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I once asked AI what it considers the most existential threat to mankind. It said "WISDOM", or rather, the loss of wisdom. This thought struck me as I sat down to craft this post. On a clear day, you can see the frailty of humanity as we watch proceedings in United Nations General Assembly 81st Session and how the world consumes it. Sadly but unsurprisingly, the world's attention gyrates towards the contestation of politics. The demagogues have their day; the philosophers are left sitting on the cold stone. The focus over social media is on the spectacle of 77 countries walking out on Netanyahu's speech. And a spectacle it certainly was, with cameras panned to show an empty hall when in reality the majority of representatives remained. Netanyahu, Trump, Turkey's Edrogan, Palestine's Abbas and Iran's Pezeshkian said what we expected them to say. Raw grit and passionate delivery, but nothing new. One leader spoke at UNGA81 and the world hardly pays atte...

BOLIVIA: Following years of severed ties, Israel and Bolivia officially renewed diplomatic relations in December 2025. As part of this new strategic chapter, Israel committed to sharing its world-leading technological expertise directly with the Bolivian government, specifically targeting water management, agricultural recovery, and public health innovation to help the country combat regional water scarcity and climate challenges. BOSNIA AND HERZEGONIA: 2014 Flood Relief & Water Pumps Following historic, record-breaking floods that submerged entire cities across the Balkans, Israel sent immediate shipments of emergency relief to Bosnia. Delivered via helicopter due to cut-off roads, the aid packages included critical medicines, food, blankets, and specialized high-capacity water pumps to drain submerged towns like Doboj. BRAZIL: 1. The Brumadinho Dam Collapse January 2019 Israel sent a 130-to-140-member delegation from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the emergency organiza...

Singapore Airlines has won the "World's Best Airlines" award for the nth time. Congratulations are well-deserved. But this has drawn Singaporeans critical of SIA's involvement in Air India to throw caustic remarks like "Wah now got so much money to help other people, hor."  That is a double count of ignorance - of a strategic investment and of what this award is all about.  This award measures passengers' perceptions of service, product and experience. Skytrax actually doesn't call it the "World's Best Airline". They call it the "Passenger's Choice Awards". It is a beauty contest, not a profitability race. Megan Young was crowned Miss World 2013 doesn't mean Philippines had the best GDP.  SIA can win Skytrax's beauty contest. But shareholders don't invest for beauty. They invest for returns on capital. That is not to take away the immense  marketing value of the award. In aviation, beauty is not the same as ec...

Note: There are no images of Yaogan-50(02). Feature image is a rendition by satellite trackers using what's known of the spacecraft geometry. . Chinese satellite Yaogon 50(02) was reported to have broken up, but strangely, Singapore state media knows nothing. The following timeline is most interesting. (1) 9 Mar:   The Global Network reported Chinese company MizarVision has been tracking U.S. military asset in the Iran war theatre and posting their movements on "X". (2) 15 Mar: China launched Yaogan-50(02). (3) 8 May:   US sanctions 3 Chinese companies - MizarVision, Earth Eye and Chang Guang (4) 1 Jun:     ABC reported Chinese satellite imagery of ME bases is helping Iran, US intel says. (5) 17 Jul:    Iran missile attack on Muwalffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan killed 3 US servicemen. (6) 2 Sep      Reuters report US and China are developing sophisticated counter-space capabilities, including satellites capable of appro...

By looking at the macroeconomics, the aviation economics, and aviation landscape where multi-billion dollar projects are planned many years in advance and executed over a long timeline, you will be looking at the bigger picture of the SIA investment in Air India as a visionary move. The Core Traffic Corridors to the US and Canada These are long haul flights that require aircrafts to carry substantial fuel. They are premium service because customer comfort is crucial for such long flights. SIA has direct flights to US West Coast (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle) and East coast (New York City, Newark) SQ: Aircraft: Airbus A350-900ULR SIN → SFO (14.5-15.5hrs) SIN → JFK (18.5-19 hrs) IX: Legacy fleet: Boeing 777-300ER and 777-200LR (New) Airbus A350-900 & A350-1000, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and retrofited 777s and 787s DEL/BOM → SFO (16-17 hrs) DEL/BOM → JFK (16-17 hrs) QF: Aircraft: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner SYD → SFO (13.5 hrs) SYD → AKD → JFK (2...

 I mentioned in my previous post "This is just for domestic consumption, an appeasement to the rising chorus of contempt. Obviously SIA will review in accordance with milestones obscured somewhere in the voluminous stack of agreements signed two-three years ago. These massive corporate deals aren't playing masa-masa. One can drown in the schedules, tasks, and time-tables." I am just being frank on the exact reality of how these multi-billion-dollar corporate mergers actually work. The "tough conditions" being reported now are not sudden, reactive demands. They are the public execution of complex legal triggers - like Put Options, Call Options, and anti-dilution mechanisms - that were quietly locked into the original Shareholder Agreements years ago when the Tata-SIA merger was first drafted. When a highly conservative, state-backed corporation like Singapore Airlines enters a market as volatile as Indian aviation, nothing is left to chance. The framework go...

Back in 2015 there was much public argument AGAINST selling Neptune Orient Lines. "This is a national asset, why are we giving it away?". The counter official argument was essentially: "Strategic sentiment cannot override commercial reality."   Today, with SIA's 25.1% investment in Air India, the sentiments are completely reversed. NOL's losses produced a debate about whether a strategic national champion had outlived its usefulness. Air India's losses are producing a debate about whether Singapore capital should continue supporting an external strategic investment. There are basically two ways to view the investment. All those who are against the cash call look through the lens of a passive investor. Losses, poor ROI, poor track record, etc etc. A persistent expert says First Principles -- cut losses, stop-loss order. They have good experience on Phillips Trading platform and think SIA can just click a button and exit. As I explained in the last thr...