Simply Inconceivable

Advance Medical Directives

2008-11-19T01:13:00.007+08:00

I certainly have much to say about the fallacies Health Minister Khaw has been trying to propagate. First of all, there is no essential difference between AMD and euthanasia. I honestly don't understand the distinction Khaw is making. Euthanasia is about killing someone mercifully. It is derived from the greek word which literally means "good death". Whether or not you do it based on the

Can you blow a whistle?

2008-09-19T01:58:00.005+08:00

So Nair got jailed 3 months for insulting a judge and "scandalising the administration of justice in Singapore".Nair's defence was - it's true, "the judge Belinda Ang was throughout prostituting herself during the entire proceedings, by being nothing more than an employee of Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his son and carrying out their orders".The verdict - based on the fact that Nair said something against

2008-09-10T23:28:00.005+08:00

Some other more urgent matters require my attention for the time being. I'll probably only be able to resume writing next month. Till then!

The Straits Times Wonder

2008-09-03T22:39:00.000+08:00

Once again, I was feeling bored. So I decided to take a look at what's on the news. For some odd reason or another, the first choice that came to my mind was The Straits Times. So I went to their website, read a few summaries here and there, and just when I got interested in a particular article and decided to click the link, I got this blasted notification which just makes my blood boil. Guess

Another Conspiracy Theory to Boggle Your Mind

2008-09-02T21:28:00.007+08:00

I guess many have thought quite positively of Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam's decision to abolish real estate duty entirely a while back. But is it really all fine and dandy? Or are there deeper darket secrets?Is estate duty truly resting in peace?THE government introduced a Bill in Parliament last week to abolish estate duty with effect from Feb 15, 2008. Estate duty presents a nice

Survey on Attitudes Toward Foreign Talents

2008-09-02T11:15:00.010+08:00

UPDATE: Survey has been closed. Thank you all for your participation and support.

Beyond all reasonable Doubt

2008-08-31T01:05:00.000+08:00

In a recent lawsuit which sees a woman trying to claim maintenance fees for a man she was trying to have an affair with, the court has proven remarkably lax with their adherence to the legal requirement - proving beyond all reasonable doubt. (An article regarding this can be found here)There are two ways to prove that the man who had sex with the woman was truly the father. The first is to

Lee Bee Wah remains defiant and instead insults the intelligence of all Singaporeans

2008-08-30T10:33:00.004+08:00

"I had made comments which had been misunderstood and had upset some Singaporeans. I sincerely apologise for causing any grievances and any stress."- Lee Bee Wah“I’m quite puzzled as to how a decision like that can be made by the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president, who has been in office for just over a month.”- Mr Ng Ser MiangSo now our IOC representative Ng Ser Miang

Young PAP calls for an authoritarian state

2008-08-29T13:13:00.003+08:00

Just take a look at this and you will be so appalled you might even start doubting our education system.This is the argument presented by Nicholas Lazarus.1) Singaporean citizens have the means to voice their displeasure at government policies. (as evidenced from two very minor examples)2) The government will respond swiftly and has proven to be able to do so.3) Therefore we do not need an

Bye bye by-elections

2008-08-28T23:29:00.009+08:00

In a motion filed by Thio Li-Ann and Dr Loo Choon Yong, the Government was called upon to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act to mandate by-elections under certain circumstances. In other words, this was a call for a reform of the procedure through which by-election are called for.Under the status quo, a by-election is required only when all the members of its GRC vacate their posts, either

Simplistic to Simply Say its Simplistic

2008-08-27T21:48:00.006+08:00

Simplistic to say foreign workers depress local pay. (Straits Times, Aug 27)IT IS 'very simplistic' to take the position that foreign workers depress the wages of Singaporeans. Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong discredited this view yesterday in his reply to a question from Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim. She said: 'It was reported that there was wage stagnation for the lowest income

