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Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

marginalrevolution.com

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Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#61

Post by yanhangyhy »

notahacker wrote: post #59
yanhangyhy wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who is "we"? many chinese people, it's kind of joke but still..also true on many levels. > I'm not sure it rises to the most troubling qualities of NK its run by a dictator from the begining, with many strange laws to tell the people not to do this and not to do that. the major difference is that Singapore is pro-west (and pretend to be neutral) so no trash talk from the western media and its portrayed as a 'democr…

This is the "dictator" that you're allowed to run for election against and the "no chewing gum" bylaws Singaporeans sell T-shirts joking about the system to foreigners, right? Try doing that in mainland China...

so is USA and Trump, why people call Trump a dictator?

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#62

Post by snowpid »

yanhangyhy wrote: post #56
snowpid wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" so no trash talk from the western media and its portrayed as a 'democracy' " Please provide sources

please give me a link said singpore is not democary and its run by a dictator

https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore

Now your turn

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#63

Post by yanhangyhy »

snowpid wrote: post #62
yanhangyhy wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

please give me a link said singpore is not democary and its run by a dictator

https://freedomhouse.org/country/singapore Now your turn

ah shit.. i foget the essence of free world and free speech: you can speak and express, but we can make sure nobody hears you and your voice doens't matter..

you win! this website must make a huge diffrenece for the people all over the world or the western world so people think of singapore as non-democracy sometimes.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#64

Post by asplake »

cardanome wrote: post #42
budududuroiu wrote: post #14

TIL detention without trial is a thing in Singapore [^1], ministers love to brag about increasing the severity of detention without trial [^2], and that the longest someone was held in detention without trial in Singapore was 23+9 years [^3]. That person was never charged. [^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Law_(Temporary_Provis... [^2]: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/my-views-on-... [^3] h…

Detention without trial is also a thing in the UK. Legally limited to 6 months but extended in practice if you are Irish or advocate against the genocide in Palestine. Ask the people of Palestine Action UK. With the growing fascism all over the world we will see that kind of thing more often.

https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights/how-long-you-can-be-...

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#65

Post by notahacker »

yanhangyhy wrote: post #61
notahacker wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the "dictator" that you're allowed to run for election against and the "no chewing gum" bylaws Singaporeans sell T-shirts joking about the system to foreigners, right? Try doing that in mainland China...

so is USA and Trump, why people call Trump a dictator?

Trump tried to reverse the election last time he lost and enjoys suppressing protests with military units. But yeah, he isn't literally a dictator, just would like to be

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#66

Post by cardanome »

asplake wrote: post #64
cardanome wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Detention without trial is also a thing in the UK. Legally limited to 6 months but extended in practice if you are Irish or advocate against the genocide in Palestine. Ask the people of Palestine Action UK. With the growing fascism all over the world we will see that kind of thing more often.

https://www.gov.uk/arrested-your-rights/how-long-you-can-be-...

Reality:

> This trial marks the first attempt in Britain to treat political property damage as equivalent to terrorism - an unprecedented and dangerous expansion of state power. Under the current Labour government, many defendants will have spent nearly two years behind bars before even standing trial.

https://www.cage.ngo/articles/trial-begins-for-first-six-of-...

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#67

Post by wk_end »

lbrito wrote: post #45

>Yet today’s American political right is not very interested in technocracy. That is a deeply weird statement to make in 2026.

I think you're (understandably) interpreting "technocrat" differently than what the author intends and what it's historically meant.

Technocrats form the foundation of the so-called "deep state" that Trump rails against: unelected bureaucrats - scientists, economists, doctors, researchers, engineers, statisticians - controlling low-level government policy (ideally) on the basis of data and knowledge of their particular field.

What it doesn't mean is "a government run on the insane whims of coked-up techno-utopian billionaire tech CEOs", which is what the current right seems to be interested in.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#68

Post by janpeuker »

I think the UAE point is crucial - in many things, including freedom and basic rights, they are worse than Singapore. Now that most of the west (as the article says) treats civil rights and press freedom more like Singapore does, the right shifts right. I am not in the US so can't comment on the immigration point but I perceive it exactly the other way around with heavy handed immigration enforcement being worse than most expected.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#69

Post by maxglute »

Singapore was never "cool" as long as I remember in Asian expat circles since 90s. It's like the nice clean manicured places where boring expats who enjoys boiled potatoes and chicken breasts without spice settle. Dubai without all the high quality sin.

Re: Why is Singapore no longer "cool"?

#70

Post by 46493168 »

bitwize wrote: post #44
46493168 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s a reason William Gibson called it “Disneyland with the Death Penalty” https://www.wired.com/1993/04/gibson-2/

That's one of my favorite pieces of writing by Gibson, because he cites Neal Stephenson's "burbclave" concept. Which, to me, is like the literary equivalent of those times when a famous musician or band (including but not limited to the Barenaked Ladies and Don McLean) performed the Weird Al version of their own song.

Yes, and it’s probably why I often misremember it as being written by Stephenson.
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