Northern Hemisphere Still Holds the Key

 "There will be great trouble in the North", so goes the quote attributed to Nostradamus, who occasionally is brought up in the media as one from the past who made predictions about a future world.

Even as populations have increased and economic activities have been enhanced in the past 200 years across the Southern Hemisphere of Earth, societies here are relatively behind and still seemingly trapped in seemingly colonial platitudes, industries of the past with surprisingly low value add and with immature political structures.

South America and southern Africa have not shaken off the quagmire of governance and social revulsions, pulsating along a political spectrum of rule by socialist, dictatorial and right wing governments.

Australian governments are still content with exploitation of their raw resources, providing a key supplier of energy and mineral needs of nations pumping away in growth but located north of the Equator.

Australia, with one of the largest land masses for territory, has still not emerged to assert her own strategic interests and continue to perpetuate a mentality of being dependent on another Western nation.   She has not seized the oppprtunity to realise the huge advantages of her geographical location near the world's fastest growng area. 

New Zealand likewise has to break away from plucking the easier and low hanging fruit of tourism and agriculture.

No matter, both Antipodean countries do still attract migration from Asia, in waves from different countries due to a variety of economic, political and social factors.

The Northern Hemisphere however remains where the most relevant action occurs.

Innovation and research hubs remain in both Bay areas on both sides of the Pacific -  San Jose- San Francisco California and the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Macau-Shenzen region.   London, Washington-Baltimore, New York, Boston-Cambridge, Seattle, Chicago and Los Angeles shine for Anglo nations.

In north east Asia, Tokyo-Yokohama, Seoul, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nan Jing, Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto and Beijing propel like the bright city lights they exude in vibrancy of relentless growth.

Most growth centres encompass a profile of being financial, advanced technology, higher education and business investment hot spots.

It is no surprise that China and the USA lead in this respect.

Contemporary world events have also cast these two very same large nations in the speculation, dynamics and tensions for conflict.   Is it a clash of civillisations and ideology? Is it a time of the dominant old having to give way to a rising new?  Whatever it is, whatever the constant noise emitted, underlying reality and whatever the public is not told, in the end outcomes speak for themselves.

The "great trouble in the North" in so many ways can refer to a future drawn out conflict by the USA with Russia and China.  The world wars of the 20th century saw great divides between two groups of countries - for example, the Allies against the Axis powers and nations joining one side or the other accelerated the geographical spread of battles and destruction.

After the traumatic experience of massive, intense and widespread loss of lives and damage, there arose a non- aligned movement in the 1950s in which mostly African, Asian and South American nations chose not to be involved with the Western club of war winners from the European and Asia Pacific theatres of war.

As the 21st century approached, the momentum of this Non-Aligned Movement seemed to fizzle out.

Roll forward to 2025, eighty years after the Nazis and Japanese Imperial Army surrendered - and the world is once again regrouping into two sides - those who follow the lead of the USA and another who do not.

Significant changes since 1945 highlight great technology advances in societies once downtrodden and vulnerable; falling standards and quality of life in others once deemed superior; the greater mobility of migrants to enter nations once closed off;  the dearth of manufacturing in places that started the Industrial Revolution due to comparative labour costs; and rising educational levels which increased social and economic expectations and reality in so called previous "third world" countries.

Europe in the Northern Hemisphere has always been on the move from the Renaissance to its current nurturing of the European Union.

Geographically, continental Europe is relatively a smaller place than the expanse of land one travels through in the USA, China or Russia.  Unity and social cohesion remains a challenge for the various cultures and states of Europe.  Europe led in world affairs, colonised the rest of the world and had a confident heritage until the Second World War.

The lands lying between Europe, India, Africa and Central Asia have witnessed tumultous change of empires, birth of important religions and throbbed through aggressive cultures.  Several political entities here have been blessed with the world's dependency on petroleum - but this can come along with interference by foreign powers, violent disorders and instability for the unprotected. 

South east Asia and India have geopolitically entered a new era that is way past colonialism but are still riding the waves of political and ethnic nationalism.   Their populations for a variety of reasons contribute a large share of migrants to other parts of the world.  Politics here can be a mixed bag, attracting various versions of democracy, dictatorship, communism, royalty and socialism.

Standards of living, business dynamism and future growth do face risks from geopolitical turmoil.   Wartime means the further bloom in arnament sales but destruction and holding back of peace time share markets, inter cultural understanding, quality of life, supplies, public infrastructure networks, freer trade and economic returns.

Are conflicts fought over access to natural resources and food supplies?   Do troubles break out due to excess hormonic tribal pulses, in the name and push to uphold history, religion or culture?   Are battles fought with sacrifice of lives just because we are on the opposing sides of some imagined political spectrum or deeply rooted religious passion?

Are internal matters of a society interfered by outside parties instead of being allowed to be resolved without the manipulation by others?

Social upheaval can arise from ethnic tensions, divisions in multi-racial economies and changing governance arrangements.  Orders of the old world like royalty are diminishing.  On the other hand, when there is too much personal freedom, human instincts can long for being under personal political control.  History can repeat or rhyme for human societies.  New generations can forget, yearn for the past or experiment with drastic radical politics.

The British exported their language, government institutions, philosophy, religions and technology when they colonised the world.  Having superior technology in trade, science, arnaments, leadership and historical opportunity can embolden nationalism, cultural imperatives and the course of human civilisation.

The Northern Hemisphere has been saddled with the course of human progress, discord, capacity and impact.  The so called South may have been on the receiving end of initiatives and impact of incursions from the Northern Hemisphere, emphatically for Indigenous groups, but is not without her uniqueness and advantages.

The Southern Hemisphere seems to be an abode of relative remoteness, less pollution and a chance to restart and do things differently.  

Where negatively utilised, like in conducting nuclear testing, sourcing of slave labour and greedy exploitation of resources, these echo the dark sides of human behaviour.

Where positively shown, the Southern Hemisphere has been a refuge for the economically, religious and politically weary populations of Earth, where the atmosphere is relatively unpolluted and where one can still clearly see the stars of the Universe at night.

#yongkevthoughts

Days and Nights of Early Hope and Optimism

 I could recite the newly introduced Federal Government National Principles of the Nation ( written by bureaucrats),  thoroughly enjoying the efforts  to unite a society of various origins, beliefs and backgrounds, ostensibly through common values of love for a young country formed from the end of colonialism.

I even won a primary schools award for some competition in the declared national language, even if I cherished the so many other languages to speak and write in, at home, with extended family of relatives, socially and when communicating with people and passer-bys on the road.

In my childhood, I was less conscious of racial differences and already enjoyed the variety of food and culture from residing in a land blessed with the contributions of migrants originating from different places. I was not told much at school or outside school hours of the Peninsular's Indigenous inhabitants, with low numbers living in remote rural corners, not even having an opportunity to see or meet them in real life.

I was born after the British colonists left.   Their influence and heritage were still embedded in everyday matters of life, in the building architecture, place names, significance of rule of law and in the discourse of education.

