Eradicating The Leviathan Mindset

Read more about LEVIATHAN and how a civil society can correct the damages of excessive government under the following links :-

(a) Meaning of Leviathan

(b) Thomas Hobbes & Leviathan in Literature

(c) Leviathan - Doctrine of the Foundation of States and Legitimate Governments

(d) A Framework For Thinking About Civil Society

(e) How can civil society correct the damages of excessive government?

祝 ：龙马精神 新年快乐 GONG XI FA CAI

祝 ：
龙马精神
新年快乐
GONG XI FA CAI

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

。 ° · 。 · ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛
。° 。 ° 。˚ ˛ · ˚ ˚ ˛
★HAPPY★ 。 · ˚ ˚ ˛
。NEW YEAR 。 。°
_Π_＿ 。 ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛
/____＿/ ＼。˚ ˚ ˛ ˚
 l田田田 |門| ˚ ˛

Wishing All Friends - Happy Holidays

Myspace Graphics, Season's Greetings Graphics at WishAFriend.com

What will the world be like in 2012?

What will change in 2012? What will stay the same? Here are 12 presentations that take a look at where we’ve all been in 2011 and predict trends that we’ll see in the coming year.

Link :- Read them here.

Story of the Year 2011 - Of Tall Trees (Leviathan) and Mushrooms

2011 was an eventful Year. The World was "rocked" with events from The Great Sendai / Miyagi Earthquake and Tsunami  ... The Great Bangkok Flood ... just as NZ Christchurch was jolted by another quake  as I started to draft this posting while the Euro-Zone Crisis continues..

It had been an exciting year for me personally. Two major events had been most significant, meaningful and memorable for me to have participated in 2011.

(a) The Presidential Election Campaign

(b) The Opening of the New Clementi Interchange

The first was for supporting a friend on a worthy cause and brought me closer to a better understanding of the new social media.

PE 2011 Collectibles

The second was part of my regular job for a project and brought me closer to look at the recent events hitting the SMRT as a public transporter. Both has a wave of nostalgia.



Does the arrow means MRT and Bus fares will  continue to rise as HDB flat prices skyrocket in the background ?



I was thinking what to write to close for 2011 and to welcome 2012 in a new way for this blog. I thought it would be great to recap the following "Story of the Year 2011" which now appears very well said during the last General Election, retrospectively.

Quote

The story was :-

...about a village which was sheltered by special tall trees which protected it from storms. Yet the villagers were tempted by mushrooms which spouted only every five years.

"The villagers asked, 'Are these mushrooms any good? They are so pretty. Shall we remove some of these tall trees and allow the wild mushrooms to grow?' And so the wise old man told them that these mushrooms may look pretty but some of them are poisonous, and 'if you associate too closely with them, these wild mushrooms will weaken us, stunt our growth, and retard our development. Leave them alone, protect the trees, these trees are special trees'."

Unquote

As if a magical spell was casted, we watched the "story" befallen on the SMRT, as I also wrote here in this blog about its corporate culture; and ironically on the great story teller during GE 2011.

If the CEO can't change the culture and the Leader (great story teller) could not spot the poisonous mushrooms, what do you do? Appoint a "BOI" and bring in an Union "Superman" while another tries to stamp out the villagers' noise?  There are no more Wise Old Man to "re-juvenate" this simple story of Tall Trees (Leviathan) and Mushrooms again ..... One must at be an ardent practitioner of taiji or at least make it to the Exco of an International Tai Chi  Federation to stay cool when the crisis get too heated up. Does this sum up "what politics are all about" (when we struggled to  Hi 5, LOL) ?

It is easier to tell a story than solve an organisational cultural issue as the reality will unfold.  With this, I close 2011 for this blog, as we await Story of the Year for 2012 - "How to lower Ministers' Million Dollar Salaries without having them to ruminate and regret for 5 years?". I will return with a new series on What exacerbates Middle Income Stagnation in Singpore and the Marginalization of PMETs jobs due to "Foreign Talents" in the new year.

All the best in the New Year ahead. Cheers.

