Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91 • Hacker News Board

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#111

Post by contingencies » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:35 AM UTC

skinnylatte wrote: post #99

contingencies wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore: Yes, 5-10 times between 1989 and 2014. It's gotten a hell of a lot more generic and 1984-like in that time. The character once present been trampled in favor of dystopian public housing for immigrant laborers and a cleanliness. Frankly, last time I was there it gave me the creeps so much I was haunted by the smiley-faced actors in the propaganda-piece on permanent repeat in the airline departure lounge. Th…

I joined because I'm frankly a little amused by some of these comments. More totalitarian: how do you quantify that? I was born and brought up in Singapore and do business in all those countries (tech startup). That sentiment is alien (and not just because I'm Singaporean), it's because Malaysia for example is more totalitarian and is also on the way to becoming a failed state economically and socially. You seem to b…

What a surprise that you are Singaporean, lah.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#112

Post by tragic_requiem » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:38 AM UTC

contingencies wrote: post #98

skinnylatte wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? Have you been to any of these countries ?

Singapore: Yes, 5-10 times between 1989 and 2014. It's gotten a hell of a lot more generic and 1984-like in that time. The character once present been trampled in favor of dystopian public housing for immigrant laborers and a cleanliness. Frankly, last time I was there it gave me the creeps so much I was haunted by the smiley-faced actors in the propaganda-piece on permanent repeat in the airline departure lounge. Th…

Let me clap for you because you have 2715 karma, you who look to have wasted all these trips to our region (how can you travel so much, yet absorb so little). Our entire nation is in mourning, but please do feel free to take keep taking uneducated potshots at a dead man using recycled sound-bites from the 90s, and displaying exactly why freedom of speech is overrated. We will return to pit our unsubstantiated anecdotes against your unsubstantiated anecdotes when we've run out of better things to do (better break out that rubik's cube bob, it's going to take awhile).

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#113

Post by netvarun » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:43 AM UTC

nailer wrote: post #102

netvarun wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a really well-written comment. Thank you very much. I'm Singaporean (though currently based in San Francisco) and identify myself as a supporter of the PAP. I am currently traveling, and unfortunately got hold of LKY's passing a little late (though I had been following his health the past few days) and still feeling a little shell-shocked. I am personally very disappointed at all the comments on HN - most of…

How does reciting a pledge and serving in an army prove to someone their leader's genius? Something I frequently noticed working for a company with a Singaporean headquarters was confusion between authority and logic.

Because both were very clever social engineering hacks that were brought in to unite a disparate, migrant, non-homogenous group of folks to work together for the benefit of all.

Those random references I made, including playing football in the void decks, are just part of the collective Singaporean experience that has made the country as it is. All were due to the various policies crafted by LKY and his team.

Look, by the time I cared about politics or even had voted for the first time, the GREAT LEADER had already retired and was a shadow of his former self.

Having criss-crossed the globe and now running a startup that has offices in three (very) different countries, I have come to appreciate and admire the man and his vision.

I am not trying to make the man a saint. He had his flaws and there are many policies I strongly disagree with. However at the end of the day, a man's genius is measured by the number of goals he scored, subtracting off his own-goals. And his score runs pretty high.

Just to make myself clear, it's not reverence. It's respect.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#114

Post by tragic_requiem » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:45 AM UTC

skinnylatte wrote: post #99

contingencies wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore: Yes, 5-10 times between 1989 and 2014. It's gotten a hell of a lot more generic and 1984-like in that time. The character once present been trampled in favor of dystopian public housing for immigrant laborers and a cleanliness. Frankly, last time I was there it gave me the creeps so much I was haunted by the smiley-faced actors in the propaganda-piece on permanent repeat in the airline departure lounge. Th…

I joined because I'm frankly a little amused by some of these comments. More totalitarian: how do you quantify that? I was born and brought up in Singapore and do business in all those countries (tech startup). That sentiment is alien (and not just because I'm Singaporean), it's because Malaysia for example is more totalitarian and is also on the way to becoming a failed state economically and socially. You seem to b…

He got offended because someone took the piss at Martin Luther King. What a surprise that he's black, lah.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#115

Post by stefantalpalaru » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:51 AM UTC

skinnylatte wrote: post #89

stefantalpalaru wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://therealsingapore.com/content/why-are-frail-elderly-st...

This is kind of the equivalent of someone posting something from Breitbart or NYPost and saying "this is real news".

You don't like the source, lah? Take this one instead: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-06/what-retir...

