Daily Lessons from Life 30 December 2013 - 2nd Last Day of 2013!

Don't feel like reading the news headlines. Not feeling too good too physically as a cold may be developing in me!

So, on the 2nd last day of 2013, a quick reflection of the major political events in Singapore and around the world.

1. Ponggul East By-Election triggered by the resignation of the Parliamentary Speaker from PAP due to some personal indiscretion!

A non-A student Workers' Party candidate WON! Against a PAP candidate who is a high powered surgeon in a ward where the last PAP candidate had a more than 10% winning margin in the GE2011 contest!

The ground is shifting. The voters are restless and agitating for change! Good or Bad? I will leave it to you to conclude.

2. Rioting in Little India by mainly South Asian Foreign Workers (FWs)

An unbelievable event in Singapore. First riot in the last 40 years. The violence is scary and the most fortunate thing is that only some police cars and ambulance were overturned and burned. No serious human casualties.

A Committee of Inquiry (COI) has been set up under the order of PM Lee. Hopefully it will provide some insights into what could have triggered the spontaneous combustion of 400 FWs when one of them was killed in a mini bus accident!

Overcrowding is the main reason for me and the main reason for overcrowding is over-flow of FWs.

Is this truly an isolated case as claimed by the PM and a few of his cabinet colleagues even before the COI gets to work? Is there a greater danger and simmering tension? Can Singapore authority truly understand how the FWs' brains and behaviours work?

Let's see what the COI comes up with in the next 6 months?

3. The passing of the world admired Freedom Fighter and ex-President of Nelson Mandela

His time has come. He has served his purpose of uniting, for the time he is alive anyway, the Rainbow Nation. A remarkable story and truly inspirational for sure. Will it last? It is not for him to say but for the people after him to decide what type of life they want in South Africa? Continued peace and harmony or something else?

4. President Xi of China taking over the new leadership

He and his team seemed to mean business with their determination to rid the CCP of the cancerous growth of CORRUPTION. It is simple for all to see that IF things continue the way it is, CCP's future is likely to be a bleak one with the have-not trying to 'stage a revolution' to overthrow it's unjust and corrupt regime! It is both for selfish and noble reasons that HE has to change the CCP!

Will he succeed? I hope so.

5. Obama is a Disappointment?

For me, he is a disappointment. He has made his mark as the 54th, and now 55th President of USA. He tried to breakout of the OLD way of 'be partisan' by mobilising ordinary, and a lot of young, Americans to vote him in so he can do 'what is right for the nation' instead of just 'what is right for the party's next presidential candidate'.

He DID NOT go all the way for me. He could have FORCED Japan to acknowledge its atrocities committed during WWII, could have FORCED the greedy Bankers and Asia Wall Street folks to STOP gambling and making big bets, and BIG BUCKS, with other people's money IF they don't have the capital to gamble with! etc.

He DID NOT. He compromised. I guessed it is easy for me to say that since I am NOT in his position. Yet, I wonder WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN?

Yes, I am but a dreamer.