"Sucks to be you" - The real message

2008-08-27T20:24:00.009+08:00

"Some will succeed, others may not, but all must be prepared for change." This was what the government had to say regarding the liberalisation of Singapore's economy to attract more foreign talents. (Liberalisation of legal profession worries lawyer-MPs) Allow me to rephrase."Some will succeed"Yea, competition's really cut throat out there and that's why only some will succeed. It's just too bad

Shrewd Politics 101: Make Token Concessions

2008-08-26T19:26:00.003+08:00

Much has already been said about how tokenistic the recent concessions to permit demonstrations at the Speakers Corner are. I agree with these sentiments and understand that we are still a far cry away from the liberal freedoms we deserve. However, it is imperative to recognise as well that this is probably the furthest any shrewd government will go for now.Best to avoid contradictionsThe only

Should we sack the coach? The irrelevant question.

2008-08-25T23:38:00.002+08:00

I have totally no idea why Ms Lee Bee Wah even wanted to sack the tabletennis coach. His explanation sounded perfectly valid to me. Someone else from team Singapore was about to compete, and he was required there. Really, what do we expect him to do? Stay with Gao Ning and later still get sacked because he failed to attend to the other player? What a weird MP we have. I'm glad I am not in her

The Foreign Talent Irony

2008-08-24T11:18:00.007+08:00

In order to justifty their policy on Foreign Talent, the government has often mentioned that native-born citizens are simply either not creative enough or lack the necessary skills. This message has been repeated so often, that sometimes I wonder, what value could there possibly be in discrediting your OWN citizens, educated under your self-professed WORLD CLASS education system.One thing I know

The Meaning of Sports to Singapore

2008-08-13T22:39:00.003+08:00

I was on the MRT one fine day and I happened to overhear a conversation among a bunch of Singaporeans. They were commenting that Singapore's team is so full of foreign imports that we should barely be calling them OUR national team, but rather just an immigrant team. And when I got home, I took a look around the blogosphere and I saw this post Of Li Jiawei and her flag dragging fiasco and this

What Israel and Russia Have in Common

2008-08-11T20:29:00.004+08:00

Recently, there seems to be more and more in common between these two countries. Faced with attacks on their own people in the case of Palestinian bombings against Israelis and on their own citizens (many South Ossetians hold Russian citizenship) in the case of the recent invasion by Georgia into South Ossetia, both Israeli and Russian responses have been very much alike.Israel launches full

Euthanasia, time to re-examine?

2008-08-10T20:03:00.018+08:00

3 years ago, this was what the Singapore Medical Association said, "The Singapore Medical Association does not believe that there has been any change in attitudes towards euthanasia within the medical community here. We do not support euthanasia. On the contrary, more and more doctors within Singapore are learning about, and practising, better palliative care.We believe that when nothing

Misinterpretation? Who's to blame when the message is unclear?

2008-08-09T13:47:00.009+08:00

Was looking through some responses to a recent initiative by the Social Development Unit, and guess what? I was right. (See my previous post) Well maybe I wasn't entirely accurate in that I didn't think the response would be so much more negative, but hey I was right that the government's mercenary portrayal of teaching students how to love so that they'll make more babies was disastrous.Here are

Nationalism in Singapore?

2008-08-08T20:49:00.009+08:00

Anyone who takes History in Junior College would tell you that Nationalism in the context of Southeast Asia during the colonial era meant a fervent desire for self-determination and freedom from colonial rule. Nationalist movements were a series of efforts by the native peoples to free themselves from colonial domination, achieve self-rule and political autonomy. In essence, nationalism entailed

The Singaporean Baby-Making Machine

2008-08-08T19:21:00.007+08:00

There's been some government-hype about making babies recently, so I thought I'll take a closer look at what the government actualy intends to do. My verdict - it seems that our dear PAP has been taking a more comprehensive approach in recent times. In today's papers, JC students to learn all about love

Why liberties matter

2008-06-23T20:40:00.004+08:00

I keep hearing people saying that Singapore should act like a First World nation, that they deserve the right to freedom of speech, that Singapore should uphold civil liberties, that Singapore shouldn't arbitrarily detain people like they do with the ISA. Yet a question lingers on in my mind. Why are these liberties so important? And if they are indeed that important, why doesn't anyone take any

Jail the racist blogger. Legal?

