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Raymond Andrew

RAsClasses2010 - MYE Revision Materials - 50 views

rasclasses2010.wikispaces.com/MYE+Revision+Materials

shared by Raymond Andrew on 11 May 10 - Cached
Goh Jing yaw liked it
  • Raymond Andrew on 11 May 10
     
    Vital materials. If you're a member of my wikispace join now. Don't wait till the eve of the exam. Also remember to click on the blue icon and follow Raymond Andrew so you have access to my lists. I will of be uploading materials.
Raymond Andrew

Sat on boyfriend; killed him - 28 views

www.straitstimes.com/...STIStory_480723.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 25 Jan 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 25 Jan 10
     
    Just for a laugh! "I wish I could take it back!!!" hahahahahahahahahahaha
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Joel Chen on 26 Jan 10
     
    well that is culpable humicide, not amounting to murder. Just a normal quarrel that leads to a killing. a joke rather.
  • Goh Jun Kai on 25 Feb 10
     
    I don't know what is the people's perspective of this incident but in my point of view, i don't think there is any injustice in the sentenced given to the woman. If one see the whole picture, she didn't knew sitting on her boyfriend will bring death to him, it was probably purely out of anger. No one will expect to kill the other just by sitting on them. She deserve what she was sentenced, probation and community work would probably provide her long hours of reflection by also doing the good.
  • Joel Chen on 25 Feb 10
     
    as what I said, thats culpable humicide, not amounting to murder.
  • Viron Lee on 26 Feb 10
     
    In the first place, why would the 55kg guy want a 136kg female as his girlfriend? makes no sense to me.
  • Raymond Andrew on 27 Feb 10
     
    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.
  • Alif Zaini on 27 Feb 10
     
    I can think of many different ways she could've killed him. Sorry Mr. Andrew, I just had to. Oh well.
Raymond Andrew

Playboy on kids' channel - 23 views

www.straitstimes.com/...STIStory_503511.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 18 Mar 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 18 Mar 10
     
    Yes technological glitches do occur and what a mess they can cause.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Tan Shi Hao on 18 Mar 10
     
    Children are like a blank piece of paper. It's up to us to fill it with colours and now they are tainted with content that they will only know ten years down the road. I'm sure that they are unable to handle it and will do some silly stuff.
  • Viron Lee on 25 Mar 10
     
    Tainted?? that's too strong a word to use since most of the children are seeing the adult material for the first time in their lives (i hope). as such, they are too innocent to know what is really going on. i think they will feel curious more than anything else and would want to know more about it. this is where we, as adults, should use this golden opportunity to educate them about sexuality. I believe that one is never "too young" to learn about sexuality since they will inevitably learn it at some stage in their lives. Educating children properly at a young age will in fact prevent a lot of misconceptions about sexuality which could lead to "preventable" social problems like teenage pregnancy etc
  • LouisNg LouisNg on 25 Mar 10
     
    In my opinion, the incidents that will have a far reaching consequence on the children are offences such as childhood sexual abuse and violence, and not the accidental viewing of sexual content on television . There will be negative effects of course , but only to a small extent.
  • Raymond Andrew on 08 Apr 10
     
    I agree with Viron. This is a fascinatng commentary on a social phenomena. Beyond a certain age, most adult stop swearing except in unusual circumstances.
Raymond Andrew

Freelance prostitutes spotted at Resorts World Sentosa casino : THE TEMASEK REVIEW - 30 views

www.temasekreview.com/...t-resorts-world-sentosa-casino

shared by Raymond Andrew on 23 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 23 Feb 10
     
    I feared this would happen. A new set of problems. A domino effect. Fourth para from the end is funny. '...he declined respectfully as his wife was around'. He should be shot for even asking. There's nothing respectuful about that. Funny.
  • ...13 more comments...
  • Siti Nabilah Abdul Rahman on 27 Feb 10
     
    Haha. Mr Ang would have accepted the offer if the price is little lower and his wife is not around. According to the text, prostitution is legal in Singapore. How is the authority supposed to handle this problem if the prostitution is legal in Singapore? Other problems like drugs, loan sharks and money laundering are yet to rise. New sets of regulations will be needed when this happens, though these problems are difficult to detect.
  • ezra lee on 27 Feb 10
     
    i agree with mr.abdul...the opening of the integrated resort seems to be creating problems not faced by singapore before. singapore is certainly in a predicament since we have not encountered anything like this since our independance, where singapore had a myriad of problems (drug trafficking, prostitution etc.). This may be the next major problem, considering the high probability that singapore simply does not have the means or experience to deal with the upcoming problems faced by casinos world-wide(underground prostitution, triads etc...). Lets hope singapore will be able to handle this, although the future seems bleak, seeing as Mr. Abdul has clearly pointed out the problems of legalising prostitution.
  • Michelle Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    With the legalisation and opening of the Integrated Resorts, the government should already have seen this coming. Since they are against prostitution, they should have addressed the issue and consider the externalities involved before they built the IR. By the way, I think $200 is too expensive for a massaging service. Haha.
  • Cheng Ching Shean on 27 Feb 10
     
    Problems such as drugs, loan sharks and prostitution have been existing all this while, it is just that no one makes a big fuss out of it. Since Casino is such a big project of Singapore, naturally people will focus on these problems more. I agree with Nabilah that new sets of regulations will be needed for these problems, though they may be difficult to detect. Although it is challenging to differentiate the prostitutes and the decent ones, i believe that prostitutes have some significant characteristics such as wearing revealing clothings, indecent actions. The police might want to take note of these.
  • madeleine ng on 27 Feb 10
     