Observe Presidential Election Cooling Off Day - 26 Aug 2011

Back From Nanjing Again

I have just returned from another trip to China (Nanjing) / HK.

You may recall my mentioning of this TODAY's article in my posting "External Drivers - Watching China in 2011" last year-end about monitoring the "external drivers". I have been doing that despite paying attention to the recent Euro-zone developemnts while paying particular attention to the China economy due to certain developments. Two quarters have passed since my previous retreat to Nanjing in Nov 2010.

I mentioned before that sometimes I find China more "democratic" than Singapore. In the words of an expat journalist who has covered China for many years, "China is a land where nothing is allowed, but everything is possible". I will soon be writing more about my thoughts on this recent trip.

China's Political Scene

Before my trip, I was watching the kick-start of our own Presidential Election race (PE 2011). It is now quite clear that the race would be a 3-cornered fight amongst the 3 TANs, with Tony Tan clearly "endorsed" as the pro-PAP candidate, despite his own expressed intention of running as an independent candidate. It is interesting that I know one of these 3 PE candidates personally.

I would be writing more about the PE 2011 race and also my own observation of the likely direction of the Singapore property market. As usual, I hope to present both topics to readers in a very different perspective.

線香花火 NSP (Japanese Group)

Enjoy this nice song by the Japanese Group - NSP. A special THANK YOU to all for their personal comments and OPINIONS expressed through this Blog for GE 2011. All comments made by this Blog and contributors for GE 2011 and any other topics are just OPINIONS.

MAH BOW TAN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

MAH BOW TAN UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT - [ Nigel Tan, The Satay Club ]

In what was probably an attempt to diffuse some of the pressure that he is under, Mr Mah said on Sunday that public housing is not likely to be a “make or break” issue at the coming General Election. He told reporters that there were “many other issues” to address in the lead-up to the May 7 polls.

Read In This Blog :-

(a) An illegal raid on the reserves? Mr Mah Should Explain About Ballooning Land Costs

     

This article has displaced the old No.1 Hit  "The Property Bubble & Investment Trap" since the inception of this Blog.

(b) Election Watch Part X - Tin Pei Ling - I Started A Joke .....SM Goh Joined In.

This article has also beaten the old No.1 Hit "The Property Bubble & Investment Trap" to become the new No. 2.

Planet Earth - A Poem (Heal the World)

Earth Hour on 26 March 11

do you care ? ..... have you a part ? ..... 

Summer Night In Riviera

Lyrics

HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS LUNAR NEW YEAR

PLANET EARTH

@}------HAPPY NEW YEAR---------

PLANET EARTH FOREVER

@}->-----HAPPY NEW YEAR---------

EARTH SONG

Merry X'mas & Happy New Year - "And all I want for X'mas is ..."

We have come to another year-end. This is particularly meaningful as this Blog has been sustained for slightly over a year.  I extend my warmest SEASONS' GREETINGS to all supporters and visitors, and it is with such anticipation of more interesting postings that we shall look forward to A BETTER 2011.

And "all I want for X'mas" is something more interesting for you, just like this little "sticky" toy below which I had discovered while in China, and your continual support. ( Note : Notwithstanding my knowledge of material specifications, I am still ignorant what it is made of.) And "my wish for 2011 for this Blog" is to hit a peak traffic of 1000 visitors. I hope you will help to send the link of this Blog to just 5 persons you know who may be keen. Once again a MERRY X'MAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you.

1. Original

2. When Thrown On Chair



3. Final Shape



CELEBRATING 1ST "BIRTHDAY" OF THIS BLOG

This blog celebrates its 1st "Birthday" today (4 December 2010) as it was first conceived on 4 December 2009.

However, this blog did not spring to "hive" until August 2010, when the popular topic ""The Property Bubble and Investment Trap" was first posted. Traffic to the site was probably boosted with my frank insight opinions and unbiased comments.

The achievements of this Blog and its sustained traffic would not be possible without giving credits to Mr Tan Kin Lian's Blog, The Singapore Daily and your continual support. These blogs divert about 20% and 80% of the traffic here respectively. 80% of the visitors are Singaporeans with the balance 20% pulled from over 40 countries worldwide despite a small readership, but it is sustainable.