2008-05-25T13:06:00.020+08:00

DISCLAIMER: Much of what I am saying here is guesswork. I have not read the complete post by Mr Sexy Fragrant Prince. Also, I am no expert in law, although I do understand how to read English.Before I contend whether people in general should be allowed to make racist comments, I want to first examine the requirements that the law has set out. Personally, I really wonder whether Mr Sexy Fragrant

Brain drain or Great Opportunity to justify foreign talent

2008-04-13T23:08:00.005+08:00

PM warns of talent loss, leaving no 'central core' to lead S'poreThe PM identified the loss of talent as one of three major challenges facing small, open societies such as Singapore in this era of global talent and information flows.'To do well, a country needs a core of its ablest citizens, those with both the intellectual and social acumen to play leadership roles in the economy, the

Miscarriage of justice; possible in Singapore?

2008-04-13T09:30:00.002+08:00

A man was jailed nine years and given six strokes of the cane in 1992 for the charge of trafficking cannabis. 15 years later, Justice V K Rajah has overturned his conviction is giving him a retrial. The basis for this is a lack of evidence provided by the prosecution, despite an apparent plea of guilty by the convict during the trial. It seems that the basis for the conviction then in 1992 was

Why boycotting the Beijing Olympics upholds sporting purity

2008-04-12T20:06:00.005+08:00

It has often been mentioned that the Beijing Olympics should be kept free from politics because it is a sporting event and thus a boycott is unjustified. Yet, is the Beijing Olympics really a sporting event, or is it, as was the 1936 Berlin Olympics, an event that the Chinese government is using to legitimise its reign and divert attention away from the repression of its people?With all the

The Lee's Strike Again

2008-04-09T20:45:00.009+08:00

May hearing on Feer libel suit A TWO-DAY hearing will be held next month to decide if the defamation suits taken by the Prime Minister and Minister Mentor against the Far Eastern Economic Review (Feer) magazine will go to trial. Lawyers for PM Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee Kuan Yew had applied for a summary judgment last August, arguing for the High Court to rule on the case without it going to

A Meritocracy in You and Me

2008-04-05T10:03:00.002+08:00

Recent controversy over PM Lee's statement that those with 4As in the A levels make the best leaders have set me thinking. Is Singapore a Meritocracy or a Democracy, and which should we be.While it is all fine and dandy to be meritocratic when it comes to education and job opportunities etc, is it really alright for Singapore's leaders to be chosen based on how well they do in written tests?

Money Money Money!

2008-04-05T00:48:00.011+08:00

I noticed this in a recent press release.While 100-per-cent owned by the Singapore Government through the Minister for Finance Inc, Temasek operates as a private investment company. Assets within our portfolio are owned by the firm, and are not part of a fund per se.One moment Temasek Holdings admits it is owned by the Singapore Government, the next, it says its assets are owned by the firm. So i

The Standard for an "Involved Civic Society"

2008-04-02T21:24:00.013+08:00

Taken from: http://www.p65.sg/2008/04/01/mas-selamat-memorabilia/Mas Selamat memorabiliaWhile the whole Singapore is on a massive manhunt for fugitive Mas Selamat, some people have taken it on in a different spin, by producing and selling memorabilia with Mas’ face on mugs, T-shirts, caps, bags etc. Some people have criticised it as distasteful, insensitive, making a joke of a serious matter and

Carbon Capture

2008-04-02T18:33:00.005+08:00

Carbon sequestration is an approach to mitigate global warming by trapping carbon dioxide emitted from power plants in underground sites. It is a new technology with uncertain benefits and very little experimentation into. Australia's pioneering of this underground carbon storage facility will certainly be beneficial to further studies in this area.Australia's first underground carbon storage

Expandable Posts

2008-03-31T00:26:00.005+08:00

Recently added a expandable post summary feature that automatically creates a "Continue reading >>" link after every post. However I've only been able to edit the latest post, so the rest of the posts that you see on the main page are actually still in their full form, and not the summarized form. This means that clicking on the "continue reading" link wouldn't bring you to a page with a longer

