A side news. Nothing new abt the news actually as it happened ever so often in the USA!

"Investigators probe motive in deadly Kentucky school shooting"

2 dead. 1 female n 1 male. Age 15!! Killer? Age 15 boy.

Condolences to the family and friends of, n RIP to, the dead.

"Philippines' Duterte threatens Middle East work ban after maid 'rapes'

MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday (Jan 24) threatened to ban hundreds of thousands of Filipinas from working as maids in the Middle East as he said domestic workers were being raped in Kuwait.

Over two million Filipinos, many of them maids, are employed in the region, helping to prop up the Philippine economy with billions of dollars in salary remittances to their families each year.

Last week, Duterte barred Filipinos from seeking work in Kuwait over reports of widespread abuse, exploitation and deaths, although the ban did not affect workers already in the Gulf state.

"One more incident about a woman, a Filipina worker being raped there, committing suicide, I'm going to stop - I'm going to ban" Filipinos working, he said.

"And I'm sorry to all the Filipinos there, they can all go home."

"Let me be blunt about this because Kuwait has always been an ally. But please do something about it and for the other countries of the Middle East.""

These abuses apparently r an open secret! Yet many still go n wanting to believe it will happen to someone else n NOT me!! I guessed the money is good n they r willing to try their luck.

The issue for the Kuwaiti n the Middle East employers to confront is: is this what they r? abusive n exploitative just because of their "nature favoured" petrol money? r there no common human decency or it has been corrode away by the easy money!

Every now n then we hv horror stories if employers in Sgp, Msia, Hkg, Twn n etc. abusing their maids. Looks like there r such human beings who simply cannot manage their domestic helpers. Maybe they r mentally sick. Maybe it is due to poor upbringing n education. Hopefully none will ever say: this is how it is if u r poor n work for us!! Too bad!!

Whatever it is, President Duterte had hit on the raw nerve: does he trade off his countrymen's right n dignity against the billions of force these foreign maids n workers made for the nation?

A tough call. For a man of his temperament, it is easy to see how indignant he can be n stop these abuses immediately purely driven by sentiment instead of dollar n cent!

When the heightened emotion calms down, let the millions who work overseas decide if they want more protection or they just want to get on with life n accept their chance n fate!!

ps: Late Mr LKY's infamously words resonate here: if PAP is not in charge, your kids may work overseas as maids!!