    I suppose the profits earned from the Sentosa World Resort Casino greatly outweighs the disadvantages and that is why the government decided to go ahead with the plan, building the resorts.
  • Jean Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    Well it is quite impossible to differentiate the prostitutes from others. Before the government have decided to build the IR, they should have already considered such problems that may arise. So now i think that the best way is to implement new sets of regulations to prevent or possibly reduce such problems, like what Nabilah has said.
  • huilee yeoh on 27 Feb 10
     
    Wherever there is money,there would always be nasty social undesirables that comes along with it.Thus,it should be pretty obvious to anyone that these problems regarding the Casinos were bound to happen sooner or later.The government must have known this right from the start.However,they either choose to ignore it in hopes that it wouldn't happen,or the economic benefits that comes along with the Casinos must have been much more attractive than the prevention of social problems.The decision to build the Casinos clearly indicates the government's priority.
  • Chan Xiu Hui on 27 Feb 10
     
    The casino has just opened for around two weeks and there are a lot of problems arising from it such as prostitution and theft cases and even loan-shark problems. These problems will be hard to resolve and will exist for a long time. Furthermore, there is only one casino which has opened for now. Imagine what impact will it have on the society after another casino which is Marina Bay Sands open?
  • Goh Jing yaw on 27 Feb 10
     
    I feel that casino and prostituition are synonymous, one will lead to another. I think that the government would have already predicted that there will be prostitutes going to the casino but the casino was built to drive the economy and the government would have already weigh the cost and benefit and thus comming to a conclusion to build the casino as the benefits of building the casino would probably outweigh the cost of it. By the way, if the wife is not with Mr tan, that means Mr tan would have a one night stand with the prostitute. This shows Mr tan is not loyal to his wife
  • Joel Chen on 27 Feb 10
     
    NIce one Jing Yaw, well i basically do agreee with Jing Yaw as with more prostitutes around, it can cause problems between spouses as they might commit adultery, It is definitely not a good thing. However, the total amount of money earned from the casino is tremendous and the government is enticed by the huge amt of money earned.
  • Alif Zaini on 27 Feb 10
     
    Though I don't really agree that prostitution and gambling/casinos are symbiotic in relationship (which I assume what Jing Yaw is saying - Hi friend, band on Wednesday) but it is quite a "social" trend that the two fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. By the way, prostitution is legal in Singapore. It's the act of procuring that is illegal. That is where the problem lies. People are just outraged by the amount of prostitutes lingering around. Plus, recently there's this report about kids hanging around the place while waiting for their parents, so I guess it's a major no-no for these 2 groups of people to "collide". It seems to them that we're throwing our religious/social morals out for such things to happen - a conservative's nightmare. But, the government should have expected this to happen. They can't be that myopic to not notice such trends happening in other countries right? So let's just safely assume they knew it was going to happen. Because I did. So if they did expect this, then clearly this is not a major problem for Singapore, especially if the economy is concerned. And funny is the case of America, where there is no federal law against prostitution. Prostitution is illegal in all states except the state of Nevada (the ol' Silver State as they call it), where there are licensed brothels. And yes, Nevada is well known for it's casinos, sprawled across the state, from Reno to Sin City itself - Las Vegas. To me, the placement of the 2 things just calls for it - prostitutes (and their sugar daddies no doubt) will flock to these casinos, where old sleazy men under the influence would just be vulnerable for a, well, you get the point. So I suppose the government is just looking over some things because it blocks the way of better things to come. I mean, you've heard of how much this brings to the economy right?
  • LouisNg LouisNg on 28 Feb 10
     
    In the US, The National Gambling Impact Study Commission reported that it received "abundant testimony and evidence that compulsive gambling introduces a greatly heightened level of stress and tension into marriages and families, often culminating in divorce and other manifestations of familial disharmony." Children have died as a direct result of adult gambling problems. In Louisiana and South Carolina, children died after being locked in hot cars for hours while their caretakers gambled.8 An Illinois mother was sentenced to prison for suffocating her infant daughter in order to collect insurance money to continue gambling. 9 Cases of child abandonment at Foxwoods, the nation's largest casino in Ledyard, Conn., became so commonplace that authorities were forced to post signs in the casino's parking lots warning parents not to leave children in cars unattended. The social impacts on casinos are indeed disastrous, the government needs got to put in place policies that can minimize such things from happening.
  • Eliza Zainudin on 28 Feb 10
     
    Singapore should been ready for this. Prostitutes, gangs and loan sharks come hand-in-hand with the casino. Before opening up the casino, Singapore government should have already thought on how to react if such problems occur. The casino may bring about a high increase in revenue, but the cost needed to maintain it and the problems that come with it could decrease the benefits that the casino could bring about.
  • zhiyong choong on 28 Feb 10
     
    In my opinions, Singapore government does care about main social problems that will be generated from the construction of the casinos in Singapore. For instance, Singapore government has use advertisement to urge Singaporeans not to be addicted to gambling. Furthermore, the advertisement also includes ways to quit gambling. However, since prostitution is legal in Singapore and does not generate many problems, naturally the government will not pay much attention. Furthermore, it is difficult to detect prostitutes. If the prostitutes take this for granted and openly grab their clients, Singapore government will in fact take actions.
  • Jiahui Goh on 28 Feb 10
     
