RA's Classes 2010

It is often said that it is the victors who decide what history is and is not. Do you agree? I think we should not be surprised if the PAP defends its actions. That's normal. What we should do is ensure that there are enough alternative views so people can draw their own conclusions.

Is it me or did Mr Jeyaretnam Jr argue PIPICACI style? "This letter, which somehow mysteriously failed to console me, not only assassinated JBJ but also implied that the institutions of the Nation are synonymous with PAP." I'm too brain dead to think about this now, but it seems like he is challenging the underlying assumption of the PAP. Hmm, Richard Paul will be proud of him. It will be interesting to see how the PAP counters this.

Cool huh? Things around us could be improvised into a warfare weapon.

This is quite interesting.A CHILI can be changed into a nontoxic WEAPON!!!

Humanitarianism vs pragmatism

Fascinating commentary on the new China.

Is the passage addressing the issue of uneven distribution of energy? One part of the world using too much energy that emits the problem of carbon emission and the other part of the world suffering from energy poverty?

A great site on bioethics, introduced to me by my colleague Mr YKH.

It is important to note that the Isreali-Palestinian conflict lies at the heart of the current problem of Islamic terrorism. Almost all Islamic terrorists point to the unfair treatment of Palestinians as justification for their actions against the US and the West in general. Familiarise yourself with the history and the key issues in this conflict.

The need for transparency and good governance transcends beyond the realm of sovereign nations. What about religious groups and sports associations?

Well, who is going to take responsible for the abuse of freedom? Google and FaceBook that provide a expression sharing platform or those who abuse the freedom to share anything on the web?

A must-read. Title is self-explanatory.

Brilliant comment by Siqin. More please.

I agree with siqin that singapore has limited resources. The only resources that singapore have is labour. When more of singaporeans are migrating, this will make singapore to be less productive and thus, reduce its global competitiveness. Since new zealand offer a better standard of living, it is no wonder why many singaporeans choose to migrate there. Also, singapore government makes CPF as a compulsory saving to help singaporeans to lead a better life when they retire. But how is this going to work when the CPF value is slowly eroded to pay HDB prices?

Could this happen in Singapore?

@ khushboo goda: "if u believe singaporeans have the mentality to 'mind our own business' they are likely to not interfere if such a situation does arise right?" Nope. "If we're nt strong enough to interfere in such cases we're highly likely to chicken out when such a grave situation arises..." I think you mistook my point. As i said, Singapore youths are likely to "mind their own business" instead of going around picking on foreigners. Hence, such nonense will not happen in the country. But in the event that something like that really happens, then of course passerbys in the vincinity should not adpot the "mind their own business" mindset. lols.

I agree with Khusboo. The MYOB mindset is prevalent and it is my opinion similar to what the writer is descibing. If a group was racially abusing someone, would you dare to intervene? In Singapore, the answer is obvious.

Interesting that the Vatican has moderated its position homosexuality. Useful evidence. Read carefully though. Their position is nuanced.

The reason why the human race has survived throughout thousands of years is simply due to reproduction. One of the key arguments against homosexuality is that the relationship is incapable of producing children, this mean lead to the extinction of the human race ( with some exaggeration of cos ) . Let's put moral issues aside and consider the reason why humans have been able to survive on Earth for such a long time.

I'm with Louis on this. The main two objectives of living on this Earth as a human being is to survive and pass on your genes. Survival without replication would indeed lead to the extinction of the human race.

All about identity, integration and discrimination.

"contrary to the values of the Republic." from second paragraph. what is the values of the Republic? and why gt close and open inverted comas?

Sarkozy believes that the reason behind the banning of the burkas is because the covering of a woman's face is seen as a sign of subservience and a way to deny them freedom and equality. But doesnt the banning of burkas be interpreted as imposing a dress code and denying them the choice to wear what they want? On the other hand, i can understand where France is coming from. With the growing rate of terrorism these days, banning the burkas could be seen as a step to defend its country from extremists. This is because if Burkas were allowed, people could commit crimes or even hide explosives if the help of a Burka. Futhermore, there is nothing in the Quran that directs women to cover their faces. Thus, France's view on banning burkas can be largely justified.

Answers to the 3 compre practices

Question: Who are these MP's speaking on behalf of?

The MP is speaking on behalf of us, Singaporeans. Raising the levy may help to control the number of foreign workers coming to Singapore. The pro side is that there will be more jobs offered to Singaporeans and that it may prompt the employers to look for more hardworking and productive foreigners to employ, thus achieving one of the proposed 2010 Budget aims of increasing productivity. But, as stated in the article, locals may not want to take up the jobs done by foreigners, as such, one will ask "So what is the use of creating jobs for Singaporeans?" This issue have really left me wondering because there are many locals complaining that there are no jobs in the market when they themselves are so picky about it. It must be because of their pride, a need to show off their status, I guess. As for the employers, they may find it difficult to employ productive workers. Most of those foreign workers who are productive would most probably have already secured a job in their own country. Furthermore, the demand of those workers will definitely increase, leading to a shortage of workers for some of the firms here. Other less productive workers will also be deprived of a job. And not to mention "businesses passing on the higher costs to consumers". The prices of goods and services would definitely 'pinch' everybody. As such, although the increase in levy may help to control the flow of foreign workers, I feel that great considerations have to be taken such that that proposal will benefit Singaporeans instead of creating "yet another problem''.

The influx of foreign workers may be undesirable for Singaporeans since our social standing may be threatened in future. In this case, "too much of something good is bad" .

Just for a laugh! "I wish I could take it back!!!" hahahahahahahahahahaha

I uploaded this as a joke, I don't understand why we are wasting our time on serious analysis. Pls comment on serious issues. Don't show me how intellectually lazy you are.

I can think of many different ways she could've killed him. Sorry Mr. Andrew, I just had to. Oh well.

Interesting. Is Europe changing it mind about GM? Read on.

In my opinion, Europe should change its mind about GM since 70% of consumers are against GM food. Not only GM food consumed will be detrimental to human's health, but also it causes resistance to antibiotics. The article also stated that Amflora would only be used for animals' food. However, i think that not all of the animals are suitable to eat GM food as it is not real. Hence, Europe should think twice before allowing GM food to be allowed for consumption as the dangers outweigh the benefits

I think that Europe should continue to produce GM food.When GM food is produced,there is a lower cost of production.The prices of factor inputs for the products reduce.Producers will find it more profitable to produce and sell the products.The suppliers(in this case,farmers) can earn a better income.Their poblem of poverty can be eliminated.

When i was at Melbourne for Srgce, I discovered an abandoned supermarket trolley left outside the university compound and guess who is the main suspect?

Not returning trolleys is a sign of laziness and the lack of consideration amongst singaporeans; two qualities that have been commonly known to be present in us for decades now. Considering that the population of people who go to supermarkets are mainly senior citizens and the working people, i believe that the S$1 coin-deposit system is effective to a large extent as these are the people who would know the value of money even if its just a dollar. However, to further ensure that trolleys dont go missing, singapore could implement a fine on people who do not return trolleys. This would definitely instill a sense of fear in singaporeans and thus solve the missing trolleys problem.

Singapore, despite having a world class education system is lacking in civil mindedness. This is the debatable failure of our education system.