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#116

Post by contingencies » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 10:54 AM UTC

tragic_requiem wrote: post #112

contingencies wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore: Yes, 5-10 times between 1989 and 2014. It's gotten a hell of a lot more generic and 1984-like in that time. The character once present been trampled in favor of dystopian public housing for immigrant laborers and a cleanliness. Frankly, last time I was there it gave me the creeps so much I was haunted by the smiley-faced actors in the propaganda-piece on permanent repeat in the airline departure lounge. Th…

Let me clap for you because you have 2715 karma, you who look to have wasted all these trips to our region (how can you travel so much, yet absorb so little). Our entire nation is in mourning, but please do feel free to take keep taking uneducated potshots at a dead man using recycled sound-bites from the 90s, and displaying exactly why freedom of speech is overrated. We will return to pit our unsubstantiated anecdot…

You make personal attacks instead of offering any form of logical refutation. Further, Singapore isn't a nation, it's a private holding company with brainwashed worker-drones, prostituting itself to foreign powers for the 'stability' of island-capitalism and a totalitarian reign. Otherwise, you are of course entitled to your opinion... but according even to your close ally's founding father, neither liberty nor safety are your due.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#117

Post by tragic_requiem » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 11:04 AM UTC

tragic_requiem wrote: post #112

contingencies wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore: Yes, 5-10 times between 1989 and 2014. It's gotten a hell of a lot more generic and 1984-like in that time. The character once present been trampled in favor of dystopian public housing for immigrant laborers and a cleanliness. Frankly, last time I was there it gave me the creeps so much I was haunted by the smiley-faced actors in the propaganda-piece on permanent repeat in the airline departure lounge. Th…

Let me clap for you because you have 2715 karma, you who look to have wasted all these trips to our region (how can you travel so much, yet absorb so little). Our entire nation is in mourning, but please do feel free to take keep taking uneducated potshots at a dead man using recycled sound-bites from the 90s, and displaying exactly why freedom of speech is overrated. We will return to pit our unsubstantiated anecdot…

"Asshole's dead. Good riddance. Stole power on a platform of communism, moved to totalitarianism / familial nepotism, set up his 'wealthy, modern' state by money laundering for Burmese junta, struck up a cheap friendship with US (easy sale: naval positioning for the straits, cable taps on comms, aggressively purchasing regional comms providers in places like .au), did a PR job on .sg's great 'democracy'. His biography - Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going - is a disgusting exercise in narcissism attempting to rewrite history. Dirty man, dirty state, dirty legacy." You bravely waded in, ad hominem, on a dead man. And now you're complaining about personal attacks? How does one even start with you bob?

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#118

Post by contingencies » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 11:09 AM UTC

nailer wrote: post #105

contingencies wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Far more totalitarian.

Singapore is authoritarian and corrupt but look at what happened to Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia.

Very true. For .sg's tactics, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2oL81Tum3I and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rPofi-AUw

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#119

Post by wycx » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 11:45 AM UTC

9872 wrote: post #44

refurb wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Many other countries come close to that ratio. Is there something intrinsically bad about that?

Is there something intrinsically bad about executing illegal arms dealers?

Mandatory execution sees offenders only as their offence, rather than human beings, and denies offenders the opportunity to change for the better. It is cynical and pessimistic.

Re: Lee Kuan Yew, Founding Father and First Premier of Singapore, Dies at 91

#120

Post by sjwright » Mon, Mar 23, 2015, 12:29 PM UTC

refurb wrote: post #80

sjwright wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, very few countries come close to that ratio. The poster-child for widespread gun ownership, Switzerland, still only has half as many guns per capita[0] as the US. They also have laws that prohibit most people from carrying loaded guns. The result is a gun homicide rate less than 1/5th that of the US per capita.[1] Yes, intrinsically bad. It's pretty clear to anyone who doesn't live in a gun "bubble". Number one c…

They also have laws that prohibit most people from carrying loaded guns. Not sure I understand. Switzerland has 1/2 the guns, but nowhere near 50% of the US' homicide rate. Are you saying the ability to legally carry a gun is the reason for the difference? The states that legally allow carrying a concealed weapon without a permit (VT, AK) have some of the lowest murder rates of all states.

The reason is that Swiss society doesn't fetishize gun ownership in quite the same way. Nobody in Switzerland is going to the mall carrying a handgun for "protection" and nobody would be so stupid to ever think that was a good idea.

As for concealed carry permit states, VT and AK have murder rates remarkably consistent with geographical neighbors. You are dead wrong to claim they are somehow special.