English language was inherently taken granted by me as an international language of technology, geopolitics, art, science and economic growth.  I  still could not realise the role that Mandarin language escalated to in these contemporary times.  My social networks were on a emphasis of Western civilisation not anticipating the rejuvenation of things Eastern.

American entertainment, news, philosophy and propanganda dominated my growing up years.   The glory of the British Empire, even if she had already dismantled, refused to leave the pyschology and adoration of the adults I encountered.  Overseas, there were strong stirrings of the impact of the Cold War on a stage pitting democracy against communism, of left wing versus right wing, of human rights freedoms versus extremism, of domino collapse theories and surging nationalism.

One evening, the perceived sense of orderliness and improvement in my society was shattered by riots, violence, gas lighting and abhorrent display of divisiveness in a few urban hubs of the country I was born in.

My eldest brother had been on a train to the capital city to attend university.  Police had to escort him and his fellow passengers at the destination rail station for safety from the rampaging mobs.  Rumours, fear, uncertainty and disbelief rose in the hearts and pulse of those who stayed home to keep away from the violence reported happening on the streets.  My sense of innocence about the world and my society was shattered.

How would my society react to this landmark episode?

Would this be grabbed by the horns to resolve the underlying issues, fractures and problems?

Some say the colonists, before granting independence, had already embedded the divisiveness and nurtured the flames of dissatisfaction amongst the different races they ruled over for so long.

If the fissures and cracks were already there, could they have not been repaired?  Or those in power in the newly formed Federation very likely had different ambitions and plans.

And as they say, the rest is history.

My aspirations, love and sentiment for the country of my birth took an inevitable beating in due course.

Cikgu Othman at Francis Light School nurtured my handling of the national language - and I still have find memories of him as my teacher at an important stage of life.

I still recall how happily I rode the bicycle to the Penang Free School each day, with a classmate whose father worked at the nearby naval base.   Green Lane did not have the congested traffic one experiences today.

And my nation of birth is not the same one as in my childhood, changed beyond what I can fathom.

Note - Independence was granted by Britain to Malaya on 31.8.57.  Malaya, with Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore, created the Federation of Malaysia on 16 9.63.   Singapore left this Federation on 9.8.65 and became an island republic.

#yongkevthoughts

No Land Boundaries

 Let us look at some nations with no land boundaries, not sharing some of the problems and opportunities with another state crossable by road, walkover or possible easy infiltration.

1.    People you want to keep out must sail or fly over to reach your country.   Australia and New Zealand easily come to mind.  At times, you have too much of coastlines to monitor.  Passengers arriving by air have found it easier to overstay once they get into a nation with a tourist visa, especially when the country is vast and government checking resources are inadequate.

2.   The nearest foreign state is relatively far away.

In contrast, Iceland lies not that distant from the European suncontinent - so is the proximity between the Japanese islands and the Korean Peninsular.

Sulu and Mindanao, part of the southern Phillippines, are so temptingly near Sabah, north east of the huge island of Borneo but part of the Federation of Malaysia.

3.    You may truly be a relatively small island state, but technically you do not have a land boundary with a foreign nation.

Singapore is an island state, but have two bridge connections to Peninsular Malaysia.
Her strategic location in the midst of vital trading, air and supply routes has vastly contributed to her economic growth.

Malta and Cyprus enjoy having the Mediterranean Sea waters lapping on their shores, but are easily
accessible from Italy, Greece and Turkey.

4.    You may be surrounded by sea, but you are legally part of another nation far away.

Greenland, Hawaii and French Polynesia come to mind.   So are the areas carved out in the Antarctic. You are subject to the rules, norms and control of a state you do not have land boundaries with.

5.    You do not share a land boundary, but your demographics, culture and economics can be tightly knitted with your nearest neighbour.

Sri Lanka has historically had huge influence in several aspects from the Indian subcontinent.
Madagascar, Seychelles and the Maldives are other examples of this observation.

Mobility of humans,  advanced transportation and significant leaps in trade, technology and geopolitical developments have overcome any isolationist impact of nations with no land boundaries.

#yongkevthoughts

English Language News

 Nation wide news bulletins across a nation, small or large, understandably reflect the language, political shade and culture of her predominant inhabitants.

Across China, Pu Tong Hua or the Standard Speak, is pervasive across the massive extent of her territory, from Hei Long jian in the north east to Tibet in the south west.  The national tv broadcaster, CCTV, uses an updated version of a language agreed upon the embarkation  of the Republic formed after the fall of the last imperial dynasty in 1911.

We are what we speak.   Our thoughts are articulated in the language we speak.  We often do not lose the ability to speak the language of our childhood, in the community or nation where we first grow up.

The reinforcement of constant language spoken by or to us is reflected in what is articulated in news media, whether spoken, written, read or listened to.  Nations with a mainly homogenous demographic have no issues with the choice of official national language.

What then faces countries with  a diverse population in terms of ethnicity, culture and language?    There are societies facing this situation due to past colonialism,  history or active recruitment of immigrants from different parts of the world.

The Republic of South Africa has a dozen official languages but English and Afrikaans rule the news broadcasts there.
Singhalese dominate in Sri Lanka.  Both Thailand and Indonesia stand out in using only their national languages as news broadcasts, with English notably absent - this is understandable as Thailand was never colonised and Indonesia was under the Dutch colonists.  However, both countries have diverse cultural groups in their domain.

The island Republic of Singapore has a national language of Malay and three official languages of Mandarin, English and Tamil.  Yes,  the free to air news telecasts are available daily in all the four languages.   Even public announcements on the MRT reflect these four languages.

The nearby Federation of Malaysia in contrast has elevated Malay to increasingly be the de facto lingua franca of national and official stature.   I understand there may only be a sole English language news bulletin on free to air tv in Malaysia ( on a commercial channel if I am not wrong).   The numbers of non Malays in the current 34 million population of Malaysia has decreased since the 1980s due to migration, official discrimination,  low birth rates and political climate.

The United States has had an image of welcoming migration.   Think of the lure of the Statute of Liberty,  Hollywood movies, university admission,  relatively low taxation amongst the Western nations,  lifestyle attractions and the power of so called democracy.  Even if Latin Americans propel in numbers to be an ever larger percentage of the USA population,  the Englush language dominates in news broadcasts, although Spanish cannot be ignored,  especially in the parts that truly and formerly were part of Mexico.   Immigrants from overseas continue to take to the English language like ducks to water, especially those from former colonies of the now defunct British Empire.

Australia  had a long term White Australia Policy, until it was dismantled by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in the 1970s.   Since then it has embraced diversity in its welcoming of migrants, until recent developments domestically and in geopolitics.  It is said that capital cities
like Melbourne and Sydney have residents with backgrounds of around 200 nations.

The news media across Australia is mainly in the English language.  An exception is the free to air SBS service funded by taxpayers and going into its 50th year.  I recall being impressed by SBS streaming in news bulletins from across the world as early as the late 1980s.  I could tune in overnight to uncensored news presentations in their original non- English languages.  

Sad to say, since the reign of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Russian language news from Moscow and Mandarin language news from Beijing have not been allowed on SBS.   Instead SBS World Watch now streams in daily news bullletins of several languages from India, apart from Hindi.  There are perhaps 200 separate Indigenous cultures across the Australian continent, yet there is no regular news broadcast in any Aboriginal language.