Corruption in our government

2008-03-29T22:40:00.014+08:00

The Singapore government's reputation for being incorruptible is something few would contest readily. This seems to suggest that our politicians are somehow a notch above those in other countries when it comes to being greed-free and transparent people. However, any Singaporean who has been through the past few general elections would know otherwise. The government's reputation for being corrupt

How our leaders are chosen

2008-03-29T14:32:00.009+08:00

SM Goh speaks about qualities needed in next generation of ministersBy Channel NewsAsia's Hasnita A Majid in New Delhi | Posted: 28 March 2008 2330 hrsNEW DELHI, India: Singapore is expecting a cabinet reshuffle soon, and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has given his take on what are some of the qualities needed in the next set of ministers to bring the country forward.Speaking at the end of his

Man gets 3 extra strokes of the cane, decides to sue Prison and Home Affairs Ministry

2008-03-28T22:30:00.006+08:00

Man sues Prisons, Home Affairs Ministry[2008] 28 Mar_ST A MAN who was caned three times more than what he was sentenced to by the courts has sued the Singapore Prison Service and the Home Affairs Ministry.Lawyers for Mr Dickson Tan, 21, filed the suit on Wednesday in the High Court, which handles civil claims of over $250,000.Mr Tan was sentenced in February last year to nine months' jail and

So now we use our brains to find him

2008-03-26T17:09:00.006+08:00

DPM says hunt for Mas Selamat to focus on specific intelligenceBy Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 26 March 2008 1154 hrsSINGAPORE: The search for alleged JI leader of Singapore Mas Selamat Kastari will now become more targeted - based on specific intelligence on where he might be hiding.Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng on Wednesday said information showed the wanted man is still in Singapore. Mr

The Public Transport Dilemma

2008-03-24T21:56:00.003+08:00

Recently, the Land Transport Authority has levied a $387,176 fine on SMRT, the sole rail operator in Singapore (excluding KTM railway), for a seven-hour delay that affected over 57,000 rush-hour commuters in January.This comes about despite a supposed government initiative to privatize essential public services, such as transport in this case. There is clearly a contradiction of the government's

Racial Quotas in HDB Flats

2008-03-19T21:13:00.005+08:00

I entirely agree with this blog post on how the PAP is manipulating racial quotas as a means to stay in power.To add on, racial quotas do not even meet the PAP's intended aim of encouraging racial integration. It might be acceptable if racial quotas discriminate a little as long as they ensure racial harmony and social stability, but it is another thing altogether if these racial quotas have no

Human Rights Commision for Singapore

2008-03-18T21:18:00.004+08:00

Mr Michael Hwang, president of the Law Society had this to say about the state of human rights in Singapore, "They asked why we don't support the establishment of a human rights commission. That has nothing to do with us. A human rights commission is for the Government to set up." Link here This sounds a lot like the usual word-twisting, attention-diverting, sneaky Singaporean PAP MP that tries

Due Process or Crime Control?

2008-03-17T17:37:00.006+08:00

In a 1964 paper on the criminal justice process in the United States, Professor Herbert Packer of Stanford University described two models of criminal justice process - namely, due process and crime control. This paper has since been regarded as one of the most important contributions to systematic thought about criminal justice.Singapore's transition from a due process model to a crime control

Blanket rules and why they should be avoided like a plague

2008-03-17T07:29:00.003+08:00

No doubt, blanket rules are easy to follow, easy to implement and reduces confusion. Yet at the same time, such rules are inflexible and creates discontent as one would already have noticed from the Taxi Stand rule.Currently, the rule is, pick up and drop off only allowed 50m before and after Taxi Stands. While I entirely agree with the concern over road safety as taxis stop abruptly to pick up

