Insomnia Tonight

I can’t ever sleep when I’ve to wake up early the next morning.

For example, on Monday (29/09/2008), I’ve to report for Detail IC briefing at 9am in Selarang Camp.

Also, I realise that this briefing is nonsense. Now that camp is almost at Changi Village, and I live in Bukit Timah. I spend two hours to get there. I get a packet with names and other stuff. I listen to someone tell me things that can easily be put up on the web as an FAQ. We’re summarily dismissed after one hour of talk.

In all, I spend four hours doing nothing. Now that is a waste of time!

Yet Another Sports Injury

I dislocated my other shoulder today. It happened when I reached out for the basketball just as another player rushed across and caught my arm. My shoulder popped out and back in with a crunchy grind.

I stopped. And carried on playing after a rest.

Now, after dinner, drinks and supper, it aches badly. And I can only lift my arm over my head with grimacing effort. Sigh. It’ll take a week before I can get back to the gym.

Bugger.

Wah Lau

Yah man… I took a writing test today. Whilst writing, I discovered that I sucked at current affairs. Of course, I wrote well 😛 but damnit, what did I know about Terrorism?

To paraphrase a peace activist’s song in the 1970’s: "Hooo! Haaa! Good lord, y’all! What is ET good for? Absolutely nothing! Say it again!"

&*(#^!@(*^#)!@^$)(*@!!!!

Update on Milk Powder Scandal

As of my last post, 50,000 babies have been found to be sick.

But the effects are even more far-reaching than I thought.

Anything and everything to do with Chinese milk and milk products is suspect.

Singapore has pulled ice-cream, milk, milk candy from the shelves. And Nestle’s milk powder was slightly contaminated with Melamine. What’s even more shocking is Hong Kong’s pronouncement that there’s nothing that they can do. I paraphrase: China’s milk powder can be exported and made into other types of milk products, how do we know whether it’s ok or not?

If companies cannot patrol their primary food providers and someone FUBARs it with a slow-acting poison – say lead or mercury – then what can the common folk do? Build our own laboratory or perhaps have our personal food-taster?

How depressing.

American Elections??!

Good lord. What a farce.

Has it dragged on for more than 6 months? What with Barack’s Obama’s drawn-out fight with Hilary Clinton. At least John McCain got it over and done with in a fraction of the time. I bet he was laughing his ass off at the circus.

Now the two of them sling mud at each other, and both contestants have been satired and parodied on national TV and youtube. Yes, contestants. That’s what they are. Not candidates but contestants in the most impressive reality show, the biggest popularity contest.

Lageezzz and gentllleeeemen, I give you grreeeetest shoooow on Earth….. Elections for the American President!

Additional Reading:
– Going head to head on MSNBC
– Barack Obama Wiki
– John McCain Wiki

Food for None: Milk Powder and Rice Scandals

 
"I hate them, I hate them," said Qu Chunli. "They’re killing our children."

Her baby was fed Sanlu brand milk powder for the last eight months. In the hospital, he was diagnosed to have stones in his urinary tract, much to the family’s outrage (NPR).

The Chinese are angry.

And understandably so, 22 diary producers (Sanlu Group, Mengniu, Yili and Yashili etc) had cut low-protein milk powder with Melamine – a chemical used in plastics – to boost its perceived protein value. Ingested Melamine causes kidney stones and leads to kidney failure (USNews FAQ).

So far 18 people have been arrested, one city mayor sacked, diary products were recalled, investigators dispatched (Washington Post), and inspection exemptions granted to food producers were revoked (Xinhua Net).

Laudable but too late.

6,200 babies have kidney problems, 1,300 warded, 4 died (PressTV, Tehran), and hospitals are visited by hordes of overwrought families whose babies – precious because each family can only have one – are checked, scanned, prodded, probed and tested for kidney stones and Melamine poisoning. Also, consumers have lost confidence in Chinese food products. Starbucks pulled all milk products from their menu (Yahoo News), Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Hong Kong and Japan banned imports of Chinese milk products (Voice of America) and foreign milk producers seize the opportunity to carve up and corner the Chinese milk powder market (Reuters).

As the Chinese grapple with the health and economic fallout from the milk powder scandal, Japan has its own food scandal. This time – yes, it’s not the first time – a rice scandal.

Three small companies (Mikasa Foods, Ohta Industry and Asai Ltd) had cheaply bought pesticides- and mould-tainted rice from the government before selling them at higher prices to other food producers. The rice was used to feed patients and converted into rice wine (Flex News). The companies have apologised and Mikasa’s president committed suicide (Flex News) – noble but pointless.

As much as the press, victims and "socially-conscious" folk rant and rave over these scandals, it will happen again. And again. And again.