English language news prevalence in daily news across Australia is spiked by access on free to air of news from the BBC, CBS, NBC, ABC USA,  Deutsche Welle, France 24,  CBC Canada, NHK and the Phillippines.

In recognition of the significant role of English as a practical international language of communication, technology, politics, finance and trade,  several newscasters of note provide world wide access of news in that language.

#yongkevthoughts

The Stars From The Universe Are Watching

 April and May 2025 can be emerging as a a transitionary time, when the stars of the Universe are looking at the choices of many groups of Homo Sapiens in their rituals and society behaviours.   Will the course of human civillisation encounter significant changes, or more things will be the same, with just different players forefront on the world stage?

Elections can be just smokescreens to seemingly give the human being on the street a sense of participation.   The powers that truly are can be putting the individuals they control as their continuing agents.

Registered voters head to the booths to mark their ballots in Canada, Singapore and Australia.   

Canada has seen the exit of long time Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government has overseen the age of Covid epidemics, changing attitudes towards relentless immigration,  more acknowledgement of past injustices towards her Indigenous peoples, continuing pressure from the government of her nearest neighbour and rising costs of living.

Singapore has a newly minted Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, urgently handling a sweeping change of the landscape in international  trade, finance and economic exchanges as the fall out from the return to power of a controversial person as the POTUS.  That latter person has recently been most effective in creating widespread uncertainty.

The Australian Labor Government seeking re-election on 3 May has at most been under performing under Anthony Albanese, who has been reluctant to differ in several respects from its Opposition,  continue to toe the line and requirements from the USA and been ineffective and mainly bushfire reactive to the rising costs of housing, food, utilities, lack of commercial competition and social issues.

Although restricted to the Conclave, laden with traditional secrecy and religious ritual,  the selection of the next Pope at the Vatican is essentially a political process.    The successful candidate, who emerges on the balcony after white smoke is seen bellowing,  presides over 1.4 billion Catholics, mainly in Africa, South and Central America, the Phillippines, Timor-Leste and Europe.

Nations outside the USA are scrambling to reorganise supply logistics, access to critical minerals and manufacturing ingredients, payment systems, trading arrangements, over reliance on the USA and other impacts on GDP and economic growth.

Military conflict, suffering by the masses as part of socio-political aggression, the enrichment of the arnaments business and an intense propaganda media channeling remain key features of continuing disputes in the part of the world that transverses Sudan, Yemen, Gaza, the West Bank,  Ukraine and bordering parts of Russia.

Will Europe wake up to being more self reliant, more proactive and united in her affairs and strategy?   It can be a time to diversify alliances, partners and arrangements.   So can the disparate nations of South-east Asia, historically caught between the tradewinds and politics of the so called East and West.   Problems can be opportunity,   challenges can be the time to build a new future.

The sanctions, boycotts and cutoffs faced by the Chinese economy in recent years have made China even more determined and passionate to significantly improve their growing advanced technology,  reduce strategic  risks and become more self sufficient.    This is a nation that does not have enough food security,  takes on the massive macro debts of an over spending USA and now beginning to reduce the utilisation of the USD, long seen as a safe vital currency.

So will change be grabbed by the horns of the proverbial bull?    Will voters choose more of the same?   Can political leaders realise that viable preparations for a very different social, political and economic future may be too late?   Will governments continue to bask in the comfort zone of a landscape that has disappeared and not come back?  Will societies continue to be led by individuals who think less of their own nation and follow the wants of another country?   Will cabinets wait for reactive mindsets, instead of being proactive?

#yongkevthoughts

Repeating and Rhyming

 "History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes."

Whoever is attributed to have first made that quote, Mark Twain or someone else, does not really matter.

More important is what seems to rhyme again, after historical lessons are not learnt.  Do events seem to occur again in varying forms, more because human beings as a society are embedded in their ways, mindset and political behaviour?

History seems to repeat when we reflect on the fall of massive empires.   We are told that such political behemoths were not eventually sustainable due to rebellions, food insecurity, loss of trading hegemony, religious change, collapse of governance, etc.

The things that made empires great no longer exist when such entities begin to collapse.   Borders have been transgressed,  militaries have been gutted, foreigners have made incursions and the last generation of rulers were not made with the same guts and talent as the empire founders.

The rules, checks and controls that made an empire great in its heyday no longer exist by its end.   Rome was an ideal when it was managed by Senators - then came dictatorship and disorder. 

The last Chinese dynasty rotted and collapsed when it looked inwards rather than adapt and adopt the challenges of a new world order.   The Ottoman rulers could not hold on to various and diverse corners of their vast lands.  The last vestiges of the Soviet Union promised better political freedom but not economic opportunity.  The Japanese imperialists ventured out beyond their islands on a hunger for natural resources available in the rest of Asia, but floundered when it got hit with the early version of terrifying nuclear war.

The Moghuls did not survive the onslaught of colonials who came with better technology, divide and rule strategies and a sweeping rush of the growing British Empire ( where once the sun never set upon her colonised lands).  The British Empire became a shadow of itself by the 1970s but still holds the allegiance of Canada, Australia and New Zealand through Governor- Generals.

So which next contemporary empire is gradually destined to fall?

And then there are corporate collapses.  East Asian thinking notes that businesses do not last beyond three generations of ownership.   When a successful idea is over run by competition, contrition, conviving of narrow mindedness by its Board or top management and lack of capability, its inability to change often overwhelms its outdated structures held on and modus operandi.

If customers and suppliers are berated or not appreciated, the foundations of a business are quickly torn apart, unless one dominates the market. 

When channels of sale and delivery or nature of market are significantly changed, inflexibility and lack of innovation are sure doom sayers.   Think of Kodak, Tupperware, the taxi industry, television channels, etc.

Rhymes of history affect us in parts of our everyday lives.

Why are infrastructure like highways and railways built with generous contracts given to private equity with the public taxpayer holding the repayment liability?

Why are casinos encouraged and thriving with not much concern about the social costs?

Why is priority given for immediate profits rather than concerns for environmental or public health?

Why are so many aspects of life privatised by government, with lack of monitoring of the performance and behaviour of those given public grants to run a service?

Even when there is obvious grief, disappointment and underperformance from those privatisation exercises, most Governments carry on in the same way, Australian Royal Commission hearings and recommendations or not.

Why are unhealthy foods allowed to lure, captivate and be consumed by individuals based on convenience, with lack of disclosure of balanced information and low cost driven with turnover emphasised revenues?

Despite the obvious sufferings incurred from outbreaks of war and use of aggressive weapons, the "civillisation" of human societies and geopolitics thrive on division, aggression, arnaments and conflict, rather than more seriously embrace shared values and moral practice.

Human selfish tribal mores over ride many alternatives - that is essentially driving the repeat of historical human behaviour and outcomes.

The specific players on the world stage can change, but not the acts, drama and memory.

What is the point of knowing and understanding history?  To know the past is to prepare for a better future - in theory at least.

