriously, how many able...<I>anon wrote: "Ask yourself seriously, how many able-bodies would really stay and fight if you know death is inevitable. "</I><BR/><BR/>I know it sounds cliched, but people will if it's something worth dying for, especially a higher ideal. The question though is, is there? :-)simplesandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09835110235511998612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-90422410957165871872007-03-15T10:51:00.000+08:002007-03-15T10:51:00.000+08:00To be honest, deep down in my heart I was thinking...To be honest, deep down in my heart I was thinking and I hope that this articule will not dis-credit the time and effort our NS men and reservist has poured in to this National Obligation.<BR/><BR/>And what I seriously think is that the leader should understand that we cannot predict what will happen tomorrow. Whether if there is another terrorist attack or invasion, we cannot foresee all these. By being available for our nation in the time of crisis is already the biggest contribution the country should expect of us.<BR/><BR/>Ask yourself seriously, how many able-bodies would really stay and fight if you know death is inevitable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-35614517995866978572007-03-15T10:44:00.000+08:002007-03-15T10:44:00.000+08:00To know whether people think a blog post is intere...To know whether people think a blog post is interesting, all you have to do is look at the number of comments that a post attracts.<BR/><BR/>This post hasn't just attracted a large number of comments, but many substantive comments making good points. I'm also quite impressed with the posters who cited stats, figures, past media articles etc to support their points.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-75555635392643012592007-03-15T07:21:00.000+08:002007-03-15T07:21:00.000+08:00But this isn't about emigration. You've mistaken t...But this isn't about emigration. You've mistaken the context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-52012127348498788912007-03-15T01:12:00.000+08:002007-03-15T01:12:00.000+08:00"You don't have to read my blog if you're not inte..."You don't have to read my blog if you're not interested."<BR/><BR/><BR/>I thought ppl aren't supposed to say things like "if you're not happy, leave"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-71047632447773443802007-03-14T21:11:00.000+08:002007-03-14T21:11:00.000+08:00It's about time our regular officers and generals ...It's about time our regular officers and generals start acting like real soldiers. Why can't we have a company strength of regular soldiers, from the rifleman to the section leader right up to the commanding officer. Better still, have one of our BGs lead it. <BR/><BR/>Then attach this company or perhaps one platoon to one of the US units seeing action in Irag. The US would be most receptive. Real action, dealing with real enemies, real bullets. No amount of training in Pasir Laba will beat this kind of training. <BR/><BR/>And if they come back from Iraq in one piece, I'll honestly take off my hat to them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-72572961911954080512007-03-14T19:21:00.000+08:002007-03-14T19:21:00.000+08:00Awww, those pathetic bored whiners. Old news you s...Awww, those pathetic bored whiners. Old news you say? Not for me. I was never in the army and Mr Wang's posts that are related to the SAF have indeed been eye-openers for me.<BR/><BR/>My take is that those ninjas have run out of tactics to douse a brightly burning flame. So they resort to mundane personal attacks.<BR/><BR/>Cheap trick really. Now, isn't that an old trick?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-24382832223032696722007-03-14T18:29:00.000+08:002007-03-14T18:29:00.000+08:00the fact that qns myself if whether the huge spend...the fact that qns myself if whether the huge spending on defense is = more defense?<BR/><BR/>in fact as a singaporean, i found its sg is totally vulnerable. what kind of defense are we building?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-78034307104535681782007-03-14T16:40:00.000+08:002007-03-14T16:40:00.000+08:00Ah yes, then again, Bangladeshi workers can go in ...Ah yes, then again, Bangladeshi workers can go in and out of MINDEF to do repair work, but erm, a Muslim serviceman with many years of experience has to fill in this and that form and go through checks.<BR/><BR/>Superb.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-56351007157879116922007-03-14T16:36:00.000+08:002007-03-14T16:36:00.000+08:00Hey grateful lot, guess who pays for all that? The...Hey grateful lot, guess who pays for all that? The ungrateful lots who have to pay GST...