    Opening up casinos in Singapore will have its pros and cons.It will be able to earn large amount of profits,but at the same time,it will result in large number of problems too,likte prostitutes and loan sharks.Singapore government must have been prepared for this after deciding to build the casinos.I think they have to come up with and implement more rules and regulations to solve the problems caused by the opening up of casinos.
Raymond Andrew

Certain ethnic groups marginalised by government policies, UN expert says | The Online ... - 21 views

theonlinecitizen.com/...rnment-policies-un-expert-says

shared by Raymond Andrew on 28 Apr 10 - Cached
Alif Zaini and fonteyn ang liked it
  • o address these problems, he recommended the removal of ethnic indicators from identity documentation, greater flexibility in the implementation of ethnic quotas in HDB estates, special education programmes for Malay students to address historical inequalities, and the introduction of legal provisions prohibiting all forms of discrimination in employment.
  • n addition, Singapore should sign up to international instruments, such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prescribe an “irreducible minimum standard” for human rights protection.
    • Raymond Andrew
      Raymond Andrew on 28 Apr 10
       
      I'll bet you didn't know Singapore has not signed this Convention.
  • his has resulted in instances of ethnic marginalisation, such as the entrenchment of minority status through ethnic categorisations, the minority political representation dimension to the group representative constituency system, the academic under-performance of Malay students, and under-representation of minorities in the armed forces, police and intelligence services and judiciary.
  • Raymond Andrew on 28 Apr 10
     
    And here you were thinking that we are a harmonious multiracial country. The international community thinks otherwise. When scrutinised closely, you realise that many policies marginalise minorities. Yet, the majority Chinese continue to mouth the 'truth' that we are harmonoious and all races are treated fairly. Why do need a foreigner to come and reveal these truths? Because we lack moral courage, particularly the mainstream media.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Ridley Chooi on 29 Apr 10
     
    Maybe it is more of an "unable" rather than a "lack". If the media are to report such things, I'm sure it will not be beneficial towards them. Besides, the government also have control over the mainstream media and is able to manipulate towards their favor.
  • Joel Chen on 11 May 10
     
    Well this article clearly exposes that the Chinese in SG are covering up their backside. Its clearly bullshit that they claimed that there is racial harmony in Singapore. Its clearly a facade. When u challenge the govt, they will give excuses, lots of it. There are many instances where the govt is good, however its still the colour of the skin that matters. Thankfully, e situation is not as bad as Malaysia.
  • Raymond Andrew on 11 May 10
     
    May I recommend that we write in formal English so this is a useful exercise.
Raymond Andrew

Why the present wave of immigration is different from the past : THE TEMASEK REVIEW - 20 views

www.temasekreview.com/...ion-is-different-from-the-past

shared by Raymond Andrew on 22 Mar 10 - Cached
Goh Jing yaw liked it
  • Raymond Andrew on 22 Mar 10
     
    More anti-immigrant rumblings from the TR.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • K.Pavitra Kanaiah on 22 Mar 10
     
    Currently,more immigrants are entering singapore.It is useful in welcoming these immigrants as they contribute to the labour force.They can make the labour force in singapore more productive and skilled.On the other side,allowing more immigrants can mean that locals may lose their jobs.Locals may be disadvantaged.This may anger the locals.Immigration is a double-edged sword.
  • Joel Chen on 24 Mar 10
     
    I personally think that Singapore must do something abt the immigrant problem. I do agree that the next generation might be facing big problems because of immigrants coming over to Singapore. Then Singapore might be separated between locals and foreigners. TR said that ''allowed to partake in the economic gains made by the nation without reciprocating.'' Is rather true because these immigrants just come here and take but nt giving back to Singapore. Luclily, the government has implemented the citizenship test.I hope it works
  • Goh Jing yaw on 28 Mar 10
     
    "The short-sighted immigration policies of the PAP will eventually create social tension between locals and foreigners, erode the sense of belonging among native Singaporeans to their country leading to a massive exodus and eventually the downfall of Singapore." I wonder if this is going to happen
  • Raymond Andrew on 28 Mar 10
     
    The report is clearly one sided and the language stridently anti-PAP, so you should take it with a pinch of salt. But a study of societies will always show that no matter where, when migrants move in, many locals do feel a sense of alienation and leave. A famous example would be Pauline Hanson, a notoriously anti-Asian Queensland MP. She alleged in the 90s that Australia was being swamped by Asians. This year she announced that she is migrating to the UK.
  • Joel Chen on 28 Mar 10
     
    well even if it were to be anti PAP, I have to agree with what it is reported to a small extent. However, the last sentence on encouraging Singaporeans to migrate to Australia is too much.
Raymond Andrew

Many Singaporeans want to migrate - Why? | The Online Citizen - 20 views

theonlinecitizen.com/...comment-page-3

shared by Raymond Andrew on 02 Mar 10 - Cached
Tammie Moo liked it
  • Raymond Andrew on 02 Mar 10
     
    A must-read. Title is self-explanatory.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • seng siqin on 02 Mar 10
     