History can rhyme but stand out leadership can break or reduce the cycle.   Such a leadership need not be from the political or religious field.

#yongkevthoughts

Blog 18th Anniversary - Oh Malaysia!

 Britain granted independence to Peninsular Malaya on 31 August 1957.  Here is one

of my previous write ups. 

As a child having a charmed life on Penang Island, this day was anticipated with much fanfare.  The lyrics of the National Anthem were reexamined in earnest.  Specials were screened at theatres and on telly.  No special cakes or delicacies were made though, even for a food obsessed society.

Neighbours did however come out in compounds to chat with each other.  English was still spoken with gusto - and everything Brit was still held with respect, much akin to parents in contemporary Malaysia still, having an embedded respect of university education in good reliable England.

I never questioned then what we were celebrating independence from. Sure, the history books said we were free from the yoke of imperialism, economic exploitation and rule by a foreign race.

But I could already enjoy the heritage of what Britain left behind in other positive aspects.  There was a Westminster based Parliamentary system.  We already had a royalty, from nine component states, left intact by colonial interests - in case anyone missed Queen Liz.  There were legal and governance systems already working in the Malayan Civil Service.

Transport infrastructure, education mechanisms and economic pillars were already well established, much better than in most newly founded nations.  There was a strong foundation of family, criminal, corporate and tax law like in Australia.

Friends of my parents, my classmates and neighbours relished in enjoying commonly shared values than focus on differences.
Socially, we immersed themselves in laughter, helping each other out and cultivating joint hobbies.

Gatherings were more spontaneous than formal, centring round fruit seasons, cultural festivals, good weather days and when people needed a listening ear.
In the classroom, there was a comradeship that transversed the boundaries of religion, ethnicity and class.

We valued the English language for its dominance in world trade. We learnt our respective mother tongues. By law, we learnt the Malay lingua franca.   In Penang, there was a Patois spoken that is still as colourful as in New Orleans, Papua New Guinea or in South Africa. 

Like in Sydney and Melbourne these days, we had access to several cuisines - and still do.   Friends of diverse backgrounds used to eat together at the same table, but I understand now they no longer do.  We picked up using the whole plethora of ingredients from well tried recipes from around Asia and Europe.

My Eurasian Uncle Cornelius exemplified the closeness of Malaysians when I was growing up.
He personified Christmas to me, with a joy from his Dutch heritage and his ability to make magic of a day when he visited.  Mum and our Sri Lankan neighbour' s wife made curries.   I still recall the beauty of furniture in the lounge when we visited Cikgu Iskandar.  I picked up bad words in Tamil, Hokkien, Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin and Malay - and they did have a punch which can hold their own in an ocker Aussie pub.

Soccer, badminton, late night suppers, jungle and beach trial walks, hide outs on Friday arvos after school - they all had no racial identification.  There was a strong underlying and unspoken bond of just being humans, of growing up and of connecting to society.

What seemed like benign bureaucratic practises - like of being identified by race and religion, instead of just being Malaysian - in retrospect, evolved into tools of separation, social alienation and discrimination.  Critics blame the colonial authorities for laying down the seeds of the current socio-political structure in current day Malaysia.   They cite the "divide and rule" strategy utilised to manage a diverse society like Malaya before independence.   However, once tey were their own rulers, the politicians of the day reinforced this policy, instead of applying fresh and innovative approaches like meritocracy,  equity and tolerance.

As a child in Malaysia, I vaguely recall a night curfew imposed in Penang, due to riots and social disorder.  Such tools of social and political control can be primitive in looking back, for now there are other covert or other more effectivs tools of political manipulation, corruption in theft of state funds, mass cajoling of the emotions of voters and gerrymandering of electorate borders.

Malaysia's ideal democratic practices have sadly been whittled or hijacked as the nation moved to the 21st century.   There has grown a culture of dependency on state hand outs to a majority of its denizens, who dominate the military, civil service, universities, police, banks and economic or trading monopolies.  The growing emphasis by a series of Prime Ministers since the 1980s in linking political power with financial kleptocracy measures has taken a severe impact on the nation's vibrancy and future prospects.

Malaysia is a land of abundant resources, scenic landscapes and potential.  It has been the less than desired management by its leaders that have now rendered it less attractive for investment potential than its nearby neighbours if Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore.

My birthplace has petroleum resources, agricultural wealth, manufacturing capability and strides between China, India and Australasia.  Yet some key factors continues to suppress its future potential - leadership, mindset, history and inertia.  Blame shifting has also been a characteristic of its past.  Soon there may be no one else to put the blame on, apart from themselves.

Before the arrival of Covid, the seeds of problems and embedded issues have nor been resolved. A pandemic only amplifies the weaknesses and rifts already raging in a nation.

So far from the evening equatorial thunderstorms, smells and sights of a colourful street and the chatter of boyhood mates, I reflect - can Malaysia turn round a corner?

#yongkevthoughts

Federal Australian Election Results 2022

 The last time around, what now for 2025?

The 2022 Federal election results across Australia has unearthed the following: 

1.  The only Federal MP of Indian background, Dave Sharma, has lost his seat. 

2.   Independent candidates have made their significant stride by winning at least 10 electorates. 

3.   For the first time in Australian history, the Prime Minister does not have an Anglo- Saxon family name. 

4.   The only Federal MP of Hong Kong descent, Gladys Liu  has lost her seat after one term. 

5.   The Greens have increased their seats to at least 4. 

6.    Well known  incumbent Liberal Party MPs have lost their seats. 

7.   The retiring French Foreign Minister could not help showing his glee at the loss incurred by the outgoing government of the Coalition's Morrison. 

8.    The critical voting states of Queensland and Western Australia helped to tip the win for the incoming Federal Government. 

9.    Around 5.5 million people had early voted before the actual Federal Election Day. 

10.   This was a most important election held during an unsettled epidemic. 

A good change after the last 4 years with Morrison as PM. 

Australian governments rotate between the Coalition and Labor, but more voters are now disillusioned with the two main parties. 

A change at Canberra can help positively reset the decaying state of diplomatic relationships between China and Aus. 

Climate change initiatives can be taken up by Canberra in a more pro-active way. 

A Federal anti corruption body is closer to reality. 

Will society get a more fair deal , especially for teachers, front line workers and grassroots employees, than the super rich with connections to politicians?

Politics Along Party Lines

 A thought from the past, but equally pertinent today....

Why are politicians from different shades, across the world, so often overly divisive and aggressive to operate against each other, especially along party lines?

I reckon these politicians are in their own egoistic and deluded bubbles, fighting each other, instead of finding common values to work for society -  and continuing to overly find fault with each other and forgetting to serve the people?

Obsessive and addictive toeing to political party imperatives can be so dangerous, psrticularly
when led by narrow minded leaders.

I observe loyalty to party lines can lead to loss of common sense and hijacking of important agendas by party leaders.

Such is the fault and fracture of so called contemporary  democracy - the practitioners forget they are there to help the public and not themselves.

