The Face Of True Evil Is Often Quite Polite
@ Wed 14 July 2010 11:59 AM HKT by Tom LeggWhen faced with crowds of the hungry that worked hard but didn't make enough to afford food and shelter, what would Jesus do? He'd obviously say that we'd make sure that the views of their employers would be properly accounted for to ensure that none of them might have to suffer a loss in profits.
When faced with crowds of the sick and disabled wishing to be healed, what would Jesus do? He'd obviously tell them he was unable to handle the workload of healing them all, so he'd offer them a partial subsidy to go see some other for-profit healer.
What? Jesus wouldn't do those things? No, but a overtly pious little man who falls back on pompous versions of childhood taunts would. Of course what would you expect from a little man who claims victory for something that could only be accomplished by completely bypassing his powerless position.
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen's responses in LegCo yesterday showed that he was the master of policy initiatives that were nothing but hand waving. When faced with the obvious fact that his housing policies have resulted in repeatedly blatant gaming of the system by his tycoon buddies due to its lack of transparency, he responded by saying that Hong Kong would have to wait and see whether the current rules about transparency didn't work. Sorry, Bow-tie, we've seen that your rules are a failure and your response shows that you have no real power to rein in the institutionalised corruption here.
When faced with obvious signs that his policies have not slowed the surge in property prices, despite claims to the opposite made to LegCo by his Secretaries within the last two months, he offers the minimum of fig leaves concerning possible subsidies towards the Home Ownership Scheme. Any word on pushing the ICAC to consider pre-land auction negotiations between bidders as a form of corruption? Any word on an actual expansion of land offerings beyond more luxury homes being built? I can look out my windows and see two of the plots on the Government's rosters that weren't triggered. Why not? Because the government's policy of high land prices can't be reversed, because Donald Tsang has no power to rein in the institutionalised corruption in Hong Kong.
When faced with issues of a balanced economic development, he promised to revisit his failed transit subsidy program of a few years back. Why do we have to revisit it? 1) Because the policy was so massively undervalued as to make it an immediate failure, which ensured that it wouldn't actually register on the budget due to a lack of people using the failed program. 2) Economic development under Donald Tsang has continued to be so lopsided, that folks in the New Territories are still forced to commute to find jobs within stumbling distance of the renovated with taxpayer money Executive mansion.
When faced with issues of providing adequate health care for Hong Kong, he promised to provide subsidies for the elderly with chronic health problems to visit private doctors. But exactly like the travel subsidy program it is so massively undervalued, that it's a guaranteed failure out of the gate. And since almost no one will actually use the health subsidies, it ensures that the implemented program will not be a drain on the public finances of Hong Kong.
So we see a hand waving charlatan, who proclaims policy initiatives designed as immediate failures and proclaims that we'll have to wait and see whether the emperor has no clothes, when everyone else can see it plain as day in real time. And if I were the LSD, instead of throwing prop pieces of silver at Donald Tsang, I'd just inform the radical Tsang Yok-sing that you have no questions for this powerless charlatan and that you're insulted that the Chair would fail to allow the honourable members of LegCo to question the real power behind the curtains instead of this bow-tied bozo.
Ripped From The Cover
@ Wed 14 July 2010 9:09 AM HKT by Tom LeggSo frackin' lame. Yesterday when faced with a barrage of "disrespectful questions" (clutch your pearls, you overly sensitive waste of space), Bowtie whipped out a phrase used by King Edward III: "Honi soit qui mal y pense".
Shall I be the one to make the commentary of Donald Tsang figuring himself as some sort of royalty separate and morally above the unwashed commoners of Hong Kong? Shall I post photos of his stupendously stupid grin while rubbing shoulders with real world leaders at APEC gatherings? ("Look at me, I'm important because I get to talk to important people." Embarrasingly useless.)
But thanks to Wikipedia, I can see it's not a matter of Donald Tsang actually being an educated man.
Another alternative translation : "Spurned be the one who evil thinks". The older (dark navy blue) British passport carried this message on its cover. The intent there was for the bearer to be pure in thought and intent if he/she was a carrier of that passport.
...
It is on the front of the current British passports.
UPDATE at Noon:
So reading an Oriental Daily story on this exchange, they mention Bowtie referenced the phrase was on a banner in the pre-handover Council chambers. In any case it's still just a pompous version of the child's taunt, "I'm rubber, you're glue, everything bounces off of me and sticks to you." Just a mighty L4M3 attempt to dodge the accuracy of the accusations against him!