    Singapore is a small country with limited resources, especially in terms of land. The prices of houses will only inevitably increase over time as population grows. Also said in the article, Singapore is ranked one of the most "hardworking" country, surpassing even the notoriously hardworking Japanese and Taiwanese in terms of working hours. In addition, Singapore is at the same time boosting workers' productivity. Longer working hours accompanied by higher productivity expected, would only mean more drained people in the country. Older retiring age, and higher CPF Minimun Sum (from $106,000 to $117,000), also contributed to the desire of leaving the country. It is therefore not surprising that many Singaporeans wanted to migrate.
  • Raymond Andrew on 03 Mar 10
     
    Brilliant comment by Siqin. More please.
  • yosephine_sutikno on 03 Mar 10
     
    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?
Raymond Andrew

Tweets of Freedom - Project Syndicate - 19 views

www.project-syndicate.org/...English

shared by Raymond Andrew on 26 Feb 10 - Cached
fonteyn ang liked it
  • Viron Lee on 26 Feb 10
     
    Pardon my ignorance, but if the Chinese are able to bypass the China Government's great firewall, then can't the North Koreans do the same? That could give them a more balanced view on the current affairs of the world instead of solely relying on their media. If nothing else, it'll keep them updated on their teams performance in the World Cup, which is banned by Kim Jong II ;)
  • ...10 more comments...
  • Raymond Andrew on 26 Feb 10
     
    The main difference is that the Chinese have a superior technical education and mant travel and work overseas, hence the difference. China has produced people who can create the Great Firewall and also hack it! The product of success. Same thing applies to Singapore. You can't have a great education system and not expect to produce people who will challenge the government.
  • Siti Nabilah Abdul Rahman on 27 Feb 10
     
    The internet help to protect the rights of the people in China. However, not everyone is able to benefit from this. The people from older age group may have differing comfort with internet and also the people from rural areas may not have access to it when injustice is always done to people who are from rural area.
  • Michelle Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    Although Google threatened to leave the China market, I doubt that will happen. Even if they were to leave China, there are other search engines available too. I feel that more people in China should pick up the skill of hacking, such that they will learn about the truth of what is actually happening around the world.
  • Jean Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    I'm amazed by the power of twitter. I think that it is asinine for the Chinese government to persistently try to censor information because in this technological age people can actually learn to hack and get past the GFW.
  • madeleine ng on 27 Feb 10
     
    In this era of modernisation, with advances in technology, its rather laborious to prevent people from entering any sites. Even if there isn't twitter, there are still other sites for the individuals to leave their comments on.
  • Cheng Ching Shean on 27 Feb 10
     
    Chinese government may try all means to censor what is on the internet. However, there are many tech savvy people around who are able to surpass the "Great Firewall". People should have the right to know what is going on around the world. I think that China hasn't transit successfully from communist to democratic.
  • Qiyuan Zeng on 27 Feb 10
     
    Overcensorship is one thing but creating technology that is able to evade government barriers? I don't know if we should go in that direction. In the case of China's Great FireWall, there is certainly too much censorship going on but what I am concerned is that innovation of technology to evade government barriers would certainly allow too much internet freedom. Technology has again created a solution to a problem and yet also created another problem. If such technology floods the internet, we would see much more undesired stuff that would normally be censored such as pornography and websites that promote terrorism.
  • fonteyn ang on 27 Feb 10
     
    This incident is just another example showing how fearful the power of technology is. The Chinese government is well aware of this, hence the Great Fire Wall. But I am sure many more similar incidents will appear, and China's adamant stand on censorship might backfire on them. The question is how long till the volcano erupts? China needs to accept the fact that just opening up their economy is not enough for their country to progress.
  • huilee yeoh on 27 Feb 10
     
    "Government can also play a role in empowering Chinese netizens.I disagree with this statement that an external government should meddle in the domestic affairs of another country.Besides, it was suggested that the "United States, for example, could start with some basic funding for the kind of "science and technology innovation that gave us the Internet to begin with." ".Honestly, if the United States,already having such a huge deficit,was able to pump in money to meddle with the domestic affairs of others,isn't it more reasonable for them to use the money more wisely, for starters, help improve the current situation in their own country?
  • Goh Jing yaw on 27 Feb 10
     
    I feel that this is like the battle between technology, the stronger technology will win. Indeed, I believe that in some cases, cencorship will be required, but excessive cencorship is not good as the effects of it are detrimental to the society. It is as though the citizens in China are living in a segregated world from us. However, in this globalising world, more people are becomming tech savvy and with greater knowledge of technology, they bound to outsmart the Chinese government and the so called "Great Firewall" may just crumble and become an ordinary wall
  • Alif Zaini on 27 Feb 10
     
    To me, honestly, there is no real "great" fire wall. Technology, as we all know it, is improving - scarily, every single day. It will be quite comical to see how the Chinese government will try to battle outside forces to just get a hold of their citizens. It is the fall of full-fledged communism as we know it. If a bunch of tweets (of not more than 140 characters, if you didn't know) can possibly cripple a government, there is seriously something wrong somewhere. But in this case, there isn't. It's the world. The progress of the world will creep up to you and it's just a matter of time that it does. Communist ideas of state censorship upset people. They are limited to information. Dissent stirs. And once they see an outlet, they will act. It is seriously a matter of time. Twitter has been one such outlet. Once these VPNs become more accessible to more and more people, state censorship will be a fallacy. But however, it doesn't mean that on the other side, all is well and dandy. Recently, there was the hacking of Twitter by the "Iranian Cyber Army", immobilising all tweets for about a day or so. This just shows that there is no "stronger" technology. It is more or less the same. If Chinese students can use VPNs to surf as if out of China, and if a few bored Iranian extremists with a computer can bring down Twitter (albeit a day), then all is possible in this modern age. So this is probably why China doesn't feel so threatened by "outside" technology. They're thinking, "we're good enough". But they're forgetting, "they're good enough" also.
  • khushboo goda on 28 Feb 10
     
