baby, what's in that satchel?

lukewarm off the press:

there was a protest in singapore!! in front of the CPF* building no less. and of course, it was perfectly legal because less than five people participated thereby disqualifying it as an illegal assembly. 2 of the protesters were members of singapore's opposition party, and while the leader of the opposition party was in the vicinity also, he said he was only there to sell his book.

here's a link to an article on this big event.

i'd link you guys to the story according to the straits times but unfortunately, you have to pay to read it online, and who wants to do that?!

anyhoo, several things are funny about this. according to the straits times, this 4-person protest was broken up by police. what they forgot to mention was that it was broken up by riot police. fully equipped no less. dude, that's just sad. and don't even allow the "we live in an age of paranoia and terrorists" thought to cross your mind, because these protestors were in home-made t-shirts and wielded cardboard signs. all they wanted was greater transparency from government linked companies, which is in itself a big ask considering the country in question.

very surprised that singapore even has an opposition party, ironically and aptly named the singapore democratic party. you can bet it's government-approved opposition though, because if they send riot police to break up a deadly, chaotic crowd of four people, what would they think of a guy who actually runs a political party who could possibly *shock*horror*gasp* maybe-if-you-imagine-very-hard take over the country *snigger*. silly buggers.

and this poor opposition team leader. emperor dowager lky gets memoirs published in 2.7 pounds of hardcover (used and new, going on amazon.com from USD$13.48) and mr chee soon juan has to:

a) get his book published by a malaysian publisher (probably cheaper), and then

b) can't get shops in singapore to sell his book, so he has to hawk it on the streets. kindof like a vcd pirate but with autographed copies of his latest book about "effecting political change in singapore through non-violence" ($USD 8.13) **

c) when he launched this book, plain-clothes policement were filming the event for "investigation". give the guy a break! how is he going to instigate anything when barely anybody went for the launch in the first place?

poor thing right?

if you ask me though, it seems like a very poorly choreographed puppet show. how quaint that he should be plugging his book in the same vicinity, on the very same day as this faux-test. then the riot police arrive yelling "freeze, assholes!", and he's like "but it was non-violent! wherefore do you cock your rifle at me, dear sir?" then his book title is so convenient.

maybe he rented the riot police for a day since all these people are at a loose-end after national day hootenanny is over. who knows?

dear mr chee, if you want a publicity stunt, let me make a suggestion:

one day, go hawk your wares outside an mrt station with a large bag full of your books, and then those poor NSmen on terrorist patrol will see you and point their rifles at you yelling, "drop the bag, muthafucka!!" and you will make a fumbling attempt to do so, but then your actions will be seen as trying to make a run for it. so they will pull the trigger several times several times. HOWEVER, because their rifles are not actually loaded, they will yell "BANG! BANG!" and you can pretend to keel over, while making groaning noises. then as you drop to the ground, your bag will spill open and your books will scatter like so many petals in the wind, and people will pick them up and tut-tut about what a brave and non-violent man you were.

[applaud]

*CPF = Central Provisional Fund. it's government-run superannuation.
** heehee i also can be a journalist. this book only has 135 pages so of course it's heaps cheaper.