=P<BR/><BR/><B>He said, in response to a question on instinctive emotional ethnic bonds, that it would be a very tricky business for the SAF to put a Malay officer, who was very religious and who had family ties in Malaysia, in charge of a machine-gun unit. 'We've got to know his background</B><BR/><BR/>Wow... Imagine that, Malay Officer, religious and with family ties cannot. But Malaysian Chinese, relgious and with family ties still can hor. How'd people expect Malays to be loyal if you keep treating them like traitors and prefering them over foreigners? No wonder JI can recruit people, don't you think?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-64927829306031754352007-03-14T11:27:00.000+08:002007-03-14T11:27:00.000+08:00Hey You ungrateful lots out there! Huge sum of mon...Hey You ungrateful lots out there! Huge sum of money is spent to protect you from harms way instead of increasing Civil Servants" Pays to make them competitive with the Private Sector and you are making so much noise!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-30211495728067032692007-03-13T21:49:00.000+08:002007-03-13T21:49:00.000+08:00Singaporeans are pushed to work like slaves for "t...Singaporeans are pushed to work like slaves for "the country" for "the economy". Our welfare, compromised because we need to spend money on the defence of our "country". Our NSmen pushed to compete with international foreign talent who have advantage over the 2 years and subsquent reservist training, because of "our country's economy".<BR/><BR/>Let's wake up and ask ourselves this: The things Singaporeans are doing for our country, are they proportionate to the things our country Singapore is doing for us? The country belongs to the people, and we the people expect our country to return the work and sweat and blood we put in. And it's not put in for the sake of our million paid dollar ministers.Death_SGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11977224958133153564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-57426090252203103772007-03-13T21:32:00.000+08:002007-03-13T21:32:00.000+08:00http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90915loy.htmA...http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90915loy.htm<BR/><BR/>A question of loyalty: the Malays in Singapore<BR/><BR/>NEARLY 13 years ago, then Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew triggered a debate about Malay loyalty with televised comments he made before a university audience (December 1986). Lee stated that the government had taken two opinion polls prior to and following the visit of Israeli President Chiam Herzog (November 1986) to the republic.<BR/><BR/>The poll found that the number of Malay respondents who were not against the visit fell sharply from one poll to the next, while the proportion of non-Malays who did not oppose the visit rose marginally.<BR/><BR/>Lee interpreted this to mean that "in certain circumstances, the Malay Singaporeans react with the emphasis on Malay/Muslim rather than Singaporean.<BR/><BR/>An article in the Far Eastern Economic Review Asia 1998 Yearbook (pg 222f) says, "To Lee this came down to a question of loyalty : "Are we sure that in a moment of crisis, when the heat is on, we are all together heart to heart? I hope so. But we ought to have a fallback position and quickly fill up all the missing hearts if some go missing."<BR/><BR/>The same article says, "In February 1987, Lee's son commented further on the status of the Malays in an open forum on why Malays do not hold sensitive positions in the armed forces. Explaining that there are no Malay fighter pilots, for example, because their religion might conflict with their duty to Singapore, he provoked a backlash of criticism from the Muslim community in addition to Singapore's Muslim neighbours."<BR/><BR/>The article goes on to say, "these statements represented some of the most frank public commentaries ever made by Singapore's political leaders on the role of the Malays, which continues to stir emotions among the Malay community."<BR/><BR/>As recently as September 18, Mr Lee, speaking at a Singapore 21 forum said, the reality is that while Singapore has made progress in integrating the different races, certain emotional bonds are instinctive and cannot be removed overnight. (Straits Times September 19, 1999)<BR/><BR/>Asked by a polytechnic student if Singapore could overcome this and become a nation, Mr Lee said: "Yes, I think so, over a long period of time and selectively. We must not make an error.<BR/><BR/>"If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who's very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine gun unit, that's a very tricky business.