#yongkevthoughts

Professions, Politics and Your Personal Choice

At times I do wonder...... So called professions impose a strict regime on the entry of members to their groups. The rules, policies, examinations, continuing training and unspoken traditions can be viewed, at the very best, as maintaining or enhancing the quality of admitted members. At the other end of the scale, it also works to limit the quantity of practitioners, imbue them with a privileged sense of exclusivity and pull into better consensus as to which future directions the profession's core wants.

 Is politics a profession? If it is, there do not seem to be the same formal admission processes required otherwise of most trades and professions. The clue is in the nature of the beast - politics essentially thrives on informality, flexibility, relationships, strategisation and personalities. Yet the stark difference is that one does not have to obtain academic qualifications to enter politics.

Politics can be compared to fulfiling tribal tendencies and imperatives of human nature. Power - and the ability to exercise it - can be the most attractive feature captivating to those individuals and parties who have tasted it. And this political power reigns supreme to direct, manage and control the lives of other individual human beings, who can have much better attitudes, talents and skills than people in politics.

The Achilles heel in so called contemporary democratic systems is that in the extreme, radicals, fools and those with the loudest voices - and not necessarily with the best qualifications -find they can exploit the system to enrich, empower and elevate themselves without care or concern. The inherent and actual power of politicians can embed society into collective consequences which voters do not deserve. Politicians influence the investment climate, the working enviroment of medical frontliners and the very basis of a progressive civilisation - the law. Just to name a few. It disturbs me that so called enlightened human beings allow such a risk to continue to manifest itself. 

As I am told, do not blame anybody else, if I allow the corrupt, the hoodwinkers and the hypocrites to be my political leaders. To be fair, not all politicians are negative. Yet, for example, most professional bodies do not demand improvements in the political sector - and are left to be subject to the vagaries and whims of the ruling political power, good or not so good. Perhaps professional bodies can learn more from political parties - to be more savvy in networking, to improve its image and communications, to form alliances with bodies outside its niche profession and to help develop society in its broadest possibilities. Those who remain overly quiet can be relegated to the sidelines. Those who speak out can be effective, if they are persuasive, address needs and have connections. Those who speak out with over the top vibes and misleading agendas can become obvious as to intent. For anyone, with or without membership of a formal professional body, what is your choice?

Do not let misleading politicians of not so desirable intent insult our inherent intelligence.

 Every action of ours is important, when we make it so. This is not just applicable for professional and political bodies. #yongkevthoughts

Europa Europa

 Europeans are often viewed as originating in the north west corner of the Northern Hemisphere.  This misperception of the term "European" can downplay the extensive presence of Slavic demographics in Russia, south eastern Europe and the eastern Slav nations.

Russia has lands extend from eastern Europe to the coasts above Japan, Korea and China - 77 per cent of Russian territory is in Asia, although most Russians live in Europe. Russia can be said to be straddling both Europe and Asia.

It really depends on a point of view.

The European continent as such can be seen as layers of differing historical, religious and cultural implications.  The Vikings were focused on colder climes, as opposed to the Mediterranean nations that were the locations of the Greek, Roman and Ottoman traditions.

In between are the core of what is perhaps to be central European -  Latin influenced territories meeting up with Germanic homelands and spreading into the Balkans.

The impact Europe has made on the contemporary world has been having better technology, implementing colonisation, stirring geopolitics, conducting the major wars of the 20th century and securing world wide trade links. 

The Empire under which the sun once never sets - the British - has spawned five Anglocentric societies that still cuddle together in political flavour and intent in the 21st century. 

Apart from the Mother Country, the other four already have resident Indigenous peoples before their colonisation.  Britain used to extensively rely on agricultural, human, logistics and military resources from this alliance - and still do to varying extents.  Three of these nations still have a British monarch at the top of the chain.

There are two obvious nations geographically far removed from Europe -  but evolved into their present day realities primarily built from European settlement.  One is Argentina, populated by southern Europeans - and the other is Australia, first settled by the British and Irish.  Each nation is sited in a part of the world surrounded by non European cultures.

Being geographically located so close to northern Africa and the so called Middle East, Europe has significantly been affected by outside influences.  The European mind has in the long term been heavily influenced by, amongst others:

Arabian mathematics,
Greek philosophy,
Roman infrastructure,
City states that valued diversity, Mongolian attacks,
Muslim rule,
the Renaissance,
political upheaval,
artistic movements,
the power of royalty and
movement of peoples attracted by her wealth and relative freedoms.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had their daughters married off across various European royalties, including that to the last Russian Tsar. 

The remnants of colonialism in the 20th century had Indians, Africans and south east Asians establishing residential status across France, Holland, the UK and Spain. 

The conflicts in 21st century Arab nations, economic seekers from Africa and south Asia and left wing political correctness added to another wave to another significant wave of migration, particularly to Germany and the Scandinavian nations.

The Indian diaspora seems to now be at its height of dispersion and extensiveness.
A transformative event was the expulsion of ethnic Indian residents from Uganda.  This started the Indianisation of Britain, which had to accept them based on their colonial status.  The Empire struck back and Anglo Indian manifestation spread onwards from Mother England to Canada and the United States.

Indian political and cultural prowess had already been evident in south east Asia before the advent of Islam and European takeovers.  Perhaps Indianisation here was more successful than Sinofication - one just reflects on evidence of Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, artefacts, arts and structures scattered from present day Vietnam to Java.  The rather significant Indian influences also expressed themselves in language - contemporary Malay or Indonesian language has words originating from Sanskrit and other Indian tongues.

Will this historical Indian influence now seep and revive into the fabric of the five Anglicentric nations?  It has already established more than a beach head in the United Kingdom.  Will Indianisation jump across the Channel into mainland Europe - which is already grappling with Muslim demographics in the key nations of France, Germany and Scandinavia?

In eastern Europe, questions have arisen as to whether Russia wants to expand beyond her borders, or just wants to maintain her historical integrity.  Continental Europe's past has been significantly marked by what three powers do -  German- Prussian, French or Russian.  British royalty has Germanic foundations.  Europeans have given the world her share of philosophers, scientists, artists, political leaders and dictators.

South of the borders of Russia are the central Asian states and China.  China and India had the largest economies in the world before the onslaught of sailing ships, colonisation and the rise of European powers.  White Russians have lived together with Manchurians, Koreans and Han Chinese in the north eastern corner of the Eurasian mass.  The role of Russians as Europeans interacting with Asians has often been underemphasised.

The closeness of Communism from Soviet Russia into the development of Chinese Communism has resulted from how most European colonial powers treated a fledging and weak Chinese Republic after the fall of the last royal dynasty in 1912.
Key China leaders did however spend their formative years savouring and exploring revolutionary ideas and polititical thought in Paris.

The rather embedded sentiments in Europe from 1945, with the United States and her four Anglo connected partners rescuing Europe from the Nazis, are still difficult to shake off.  This sentiment perhaps has to be seriously resolved as Europe navigates into the future.  Europe has this vital opportunity to implement her own strategic interests and values in the face of changing geopolitics and the rise of a multi-polar world.

