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HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sept 16 2003 is the 40th birthday of the Internal Security Act
in $ingapore. This act allows a person to be detained indefinitely without trial
at the pleasure of the government. The Malaysian Act was extended to $ingapore
on Sept 16 1963 when $ingapore joined Malaysia briefly.
Sept 16 is also Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew's birthday. Instant Karma.
Click on the picture or visit http://www.bigomagazine.com/thisweek/reporter.html
for a free pin-up.
"Repression...
is a habit that grows... an intimidated press and the government-controlled
radio together can regularly sing your praises, and slowly and steadily the
people are made to forget the evil things that have already been done, or if
these things are referred to again they are conveniently distorted and distorted
with impunity, because there will be no opposition to contradict."
- Harry Lee, Oct 4 1956
GOLDMEMBER
On Aug 9 2002, the Director of the Internal Security Department,
Benny Lim Siang Hoe, was awarded a Public Administration Medal [gold]. Benny's
brother is Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry, Raymond
Lim. Raymond was a founder member of civil society group, The Roundtable, which
offers independent views.
OLD MEMBERS
And a happy birthday to ex-ISD agents Chua Lee Hoong [newly appointed as Features-Commentary
Editor at the nation-builder press] and ex-ISD director Tjong Yik Min [currently
Yeo Hiap Seng president and chief operating officer]. And to all ex-agents out
there in the various statutory boards, ministries and private companies, a big
happy birthday to you too.
For a report, go to http://www.singapore-window.org/sw01/010621au.htm
THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT...
The nation-builder
press, July 11 2003
The nation-builder press, July 18 2003
The nation-builder press, July 21 2003
The nation-builder press, Aug 3 2003
The
nation-builder press, Aug 5 2003
The nation-builder press, Oct 18 2003
The nation-builder press, Aug 12 2003
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LISTEN AND OBEY
The above report quoted PM Goh Chok Tong: "Has the music stopped
for $ingapore? Is the party over? No. We are merely changing the Elvis Presley
and Jailhouse Rock records to something more modern on CDs. The songs may be
slower... but you can still enjoy."
We are changing the record. Here's our new song - Fuck
The Pain Away, by Peaches (above right). Peaches is Merrill Nisker, a
former kindergarten music and drama teacher from Canada. The PAP government
has just cut workers' salaries through the CPF again. The CPF is workers and
employers contributions to a forced savings scheme. The last CPF cut, in 1999,
cost Singapore workers $7.5 billion in earnings a year. Ministers
are taking a 10% pay cut for ONLY 12 months. This is how the PAP SHARES
the pain.
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WHITE HOUSE ALTERS WEBPAGES ABOUT IRAQ COMBAT
http://www.thememoryhole.org/pol/iraq-combat/
Graphic appeared in salon.com, Aug 18 2003.
When the White House published the text of and photos from Bush's
speech announcing the supposed end of the Iraq attack, the headline read: "President
Bush Announces Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended." But on Tuesday, 19 Aug
2003, the Cursor website noticed that the headline had been changed to read:
"President Bush Announces Major Combat Operations in Iraq Have Ended." The word
"major" had been added.
Apparently, with the quagmire resulting in at least one dead US soldier a day--not
to mention even more injuries, dead Iraqis, and sabotage--that headline had
proved incorrect. Therefore, straight out of 1984, the headline was stealthily
altered to make it seem as if that's what it had always said.
We were able to recover numerous instances of the unaltered headline. At the
top of the page is the original headline, as it has been preserved on the Website
of Scott Long (http://www.scott-long.com),
who collects photos of politicians on aircraft carriers. Under that, you'll
find the headline as it is now. More examples are below.
The State Department often mirrors White House press releases.
In this case, they still have the original version of Bush's speech.
This screenshot comes from the Website of the Republican National
Committee. Their introduction to the video of Bush's speech contains the original
headline.
The final piece of major evidence is this screenshot from a Google
search. It shows that the White House Website did indeed contain the original
headline. Funny thing is, if you click on "Cached" to see Google's saved version
of the page, it says the page cannot be found.
Who would believe a congenital liar?
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DUMB AND DUMBERER IN $INGAPORE
"To put it quite candidly, it's a kind of game. Wherever we draw the line, you would like to be on the other side of the line and say: 'I am sacrosanct, please don't fire at me, but I can fire at you.' It's not possible.
"We encourage people
to express their views and to have a view. Our problem
in Singapore is that many people don't really have a view."
- General
Lee Hsien Loong’s view of $ingaporeans as reported in the nation-builder
press, June 30, 2003.