<BR/><BR/>"We've got to know his background. I'm saying these things because they are real, and if I didn't think that, and I think even if today the Prime Minister doesn't think carefully about this, we could have a tragedy."<BR/><BR/>"So, these are problems which, as poly students, you're colour-blind to, but when you face life in reality, it's a different proposition."<BR/><BR/>Reports in the Singapore media this year refuting Indonesian Presidents Habibie's remarks in February that Singapore was racist because Malays could not become military officers only stated that there are Malay officers in the armed forces.<BR/><BR/>The reports made no reference to the documented remarks (above) of the two Lees regarding Malay loyalty.<BR/><BR/>The reports also did not state:<BR/><BR/> * 1. if Malays hold sensitive positions in the armed forces;<BR/> * 2. if any Malay officers in the Singapore air force are fighter pilots; and<BR/> * 3. if the Lees have changed their expressed position regarding loyalty of the Malays.<BR/><BR/>While meritocracy is still maintained in the island and the Singapore armed forces appoints and promotes Malays, there is no evidence that Malay Singaporeans hold sensitive positions in the Singapore armed forces.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-58862105519513685732007-03-13T20:44:00.000+08:002007-03-13T20:44:00.000+08:00Moving away from the racial aspect, I will like to...Moving away from the racial aspect, I will like to focus on the defence policy and the defence budget. Walsh commented that "SAF is the most competent, well-equipped and best trained force in the whole of South-east Asia" and defence analyst Dr Bernard Loo said that "fighting a war is not the Republic's most pressing concern". Then why are we spending a huge one-third of our budget on Defence expenditure on hardware and manpower at the expense of other social and infrastructure spending? Is one-third just right or too much. Let's see.<BR/><BR/>Let me share extracts from one source (www.cia.gov) on 2005/2006 Military Spending as % of GDP by countries:<BR/> World’saverage 2.0% Israel 9.0% *<BR/> Qatar/Saudi Arabia 10.0% *<BR/> Iraq 7.5% * <BR/> Kuwait/Syria 5.9% *<BR/> Turkey 5.3% * <BR/> SINGAPORE 4.9%<BR/> USA 4.1% *<BR/>Pakistan 4.5% *<BR/>China 4.3* Iran 3.3% *<BR/>Other Middle Eastern 3.1% - 4.9%* South Kore 3.0% *<BR/>India 2.7% *<BR/>Taiwan 2.4% *<BR/>UK/France 2.4% / 2.6% *<BR/> Germany 1.5% *<BR/> Switzerland 1.0% <BR/>Spain/Canada/<BR/>Holland 1.1% - 1.6% <BR/>Eastern European <BR/>Countries 1.7%- 2.6% Scandinavian 1.5% - 2.0%<BR/><BR/>Phillipines/Thailand 1.1 / 1.8 %<BR/>Malaysia/Vietnam 2.03 / 2.5 %<BR/>Indonesia 3.0%<BR/><BR/>* Countries in armed conflict hotspots or with high war risks<BR/> <BR/>Any volunteer to analyse the above data and share your conclusions? I think the answer is quite obvious. <BR/>Hell why the press and the MPs in Budget debate don't tell us all this. In the post budget forum, the 2nd Minister of Defence said that he could confidently get approval to increase defence spending to 6% of GDP if need to. 1.1% increase - That's another S$2 billion or more. Who pays? and at the expense of what other budgets?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-15409203472652547952007-03-13T17:54:00.000+08:002007-03-13T17:54:00.000+08:00Mr Ko,like I said above, Australia see herself as ...Mr Ko,<BR/><BR/>like I said above, Australia see herself as the "sheriff" of the South Pacific islands, and, as in the case of unrest in Solomon Islands, Australian troops and police will come storming in with guns blazing. Add to that their troops committed to the "war on terror", peacekeeping in East Timor etc. Furthermore, Australians have shown that they can be very committed in wars far from home, like at Gallipoli in WW1 and defending Singapore in WW2. But they still seem happy with having a smaller military than Singapore.<BR/><BR/>And what good is 300,000 conscript foot solidiers in breaking a naval blockade or defending an airstrike? Isnt this why we have the finest air force and navy, of which both are mainly staffed by career soldiers?<BR/><BR/>The emphasis should be on quality, not quantity. Anyway, I am not advocating abolishment of NS. All I am saying is that we can cut NSF to 1 year for the majority of the foot-soldiers without compromising our defence readiness a single bit. Officers may need a longer time, but the freed up funds can be used to amply reward them, and if the Hen Minister can be trusted, everybody will still be clamouring for a place in OCS to enhance their popularity in the job market.Jimmy Munhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04927345822970412901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-50295069122797979622007-03-13T16:51:00.000+08:002007-03-13T16:51:00.000+08:00Indonesian plantation tycoons simply need to raze ...