Us (Singapore) watching the USA, UK and Ukraine from a distance...

Ovidia--every other Tuesday I've been trying to finish a draft--after a reshaping shift because apparently Americans won't be uncomfortable with a 'Rubber Tree' mystery and no, there's no such thing as an 'Eraser Tree'. So... a quick shift and I'm now working on the 'Rose Apple Tree Mystery'!

Which makes these jambu doves very happy--

These sweet birds don't just love rose apples ('Jambu' is the local name for rose apples) but the pink blush on the male's chest matches the colour of the ripe fruit.

But it just shows how much influence America has on the rest of the world and I wanted to write about how hopeful the world feels right now, with all the news coming at us from the USA (pre-November Election info is really uplifting), the UK (anti-racists rising to defend the narrative) and Ukraine (where a tiny nation is still holding out against Goliath). It's all very far away from, yet hugely impactful on us here in Singapore.

Anyone who's heard of Singapore knows we are a really small country. And we just celebrated our 59th National Birthday last Saturday, meaning we're a really young nation too.

But it's not all about fireworks and sky divers. We've come a long way since 1965. As our Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said. '... since 1965, Singapore has changed, people have changed, two younger generations have grown up. Now, we are in a country that is safe, secure, prosperous, stable and united' and we have to stay that way,'
This year though, it was the first time it rained on a National Day, since the first National Day in 1966.

People usually credit the 'chilli bawang', onions and chillis skewared on a satay stick, that's supposed to prevent rain from falling.

But this year it did rain earlier in the day, just not long enough to disrupt events.

Yes, our 'worries' are small, relative to what people in other nations (think Gaza and Ukraine) are living with.

And we get joy in small things too. When 17 year old Max Maeder earned Singapore's first (and only) Olympic medal in kitefoiling, it was announced at the National Day Festivities and both President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong congratulated him for giving Singapore a beautiful birthday gift.
I heard he was devastated at only getting the bronze, but he's already inspired a lot of people. Yesterday in the park by my home, two young girls and a boy showed me their 'kitefoiling' training, using an umbrella and a skateboard. They looked like they were nine or ten years old--well, they have four years until the next Olympics!

But the thing about being really small is, 'when elephants make love or war, the grass suffers'. Our survival depends a lot on what's happening in the world around us.
And that's why the news coming out of the USA feels so hopeful right now.

My experience of America comes mostly from Mystery Conferences. Mystery readers and writers are really lovely people, so I've had a very positive impression, despite their former President who, after declaring his intention to be tough on China, recalled the American ambassador to Singapore (no, we're Not part of China).

That's been cleared up. But still, the prospect of that President returning wasn't pleasant, so the groundbreaking swell of support for the other candidate has been great. And it's made me see that not all conservatives feel the same way as he does.

Can I say I believe America has had some really great Republican Presidents instead of dwelling on the recent worst?
Lincoln, who abolished slavery
Roosevelt, who steered the country through the industrial revolution and built the Panama Canal
Einsenhower, who connected the country with interstate highways
and Reagan, who held the USA together and provided a stabilising point for us in the rest of the world as the USSR dissolved.

But now I'm really hoping that the world will see the USA elect a Democratic President who will work to return America to the ideals it was founded on, and that America will again become a beacon of liberty and justice for all--both within and beyond her borders.

(after the November elections, if we still have an embassy in America, maybe we could send her a pineapple? Traditionally, when moving into a new house, you take the pineapple and roll it all over so that your new house will be prosperous and abundant as long as you inhabit it)

But then again, given the chilli bawang didn't work this year maybe not...

The news from the UK is positive too, as anti-racists rise up against violence and in Ukraine, Russia might be coming round to the idea that a sustainable peace would serve the Russian people better than a long drawn out war of 'quick' conquest.

Again, it's not our business, but it's hard not to feel lifted by the positive energy in the world today.
(And yes, back to writing...)

An Explanation of Our Unstable Times

Jeff—Saturday

Today is a day I sense for feeling joyful. No, not because I’m packing up to depart Mykonos mid-week for New Orleans to participate in Bouchercon 2016’s Blood on the Bayou; no, not because I’m halfway finished with Kaldis #9—due out in 2017; no, not because Kaldis #8 (Santorini Caesars) comes out September 6^th and is getting terrific reviews (“International-crime fans need to be reading this consistently strong series.” —Booklist); and, no, not even because I’m so deeply honored to be part of the just released, game changing SUNSHINE NOIR anthology edited by our own Annamaria Alfieri and Michael Stanley.)

What has me up in the clouds is that finally I met someone involved with addressing the Greek financial crisis that actually gets it. Whether or not the politicians with the power to bring about change listen to my source, understand what’s said, and act on it is another story. 

This is not a slam on Greece, because my luncheon companion’s analysis of how Greece got into the situation it now finds itself applies in equal measure to the UK ending up in Brexit mode, and the US facing November 8^th.