Most European powers have divested of their colonies, except for France and the United Kingdom.   Emerging powers are now strengthened by rising abilities in technology, infrastructure, trade and new networks in political relationships - not in far flung isles, navy ports of old and geographical spots which are no longer
strategic.

#yongkevthoughts

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

Elevated official superiority of one specific race  - Apartheid.
NAZI GERMANY

Extensive corruption extra ordainare -  Extreme Financial Greed.
DICTATORS AND KLEPTOCRATS

Discrimination even in small matters increasing to Utter Intolerance - History Repeats Itself and Lessons Never Learnt.
1980s SOUTH AFRICA.

Blindness to not developing society by education, merit and open values - Self Impediment and Destruction.
OPPOSITE OF INDEPENDENT SINGAPORE.

Divide and Rule learnt from colonisers followed by an Independent Country - Socio-political disintegration.
MYANMAR

Loss of inherent culture by push to strongly implement practices borrowed from another country - Significant loss of one's own heritage.
RISKS FACING SOME EMIGRANTS

Numbers of specific demographics dwindling, increasing emigration, export of human talent and tightening of blatant intolerance - Huge social change happening for years already.
21st Century VENEZUELA.

Fissures embedded already in a specific race, many of whom already subject to a hand out mentality,  sufferance of being exploited by the powerful and rich and the suppression of true development of a race -  Fooling the people.
EXPERIENCE OF THE INDIGENOUS

#yongkevthoughts

Wheels of Change

 

The wheels of change keep on turning, even for simple routines in daily life.

There is no longer the past pleasure of visiting newsagents in Australia.  The quality and variety of print has reduced, with persistant rise in prices.  Such outlets still arw shelves for stationary - although they still sell greeting cards, that again is a shrinking industry.  Many newsagents now serve Australia Post functions in banking services.  Many customers tend to be older and visit the newsagent for lotto purchases and claims.
Newsagents can now be flooded with souvenirs and be collecting centres for dry cleaning.

Supermarkets sell insurance on site or online.   Their aisles are domimated by processed food with a common emphasis on high sugar, salt and preservative levels - and there are those confusing stickers on prices.  They are coralling us to self checkouts while not fully believing our integrity to do the right thing to properly pay.  We provide the revenue for their executives and shareholders - and yet are disrespected and mistrusted.

Who watches television any more?
Owners of such media fill up their propanganda and agenda to bombard our minds and sensitivities, instead of providing us with more balanced menus.
The alternatives can be no better.  Advertisements illustrate the reality that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Streaming services force us to
lap up commercials - and even the creativity of ads has gone down in standards.

Politics in any society these days can reek of the dearth in leadership, uniqueness and care for the public.  It is obvious a lot of taxpayer funds are used for more selfish purposes than for what ideal principles call for. Parliamentarians reveal more of their streaks in self preservation, self entitlement and egoistic drives.  The use of increased political labels confuses the ordinary voter of what each political party stands for.  Politics can be hijacked by powerful foreign agents to serve overseas demands rather than to have governments "by the people, for the people and through the people".

Political correctness in various forms can also be manipulated by niche groups to reinforce emotion, support and wins for themselves, rather than for the general good of society.  Individuals and groups who are most vocal can shout down the other viable needs of others.  Those who choose to remain silent or not participate can truly lose out.   The so called democratic way of politics can be hijacked by non democratic forces.  The system of majority decisions to enforce questionable measures for a country assumes that every voter is informed, intelligent and rational - when the reality is not.

Corporate and institutional misbehaviour is not sufficiently punished.  Deterrants are miniscule in personal or financial implications for breachers, offenders and recalcitrants, when compared to the illegal rewards. Compliance policies and standards are increasingly  meant for show and not implementation.  Offenders know that in practice their existence is dependent only on a narrow band of key support - and they can really point their nose to the rest.

There definitely has been a spike in our expectations.  Food, products and other consumables are delivered so fast.  We no longer pour over traditional sources of knowledge or research but tend to rely on software, AI and digital systems to add to our personal knowledge. There is a corresponding loss in the value of patience. 

As the population increases, supply and logistics crumble under reinforced demands for services in many areas. 
Where aging infrastructure has not been improved, renewed or rebuilt, weak points develop but often ignored or denied by the authorities. 

Thank goodness, Nature still assures us in the cycle of growth, bloom and renewal. Most dogs have not changed their personalities and penchant to connect positively with our human needs.  When there is rain, sunshine will follow.  Colours still appear in hues and intensity wgen day changes to night - and vice versa.

#yongkevthoughts

Pausing to Reflect on Our Contemporary Society

 Just like inside the proverbial witches pot, let us reflect on the contemporary world to muse on what has been brewing for some time now -  and can potentially cook more in this third decade of the 21st century. 

The past is not a sure guide for the future, but currently reading the key leaves hanging from the prediction tree is not a wasted exercise. Why wait until the typical and reactive hue and cry when the pot does boil over? 

In geopolitics, we have witnesed how endless banter and chat in halls of distinguished looking human beings do not do much in resolving matters of any severity.  Where there is no empathy in wilfulness - and where controlling mindsets are embedded in selfishness and divisiveness - problems get multiplied. 

Increasing control in the background by truly powerful interests around the world - whether in finance, politics, arnaments, technology or emotional articulation of self entitled beliefs - will impact on a world run on short termism, less supporting resources  and increasing manipulation of the way the masses think and react. 

There are events that can spring a

surprise, but there can be related causes that many of us have wilfully ignored or are in long denial, for whatever reasons, justified or not. 

1.  Continuing down trodding of and discrimatory treatment in practice of specific groups of people in an age of supposedly human enlightenment. 

2.   Blurring of facts, opinion and lies in matters of science, health and medical norms. 

3.   Significant breakdown in the regulatory environment where 

organisations and individuals who breach know they can mostly get away scot free. 

4. Dehumanisation of commercial, institutional and other human interaction transactions. 

5.    The loss of inner meaning for human beings despite experiencing improved physical facilitation, greater mobility and the growing availability of instant gratification. 

6.   The debasement of original meanings of specific phrases as they are publicly misused and quoted by parties with a negative intent. 

7.  Increasing distraction of humans with trivial and temporary matters by the powers that be with addictive methods, gadgets and overly processed consumption. 

8.  The increasing failure to develop and implement innovation in the way societies and economies are run, especially with larger populations who have higher expectations. 

9.   The pervasive and lingering preoccupation in media with rather negative matters rather than appreciating the positive ones to balance the full and overall picture. 

10.   The dire need to better manage the vast amount of accumulated and future data by individuals, governments, on line data banks and other parties. 

When you next get an opportunity to observe matters, do any one of the above ten dotpoints apply? 

And please do suggest another dot point on your mind to the list above, thank you.

#yongkevthoughts

Whatever Will Be, Will Be

 When I got to vote, 

l asked my Missee, 

Will I now kick off the rogue

who's been fooling me? 

Will I be truly free, will I feel neat?

Here's what she said to me. 

Que Sera, Sera,

Whatever will be, Will be.

Politics is just not for thee,

Que Sera, Sera,

Whatever will be, Will be. 

When I paid my dues and joined the Melee,

I asked my Party what lies ahead?

