Comments on The Online Citizen (Singapore’s Social-Political Blog / Web)

I came across TOC (The Online Citizen) the web site after the press release of Bloggers 13 comments on liberalization of citizen journalism in Singapore.

Well, some netizens commented this web site anti-establishment. Their comments probably too extreme, but nevertheless the articles posted in TOC mostly never pro-establishment.

As I like to see things from many angles and perspectives, it would be beneficial to look at things from both TOC articles and pro-establishment local print media,.and to add the third party source, such as online forums, blogs and news outside Singapore. As I see it there are no such things as absolutely right or wrong. It is matter of our own interpretation and judgement.

The Cure (from I-S Magazine) – Part 2

Source: I-S Magazine Oct 24, 2008 Issue

Excerpts Only.

Over Complaining: Another magic pill is required here, and the cost of researching and developing this pill will carry into the millions. But the cost must not deter us, for we have to find some way of dealing with the abundant whiners all around us; Like its distant cousin Pessimism, Over Complaining is highly infectious and airborne. Yikes!

market2garden: There’s no such thing as Over Complaining, it is our right to do the right thing, i.e. fix the matter to our desire – a universal weakness of humanity.

MRT Unruliness: Let’s be clear about one thing: If unchecked, this disease has the potential to descend into an unhindered epidemic. Bringing this country to its knees. Twenty-five million will buy enough Taser guns and security men to get the rush hour argy-bargy-cannot-understand-the-concept-of-letting-passengers-alight-first mob under control.

market2garden: This unruliness will be worsened as global economy heads south, there will be more and more commuters.

The Cure (from I-S Magazine)

Source: I-S Magazine Oct 24, 2008 Issue

Excerpts Only.

Submissiveness: A cool $10 million to develop capsules to combat this yes-sir, unquestioning culture that’s rampant throughout Singapore. Let chaos, ideas and discussion reign from hereon in; let’s once and for all say goodbye to the lethargic, deadpanned look we usually give whenever out superiors ask: “any questions?”

market2garden: Obviously, I’m not, right from my first entry of the blog. I like to voice out, and unafraid of my opinion different from others. Stay open-minded is the key to life.

Shopaholism: Fifty million to be spent towards the development of a serum for injecting into out bloodsteam to nix our hyper-consumptive habits in the bud. Sure, shopping is fine and all that, but it should not be our only filler between work and sleep. There are nice parks out there for us to go and chill in;.

market2garden: Yes, there can be a lot of things to do to fill the gap, these are the options: Watching videos, or listening to music, or enjoying photos. Feeling nostalgia, visit here. Or only have got a limited of time just for a quick glance of photos.

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix (Part 2)

Excerpts 1:
Source: The Straits Times Sep 30, 2008

SINGAPOREANS can be very proud. The past weekend, they hosted the biggest sporting event in the Republic's history and delivered a stunning global spectacle.

In fact, there were three winners of the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix; Fernando Alonso, Formula One and Singapore itself.

The Marina Bay street circuit and its unique night-time illumination were amazing.
The sight of the cars running under the perfect lighting, with the spectacular backdrop of the city, was a three-night TV commercial for Singapore, delivering an unprecedented level of media coverage around the world.

One of the main aims of the Singapore GP was to put the Republic on the global destinations map. It worked like a dream. The global TV audience alone is estimated at over 500 million.

market2garden: Next year the night scene would be better as the authorities relax the night lightning rule of the building, and most owner of the commercial building along the circuit are willing to commit for next year.

Excerpts 2:
Source: Formula1Blog.com Sep 28, 2008

1. Alonso Renault (B) 1h57:16.304
2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 2.957
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 5.917
4. Glock Toyota (B) + 8.155
5. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 10.268
6. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 11.101
7. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 16.387
8. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 18.489
9. Button Honda (B) + 19.885
10. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 26.902
11. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 27.975
12. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 29.432
13. Massa Ferrari (B) + 35.170
14. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) + 43.571
15. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 4 laps

market2garden: Congratulations to Aloso to win the first-ever night race in F1 history by means of skills, strategy, teamwork and a bit of luck. And to the whole lot (20 racers) that the race after all drastic and eventful, even so, all never lost lives.

Excerpts 3:
Source: Formula1Blog.com Sep 28, 2008 (Mon)

After Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg endured penalties at the Grand Prix of Singapore there have been further calls for a change to the current Safety Car Rule that closes the pits and penalizes anyone for taking on fuel during the SC period until the pit lane is officially opened.This was to prevent cars racing back to the pits and potential being dangerous. This has also left many outraged at the penalties incurred by drivers who have no choice but to pit for fuel as they are running on fumes. It seems a solution is in the works however.

market2garden: Fine-tuning of safety car rules needed. But don’t have to overreact that the rule gave Alonso the advantage to be the winner. After all, winning a race must factor in all possibilities, plus a bit of luck.