"I think Lee [SM] was not
content to defeat Jeyaretnam but was obsessed with destroying him. Outsiders
have no idea about the state of the libel and defamation laws here - no idea
how those laws strangle robust debate about political issues.''
- Chris
Lydgate, a former foreign correspondent in $ingapore and author of
a recently published book, Lee's Law: How Singapore Crushes Dissent, as reported
by AP, July 2 2003. Read here http://www.singapore-window.org/sw03/030702st.htm
"NO BRAIN MEH? NO BALLS
LAH."
- The young, restless and
cynical Mirror of Opinion, June 30 2003.
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NO SHORTAGE IN HONGKONG.
HONGKONGERS 500,000 TUNG 0
The nation-builder press, July 6 2003.
"People
power in Hongkong. Half a million Hongkongers marched against Tung. Communist
China’s Hongkong has more democracy than democratic $ingapore."
- The young, restless and
cynical Mirror of Opinion, July 6 2003.
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$INGAPORE GOVT WAITS FOR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION TO BE FOUND
In a letter to the nation-builder press [June 11, 2003], Ms Tan Lian Choo, the press secretary to the Foreign Minister, said this:
"...the search for WMD is still ongoing. Nobody at this point in time can say conclusively that there was no WMD in Iraq. Objectively, therefore, we should await the findings of the experts instead of passing judgment based on assumptions or beliefs."
Ms Tan used to work in the nation-builder press as a nation-builder. Now she works in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. $ingapore joined the U.S.-led war on Iraq because the Americans said Iraq had WMD. Did anybody ask to see the "body of evidence" before they launched the war?
AMERICAN
"EXPERTS" SEARCHING FOR WMD IN IRAQ
For a better
view click here: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/images/USS.gif
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+ + + + +
"These 500 or so [Burmese]
generals, they are not going to be bothered. They may not be able to travel
to the U.S. but so what? It is not just a question
of money in New York but money that is placed elsewhere like $ingapore."
- UN Special Envoy to
Burma, Malaysian Razali Ismail, June 16
2003, commenting on why recent U.S. travel and import sanctions on Burma would
only be partially effective.
Read the story here: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/2003061600110806.php
+++
LOOK WHO'S GOT MYANMAR "ON MY MIND"
Looking to do business with the Burmese generals in "Myanmar"? Where else to look for advice than in all-good, no-bad $ingapore where money is not far from everyone's mind. Myanmar On My Mind is a unique one-of-its-kind book written by the former First Secretary [Commercial] at the $ingapore embassy in Yangon, Matthew Sim. Sim's tour of duty lasted from 1995 to 1997 and he offers first-hand insight into "the minds of the Myanmar people, from military generals and government officials to businessmen and employees." Sim was in charge of $ingapore's trade and investments with Burma.
On a sub-chapter, Spies And Spying, Sim wrote: "Manpower in Myanmar is relatively cheap and readily available. The Military Intelligence [MI], for example, is quite extensive and pervasive. As a result, prominent foreign diplomats and international businessmen in and around Yangon are always escorted by MI officers.
"Both my telephone lines, one at the Embassy and one at home, were bugged. The technology used during my stay in Myanmar was pretty low-end. There was a hollow, echoing sound whenever you used the phone."
Sim adds: "I have never been overtly concerned with Myanmar politics. It is neither an area of responsibility nor interest." Business to $ingaporean Sim is business and he says: "An international businessman should try not to mix politics and business. Money should not be coloured by politics." Published by Times Book International in 2001.
If you are interested in learning more about $ingapore's business relationship with the generals of Burma follow these links:
$ingapore
is Burma's biggest investor with between US$770 million to US$1.5 billion in
65 projects in the country
[AP report Mar 25 1998].
$ingapore to promote economic cooperation with Burma
http://www.singapore-window.org/sw99/90218xin.htm
$ingapore links 'aiding
drug trade'
http://www.singapore-window.org/80513sc.htm
Burma-$'pore Axis: Globalising
the heroin trade
http://www.singapore-window.org/804caq9.htm
Goh leaves Burma without
meeting Suu Kyi
http://www.singapore-window.org/80325app
$uspected drug traders have
S'pore connection
http://www.singapore-window.org/80123awk.htm
$'pore backs Burma in Asean-EU
dialogue
http://www.singapore-window.org/121501st.htm
$'pore helps Burma's spies
http://www.singapore-window.org/1101bkk.htm
Blood money: hanging drug
couriers but investing with their suppliers
http://www.singapore-window.org/1020naus.htm
Protesters demand accountability
from PM Goh on drugs
http://www.singapore-window.org/0916goh.htm
Asean reeks of double standards
http://www.singapore-window.org/0713naed.htm
WHAT'S AT THE BOTTOM OF ONG KENG YONG'S HEART
The nation-builder press, June 17 2003.