    I think this is a situation where the more the gov restricts the harder the people will strive to do exactly tht... Recently we've certainly seen these social networking sites being used against gov or by ppl to gt there point across. But in the case of china which has already experienced huge protests like tiamen sq protest such tweets of freedom are certainly capable of causes unrest so it could be understandable for chinese gov to try to prevent ppl from using such sites. Once it becomes easy, preventing a roar against a corrupted and unliked gov would be very difficult... maybe the gov is just trying to prevent such unrest .. and as we all kno no country has a perfect government or completely satisfied citizens.. someone somewhere is sure to be dissatisfied with something...
Raymond Andrew

FairPrice urges customers to return trolleys after losing 200 a month - Yahoo! Singapor... - 23 views

sg.news.yahoo.com/...-customers-return-231650b.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 11 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Tan Shi Hao on 11 Feb 10
     
    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?
  • ...15 more comments...
  • Raymond Andrew on 11 Feb 10
     
    The ugly Singaporean strikes again.
  • Joel Chen on 13 Feb 10
     
    the system of the 1 dollar deposit is nt a good way to solve this problem.
  • Viron Lee on 25 Feb 10
     
    Why is this being brought up only now? I've seen abandoned trolleys at random parts of Singapore even when i was in my Pokemon pyjamas about 10 years ago.
  • Raymond Andrew on 27 Feb 10
     
    Viron has a very interesting point. Why is this coming up now? This is a very old problem.
  • Dorothy Lu on 28 Feb 10
     
    A dollar seems like peanuts to most Singaporeans today which is probably why they don't bother returning the trolleys. I've seen people actually manage to retrieve their dollar without returning the trolley before. If this is perpetuated, more and more people will not bother with returning the trolleys as like the article has proven: our conscience isn't that strong and naggy after all.
  • Joel Chen on 28 Feb 10
     
    again it boils down to laziness.
  • zhiyong choong on 28 Feb 10
     
    Since the one dollar strategy doesn't work, why don't they change another kind of strategy? i believe that the hefty cost of 1 trolley is more than just 1 dollar that consumer put in. There is no use persuading Singaporeans but instead implement a more realistic plan to curb such actions. I am sure FairPrice has the ability to do it.
  • Eliza Zainudin on 28 Feb 10
     
    Some people bring their trolleys home because the groceries they brought were too heavy to be carried home. However, even if they decided to push the trolleys all the way home, they should have the courtesy to at least bring it back. Maybe the supermarket should come up with a service to help their customers to carry their groceries back home. Like in some outlet in Sheng Siong, they actually help to carry the groceries all the way to the cars of the customers. Also i wonder why Singaporeans do not have any sense of shame to push the huge trolleys in public, outside the supermarket. Don't they care that they are displaying their 'crimes' in public?
  • Jiahui Goh on 28 Feb 10
     
    I feel that some people in Singapore are very inconsiderate to actually push the trolley home for their own convenience sake.That is too selfish of them.If they were to push it back home,they should push it back to the outlet,saving those workers the troubles.
  • lorenzo von mattherhorn on 28 Feb 10
     
    there's no way for NTUC Fairprice to get all the inconsiderate customers to stop their action. maybe NTUC should reduce the quality of their trolley to cut down price.
  • yosephine_sutikno on 28 Feb 10
     
    Maybe NTUC can hire some security guard to mitigate this problem since the 1 dollar deposit doesnt work.
  • hasif abdul rahman on 28 Feb 10
     
    A good move to work with the Singapore Kindness Movement. I think a better way to avoid all the touble is instead of depositing coins, NTUC should ask customers to deposit their EZ-link card or IC at some booth and can collect back their card when they return their trolleys as it is more valuable. There would also be more resource efficiency.
  • Tammie Moo on 28 Feb 10
     
    Ohhh to hire a security guard would incur higher costs for NTUC. I guess the best choice would be to either educate singaporeans on the social conduct or maybe restrict the use of trolleys only in NTUC compound.
  • Ming Hui on 28 Feb 10
     
    It has been a problem since many years ago, but the amount of trolleys gone missing is increasing at an alarming rate from last year. It all boils down to the laziness of Singaporeans, they are more than willing to use the trolleys to make their shopping easier, but just too lazy to just bring it back. NTUC could have easily taken away all the trolleys and make Singaporeans carry their load by hand, it too reduce the cost of repairing and replacement.
  • William Lim on 01 Mar 10
     
    Yes, this is not a good sign. It seems that people are inconsiderate and irresponsible. Such actions should be named as theft! These people who did not return back the trolleys are thieves, they are taking away other people's properties without their permission. It is true that some customers who push the trolleys away may not be able to carry their heavy loads of groceries, that is why they push the trolleys away. In such cases, some who push the trolleys to the bus-stops never push them back as their bus may arrive. While this is rising, there are still people who are responsible enough to push them back.
  • Jasveen Kaur on 01 Mar 10
     
