How Singapore became an oil-refining hub.

 Singapore has no oil resources as in we do not have oil fields to drill for oil.

But Singapore is a Petro-Giant. 

How Singapore became a Petro-giant (Asianometry)

Mysteries of Singapore

 Singapore is a small island.

Yet, there are some... mysteries.

Why do some countries get rich?

The video above points out that while globally, the world has gotten rich in the last 2 centuries, the wealth is not equally distributed. And that 6.7 billion people still live on $30 or less. Why?

At 3:16, the video provides an answer: Freedom. The freer the country, the richer the people are able to be.

At 6:35, Singapore is highlighted.

Multi-Role Combat Vessel - Cos "Mothership" has already been taken

Sept 2023

So while we have wet dreams about Singapore having a (light) aircraft carrier, there are plans to have a Multi-Role Combat Vessel (MRCV), which is a "mothership" for unmanned surface and air assets (drones).

This is a natural evolution for the RSN as more unmanned assets are incorporated into the RSN.

 

Location. Location. Location

One of the conventional wisdom for Singapore's early success was its location.

"Situated at the crossroads" and "gateway to the orient" (so... Singapore is not "orient"?) Singapore's location is key (according to many analyses) to her success.

I would argue that it may be a necessary but insufficient condition.

After all, Penang and Malacca have historically been trading centres as well.

To the south, Bintan and Batam are islands as well placed as Singapore. 

Raffles chose Singapore in part to challenge the Dutch who were in (what is today) Indonesia. 

Did Singapore get Taylor Swift on a Exclusivity contract?

PM Lee answers how SG got Taylor Swift to Singapore. Notice he says "negotiated an arrangement" (0:07) for Swift to perform in Singapore. "And to make Singapore her only stop" (0:10). At about 0:40 PM Lee says "we can't say, 'you will come here only on condition that you will go other places'". Note how uneasy he seems.

So, did Singapore make Swift sign an exclusive arrangement?

Tipping Points

This video suggests that even as the world heats up, it would thaw the permafrost, and that would lead to a tipping point.


So the world is trying to get to "net zero" when we add zero carbon into the atmosphere, so we do not add to the warming of the earth anymore.

What if... Malaysia and Singapore goes to war?

[Edited/Amended in Jan 2024.

Yes, it is incongruous that I "refresh" this post just as Johor and Singpaore are looking forward to more cooperation and working towards passport-free travel between Johor and Singapore. But yes, I am hopeful for a "common market" for Johor and Singapore. This post is just a reaction to the video from a few years back.]

There is this speculative video on YouTube:

The video assumes that for whatever reason, and in whatever scenario, diplomacy has broken down, and war has been declared. This is an attempt to argue against the assumptions. 

1) Singapore is not worth conquering. 

Most invasions/occupations are for tangible benefits - land, oil, natural resources, etc. Singapore has limited land. Malaysia has LOTS of land (compared to SG). They don't need SG's land. SG has NO NATURAL RESOURCES. No gold. No oil. We even have to import SAND! But, you might say, SG is richer than MY! So wouldn't MY want to take those riches? 

But... the source of SG's wealth CANNOT be taken. It is intangible. 

US strategy vis-a-vis China

The video above is a podcast with John Mearsheimer, the guest, explaining why China would not invade Taiwan.

In the first 2 minutes or so, John has to explain to Lex (the host) what "amphibious operations are difficult" mean. Lex is incredulous, as he asked (0:32) "So geography still has a role to play in the 21st century?"

Yes, Lex. Geography is still important,

ChatGPT answers: "How does Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice Compare with Hainan's Wenchang Chicken?"

I asked ChatGPT to compare Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice with the Original Hainan Wenchang Chicken, and this was it's answer (after the video):


Video: Andong visits Wenchang, Hainan to try the original Wenchang Chicken, then drops in on Singapore to try Singapore's Hainanese Chicken Rice.

How might China "invade" Taiwan?

In case you are wondering why a blog called "Singapore 2B" seems to be (overly) concerned with issues of China and her commitment to "reclaim"/reunite Taiwan, it is because China is a major player in the region, the top trading partner with Singapore (in 2020), and Taiwan is similar to Singapore in many ways.

Some of the vulnerabilities of Taiwan are also Singapore's vulnerabilities, and there may be lessons for Singapore. Or cautionary tales.

I have previously declared (in another blogpost):

If you got the impression... that China is unlikely to invade Taiwan (at least in the foreseeable future - say within the next 6 years) that was the most important point. I wanted to discount the probability of an invasion, at least in the foreseeable future. Base on the current balance of power and advantages and disadvantages, it is on balance better for China NOT to attempt to retake Taiwan, because it is likely to fail.

However, a core principle or truism in military strategy is, you do not PLAN for what the opponent SHOULD, or is LIKELY to do, but what he CAN do. China CAN decide to try to invade Taiwan. On balance, China should not as success is unlikely, and the fallout would be devastating, so China SHOULD NOT TRY to invade Taiwan. 

But she could.

And plans have to be made as if she would. 

BUT...

Videos Explaining Vaccines

This is simply a collection of videos on vaccines. In case you are still "doing your own research".

First: mRNA was 50 years in the making. Not just developed in less than a year:

This 12 minute video explains various processes and problems and challenges over 50 years and how these challenges were overcome.

A Response to an "Anti-Vaxxer".

"... the big question is whether the current vaccine is still appropriate given the new variants."

The prevailing variant in Singapore now is Delta. It is more transmissible. And has been shown to infect Children more. So, your belief that "Kids immune are tip-top, unlike our half-dead seniors" is a fallacy.
Also, MIS-C.
And "Long Covid."