<I>Indonesian plantation tycoons simply need to raze their forests a bit more and the resulting haze will choke Singapore to death. </I><BR/><BR/>Alternatively, they can send 3 sampan loads of poor farmers (refugees?) to Singapore every 5 min. We will sink within 3 months.<BR/><BR/>6.5 million population!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-82132554025233510462007-03-13T16:19:00.000+08:002007-03-13T16:19:00.000+08:00However, it would be interesting to see key positi...<I>However, it would be interesting to see key positions being held by a malay, since sg is surrounded by muslims which can improve our relationships with our neighbours.</I><BR/><BR/>The Chief of Army or the current military junta Chief of Thailand is a Muslim. I do not see how that changes the minds of Muslims in Southern Thailand wanting to separate out from Thailand. Nor Malaysia and Indonesia being any more friendly to Thailand as opposed to Thaksin's time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-11653093744335356112007-03-13T15:24:00.000+08:002007-03-13T15:24:00.000+08:00I dunno why some readers are saying that the font ...I dunno why some readers are saying that the font size of this post looks extra large. It looks normal-sized on my screen. Anyway I just tried to tweak the formatting again .... let me know if it looks ok now.Gilbert Koh aka Mr Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01027678080233274309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-36719268958319605992007-03-13T14:17:00.000+08:002007-03-13T14:17:00.000+08:00Try standing next to a bloody marine and you know ...Try standing next to a bloody marine and you know the difference.<BR/><BR/>They feed on beef - steak.<BR/>Our officers suck cock for sperm.<BR/><BR/>Even I am stronger. I was DB 3 times. I got myself mother-fucking shaved 3 times, got that!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-53094350655600130432007-03-13T12:13:00.000+08:002007-03-13T12:13:00.000+08:00anon wrote: "Mr WSS: u're just one unpatriotic sod...<I>anon wrote: "Mr WSS: u're just one unpatriotic sod who has no place in S'pore."</I><BR/><BR/>So you'd rather Singaporeans be apathic towards things in our own country?<BR/><BR/>The reason why Singapore survived the turbulent times in the past (when our neighbours were a lot more unfriendly, mind you) is because Singaporeans stuck together as a whole. And the govt stuck with the people.<BR/><BR/>Look at Singapore today. Despite our talk of "Total Defence", national unity is falling apart, with recent "FT" policies and the widening social gaps contributing much to the breakdown. <BR/><BR/>There's even disgruntlement at national service/reservist by guys who are starting to feel disadvantaged (or worse, discrimniated) when it comes to their careers.<BR/><BR/>And all our ministers and MPs do is hiphop at Chingay and chide locals for whining and not facing up to the "brutal truth" of globalisation.<BR/><BR/><BR/>All this, while Islamic awakening takes root in Indonesia (for good or bad) and nationalism brims in Thailand.<BR/><BR/>It's hardly surprising that our neighbours see us as weak, and are taking the opportunity to kick Singapore right in the teeth.<BR/><BR/>You can come up with a huge defence budget, but money can't buy mental toughness and unity--which is far greater deterrent than the most sophisticated arsenal in the world.simplesandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09835110235511998612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-25703999433649293872007-03-13T11:26:00.000+08:002007-03-13T11:26:00.000+08:00Indonesian plantation tycoons simply need to raze ...Indonesian plantation tycoons simply need to raze their forests a bit more and the resulting haze will choke Singapore to death. <BR/><BR/>In the first place a harmless tiny nation that needs to arm itself to its teeth has basically failed in its foreign relations with its neighbours.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4405345292513335071.post-78010964806236879912007-03-13T11:18:00.000+08:002007-03-13T11:18:00.000+08:00jimmy mun wrote: "If Finland shares Singaporean pa...<I>jimmy mun wrote: "If Finland shares Singaporean paranoia, they would be enlisting women, children and old folks to "match" the threat."</I><BR/><BR/>Fortunately, Finland has perfected the art of, ahem, "Finlandization"--a diplomatic artform which Singapore perpetually struggles with. ;-)simplesandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09835110235511998612noreply@blogger.com