The current Asean Secretary-General
is $ingaporean Ong Keng Yong who was from the Prime Minister's Office.
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LOUDER THAN BOMBS
The above is quoted by writer Arundhati Roy in a presentation
at The Riverside Church in New York City on May 13 2003.
For more, visit http://www.bigomagazine.com/features/aroy.html
and http://www.bigomagazine.com/features/alternet.html
The nation-builder press, June 9 2003.
"OUR DECISION WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT."
- P.M. Goh Chok Tong
The above pictures are part of evidence used by Belgian lawyers
seeking to charge US General Tommy Franks for war crimes.
For a clearer look at the pictures, visit http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3462.htm
WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
"If this [Iraq's weapons of mass destruction]
turns out to be a lie then [Prime Minister] Tony Blair should resign. He should
also be prosecuted under international law as a war criminal. If they
don't find any weapons of mass destruction then this war has been based on a
pack of lies and they have put all of our sons and daughters lives on the line
for a lie."
- Ann Nichol who lost her Royal Marine son John Cecil, 36, in the Iraq war.
Read more here: http://icteesside.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/sundaysun/page.cfm?objectid=13021051&method=full&siteid=50081&headline=War%20crime%20threat%20to%20Blair
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The nation-builder press, June 1 2003.
MAKE NO MISTAKE PART 4
Click here for PART 1
Click here for PART 2
Click here for PART 3
Burma’s democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi who was freed on May 6 2002, after 19 months under house arrest, has been arrested again May 30 2003. Her freedom first came about because Burma’s pariah status had brought the country’s economy to its knees. It was boycotted by many countries and companies. $ingapore is Burma’s biggest investor with the amount reported between US$770 million to US$1.5 billion in 65 projects in property development, manufacturing, food and beverages (AP report Mar 25 1998). She has been rearrested after going on a month-long tour of the north to rally supporters and to open new National League of Democracy offices in the northern parts of the country.
The nation-builder press,
Feb 12 2002.
$ingapore’s last big visit to Burma was made by three ministers in Feb 1999. Lee Yock Suan, Mah Bow Tan and Lim Hng Kiang went to Burma to promote economic cooperation between the two countries. On Feb 12 2002, the nation-builder press reported "Myanmar sliding into economic catastrophe" and said the country’s current reserves are "no more than US$240 million". It did not mention what happened to $ingapore’s billion dollar investments.
As for Suu Kyi’s views on $ingapore, this is what she told Burma Project co-director Alan Clements in the 1997 book The Voice Of Hope. Suu Kyi’s views from 1997 still stands.
Alan Clements: Let’s be specific. How do you feel about $ingapore’s massive infusion of economic dollars (Clements put the figure at US$770 million) into SLORC-controlled Burma? We all know that a vast percentage of these millions of dollars goes right into the bank accounts of the generals and their most favoured friends.
Aung San Suu Kyi: I don’t think it helps the democratic cause and in the long run it will not help their economic cause either. Because I do not think that without a change in the political system Burma will be able to maintain its economic development. The reason why it seems as though Burma has developed economically over the last six years is that we started from less than zero, and it’s very easy to show progress from that point.
AC: Can you explain how investing in Burma doesn’t help the country from where the investment originates? $ingapore thinks it is secure.
Aung San: The $ingaporeans think that the lack of democracy is not an obstacle in the way of economic success. It may not have been so in their own country, but $ingapore is very different from Burma. Here in Burma, the present system of government is such that there can be no economic progress. The system of education is such that there cannot be any sustained development. They have not looked at the factors that really matter. What they’re looking at is the fact that Burma is virgin territory. Let’s take the tourist industry as an example. People just want to go to a new place that others have not yet been. So they calculate that if they invest in the tourist industry of Burma they will be able to reap good returns. But as I understand it, the tourist figures are not good.
Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. She does not have a million dollar salary. What have our million-dollar ministers reaped from investments in Burma?
A GENERAL QUESTION
$ingapore’s US$1.5 BILLION of investments in Burma are at stake. What to do?
Read more: Burma-$ingapore
Axis http://www.singapore-window.org/804caq9.htm
CLICK HERE for more items
on Burma