Will we have rainbows day after day?

Here's what my Party said to me. 

Que Sera, Sera,

Whatever will be, Will be.

Politics is just not for thee,

Que Sera, Sera,

Whatever will be, Will be. 

Now I have a Branch of my own

Members ask their Mentor what will they be,

Will they have power? Will they be rich?

I tell them tenderly, 

Que Sera, Sera,

Whatever will be, Will be.

Politics is just not for thee,

Que Sera, Sera,

Wharever will be, Will be. 

- Lyric variation by KY

Que Sera Sera was a hit song by Doris Day,

featured in the Alfred Hitchcock movie,

"The Man Who Knew Too Much."

Compare The Pair

 

The longest reigning royalty.
The shortest ruling Prime Minister in a nation's history.

Both were not given their roles in democratic elections.
One talks too much, the other was so consistently discerning, in reflection.

Both are called Liz.
One has enjoyed the glory of Empire.
The other aspires for power, Sire.

One has long overcome episodes of family rife and public dissent.
The other cannot handle six weeks of political turmoil and resentment.

One met the last Queen, the other shook the hands of an inexperienced wannabe.

One is a familiar authority recognised through generations.
The other now seems more like a figment of a horrible reality, not imagination.

Empires come and go,
what makes good leadership more treasured than gold?

The Autumn of Britain, 2022.

#yongkevthoughts

The Achilles Heel of Nations

States are formed in the political scheme of power as envisaged by human beings.   Previously there were kingdoms, fiefdoms, empires and more.   Whatever the label, political entities are strong statements of unity and control under a declared culture, way of society, a dynamic personality of aruler or dynastic rulers, religion, trading hub or federation of smaller states.

Singapore, now a modern city state of a Republic, was part of the British Empire for many years.  Eighty years ago, on 15 February, colonial troops surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army, which had quickly conquered the Malayan peninsular after the attack on Pearl Harbour in Hawaii.  ( On 19 February that same year, 1942, the Japanese air force bombed Darwin).  The British had concentrated their defences in Singapore facing south towards the sea, instead of also providing for defences along the island's north.  This was a lesson of Achilles Heel that was learnt at much cost in human casualty, military strategy and economic damage.

The animal kingdom marks out territories for food, reproduction, survival and climate adjustment.   Human beings, with all their philosophy, religious orders and assumed brainy higher order of development, still exhibit inherent and obvious behaviours of aggression, geographical control and reshaping Earth.

Maybe in certain locations, we did not have the contemporary extent of greed in the prior history of human kind, as opposed to what is demonstrated by commercialised and militarised powers in today's world.   Most indigenous tribes, which still survive today, still emphasise not harming the Earth in its landscape, water systems, biospheres and fauna management - they only take what is enough for them and not to supply an over consumerist society.  These long standing human groups knew the Achilles Heel is to over exploit Earth and her bounty - and not make Nature's gifts unsustainable.

The multi-national corporates which confront these older cultures, when carving out huge dams, deforesting wide tracts of long growing forests or scarring Earth for its valued minerals underneath, can operate outside some confines of individual state power.

Looking at the stage of world order today, in the beginning of the 21st century, what soft belly and vulnerable portions of societies stand out? 

One feature of Achilles heel for nations is their geographical location or shape.

It is often said, when looking at a map, that the Korean Peninsular can be viewed as hanging out and hovering over the southern Japanese islands.  Sicily is like being at the foot of the Italian boot. The two main islands of New Zealand are seen by the Maoris as two large boats in an wide open ocean.  Borneo either looks like a roosting hen or a comfortably seated bear.   The bottom half of South America reminds one of the tail of a mermaid.

If your nation is controlling a vital trading route, especially a narrow one like a canal or strait, it can be a two edged sword of a geographical feature - harvest prosperity,  or be a target for takeover by foreigners.  The colonials from the 16th to the 20th centuries fought for control of the Straits of Malacca, which still has a stranglehold of passage for ships from the Indian Ocean to transverse into the South China Sea.   Gilbratar, a tiny figment of space at Spain's southern tip, is a significant cross roads between Africa and Europe, between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.    The Straits of Bosphorus divides not only the ancient and still important city of Istanbul, but also marks the line between southern Europe and the Middle East.   Again, it is a sea of water that separates Siberia from Alaska  - why ever did Russia sell Alaska to the Americans?   Russia's main access to shipping in Europe is the Baltic Sea  - apart from the Black Sea which has waters lapping at the Crimean Peninsular.

So in the 21st century, huge funded powers can control the weak points in internet, cyberspace and wifi delivery.

When you are a landlocked country, that can be your significant disadvantage and you require more options.   When your nation has huge ambitions - and the resources to realise further -  you want to expand your territorial control to another ocean.  Great Britain, in her days of Empire, demonstrated that, followed by the USA spreading out from its Atlantic coast origins.   

Switzerland, at the centre of inland Europe, however is an exception - she chose to be minimally involved with the complexity of European politics, wars and power staging - and cleverly nurtured her neutrality to be a beacon of relative peace, eventually offering her devices to host being a broker and focus on a better quality of life for her peoples.

When you have significant resources of minerals, bio materials and fossil fuels which Earth's commerce still wants in copious amounts, it can be your strength or weak point.   Financial powers linked with politics scramble to your door step to unearth your resources at the cheapest price - and make fortunes processing them before they arrive at the lap of the ultimate consumer.    

Western Australia's riches, Brazil's exploited resources, South east Asian forests and petroleum in unstable nations have been targets.  Countries that do not apply more technology, to add value to their natural resources being dug up, do usually and eventually lose out in the high stakes of economics, trade and finance.

There is always money and trade hidden behind the outbreaks of war.

We are told to get involved in war outbreaks around the world to fight for freedoms and democracy, but a more intelligent populace knows that the viability for such talk is getting thin.  

The Achilles heal for militarily mighty nations is that the ability to wage effective warfare is now spread across more nations.  There is more effective competition and decreasing ability to lord over the rest.

Warfare is sadly engaged by commoners at the ground level, directed by commanders in safe and comfortable hideouts calling the shots.    Are such commanders thinking more of a better life for their subjects, after waging a war, or are they more interested in protecting their privileges in controlling the financial currency of trade, their monopoly of vital assets like petroleum and in maintaining the world order where they still can be kings?   The world stage concurrently faces more political tensions as  emerging super powers possess increased abilities to face the incumbents.   The soft belly for powerful militaristic nations is the loss of control of what funds them.

If no wars break out , the huge ornaments industry will be significantly affected financially and in production of inventories.

So there can be prominent nations always seeking out issues, carrying out covert work and stirring up groups to create conditions leading to confrontation and military fights.

An obvious Achilles heel of nations is the inability or not having capacity to secure sufficient control of vital operations.   It may be the easier thing for governments to outsource more and more operations, leaving control to multi-national corporations, commercial providers other countries and entities outside their political control.   Have you come across a nation's government  keeping reserves of vital supplies in a foreign nation, located thousands of kilometres away?  Some nations do it probably because they do not have enough physical capacity to store those vital supplies, being a small island state does come to mind.  Others, even with lots of land, still amazingly keep their back up reserves physically in an allied nation far away.