Excerpts 4:
Source: F1Complete Web Oct 05, 2008 (Mon)

Oct.5 (GMM) Bernie Ecclestone, the chief mastermind of the night racing concept for F1, has hit back at Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo's claim that the Singapore grand prix was akin to a "circus". Also lashing out at the lack of overtaking opportunities at new street circuits, and the farcical safety car rules, Montezemolo said last week that "all this is humiliating for F1".

But Ecclestone, F1's chief executive, hinted to Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper that the attack by Montezemolo was perhaps to divert attention from Ferrari's woeful showing under the city-state's floodlights.

"If the Ferrari president is right about the Singapore grand prix being a circus," he said, "then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns."

The 77-year-old is undoubtedly referring to title rival Felipe Massa's botched pitstop, when the Brazilian ripped the fuel hose from the rig and pulled it the entire length of the pitlane.

market2garden: Supremo is right, Montezemolo’s claim is to ease the pressure for his team’s dismal performance.

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix (Part 1)

Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix (Part 1)

Source: The Straits Times Sep 20, 2008
http://www.straitstimes.com/The%2BStraits%2BTimes%2BPit%2BStop/Off%2BThe%2BTrack/Story/STIStory_280644.html

Excerpts to be captured here. In case the web page was removed eventually.

Excerpts 1:

NEVER one to shy away from bold predictions, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone made another ahead of the much-anticipated SingTel Singapore Grand Prix.

'Whoever wins this, whether it's (Lewis) Hamilton or (Felipe) Massa, will probably be the champion,' the sport's commercial rights holder told The Straits Times over the telephone from his London office earlier this week.

'This is a very important race for the championship.”

With four grands prix in the 18-race season remaining - Japan, China and Brazil are next after Singapore - the drivers' championship is balanced on a knife's edge.

McLaren driver Hamilton tops the standings with 78 points but Ferrari's Massa is just one behind. If Massa takes the chequered flag here on Sept 28 and Hamilton finishes second, it will be the Brazilian's turn to carry a slender one-point advantage.

market2garden: We shall see whether the prediction by the supreme is correct by year-end. Will follow-up on this.

Excerpts 2:

The hotel, retail and entertainment sectors are expected to benefit the most from the 40,000 tourists coming for the race. One week before the big day, some are already caught up in the F1 fever.

market2garden: How about the fellow Singaporeans? Feverish or “who cares?” attitude? And really benefitted economically?

Excerpts 3:

There is always the element of the unknown when drivers manoeuvre new tracks, and fans are already fired up by the possibility of crashes or crucial driving mistakes.
The season has already been packed with race incidents. Remember Hamilton shunting the back of Raikkonen's car in the pit lane at the Canadian Grand Prix, forcing both to quit the race prematurely? Or the Finn and his Ferrari colleague Massa's late engine failures in Valencia and Budapest respectively?

market2garden: Last night the practice sessions already shown that that’s possibility of “mistakes” for today’s qualifying session and tomorrow’s the actual race.

Excerpts 4:

There will be unprecedented global attention and media coverage of this country - because of the title chase, the prospect of more unfolding drama, and so much more.
What better way to sell Singapore, than for attractions like the Esplanade or the Flyer to be beamed into living rooms worldwide during the 90-minute race?

market2garden: The race is tje only part of the whole. The GP Season, planned by Singapore Tourism Board, including Singapore River Festival, Singapore Motors Show and others. Intentionally the Singapore Government is seriously remaking Singapore, with the help of the race, plus the other mega projects, such as Integrated Resorts (with casinos) at Marina Bay and Sentosa by the year 2010 or 2011. Let’s hope the efforts are well paid.

* * * * *

There will be another blog entry after the race. Stay tuned.

Add-on Oct 07,2008:
Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix (Part 2)

* * * * *

My other blog entries related to the topic:
Joyful.Space
Yesteryear.Space

Singapore Blog Awards - Winners

Congratulations to the winners:

Jimmy Lee
阿谁的世界
http://ahshuiworld.blogspot.com/
Most Entertainment Blog

Eunice Khong
TravelerFolio.com
http://travelerfolio.com/
Best Photo Blog

Shaun Chng
ShaunChng.com
http://www.shaunchng.com/
Best Design Blog

Jane Chin
我看见黎明的曙光
http://janechin.blogspot.com/
Best Individual Blog

Witch Yuki
it was just a beautiful mistake
http://hiroyuki-world.blogspot.com/
Best Youth Blog

Miss Loi
Joss Sticks
http://www.exampaper.com.sg/
Best Blog Shop

Singapore Blog Awards - Another Angle

Blogger’s Visit to the Asian Civilisation Museum
http://blog.omy.sg/sgblogawards/archives/172

The Votes are Cast
http://blog.omy.sg/sgblogawards/archives/170

market2garden: Let's see what happens after the results (Sep 05, 2008) released.

