Bridgewalker

Just finding out that there’s an extant ancient quasi-Abrahamic religion in which John the Baptist is the most important prophet (Jesus is acknowledged but rejected) that’s based mostly in Iran, Iraq, and Worcester, Massachusetts. Did everyone already know this?

I always weep reading the Wikipedia pages of senior Singaporean politicians. The general career path seems to be: Excel at school and secure a scholarship to study some super difficult subject, like maths or physics, at Cambridge University. Excel at university and get a scholarship to do a post-grad degree in governance or an MBA at Harvard. Join the Singaporean military and excel. Reach at least the rank of Brigadier or General. Enter politics. Excel even compared with others who have similar CVs, rise to become a senior position. Compare that with the career path of the average senior British politican. Get the same results as every other middle class child at school. Do PPE or straight up politics at university. Leverage your contacts to become a SPAD for a cabinet or shadow cabinet member. Get a column writing gig at the Spectator, Economist or New Statesman Become a more senior SPAD. Run in an impossible to win seat to prove you really want to be in parliament. Get parachuted into a safe seat as a rising star. Get a junior ministerial position in the first reshuffle after the election. Get made a cabinet member after the next election. Now, why is Singapore an extremely well run country and we are not?

The night I went to the hospital to give birth a woman across the hall delivered a dead baby, and as I went through contractions her screams of grief echoed through the hallway. And I often think about that moment, and wonder why I was given a healthy live baby and that woman a dead one, and there isn't an answer. Not really. I was probably just lucky. And she wasn't. A blessing by definition is something that you don't deserve, and I think it's important to remember that for every gift you've been given a thousand have been denied to others, a million, an infinity. You have to cling to every little miracle. You have to remember that every joy you're afforded, for reasons you can't understand, is encircled by the unceasing pain of those who were never allowed to live.

Space — the final frontier. Our new National Space Agency begins operations today. The global space industry is growing fast. While Singapore may not have launch sites, we have strengths in specialised, high-value areas — from satellites to advanced manufacturing.