So here, folks, is a four-step analysis from a hands-on practical straight-talker…as related by me from my perch of joy.

1.              The economies involved have edged forward extremely slowly from the crises that struck them nearly a decade ago. That alone is enough to cause unease in an electorate.

2.              True or not, the perception in those nations is that the one-percent at the economic top is doing terrifically at the expense of the other ninety-nine.  That sort of thinking contributed to the French National holiday of Bastille Day.

3.              Voters believe their elected officials are indebted to special interests, cannot work together, and have lost touch with what the people expect of them.  Another nail in the social compact coffin.

4.              Pensioners are facing a declining standard of living, either because of cuts to their pensions or increased costs for their necessities, and beyond that they see their children and grandchildren falling farther and further into financial disparity and despair. 

A confluence of all four negatives—running from macro to family dinner table economics— can spawn revolution in many cultures, but Greece, the UK, and the US are not the sort to take to the streets.  Rather, their first resort is to the ballot box. So, if you’re a voter holding the short end of the stick on these four points, what are you going to do about it when your government asks for your vote?

I shall put the answer in my own words...as translated from the original sophisticated style of my luncheon companion.

ANSWER: Shove that stick as far up the [you know where] of the system as you can get it, or—to put more delicately (for Caro’s gentle ears)—vote for the craziest wildcard alternative out there promising to shake up a system that no longer has any meaning for you.

After all, what more do the disenchanted and ignored feel they have to lose?

Obviously a lot, but that’s not how the voter sees it, and if politicians persist in missing or dismissing what’s driving their citizenry to the edge, all I can say to the world is, BEND OVER. 

As for that joy I alluded to earlier on, somehow it’s managed to morph into the sort of uneasy high one gets leaning out over the edge of a very tall skyscraper.  Or tower.

—Jeff

Tired of Being Taken for a Fool?

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

Most attribute that adage to Abraham Lincoln, a Republican politician, though some argue for legendary showman PT Barnum.  For purposes of this discussion it doesn’t much matter which one said it, because in today’s world enough of us are fools so much of the time that the rest of us suffer as if we’re all fools all the time.

No, I’m not talking about the ridiculous political campaign rhetoric tossed at us with about as much sincerity and honest intentions as a hooker’s smile.  An example of that scenario will play out tomorrow as Greeks vote to see who will replace the non-political caretaker government appointed to run their country after their elected legislators ignominiously failed to agree upon who should run it.  Tomorrow’s election is fraught with promises that cannot possibly be kept, consequences few want to grasp, and a result likely far worse that the current situation.   But I’m not talking about that.

May 6, 2012 Election Results--no coalition formed

I’m talking about the US.  Americans pride themselves on hard work and honest government, but are we any better governed than the suffering Greeks who must contend with an entrenched political hierarchy that puts vested personal self-interest and cash above the common good?

Yes, cash.  Okay, in the US the cash transaction typically doesn’t involve the Greek’s traditional envelope or untraditional Pampers box, but rather opportunities to trade on insider information (a crime for mere mortals) or receive preferential investment deals from companies seeking government support.  Both put cash in a legislator’s pocket—and the legislator likely in the pocket of the benefactor.  Now, thanks to the US Supreme Court’s infamous (from my way of thinking) Citizens United decision allowing unlimited corporate campaign contributions, there’s no doubt that cash rules the Congressional and Executive branches of government.  Not sure what holds the top spot with the Judiciary, but it’s likely one of the seven deadly sins.   

With all due respect to Lincoln and Barnum, I think today’s truism on American politics is, “Money talks.  End of Story.” 

We need to find a way to get things back on track. And fast.  Think of Greece as our canary in the mine, revealing what happens when those we trust to govern on our behalf lose sight of their primary obligation to do what is best for their country.

Alexis Papachelas

Here are some thoughts expressed this week by Alexis Papachelas, managing editor of Athens’ Kathimerini.  He wrote of what it meant to see his government in the hands of people working for love of country, not personal ambition.  

It’s good to know that when your country is in danger, there are still responsible people who care about it, who are willing to risk their reputation for it, and who can handle extremely delicate issues using skill and common sense.

These days I often hear state officials and ordinary people saying: “I wish previous governments had the quality of the current caretaker administration…”

The question is this: Why don’t we see people like [these] taking government posts unless they are in emergency or caretaker governments?

A first response would be that they…would not be elected if they were included on party tickets.

A different response would be because they would be snubbed by most mainstream TV networks because of low ratings.

A third explanation is that the traditional parties are highly allergic to such people; rather, they are treated with envy, disdain and, sometimes, fear.

It’s a pity that we never got a chance to see such a government…

It’s sad to have to put up with all those who systematically attack any serious individual... They either want governments staffed with TV personalities so that they can get close to the political personnel or they are concerned about losing the lavish handouts by any party army that climbs to power.

It’s time we got serious.

Yes, my fellow Americans, it’s time we got serious.

Jeff—Saturday