Things got so bad that I virtually stopped reading the newspapers, and it really hit bottom when someone mentioned the French fireworks and the Italian fireworks, and I went like, "What?"

I hadn't known about the 3 or 4 nights of fireworks, each with a different theme, around National Day!

So tonight I gave myself a little time off Indignation and watched the TV news. And then felt guilty about not updating this site. However, since I have no idea what's going on around the world, all I can write about tonight is about the little stuff I heard on the news. I know, it sounds quite pathetic.

But anyway, here goes – four unrelated things.

There was a snippet from ChannelNewsAsia reporter Ken Teh in Taipeh. He described how the younger generation of Taiwanese were feeling gloomy about their future, yet switching off from political participation. They felt, Teh said, that there was too much politicking among the parties.

The camera panned around the square in front of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial where, Teh reported, thousands of students had gathered in the 1980s to stage protests, demanding political reforms. Today, the area is deserted except for a few tourists and a busload or two of schoolchildren on a class excursion.

Why weren't the Taiwanese youth interested in politics anymore? They might still be, Ken reported, if they had any hope that real change was possible.

Isn't that interesting, I thought to myself. ChannelNewsAsia can say such things about another country's youth and put its finger right on its pulse: if they had any hope that real change was possible. Why don't we ever hear the same succinct truth about Singapore?

Our youth don't even seem interested in singing talent, judging from the way the Singapore Idol competition is fast becoming an utter disgrace.

Jonathan Leong, Mathilda D'Silva, Jay Lim and Hady Mirza

The three best singers -– Mathilda D'Silva, Hady Mirza and Jonathan Leong -– were the bottom three (out of 7) in terms of votes obtained, 17 August 2006. D'Silva was knocked out.

I am told that another good singer, Jay Lim, had also been eliminated a few weeks earlier, though, not having caught any of his performances, I can't know how good he was. In fact, the only show that I have caught in full so far was of the top eight, on 9 August, when I happened to be at my parents' place for dinner. But it was enough to strike me that evening that D'Silva, Hady and Leong were quite clearly head and shoulders above the rest.

Yet, here they were, at the bottom in terms of votes, while those cruising to victory couldn't sing at all. What gives?

It's probably the profile of the crowd that's still interested in the show. I suspect they're very young, teenyboppers perhaps. They must be throwing their support to those whose looks and childish demeanour appeal most to them. Never mind if their favourites sing flat, with no inflection of voice and no understanding of what the song is about. All they need to do is to bounce around the stage like 12 year-olds.

Why aren't the older viewers voting? Or are they not even watching? Why are they so switched off?

When American Idol was on, I had the feeling that quite a number of adult viewers were following it, from the way people recognised the names of, and had opinions on, the finalists. So what's the difference here? Why aren't they giving the time of day (evening, actually) to Singapore Idol? Perhaps, like me, they were taken aback by how bad the quality of the field was, and gave up on the competition immediately. I said to myself, when I caught some snatches of the early stages of Singapore Idol, this is embarrassing. We evidently can't produce any entertainment talent, which immediately begs the question, why can't we?

What is it about this society that, for all the boasts about being super in this and tops in that, just falls flat when it comes to singing, dancing and showmanship? We had better find out what's wrong if we want to be serious about creativity and becoming a city full of buzz.

None other than Lee Kuan Yew said it was important for Singapore to realise the importance of the service sector, particularly entertainment. But, "to create this kind of economy, we must have a different kind of Singapore," he said. It was reported by ChannelNewsAsia last night.

"The Singapore that we had -- very orderly, very wholesome, very clean -- is not good enough. They want a fun city, buzz - because you now got a new generation of tourists who go to places with excitement."

He even mentioned the Crazy Horse cabaret and Ministry of Sound, after touring the newly tarted-up Clarke Quay district.

"Tourists were there till about 4 to 5 o'clock in the morning, drinking, eating, chatting. The river is there and we've got Crazy Horse, Ministry of Sound, so cars are lining up. But Crazy Horse charges so much, it is half empty and losing money, but we told them, never mind, once the casinos come up, they will get the business."

He explained that the future high rollers, who gamble hundreds of thousands of dollars in one night, are likely to visit Crazy Horse for entertainment [1].

"So we must have more of this!" Lee said.

Ah,  Lee's epiphany is still rooted in serving foreigners in the hope of getting them to part with a bit of their money. It's not a question of Singaporeans enjoying themselves -- that would be much too dissolute. We are merely to perform the buzz all night so that tourists will come and spend. 

But, in any case, does the government truly understand what it means to "loosen up"?

Meanwhile, Bangkok wins hands-down when it comes to entertainment, though the news on television tonight was that the Thai government was concerned they were attracting the dregs of the dregs.

John Mark Karr, a confessed heterosexual, [2] has been arrested in the Thai capital for the murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey in 1996. His visa was quickly revoked which means that he will be deported with little enquiry, back to the US.

Karr had been in various teaching jobs through the last few years, working with young children. While we should keep an open mind about his innocence or guilt in this case, newspapers have reported that in 2001, an arrest warrant was issued in his name on suspicion of possessing child pornography. This was probably what prompted him to leave his home country. His wife also took out a restraining order against him, preventing him from seeing his children.

Karr being manhandled by the police and press as he is led to a "press conference" at the police station.

But the glee with which American newspapers seized on these details was nothing compared to the "show" put up by the Thai police. Karr was paraded like a convicted criminal before a feeding frenzy by media sharks, and the station commander spoke freely to the press about what Karr had "confessed" to.

Why do the police treat their detainees like trophies? This shows a police force that is more concerned with winning kudos from the public and favourable notice from their political masters (promotions, anyone?) than truly serving the cause of justice. Parading Karr publicly violates basic ethics in how we should treat detainees, and most certainly undermines the necessary presumption of innocence.

This is not to say that we should be soft on paedophiles or murderers, but first we must be very fair about whether or not Karr is one. That's a mark of a mature society.

© Yawning Bread