Turbulence in 2008 (Malaysia) Part 2 of 2

Source: ST 2008-07-17 (Thu)

June 29-30. 2008
Mr Anwar is accused of sodomy by a former aide and seeks refuge at the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

July 10, 2008
PM Abdullah says he will step down in June 2010 and hand the Umno presidency to Datuk Seri Najib.

July 14, 2008
Mr Anwar does not turn up despite a police order to appear at a local police station at 2pm

July 16, 2008 Events on day of arrest
==10.10am
Mr Anwar arrives at Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) headquarters in Putrajaya; questioned for two hours on his allegations that the Inspector-General of Police and Attorney-General fabricated evidence on his black-eye incident in 1998.
==12.10pm
Leaves ACA for his home in Bukit Segambut.
==12.55pm
Arrested by police outside his home and taken to Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters (IPK) in Jalan Pudu.
==1.11pm
Arrives at IPK.
==1.30pm
Wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and daughter Nurul Nuha arrive at IPK.
==1.40pm
About 200 supporters are outside the IPK, including opposition MPs.

market2garden: According to the latest development, obviously that’s not the end of the turbulence.

Turbulence in 2008 (Malaysia) Part 1 of 2

Comments on “Omy’s S’pore Blog Awards, Doomed to Fail? [socialmediasg]”

Read through the entry, taste is one of the main factors, not only the judges’, in my humble opinion ... but also the bloggers from socialmediasg. So the situation is ... what's the point of having views in the first place. And somehow the entry stated has not got much things to substantiate the arguments (good or bad in detail about the finalists), so they have to “curry flavours” the judging criteria. Well done! Let's see their next move ... after the winners announced!

Turbulence in 2008 (Malaysia) Part 1 of 2

Source: ST 2008-07-17 (Thu)

March 8, 2008
The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition fails to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament in the general election. It loses five states in its worst election performance since independence.

April 1, 2008
More than 500 Umno members demand that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi resign over the election results.

April 14, 2008
A five-year ban on opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim holding political office ends.

May 12, 2008
Datuk Seri Anwar says that an opposition-led government could be in place before Sept 16, adding that he has enough lawmakers from the ruling BN coalition willing to defect to the opposition.

May 16, 2008
The government orders the chief prosecutor to investigate six people, including former premier Mahathir Mohamad and two top judges, for possible criminal offences related to a 2001 judicial scandal.

May 19, 2008
Dr Mahathir quits Umno in a shock move, prompting fears that he may split the party.

June 4, 2008
Malaysia raises petrol prices by 41 per cent and diesel prices by 63 per cent to rein in a ballooning subsidy bill, sparking widespread anger.

June 13, 2008
PM Abdullah says he has agreed on a succession plan with his deputy Najib Razak. Two days later, he says he will run for the party presidency in year-end elections, to calm speculation about any imminent handover.

June 18, 2008
Sabah Progressive Party, a BN coalition member, says it will file a no-confidence motion against PM Abdullah, but that falls through as it did not give enough notice in Parliament.

June 23, 2008
PM Abdullah wins support of Parliament for the fuel price hike.

market2garden: What the dramatic progress of Malaysian Politics.

Comments on "The War Between Bloggers [socialmediasg]"

This entry is to comment on http://socialmediasg.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/the-war-between-bloggers/.

Not only the posting is entertaining (of course the person involved sure think otherwise), more importantly the same words same sentences could be interpreted differently (or two extreme opposite poles) if we read further the comments posted by other bloggers.

Hi bloggers, if all these are not life and death issues, why not just spent 1 or 2 days of quality time (non-blogging) and back to reread what you have posted. You’ll laugh at yourself for being so serious.

Obviously if we still have the “feel” after quality time, perhaps then do spend 1 or 2 days of quality time to blog (before that, take one to three deep breaths) as objective as we can.

Oh yes, non-action is one type of action.