    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.
  • LouisNg LouisNg on 04 Mar 10
     
    Singapore, despite having a world class education system is lacking in civil mindedness. This is the debatable failure of our education system.
Raymond Andrew

Yawning Bread - 22 views

www.yawningbread.org

shared by Raymond Andrew on 19 Jan 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 19 Jan 10
     
    Is race still relevant?
  • ...3 more comments...
  • gonecases on 20 Jan 10
     
    It seems like one's race is able to be dictated by simply ticking off an option box, which might have severe repercussions in the future as race is not not dictated only by ancestry, especially in the case of people from mixed parentage, but upbringing, including values, beliefs as well as surroundings. Especially with the advent of globalization, we have already lost most of our traditional culture, now, we can even change our race, the very symbol of our roots. This could possibly lead to people "choosing" their race based on pragmatic reasons, such as the HDB racial quota, or even based on their preferred mother tongue. Traces of this can be seen even now, when there is the Language B option, which takes away any incentive for students to at the very least be literate in their mother tongue. So it is natural to assume that race will eventually lose it's relevancy somewhere in the distant future, where the world is so interlinked that on a conscious level skin colour will no longer make a difference. However, it remains to be seen whether it will affect individuals psychologically, society on a whole, and even the international community.
  • Raymond Andrew on 26 Apr 10
     
    Do we need transparency? Or shall we leave all decisions to the elites? How do modern citizens expect civil servants to conduct themselves? Is this different from the past?
  • Raymond Andrew on 07 Jun 10
     
    A must-read on race and language.
  • Raymond Andrew on 07 Jun 10
     
    A must-read on race and language.
  • Tan Shi Hao on 08 Jun 10
     
    Mr Andrew, the link is dead.
Raymond Andrew

Atlas of the Human Journey - The Genographic Project - 14 views

genographic.nationalgeographic.com/...atlas.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 26 Apr 10 - Cached
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  • Raymond Andrew on 26 Apr 10
     
    One of my most favourite topics. Believe it or not we are all family. So why judge a person by their skin colour or facial features?
Raymond Andrew

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/01/stop-re-writing-history/ - 14 views

theonlinecitizen.com/...stop-re-writing-history

shared by Raymond Andrew on 24 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 24 Feb 10
     
    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.
  • Viron Lee on 25 Feb 10
     
    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.
Raymond Andrew

The Greening of Growth - Project Syndicate - 14 views

www.project-syndicate.org/...English

shared by Raymond Andrew on 26 Jun 10 - Cached
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  • Raymond Andrew on 26 Jun 10
     
    Full of examples on how the environment and the economy can exist in a win-win manner.
Raymond Andrew

TODAYonline | Hot News | Porn, sexual abuse make for teen sex - 21 views

www.todayonline.com/...sexual-abuse-make-for-teen-sex

shared by Raymond Andrew on 20 Jan 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 20 Jan 10
     
    A very interesting piece on what makes youth have premarital sex. A must-read. Comments pls.
  • Joel Chen on 21 Jan 10
     
    It is rather worrying that more and more teens are engaged in premarital sex. A reason for that is due to the influence from the West. The westerners do not value their virginity and think it is cool to experience it. This culture is in Singapore but thankfully it is just a minority. in the mean time there is also a very high risk of getting STDs. so the bottom line is abstrain oneself. xD
  • LouisNg LouisNg on 24 Jan 10
     
    the reason why such cases are still happening is that teenagers always get the same old politically correct reasons on why they should not engage in premarital sex. Yes , this is rather effective but end of the day , it all boils down to character and values and not just the fear of STDs and pregnancy.
Raymond Andrew

Project Syndicate - Will China Rule the World? - 17 views

www.project-syndicate.org/...rodrik39

shared by Raymond Andrew on 16 Jan 10 - Cached
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  • The Chinese go
  • WEEKLY SERIES The World in Words THOUGHT LEADERS Lucian Bebchuk Shlomo Ben-Ami Boskin, Sinn Ian Buruma Davies, Shiller Castaneda, Haass, Rocard J. Bradford DeLong Esther Dyson Barry Eichengreen Fan Gang NEW! Martin Feldstein Joschka Fischer Harold James Simon Johnson NEW! Bjorn Lomborg Yuriko Koike NEW! Dominique Moisi Joseph S. Nye Chris Patten Dani Rodrik Kenneth Rogoff Nouriel Roubini Jeffrey D. Sachs Peter Singer Robert Skidelsky Michael Spence NEW! Joseph E. Stiglitz Naomi Wolf GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES Earth in the Balance The Human Rights Revolution The Frontiers of Growth Islam and the World INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT Into Africa The Asian Century China Stands Up Europe at Home and Abroad European Economies Latin America A Window on Russia MIND AND MATTER Health and Medicine Science and Society Worldly Philosophers SPECIAL SERIES The Energy Challenge NEW! 2008 Year End Series PROJECT SYNDICATE Commentaries Contributors About Us Member Papers Support Us Editor's Forum Past Surveys function verify_login(form) { //{{{1 var data = Form.serialize(form); var form = document.getElementById(form); new Ajax.Request('/', { method: 'post', asynchronous: false, postBody: data, onSuccess: function(originalRequest) { var result = eval('(' + originalRequest.responseText + ')'); if (result['code'] == 0) { alert(result['name']); var div = $('login_error'); div.innerHTML = result['name']; return false; } location.reload(true); }}); return false; } //}}}1 function recommend_comment(id) { //{{{1 var url = '/recommend_comment'; var pars = 'id=' + id; new Ajax.Request( url, { method: 'get', parameters: pars, asynchronous: false, onSuccess: function(originalReq
  • China is still a poor country. Although average incomes have risen very rapidly in recent decades, they still stand at between one-seventh and one-eighth the levels in the United States – lower than in Turkey or Colombia and not much higher than in El Salvador or Egypt.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Meanwhile, the US, the world’s sole economic hyper-power until recently, remains a diminished giant.
  • All of which raises the question of whether China will eventually replace the US as the world’s hegemon, the global economy’s rule setter and enforcer.
  • China has 2,000 years of history as a distinct civilization from which to draw strength. It will not simply fold under Western values and institutions.
  • Americans and Europeans blithely assume that China will become more like them as its economy develops and its population gets richer.
  • A world order centered on China will reflect Chinese values rather than Western ones,
  • If China surmounts these hurdles and does eventually become the world’s predominant economic power, globalization will, indeed, take on Chinese characteristics. Democracy and human rights will then likely lose their luster as global norms. That is the bad news. The good news is that a Chinese global order will display greater respect for national sovereignty and more tolerance for national diversity. There will be greater room for experimentation with different economic models.
  • Raymond Andrew on 16 Jan 10
     