Guess why.

Greed.

Need I say more?

Hangover

Christ. Yet another hangover. Alcohol is great when drunk. But the morning after – like most morning afters – are quite horrible.

It reminds me of a saying, "A moment on the lips, an eternity on the hips." It certainly feels like that: "A moment on the lips. An eternity that hurts."

Winning Medals

This has been a good year for medals.

At the 2008 Summer Olympics in August, the Women’s Table Tennis Team, comprising of Li Jiawei, Feng Tianwei and Wang Yuegu, won Singapore her second silver medal. Tan Howe Liang had the honour of earning the first silver medal (weightlifting, lightweight category) during the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.

It was a big thing when the ladies won. Singaporeans were ecstatic, and rightly so. It was 48 years since we last won an Olympic medal. Our state media blared their achievements and companies tripped over each other to offer their most sincere congratulations.

Still there were criticisms the medal was won by Chinese-born players who became Singaporean citizens under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme, and not by natural-born Singaporeans (Read it here; the article was reproduced under ‘PADDLERS’ ACHIEVEMENTS’). According to the article, "95 percent of the 3,225 voters answered ‘no’ when asked if they would be proud of a China-born table tennis team winning a medal for Singapore". What say you?

In September, we won medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing courtesy of Yip Pin Xiu (Gold in 50m Backstroke; Silver in 50m Freestyle) and Laurentia Tan (Bronze in Equestrian Individual Championship Test [Grade Ia]; Bronze in Equestrian Individual Freestyle Test [Grade Ia]).

Likewise, it warms the heart to see them win. Against a loaded set of genetic dice.

Are our Paralympians rewarded as richly as our Olympians? Apparently, Laurentia will earn $25,000. And the Women’s Table Tennis Team will earn $750,000. Even spilt three-ways, each paddler will earn $250,000. That’s just 10% (read the commentary here). Is it fair?

Even when we win medals, we are jealous and we short-change our athletes. What a damn shame.

Human Folly

I saw a stupid mother on a short bus ride from my flat to work.

Actually, I saw her at the bus stop outside my flat. She was brown, round and gap-mouthed. At her breast was a newly-born that looked like a wrinkled doll. Newly-borns always looked wrinkled and horrible. Only a mother could love them in that state. Beside her was a pram. It held a calm baby. While we were waiting for the bus, she yapped with a middle-aged lady whom I took for her mother.

The bus came.

She boarded the double-decker with the newly-born and plonked herself beside the door. The lady pushed the pram into the side aisle AWAY from the mother. And she scooted off in a flurry of arms, handbag and "wait wait!!! Don’t close the door! I’m getting off!". The mother’s eyes were lidded, heavy, sleepy. She held her newly-born limply. She steely gazed at the front of the bus.

The bus rumbled forth.

The pram rolled back and forth in the side aisle. That stupid middle-age lady whom I mistook for the mother’s mother didn’t secure the pram! The plastic wheels bit at the ankles of standing commuters. Ironically they were the ones who prevented the pram from toppling and spilling its content.

The bus turned right.

The pram rolled some more. Only a young, petulant girl with headphones (think Fiona Xie in Calefare) held onto it with one finger as it twisted and rolled around the aisle. The kid in the pram was indifferent. I saw that he was busily gazing up at people. Through it all, his gap-mouthed mother looked straight ahead: steely, lidded, heavy and sleepy.

She probably forgot about the pram. I kept waiting for the pram to topple. For the mother to scream and cry. And for commuters to play blind, deaf and dumb. Oh wait, commuters are already doing that. Who’s going to look after her kid? Bus passengers or petulant girls with headphones? Perhaps that gap-mouthed mother would have wished differently if the pram had toppled over!

Fat Bastards Should Not Block the Door

I ran into a woman at Golden Mile Complex today. She was standing in the middle of an open pair of automatic doors. We had to squeeze past her for she was fat.

Not slightly fat like the roly-poly aunties in wet markets, or chubby fat like cute little babies. She, the tyrant of automatic doors, was so slathered in lard that she was wearing enough fabric to feed an army of sweatshop tailors!

I ran into her because I was not paying attention. I assumed that she would move to one side or through the doors. I assumed wrongly. Thus I said "Oooi!". Navigated past her. And glared back at her.

She scolded to her friend, "How rude! He said ‘Oooi’!" I shouted at her a stream of curses and pointed out her half-assed – no full-assed – behaviour in standing in between doors. It’s a shame that I was walking away by then.

I should have stormed back to her and yelled in her face. Instead I settled for much arm-waving, incoherent cussing and a slow walk to Paulaner Brauhaus.

Goddamn Fat Bastards!