Little milestones of This Blog :-

(a) 4 Dec 2009 - Blog Conceived
(b) 6 Dec 2009 - First Posting
(c) 12 Feb 2010 - "How To Ensure Affordable Low Cost Housing?" article highlighted by the SG Daily site and 1st Comment posted on 14 Feb 2010.
(d) 18 Feb 2010 - Blog caught attention of a NUS Doctoral Candidate for research on blogging.*
(e) 8 July 2010 - "A Tale of Two Cities" Series started.
(f) 14 Aug 2010 - Invitation extended by Jelutung Community Club @ Canberra YEC for "Freedom of Speech" event.*
(g) 16 Aug 2010 -The Popular "The Property Bubble and Investment Trap" Series Started.
(h) 19 Aug 2010 - Site Meter Histats installed.
(i) 24 Aug 2010 - Single Day Highest Visitors Achieved - 291 (239 new visitors).
* Note : This Blog remains totally "non-aligned" despite such invitations and may not respond as such.

While the interest of readers remains in property investment, I like to re-visit the theme of this site which is to promote a civil society and eradicate the "Leviathan" mindset. I like to mark this day with a tribute to Thomas Hobbes and his Literature on Leviathan.

Thomas Hobbes (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was a champion of absolutism for the sovereign but he also developed some of the fundamentals of European liberal thought: the right of the individual; the natural equality of all men; the artificial character of the political order (which led to the later distinction between civil society and the state); the view that all legitimate political power must be "representative" and based on the consent of the people; and a liberal interpretation of law which leaves people free to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid.

The popular series on  "The Property Bubble and Investment Trap" was a strict topic with mere words and few photographs. The bash from this 1st anninersary would be a revamp to add more vivid colours and photos in this Blog. I hope visitors will like it. I also welcome your comments and contributions for postings, if they are appropriate. You may write to email address :- deleviathan@gmail.com.

HAPPY "BIRTHDAY" AND A MORE VIVID AND COLOURFUL TOMORROW

Back From Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China.

Hi there, visitors to my blog.

I am back from my annual retreat in Nanjing and hopefully afresh and ready to put up some interesting postings again. During this short break, I note there is still a sustained stream of visitors to my blog which is most encouraging.

I hope with this short break in China will help  me to do some interesting postings here, both on the Property Investment Trap and other sideliners, with a perspective from the external business environment of the world's emerging largest economy, just as China unveiled its growth plan during the recent G20 Summit in Seoul; amidst its rampant inflation CPI currently at 4.4%.

China's Vice-President Xi Jinping had just visited Singapore last Sunday, his first overseas trip since a key military promotion last month, and presided over the groundbreaking of the China Cultural Centre (located at 217 Queen Street in Singapore's Arts and Heritage District). Is this the only way for cultural exchange since SM Goh said that ties between Singapore and China are more than just political and economic? There is always another side to every good view which I hope to present here vividly.

I was watching U Channel Chinese News last night after a 3-week break. There was highlight about "insurance and safety" for a primary school's coming study tour to China. The young innocent kid was proudly interviewed and she said the trip would be "helpful" for her to understand what is the "actual Chinese Language" - I guessed she meant "properly spoken" Chinese language. If I were to face with such a situation in China, I would be totally embarassed. It seems strange that we (as Chinese) have to send our students overseas to another country to learn and understand what is "proper" Chinese language and culture. Something must have been wrong with our values and educational system since gaining independence. I recall there was once a portfolio of "Minister of Culture" while MM Lee is still so proud about our "success" for our 2nd Language education policy. Anyway, I hope to add some interesting sideliners in my postings soon.

MING ARCHITECTURE AND PORTAL AT NANJING, FUZI MIAO

"BACK-LIT" VIEW OF THE SAME PORTAL

Note : In my rush to do my lasting posting before my annual retreat, I had no time to do a final edit before posting. I had made some typo errors. I hope if you had read in between the lines, you would have had picked them up. My sincere apologies. Obvious - next likely property boom in 2015 instead of "2005". I have corrected it.