    A fascinating look into how a world dominated by China might look like. Careful what you wish for.
  • Joel Chen on 18 Jan 10
     
    China's dominance will have a big impact on the world especially the political system. The reason why USA is able to succeed is mainly due to the fact that they trust in Democracy. China's political system is communism which has obviously failed. So China's dominance on the world is not always a good thing.
Tan Shi Hao

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world - 16 views

www.ted.com/...g_can_make_a_better_world.html

shared by Tan Shi Hao on 23 May 10 - Cached
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  • Tan Shi Hao on 23 May 10
     
    McGonigal here claims that gaming could solve global issues such as poverty just by having the world population to play 21 billion hours of video games per week.
  • Qiyuan Zeng on 24 May 10
     
    Initially, it just seemed like another excuse for gaming but then after watching the entire video, McGonigal might just be right. Gaming is an unexplored world of possible resources that man can learn to use it for better use. Despite its many benefits, most would ignore them and go on to condemn it for ruining their children's grades. Convincing or not, the video does surface an attractive resource that we hope to take advantage in order to solve the major problems of society. This is not another excuse for gaming, it's the ultimate reason.
  • Viron Lee on 25 May 10
     
    While i like the optimism of McGonigal, i think that there are better platoforms other than gaming to improve the world, such as sports, martial arts etc. It will also be highly difficult to transfer these gamer's skills into the real world as the real world is a lot more complicated than the cyber world. Let's not forget that online games in general do not take into account unforseen circumstances which are the main reason why big plans fail. Games should be used as a tool for leisure, and nothing more than that. Let the superhero training take place in the real world. Also, she didnt exactly mention how poverty would be solved if the amount of gameplay would increase. I think her example of the ancient civilasation alternating between playing games and eating cannot be applied to the real world, especially when poverty is concern. Sure, you could forget about your $monetary$ challenges when you are engrossed in the cyber world, but once you turn off the computer the problem still has to be solved.
Raymond Andrew

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/02/10-reasons-why-pap-may-lose-some-more-seats-in-the-... - 20 views

theonlinecitizen.com/...re-seats-in-the-next-elections

shared by Raymond Andrew on 27 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 27 Feb 10
     
    When you read these things, keep an open mind. This is just one opinion, which can be countered from the government's perspective. Draw your own conlusions. Personally, I feel that it does look bad for the PAP. However, at every election, no matter what the issues are, Singaporeans have chosen not to rock the boat, and stuck with the PAP. I don't think that will change. I would be very surprised if it did.
  • ...12 more comments...
  • Siti Nabilah Abdul Rahman on 27 Feb 10
     
    It is true that the salaries of our ministers are too high. This results in a social class that is too wide between the average Singaporeans and the ministers. The needs of the common people are not fulfilled through policies. However, the high salaries is probably one of the measures to deter corruption.
  • madeleine ng on 27 Feb 10
     
    Well, too much acceptance of foreign workers into Singapore is really the spark plug for Singaporeans to demand for a change. However, i agree with Mr Andrew that Singaporeans will choose not to rock the boat because we all know fairly well that going against the flow would create problems which many don't wish to face and resolve.
  • ezra lee on 27 Feb 10
     
    i agree with Madeleine about this issue as the influx of foreigners may just be the catalyst to tip the scales. However, it is important to consider that the PAP has and have been 'walking the walk' for many years, legitimisting their authoritarian rule over singapore for 40 years. So one must consider if the people are willing to step into the unknown and elect another party to take over. We have never had a change of government before, and this has proven to work well for us for many years, so i do not think that given our attitude towards the unknown, as typical singaporeans(sorry for stereotyping here), we will be too 'kia si'(afraid to die) to change the current PAP as the governing party, simply because we do not know what problems will ensue, along with the questionable competence of the opposing parties. Thus i am with Mr. Andrew on the issue ; there might be some changes, but not as drastic as some people expect.
  • Michelle Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    In my opinion, the government has also done a fair bit to discourage the number of foreign workers. For instance, the government have increased taxes on foreign labour based on their education standards. Moreover, more benefits, such as subsidies, are also given in favour of citizens. Therefore, some Singaporeans may still acknowledge these efforts and continue voting for the PAP.
  • Chan Xiu Hui on 27 Feb 10
     