Hunt for JI fugitive Mas Selamat continues

2008-03-17T06:32:00.005+08:00

Well the title says it all. After 20 days of placing boys in blue at SCGS, around forests like MacRitche, my little garden of one tree, tightening the already problematic bottleneck at the causeway until it takes almost 5 hours to get through Customs, one really wonders, just how much resources will the Singapore government expend to save its face? Maybe it's time we cut our losses and scale back

National Identity

2008-03-12T21:19:00.004+08:00

What is national identity? This can be easily defined as the set of common values or past experiences which Singaporeans share. One oft-repeated value is that Singaporeans are kaisu, or afraid to die. Yet, it is also often noted that such values aren't unique to Singaporeans. Indeed, this is true since selfishness is a common characteristic that can be easily observed across boundaries. However,

Have blind faith

2008-03-02T21:53:00.004+08:00

ST Feb 28, 2008Record interviews? People trust policeVIDEO or audio recordings of police interviews with suspects are not done here because there is a high degree of public confidence in the police force and its actions. Senior Minister of State (Law and Home Affairs) Ho Peng Kee explained yesterday that there is also an established process for an accused person to challenge statements attributed

F1 Racing in Singapore

2008-02-17T00:12:00.003+08:00

China:At the end of October, a batch of almost two million tickets was put on sale. Millions of people applied online, or on the phone - or else they queued up from dawn at bank branches.But the ticketing system crashed within an hour. The head of ticket sales has now been fired, and the Olympic committee has changed its ticketing system.What then has Singapore done in the face of their own crash

Community Legal Clinic

2008-02-12T21:18:00.000+08:00

In the five months since it opened its doors, a free clinic for those seeking legal advice has been inundated with more than 1,100 clients.Run by the pro bono service of the Law Society, the Community Legal Clinic is open four nights a week and serves as a first contact point for people wondering whether a dispute or grievance they have could stand up to scrutiny in court.The society's pro bono

Damages

2008-02-12T20:58:00.000+08:00

Festive seasons, with the exception of Chinese New Year, have so far had the tendency to result in me incurring damages of significant proportions. Todays damages for the upcoming heavily sensationalized event amount to the figure of 40.80.Not to say that this isn't money well spent, but I certainly could do without being expected to spend so much on gifts, and I'm pretty sure this would apply to

Chinese Values for a Moral Education Lesson?

2008-02-11T22:41:00.001+08:00

I simply cannot believe this. It's regression.Starting from 2009, 15 SAP schools will incorporate traditional Chinese values into their civics and moral education classes. This approach may be adopted by other SAP schools in the future.http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/print/328169/1/.htmlThis is so obviously flawed i'm quite sure it's self-evident. Never mind the fact

Turkey and Headscarves

2008-02-09T20:55:00.000+08:00

Recently, Turkey is attempting to ease the ban on headscarves for universities, and has in fact made quite some progress. Yet, the ban in itself has yet to be challenged and the concessions being made are minor and at best cosmetic.The ban on headscarves in Turkish universities came about after an overly Islamist government was ousted by the secularist military.This secular move by the mainly

Ang Baos

2008-02-08T22:06:00.000+08:00

In the midst of this festive season, ang baos exchange hands at a rate more frequent than genuine advice from meddlesome relatives. It is time to question this age-old tradition of wrapping up the economic gift of cold hard cash in nicely decorated red paper.Ang baos are of course an excellent way to conceal one's generosity or miserliness for that matter, allowing one to escape the cold hard

The Internet and Bomb Making

2008-02-08T08:32:00.000+08:00

Bomb making or any crime for this matter has undoubtedly been made much easier to commit with the prevalence of the internet. Do a google search and you can find instructions to cook up homemade bombs, pick locks, rob ATMs or even hack into the computers of others. The internet has made it far too easy to commit such crimes. However, is he who provides the tools to committing a crime any more

Pfizer, Singapore, and World Peace

2008-02-05T22:35:00.000+08:00

okay world peace was irrelevant, but anyway,http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/327088/1/.htmlSingapore aims to be centre for first phase of clinical trialsA few questions here. First, do these clinical trials pose any health risks, and what safeguards does the government have to ensure that these trials are safe? Second, what benefits does holding the trial in