China vs Singapore in World Cup 3rd round leg - 2nd September

    The first match to be played for the World Cup 3rd round qualifiers is between China and Singapore this Friday 2nd September. The match will be played in high altitude Kunming, some 1,800 ft abve sea-level. The Singapore team arrived last Thursday and have given themselves 8 full days to acclimatise to the cold high altitude (ie. lower levels of oxygen) pitch.

    Juan Antonio Camarro's first match pitches the Chinese at 69th spot in Fifa rankings versus Singapore at 129th and on paper, the Chinese look too strong. However, don't forget Raddy Aramovich is an 'old fox' at 61 having managed the Singapore team for 7 years now. He knows the 'heartbeart' of the team, the mood of the players and most importantly, the 'sengmangat' or spirit. Many of our players are Muslim, and being away from their families and friends this Hari Raya celebrations is a major sacrifice. So, all the more they want to win with their heads and most importantly, their hearts.  Additionally, they have 2 ex-Chinese nationals who are out to prove something against their motherland, Shi Jia Yi and Qiu Li are 2 members who have the opportunity to show their ex-countrymen what they lost when they were offered Singapore citizenship.

    My belief, is that if Singapore can at least hold or even win the game, the unity amongst the local fans will be even more strong, as we accept these players as 'our own'.  So, much is at stake here.

   Can they do it ? My prediction is that Singapore is going to upset the formbook and win 1 - 0.

The Greatest Achievement by Singapore these 46 years

                                                


       My late father Geoffrey Abisheganaden was interviewed in the book, Men in White, in it, he stated that the greatest achievement that Singapore had achieved was racial harmony. People of diffrent races, intermingling, and living side by side one another without fear and with friendship and camaderie built up through the shared struggles of a young nation.  Singapore's first prime minister as an independent nation, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew and his able team of ministers have done a truly remarkable job transforming a once dirty backwater seaport into a shining metropolis with a high per capita GDP and many billions of foreign reserves.

      It was not too long ago that the UK and the USA were the 2 leading powerhouses of industry and all things popular from popular culture to fashion. In the last 3 years, there have been 2 major financial crises (1 is occuring at this present moment),US is technically bankrupt with 14 trillion of foriegn debt and UK not far off, with many endemic social problem, not least is the recent riots which highlight the longstanding hopelessness of the underclass - which are mainly from certain races who have been marginalised - and tearing apart of the social fabric of a country whose standard of living was the envy maybe just 40 years ago. Now US and UK's living standards for the masses or general population is frankly 3rd world and the worst is expected to follow with massive government budget cuts, and dim job prospects for the youth livin there.  

      It is with pride that as Singapore celebrates her 46th year of independence, I am especially proud of our  Singapore and our country has a bright forseeable future thanks to the early founding fathers and the tough decisions made during those difficult emerging years.

Thank you Mr. Lee and members of his cabinet.

Majulah Singapura !!

Kung Fu Hustle 2004 ; Final Fight Scene in HD

Classic ending to the movie. Its in Cantonese, way better than the English dubbed version. Enjoy.

Maroon 5 Moves like Jagger

Dedicated to Mick Jagger no less, who is a rock and roll icon of the last 40 years. Go Mick ! No old fart "El Divo" types for me.