中国四川地震后记 - 赈灾籌款節目(新加坡的角度) [Sichuan Earthquake]

是否还记得5月12日这不幸的日子？对，这篇是故意拖到现在才登的。事件发生时，大部分的人其实是“跟风”的表达意见，抒发一下感受，这没错，不过相对来说事件过了一些时候的跟进也是重要的。朋友，你认为呢？还是你认为这已无关重要？或者太多抢鲜的报道更能吸引你的注意？我没答案，你有吗？

回味一下过去的报道吧！
http://cj.omy.sg/?option=com_cjourn&Itemid=1&task=video_detail&aid=4348&type=mostviewed
http://forum.omy.sg/showthread.php?t=3269

Singapore Blog Awards – Voting Begins

View all the finalists and vote your favorites with your heart and mind.
There are 9 Categories:
1) Best Individual Blog
2) Best Blog Shop
3) Best Blog Design
4) Most Entertaining Blog
5) Most Insightful Blog
6) Best Photo Blog
7) Best Youth Blog
8) Best Local Celebrity Blog
9) Best Overseas Celebrity Blog

For previous entry, click here.

Bloggers, what if you are running out of ideas to blog?

Ok… Let’s start:
What did you read/see/hear on the news?
What was your day like?
What did you overhear someone say?
Write about a memory.
Link to and describe a new/interesting/useful web site.
What is your opinion on a hot topic or current event?
What do you wish for?
Explain how to do something that shows off your expertise.

Still insufficient?
Easy, read some of my entries, try to link one of my entry, and comments on it. Better still if both sides have TrackBack features.
Or simply comments on this entry. ^_^

一个民族成为两岸新底线 - 台湾不讲“主权独立国家” 大陆避谈“一个中国原则”

Source: 联合早报（新加坡）2008-05-30 叶鹏飞（北京特稿）

就在中共总书记胡锦涛对到访的国民党主席吴伯雄表示，“在‘九二共识’基础上尽快恢复海协和海基会的交往协商”隔日，台湾的海基会新任董事长江丙坤就宣布接受海协会当天上午发出的邀请，在6月11日至14日率团访问北京，就两岸周末包机、大陆居民赴台旅游事宜进行商谈。

停顿了近10年的海协、海基两会接触，就那么在“一夜之间”恢复了。胡锦涛的谈话透露了其中玄机。据前晚的《新闻联播》报道，胡锦涛在重申他的16字箴言（建立互信、搁置争议、求同存异、共创双赢）时强调：“首先要建立互信，这对推动两岸关系和平发展至关重要。”他在解释“建立互信”的意涵时说：“反对‘台独’、坚持‘九二共识’，是双方建立互信的根本基础。”很明显地，胡锦涛阐述的大陆政治底线是“不谈台湾独立，一切都好谈”。

吴伯雄在建立互信方面也积极配合，在会谈时对胡锦涛就“台湾意识”和“台独意识”做了仔细的切割。国民党新闻稿引述他说：“我要郑重地指出，台湾人民要安全、要尊严、要有合理的国际活动空间，这是台湾朝野上下一致的共识，也是我们要维护和争取的。但我们也非常地清楚，台湾意识不能扭曲成台独意识，那就不利于两岸关系，伤害到两岸人民的共同利益，这是本党不能认同和接受的。”

胡锦涛不仅正面回应台湾对于国际空间的要求，表示了解台湾同胞的感受，相信能找到解决办法，还再一次对台独势力喊话说：“对一些台湾同胞在两岸关系问题上存在误解和疑虑，我们不仅会基于同胞情怀予以理解，而且会采取积极措施予以化解。”

“胡吴会”揭示了两岸交流新篇章，其中最关键的是双方都积极贯彻“搁置争议”的精神，台湾不讲“主权独立的国家”，大陆避谈“一个中国原则”。吴伯雄在记者会上回答问题时更直接挑明了这个默契说，大陆不讲中华人民共和国，台湾就不讲中华民国。台湾媒体注意到，胡锦涛在致词时通篇不用“两岸中国人”这个会刺激台独势力的字眼，更别说“一个中国”了。在《新闻联播》关于胡锦涛谈话的报道中，“中华民族”出现了5次、“大陆同胞”3次、“台湾同胞”14次。

吴伯雄的发言稿里也出现了4次“中华民族”，提到了“骨肉相连”、“血肉相近”的感情、“两岸共同血缘和文化关系”。虽然他没有用“同胞”，马英九的就职演说已经称呼“大陆同胞”而非“大陆人民”了。更有积极意义的地方在于，“搁置争议”并非和稀泥，而是给双方交流予一个合理的缓冲带。胡锦涛的谈话非常清楚：“两岸关系发展中还存在一些历史遗留问题，也还可能遇到一些新情况新问题，其中一些症结问题一时不易解决。我们应该以实事求是的态度，务实面对，妥善处理。”

