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

Geopolitics

 A  Reminder......

The risks of war accumulate,
as deceit, tempers and quarrels grow.
Moderation and tolerance are hard pressed to reduce the heat,
as thinking and mindsets of controlling politicians get to an all time low.

So am I an ordinary citizen supposed to go with the flow,
even if I abhor destructive creep.
If not enough of us do not stand up to say No,
we are at the mercy of those who will make us weep.

#yongkevthoughts

Paper, Where Art Thou?

An update.

 So paper continues to be on the way out in our daily lives. Or so it seems, perhaps reinforced by the need to be more contactless, surfaceless and storageless in this Age of Technological Revolution.

It can be interesting we are not always offered the paper receipt or invoice at cafes, newsagents, produce outlets and eating places, as the transaction is already captured online.  If you want a copy of the receipt, you have to give an email address - and such email addresses can be further possibly be spamned or hacked.

Paper based products are still gooxld to blow a nose, absorb the excess oil after a deep fry and in demand for our delicate bums after answering Nature's call.  Yet the wheels of contemporary commerce discourage paper trails with their consumers, embedding the writing in the wall for printers and the use of the still pervasive suburban post box.

Paper shredders can go the way of the extinct Dodo bird.  People may still enjoy the feel of the ever shrinking daily newspaper and love their grilled fish served on printed paper.  The disposable virus protector face mask is essentially crafted from paper layering.  Magazines are no longer the companions on rainy days, long train rides and at afternoon tea sessions at home that they once were.  Are trees being saved with a reduced usage of paper, or trees are depleted anyway for other stronger reasons?

Electronic screens are increasingly held more than paper pages.  Libraries and street bookshops are still significant custodians of knowledge on paper despite it all.  The vulnerabilities of holding knowledge and information on paper are highlighted by the storage of things and data on virtual clouds and internet files, but the latter has other risks inherent and subject to hacking, contamination and identity theft.

Butcher paper, art materials and Origami still retain an elegance and usefulness about paper.  The historical transformation of paper originating from papyrus reeds to its important role in spreading knowledge and equity, as accessible printed items can never be underestimated. 

Contemporary technology has led us to increasingly abandon paper as a medium, but perhaps paper will still be utilised for other but more niche purposes.  The role of paper as money in currency circulation has also been questioned, as governments moved to plastic at the close of the 20th century and then to digital monies in the 21st.

Paper has served to facilitate the societal arrangements and needs of humankind for a long time.   Their creation, destruction and disposal has meant various things in different cultures and religions.  Paper has been laminated, bound and preserved.   We used to put down our innermost thoughts, write our qualifying exams and declare our economic transactions mostly on paper.

Stationery still comes in countless forms on paper despite the advent of the digital age.  Our writing instruments still require paper instead of non paper materials.  It may be still too early to witness the demise of paper use.

#yongkevthoughts

AI Ramifications

 

My thoughts about AI are that once AI gets embedded into massive use, we will soon not realise or distinguish, what is the truth or reality, from what is made up with dubious agendas and out to mislead.

Technology will offer new fangled or useful mechanisms.  How one uses them is the bottom line reality for society, economy, philosophy, art, personal relations, geopolitics and in the broad management of Mother Earth.

Unlike offerings from past Industrial Revolutions, AI heralds a more serious concern to the human race, as AI can sophisticatedly self learn at a fast pace to emulate otherwise inherent human abilities like observing, copying plus self developing - and gradually become more independent from or merged in singularity with previously separate human intervention.

Applied negatively, AI will increasingly become a useful ingredient for destruction, manipulation and greed.  At the same time,
AI can save significant costs, bring more efficient supply logistics, eliminate repetitive work in human labour and provide instant analysis of performance, business or health wise.

With a burgeoning population of currently 8 billion, Earth has so many unique humans to look for a purpose in employment, business or occupation role.
AI can remove much of human input in manufacturing, care services, health diagnosis, financial care, retail services, mass delivery, military, communication, transport and in the daily regime of any human being.

AI can spike the value of services and businesses where personal interaction is still offered, albeit at expensive prices and higher revenue margins.

AI can make its mark in the quality and quantity of services provided to customers residing in remote geographical areas, like across the United States, China, Russia, Africa, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.  Long distance education is an obvious candidate for such a useful purpose.

Aged care services so benefit from AI, ranging from diagnostic services, location of patients, stimulating activities for the elderly and in assessing meal standards.

On the other hand, will our already much eroded personal privacy parameters be scuttled even more by the application of AI technology?

AI only works when there is a viable level, capacity and capability of wi-fi delivery.  Not many places or much of the population have access to this higher level of wi-fi. 

Fun aside, like at this stage, with the making of amazing, humorous, agitative, educational, propagandic or
community video clips,  AI on balance poses further challenges to the viability, integrity and uniqueness of the human intellect, condition and pysche.

Will there be a time when AI creativity surpasses that of the human brain and heart?

As demonstrated in the past, pertinent regulation, policy and legislation introduced in various nations can be so many steps behind the impact of AI.  This kind of mindset and reactive response to AI can only be disadvantageous for human interests.   Earth is meeting head on with a powerful technology whose control still remains with supercharged and well funded powers.

#yongkevthoughts

What to buy in Penang Malaysia

What do I at times try to get in Penang to bring back to Oz?

1.  Kaya - egg based and  coconut spread for toasts at breakfast time.  You can have the choice of commercially made jars or vacuum sealed packets - or home made can be best or organic, but not allowed into Aus.

2.   Iconic biscuits baked in the Fujian and Cantonese traditions, a carry over of immigrants to Penang.  These range from Hiong Pnieh (aromatic ones utilising caramel inside and textured outside layers) to Beh Tau Saw and Loh Por Peng (literally meaning wife's biscuits).

3.   Nutmeg  or Mace seed oil is known for application on the body to relieve various ailments. Myristica Fragans is the Latin name for this captivating tropical fruit.

Penang has a plethora of nutmeg plantations first cultivated under the British colonial period. The inside of a freshly plucked nutmeg reveals a seed with bright red coverings at the centre.  

The bite on a fresh nutmeg can be stimulating on the palate. It is used to enhance ice creams and is one of the several spices in making Masala.

Nutmeg slices are marinated and preserved for snacks, but the most useful by product is its extracted seed oil, utilised for mitigating against indigestion, promoting anti inflammation, improving blood circulation and helping reduce stress 

4.   Sesame seed oil, practically better in little sachets or in glass bottles.  Only use such oil over a steamed chicken when you are ready to eat.

5.   Craft work reflecting the Straits Chinese lifestyles.  They can be dainty carry snack trays, beaded shoes, wardrobes or as accesorries - but such items are getting costly, rare and becoming precious.

6.   Dried salted fish packed clean under a commercial label - the kiam hoo, used in small portions cleverly to give a kick of a flavour in various culinary cooking styles including Malay, Straits Chinese, Indian and Eurasian.

7.   Samahan Herbal Tea packets for an Ayurvedic solution to stop cold afflictions.

8.   Durian cakes or Dodol, packed with flavour from the thorny green football sized fruit

- but it can be an acquired taste

popular in south east Asia.

9.   Grounded spices used to make curry powder sealed in commercial label packets - vital in seafood and meat dishes.

10.  Bottled sauce specifically to use in stir frying the famous Penang Char Koay Teow.

11.  Selangor Pewter creations, the value of which has spiked tremendously since the 1980s.

12.   Dried shrimps with a commercial label.

#yongkevthoughts