In the still intense stage of international politics, a soft belly of usually weaker nations is to be used as a pawn in the high stakes chess game of proxy war.  Such a stage will mean this specific nation is targeted to cause a diplomatic or military incident, which then sparks off a larger argument, point of difference and the commencement of long simmering hostilities.   The sad state of such a soft belly being utilised is that usually the main opposing powers do not wage a physical or virtual battle in their own precious territories, but only on the land of the used smaller state.  They say to be careful to choose your friends, for having alliances with unsavoury powers that make use of you for spying facilities, battle waging and buffering against the sworn enemy can be expensive for smaller states.

Finally, but not exclusively, is the manner of how ruling governments treat and manage voters in a so called democracies.  It is getting obvious that electoral processes can be manipulated by hidden and overt powers in such political systems.   The game of playing dirty seems to be more blatant across the world in the beginning of this 21st century - ponder how significant corruption has broken out without much accountability and shame in more nations.   The manner in which Covid has been handled by ruling powers has brought out their deficiencies, intentions and power play in such pronounced ways.    Going forward, let the people judge.

It Has Been Too Long

 

We are coming to the second anniversary of the arrival of C19 in late January 2020.

Amazingly, the number of infections in most states of Australia have skyrocketed beyond modelling, imagination and expectation.

Cases of the latest mutated strain are also spiking in at least tens of thousands across nations which have governments embracing Omicron.

So it does all fall logically like the snow in a severe northern hemisphere winter.

Back in greater Sydney, the reporting of infections have become muddled in this new year - are they from self test kits, public testing facilities, from Omicron or from false online data input? Who knows, we are not told of useful breakdown in information anymore.

What we experience instead are more alerts about we having visited venues at the same time as confirmed infectees (through use of the QR code scanning) and that more of people we directly know are down with infections.

For about two years, we knew confidently how to get help if we got infected.  Now we are discouraged from going to the gp system or hospital network - we are strongly told by authorities to basically self manage.

It is so ironic that the main reason, for the fast opening up  to embrace the Coronavirus, is for reasons of economic continuity, political strategy and undisclosed agendas. 

Supply and human resource shortages have since in a few weeks undermined the micro economy.  Politicians are becoming more naked in their lack of ideas apart from pushing the populace for more vaccination shots. 

The lack of effective leadership has sent a multiplier effect to increase uncertainty, doubt, confusion and desperation amongst the public.  It has been reported that the public across Greater Sydney has made a voluntary lockdown upon themselves, as opposed to mandated lockdowns of the past.

It may be safer even a year or two ago compared to conditions prevailing now.

Continuing emphasis on underplanning, reacting with ever changing micro rules and not bothering with implementation roadblocks can be the ruse of  several governments today.  The public may want to be ever so compliant - but finding it increasingly difficult to do as told - and more are questioning the ridiculousness and inefficacy of it all.

I know of more friends of mine letting it loose and travelling more.  Is such mobility transient, saddled with inconvenience and only offering temporary relief?

Information and data are dished out in even more obvious selective ways.
Various significant same parties are never blamed, while the onus of responsibility is put on the shoulders of the public.  Many more so called leaders continue to spell out doom and gloom, without offering an iota of workable solution.

The same phrases and lingo are uttered by those in charge, like on cue, seemingly so well coordinated in double speak that does nothing to stop the spread of this problem.

Governments at different levels are swirling in dealing with undesired developments following the decision to embrace the disease and not bother with anything else.

Each of us are now allowed - except in Western Australia, China and certain parts of the EU - to do exactly the things we were forbidden from in 2020 and most of 2021.  There is a huge shift to dropping prevention and cuddling reaction in the mindset of people empowered to take care of us.

The Coronavirus itself never listens to the daily political briefings held in its name - and only gung ho looks for another human host to propogate, according to the science oft quoted.

It has been too long in testing our patience.

#yongkevthoughts

The Arrival of Omicron

With the arrival of another C19 mutation, Omicron, it looks like an increasing case of deja vu. Flight arrivals from the first hotspot nations are banned. There is a dearth of knowledge amongst experts, bureaucrats and politicians on how a new mutation will play out. Infections are confirmed amongst individuals who arrived from hotspot nations, but they arrived before any arrival bans. Such individuals had total freedom of movement when they visited what are now called exposure spots in the local community, before feeling unwell and testing positive. Will there be breaches at the control points of disembarkation and quarantine accommodation? Citizens and PRs of destination countries, coming from hotspot nations, are isolated for 14 days after arrival, but we are no longer told where exactly they are quarantined. The word "hotels" is no longer mentioned. The playbook in response by authorities looks amazingly familiar. After two years, there are seemingly no new ideas, except perhaps to take comfort in a high population percentage who have offered to be jabbed seemingly three times within 12 months. The first reaction upon hearing the arrival of Omicron is to promote booster shots. The difference this time, is significantly, that most nations tell their denizens that they have to live with the Coronavirus, so that the economy can bounce back. Even when air travel is opened up more than ever, the range of process just to get on a commercial aircraft to a foreign destination and return to the home country - testing, insurance and more - can be a most inconvenient one. The biggest challenge to us as individuals is the potential growth in uncertainty, just when our mindsets and expectations have moved to more certainty. Not again! is my first thought. Once the proverbial cockroach breaches our international border sentries, authorities have to decide whether the old regime of mass testing, varying levels of lockdowns, scanning QR codes, face masking, ensuring social distancing, hospitalisations and the lot - are back in force, or do they have to come up with more innovative approaches? Unsavoury authorities can still continue to hide behind the excuse of Omicron to implement more of their dark agendas - hopefully not. Are we facing a scenario of accepting more infections, downplaying specific risks, allowing more personal freedoms and deemphasising the collateral damage to society and individuals? The arrival of Omicron and the intent of many governments to want us to learn to live with Delta and any future mutations, now dovetails to a critical stage. Not enough is known about Omicron today, so will it fizzle out to nothing or will it step up the complexity for us and our rulers? #yongkevthoughts

Can You Recognise Such a Person?

 

Which person of prominence, in your observation or knowledge, can you attribute the following behaviour? 1. Never misses a photo opportunity to promote a certain political purpose or impression. 2. Cites higher powers for being chosen to lead to a bigger destiny. 3. Manipulates other sources of power or spins events to fast track a selfish agenda. 4. Has clear ideas on the kind of new social order he wants entrenched. 5. Utilises position to exploit nationalist sentiments in playing politics. 6. Downplays the past record to hide any deficiencies and divert attention for purposes of the present or future. 7. Changes previously strong alliances when convenient or when no longer required for purpose. 8. Utilises extreme marketing approaches to confuse between the nation, the nation's way and what is really his personal way. 9. Resorts to ruthlessness, aggression and trickery on rhe quiet to get to the top of the ladder. 10. Controls the media in reporting to, influencing and fooling the populace - and personally good in stirring up the public. Every one reading this will by now have one or two personalities in mind, but the listed features above were all truly characteristic of Hitler.