从双方反复使用“同胞”、强调“血缘感、骨肉情、兄弟情”，显示“中华民族”已经成为两岸默契中最大的公约数、新共识和新底线。在这种善意的认知底下，两岸的现状是暂时分家，却还同在一个民族的屋檐下。吴伯雄巧妙地指出，他原来还计划组织台商啦啦队来为参加北京奥运的中华台北队加油，然而政协主席贾庆林却告诉他说，北京同胞会主动为台湾健儿加油，让他们享有“主场优势”。

“中华民族”的新共识在短期内化解两岸关于政治身份认同的争议，胡锦涛强调会“关心、尊重、信赖台湾同胞”，降低两岸敌意，长期而言也可以把“中国”的政治意涵回归传统的文化意涵，不但在大陆民众的认知上以及在国际社会上为“中华民国”腾出未来的空间，也釜底抽薪地杜绝台独意识继续滋长的可能性。

market2garden: 这篇如果在十年后审视局势的话更有意思，现时的交流对两岸来说当然是里程碑。

Wow.Space Blogroll (New)

Bloggers 360 is Wow.Space Blogroll. But you are unable to find it. Essentially Bloggers 360 consists of 3 rolls: "Bloggers First 120", "Bloggers Middle 120" and "Bloggers Final 120". No doubt these 3 rolls are my favorites. Individually they are different.

By showing certain quality of their "niche areas", inevitably the bloggers show their personalities and characters too. So, how well you can be yourself and be the sucessful blogger at the same time?

Singapore Blog Awards – Follow-up

The Top 10 in each category will be announced on 30 June (Source from official web site). As far as I know, only one of the five judges has his / her blog, others don’t have related experience.

For previous entry, click here.

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle All The Way

Christmas Only Comes Once a Year? Wrong, see the photos, it immediately soothes your mind. Furthermore, the songs, it revitalize your spirit.

RSS … Web? Blog?

Source: Blogging for Dummies (Book) (2006)
Original Title: But what about my site?

All this focus on RSS and reading blog entries in newsreaders makes it sound as if Web sites are becoming irrelevant. What is the fate of a lovingly designed blog with a beautiful, colorful atmosphere and careful navigational design? ……. If everyone is going to end up reading you blog off-site, in a cold, black-and white newsreader, what’s the point of creating good pages?

Frankly, this gloomy perspective has some truth. But not total truth. ……. It’s important to me to avoid visiting sites as much as possible. But newsreaders do let you click through to the page on which any entry resides, and there are good reasons to do so. First, you cannot write a comment on somebody’s blog in a newsreader, you must go to the blog. Second, you cannot see all the typical blog elements that surround each entry, such as the blogroll, the archive directory, and entry categories. Third, some bloggers and other information providers put partial entries in the feed, so you must click through to the entry page to read the full entry.

It is too soon to predict that RSS will completely obliterate Web sites or just blog sites. It is possible, and if that day comes, perhaps RSS will be far more dressed up than it is today, with graphics and other elements that currently are not syndicated with the feeds. Communication elements, such as comments, would certainly have to be included. ….. The days of templates and colorful navigation sidebars might be numbered, but we are far from that reality now.

market2garden: I already use feed aggregators (My Yahoo & Bloglines), easier and faster reading. Centralise my online reading indeed saves me a lot of time. For those web sites, such as online forums and other similar set up, direct visit will be less frequent. So are these web site going to be obsolete?

Driving in that bus lane could get you caught on film

Source: ST May 16, 2008 (Fri)

Cut in front of a bus which has the lane all to its own and you risk getting yourself on tape – and is $130 fine. Last year’s LTA trial of video camera fixed on buses to capture those who stray into bus lanes will go full steam ahead from June 2. .... The video will go to the LTA and the errant motorist can expect a summons within two weeks. .....

market2garden: Motorists, don’t play play. Singapore is a fine city. And be considerate to other road users.

Singapore Blog Awards - Nomination

Fellow bloggers, what are you waiting for? Nominate your blog !!! Don't worry, there are many categories, many awards.
Visit omy for more details.
Hurry up, recognition is still important in the blogosphere.

Majulah blogosphere !

First Blog Entry

Hi, friends, fellow bloggers and netizens. I'm quite new in blogosphere, and newbie in Blogger. How well can I cope with the frequency and quality of postings ...... not that I know of.

Stay tuned.

Another angle:

1): This web space has gone thru a series of naming (better to keep as a record here): market2garden.sphere.space 市场2花园.域界.空间 > op2torch.wow.space 火炬2行动.超炫.空间 > 360.wow.space 超炫空间.

2): My Other Spaces that serve different focal areas - 360.joyful.space and 360.yesteryear.space.