"what's the rush?" No rush. take your time. If you do not need to work for a living, if you child do not need to go to school, if you are prepared or prefer to isolate at home, and avoid social situations, if you would like to be a "hikikomori" (and wish your family to be hikikomori too), your best bet to avoid the Delta or Omicron (if and when it becomes prevalent) variant is to withdraw from society? Or did you have another viable plan?

More "unlinked" cases as more get vaccinated.

 Expect more "unlinked" cases.

The fact is the Delta variant is more transmissible and is able to make "breakthrough" infections - infecting those already vaccinated.

This is because the Delta variant has a viral load 1000 times more than the previous variants. 

Are Chinese Vaccines Effective?

Are doubts about Chinese vaccines another form of China-bashing or racism, or commercial competition? Or is there some truth to those doubts? Here are some of my "research".

Video: After Chinese Vaccination: https://youtu.be/hdTYw82kpDk

At about 1:13, the video shows the number of new cases in each country as they rolled out the Moderna/ Pfizer/AstraZeneca vaccines in their respective countries. The number of infection falls as more of the population is vaccinated.

Then, at about 1:37, the video presents the new cases in countries using the SinoPharm vaccine. The pattern (below) is vastly different.

Will China Grow Rich before it Grows Old?

 Short answer: China is growing old. This is inevitable. In 1980, there were 3 times more people in their twenties than there were people in their sixties. 

Now, the number of people in their sixties is almost as many as the number of people in their twenties. And there are fewer younger people (below 20) and more people in their fifties that will soon be in their sixties.

This is inevitable.

But, China could get rich, right?

Singapore's Success - 50 Shades of Great?

I saw a book, "Fifty Secrets of Singapore's Success" which is a collection of 50 essays by prominent Singaporeans (I guess), and edited by Tommy Koh.

The book was an idea by Tommy Koh. He was asked what was the secret of Singapore's success by some undergrads in the US and Mexico. And (not having an easy answer then) he said that there was not one single secret, but he will think about it (and ask other smarter people) and maybe write a book (or edit one).

A diplomat, tactful, and can think on his feet. I really admire Tommy Koh. 

Then, recently, I saw this video: "15 Incredibly Smart Things Singapore Got Right":

Trump - Gump or Chump?

 

This video tries to present Trump's 4 years with his achievements and failures.

Do you agree?

First, let's call a spade a spade. This is (or was) the "Trump Presidency", not the Trump Administration. Because calling what they did over four years, "administration" is arguable and generous. Just consider the turnover of the Cabinet members (not covered in the video, because rightly, it is not usually considered an achievement or failure, but is indicative or symptomatic of a dysfunctional... "administration". Or "Dysadministration".) So it is NOT in question that Trump was the 45th POTUS. So call it the Trump Presidency. "Trump Administration"? Laughable. Arguable. Debatable. But I will let it pass as a customary nomenclature rather than an objective and accurate descriptor. 

Second, some of the achievements or failures are subject to the judgement of history and/or are multifaceted and would depend on the perspective and the lens thru which it should (or would) be seen. For example, was Trump's confrontation with China good or bad? Achievement or Failure. It's not easy to say at this point in time/history. Or you might say, it depends on your perspective. US perspective? Even so, that depends on the long term objectives and US's role in the unfolding history. If the US is on the decline (from the perspective of history) and China is in ascendency, then though Trump was not ready to concede the 2020 election weeks after the result was obvious, he readily ceded US global leadership (in some/many aspects) to China. 

Third and finally, this video assesses Trump's "achievements" and "failures" as if this presidency's endeavours were thought out and thought through. That the achievements are intentional, and failures were just badly executed, unfortunately timed, or undermined by opponents or historical events. That is generous. The evidence suggests that Trump "Forrest Gump" his way to the Presidency, and his achievements. As for his failures, they can all be traced back to his lack of understanding, interests, and intellect. Or his bias/prejudices. 

And some of the achievements in this video were wrongly attributed to him. Getting to pick 3 conservative Supreme Court Justices was due to the machinations of Mitch McConnell more than the astuteness of Trump. 

It may be too soon, but eventually, history will ask, "President Donald Trump - [Forrest] Gump or Chump?" Or maybe some are already asking. Or some believe they already know the answer.

[Edit/ Addendum: From a Washington Post newsletter (The Daily 202), of 25 Nov:

Trump will be the first president since Herbert Hoover in the Great Depression to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when he started. More problematic is that, as a lame-duck, Trump is aggressively trying to box in his successor with new rules, regulations and orders that are designed to tie the hands of the incoming administration.

The federal budget deficit was $3.1 trillion in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, by far the biggest one-year gap in U.S. history. Trump promised as a candidate in 2016 to eliminate the national debt over eight years. When he took office, the debt was $14.4 trillion. It now stands at $21.1 trillion.

While Trump has lost in the court of law, he was won to some degree in the court of conservative public opinion. By baselessly sowing doubt in the integrity of the results, and with the complicit consent of Republican lawmakers who stayed silent for so long, Trump is convincing millions of gullible supporters that his successor is somehow not legitimate. This will make it harder for Biden, who strives to be a healer, to bind the national wounds into which Trump has been rubbing salt these past four years.

]

US Democracy - fundamental assumptions. Fundamentally flawed.

 

Democracy (At least US Democracy) is a spectator sport

I have been too engrossed with the US Presidential Election.

It is a spectator sport. And highly engrossing. Almost as engrossing as a WWE matchup.

I had intended to post some comments after our GE in July. 

The results were very interesting. I read the various commentaries and post-mortems by pro- and anti-PAP pundits. 

And I'm trying to distill my thoughts.

The question everyone is thinking about is... what does the Singapore Voter want.