    I think that less people will vote for the PAP but for the next election PAP will still win and dominate. Most of the people will not be used to changes and they may not know whether voting for opposition will benefit them or worsen the situation. The government has promise to slow down future intake of foreigners so they will still stick to voting for the PAP. However, since the result of the promise that the government made will be shown in future, there will only be changes in the future elections.
  • Cheng Ching Shean on 27 Feb 10
     
    Singaporeans are unhappy about the fact that foreigners are taking away the high ranking positions and houses. How come there is no one complaining about there are too many foreign construction workers in Singapore? And I think that if the birth rate in Singapore are high enough, there is no need for the intake of foreign talents. People are blaming everything on the government and does not reflect on themselves. But too bad, it is the citizens who vote for the government not the other way round, so the government will still have to try their best to "please" the people. I agree with Xiu Hui that the supporters of PAP will decrease but PAP will still win the next election, as they might want to take the risk in changing the government.
  • Jean Lim on 27 Feb 10
     
    The influx of foreigners seems to be the issue that have caused the interplay of unsatisfaction among Singaporeans. I think that, yes perhaps there may be a fall in the number of seats for the PAP, however it is a high chance that they will still be the ruling party. This is because the PAP has proven to be a worthy party through their success in developing Singapore to her current status. So i think the people will still confidently vote for the PAP and not take risks to vote for the opposition.
  • Qiyuan Zeng on 27 Feb 10
     
    The current dissatisfaction against the PAP is only temporary. PAP has walked alongside Singapore for many years and also survived many general elections. The confidence of the people in PAP will not diminish that rapidly at least not for the next decade. Hence it is not likely for PAP to be overthrown in the coming elections but the loss of seats remains a mystery as it depends on the population's mindset which can be quite unpredictable nowadays.
  • huilee yeoh on 27 Feb 10
     
    The PAP may lose more seats in the next elections however,I doubt that its role as ruling party will be taken over by opposition.Many voters may not be very discerning and may choose to go with the flow,in this case, the party that seems favored by the majority.Naturally, the ruling party would paint a wonderful picture of themselves.Hence, many flawed judgments would be made.
  • Goh Jing yaw on 27 Feb 10
     
    I feel that the author did not shown any balance at all. All the 10 points are all against the government. He failed to show balance how PAP help Singapore. The view is too subjective. Indeed the current infux of foreigners have ignite the tinderbox in many Singaporeans and this cause resentment towards the government. This may result PAP in losing more seats but PAP may still win in the next election because PAP have develop citizen loyalty towards them and have shown us that under their leadership, the tiny red dot in the map is now a red glowing dot. Furthermore, by Singaporeans do not like to take risks, they always play safe so i doubt they will vote for the opposition party.
  • Raymond Andrew on 27 Feb 10
     
    Qiyuan has made an excellent observation: People are unpredictable. You just never know. In 2008, the Malaysian government was shocked to lose 4 states to the opposition. They never saw it coming. You never know. Most of us are probably right. The PAP will take a few blows, but they'll survive. However, there is that outside chance that the dreaded freak election (like the 2008 Malaysian polls) could occur.
  • Jiahui Goh on 28 Feb 10
     
    In my opinion,I feel that PAP will still win,but the percentage of people voting for PAP will decrease, as many Singaporeans are still afraid to change,as they are used to PAP being the ruling party after so many years.However,Singaporeans might use the voting as an opportunity to express their unhappiness,decreasing the percentage of people voting for them.
  • yosephine_sutikno on 03 Mar 10
     
    I think that singapore has done a great job as singapore increases the foreign workers' levy. this will deter companies to bring in foreign workers and flood ths small little red dot. However, many of the low paying jobs such as sweeper and construction buildings have always been done by foreigners, and to prevent them from coming (although not totally ban) is bad for singapore economy. would singaporean wants to take up this "tiring" jobs?
  • zhiyong choong on 03 Mar 10
     
    PAP did overlook some concerns. However, it is vital that PAP realizes it and make corrections accordingly. This is seen in the policies that PAP implemented to reduce the influx of foreigners. School fees, medical benefits and increase in foreign levy are such examples to distinguish foreigners and Singaporeans. Since it takes time for the policies to take effect and produce result and Singaporeans are known for being myopic, I believe PAP will lose a few seats in this coming election.
Raymond Andrew

The war on baby girls: Gendercide | The Economist - 16 views

www.economist.com/...displayStory.cfm

shared by Raymond Andrew on 21 Apr 10 - Cached
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  • Raymond Andrew on 21 Apr 10
     
    Gendercide. Interesting word.
Raymond Andrew

Statistics Singapore - Key Annual Indicators - 12 views

www.singstat.gov.sg/...keyind.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 27 Apr 10 - Cached
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  • Raymond Andrew on 27 Apr 10
     
    You really should explore this site and take down key data.
Raymond Andrew

UYOWAFAP: Weekend homework 27 Feb - 20 views

uyowafap.blogspot.com/...weekend-homework-27-feb.html

shared by Raymond Andrew on 26 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Raymond Andrew on 26 Feb 10
     
    IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!
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