weekeegeepee

2010-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Given its constitutional status, the Presidential Council for Minority Rights (PCMR) appears to be the highest organ within the Government mandated with the task of protecting the rights of members of minority groups. It is my understanding that the PCMR, which is chaired by the Chief Justice, may consider and report on legislative and policy matters affecting persons of ethnic and religious communities only if referred to by Parliament or the Government. I was surprised to learn that in 40 years of existence, the PCMR had never issued a statement or taken a position on any particular legislation or public policy that may have affected the rights of members of ethnic minority groups. Moreover, it seemed to me that there exists a potential conflict between the dual role of the Chief Justice as head of an independent judiciary (to which a case may be filed questioning the constitutionality of any law or policy) and as Chairperson of the PCMR.

- taken from the press statement delivered by Mr. Githu Muigai, the UN Special Rapporteur, on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in Singapore

2010-04-07T03:05:00.000-07:00

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is. I only know that people call me a feminist when I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute.

- Rebecca West
(HT A Blog Around The Clock)

Sam Harris: Science can answer moral questions | Video on TED.com

2010-03-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

"Questions of good and evil, right and wrong are commonly thought unanswerable by science. But Sam Harris argues that science can -- and should -- be an authority on moral issues, shaping human values and setting out what constitutes a good life."

Economic Efficiency

2010-03-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

Bryan Caplan:

Economic efficiency is designed and well-suited to helping people who want the efficient outcome. It is equally true to say that economic efficiency is designed and well-suited to hurting people who don't want the efficient outcome.

Arts Funding: A new approach

2010-03-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

David Rawcliffe:

Government support for the arts is currently provided as a subsidy to producers. This system suffers from four major problems: it relies on an expensive bureaucracy; it distributes subsidies unequally between regions and income groups; it distorts producers’ incentives through corruption, politicisation and arbitrary criteria; and it reduces competition, innovation and efficiency. This paper proposes a new system for arts funding: consumer-side subsidies delivered as vouchers to all citizens, which would alleviate the four problems outlined above, and better fulfil the central objectives of art funding.

2010-02-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

ClimateProgress:

At the suggestion of journalists, commenters, and others, I am going to assemble the best explanations of different aspects of climate science and post them. Or repost them, in this case. Then I’ll create an overview post for the sidebar that organizes them.

So I’m hoping you’ll help me identify the best articles, blog posts, videos, and the like on all areas of climate science from attribution to water vapor feedback (strangely, there are no “z” words in climate glossaries). It doesn’t matter if the subject matter overlaps. People need to hear and see things many times from different perspectives

The Benefits of Procrastination: The Economics of Geo-engineering

2009-12-27T01:37:00.000-08:00

"A wait-and-see strategy is probably optimal because immediate cutbacks in fossil fuel make economic sense only in worst-case climate scenarios."

2009-04-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Crisis of Credit

For those who (1) do not understand what the financial crisis is about, (2) wants to know what it is about, but (3) don't know how to.

For those who wants something progressively deeper (for the sake of interesting discussion), try Sudden Debt.

2008-07-13T07:36:00.000-07:00

In an Iranian Image, a Missile Too Many

2008-06-19T07:22:00.001-07:00

Turkey's crumbling dream

2008-05-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

Xenophobic nationalists?

2008-04-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

A New French Strategy

2008-03-26T21:20:00.000-07:00

Beyond Gay Marriage

2008-02-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Studies conclude that biofuels are not so green

Add:
Bring on the right biofuels

Malawi

2007-12-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Ending famine, simply by ignoring the experts

Facebook

2007-11-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

Facebook | Privacy Policy

CBC: Beware of Facebook's Beacon?

"On the other hand, Facebook users may have been numbed into accepting the fact that they have no control, no privacy, and instead are going to be seduced by the way in which this system informs them of their friends' activities.

The power of surveillance is such that we can give up our own privacy as long as we also get to be in the position of the voyeur, spying on our friends and their online activities."

Sounds similar to the comprehension passage we did sometime back.

Geoffrey Cobley: "Of course, there will be those who cry out in protest that we are becoming like ants in an anthill, mere cogs in a well-oiled machine, slaves of an all-powerful state from which we can have no secrets. But I believe that by giving up all claims to individual freedom, we will discover the best way to achieve it."

How far do you agree with his view? How free do you want to be? In giving your views, explain where and why you agree or disagree with Geoffrey Cobley.

Evangelizing with money.

2007-11-24T01:58:00.000-08:00

Megachurches see economic development as outreach tool.

2007-11-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

Globalisation and the environment
just for the heck of it

Okay, beloveds, one last push.

2007-10-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

A few GP articles for your delectation or desperation.

Everyone, good luck. It has been fun.

Global Warming

2007-10-26T03:44:00.000-07:00

Some Economics of Global Warming
Rather long article, I'll try to provide a short(ok, shit, this is damn long) summary of some key points in the article. feel free to ignore the rest of the post if you're not planning to do an essay related to the issue.

We are living on borrowed time
"If three degrees Celsius is taken as an index of climate change to come within the next century or so, how big is that compared with what has happened within the last century, or the last 10,000 years... The answer is that for 10,000 years, since the disappearance of the last ice age, average temperature appears never to have varied over anything like three degrees. A band of one degree Celsius would cover the current estimates of what average temperatures have been since the dawn of recorded history. We will be moving into a climatic regime that has never been experienced in this the current interglacial period... A caution: the models probably cannot project discontinuities--just gradual change --because nothing goes into the models that will produce catastrophes. There may be phenomena that could produce drastic change, but they are not known with enough confidence to introduce them into the models... do the hot American summers of the past few years announce the arrival of a greenhouse, confirming predictions?--the answer is in two parts: maybe it's the greenhouse; but it's not what the greenhouse models predict."

Possible Impacts on the Economy

For developed countries:
"... A conclusion we might reach is that a climate change would have appeared to make a vastly greater difference to the way people lived and earned their living in 1900 than to the way people live and earn their living today. Today very little of our gross domestic product is produced outdoors, susceptible to climate... Manufacturing rarely depends on climate, and where temperature and humidity used to make a difference, air conditioning has intervened... Finance is little affected by climate; similarly for health care, or education, or broadcasting. Transportation can be affected, but improvements in all-weather landing and take-off in the last 30 years are greater than any differences that climate makes... I conclude that in the United States, and probably Japan, Western Europe, and other developed countries, the impact on economic output will be negligible and unlikely to be noticed. And there is no reason to believe that in these countries there could be a noticeable impact on health..."

Developing countries:
" This complacent assessment cannot be extended to the much larger population of the underdeveloped world. The livelihoods earned in agriculture and other climate sensitive outdoor activities, 3 percent in the United States, comprise 30 percent and more of all livelihoods in most of the developing world... There is no strong presumption that the climates prevailing in different regions 50 or 100 years from now will be less conducive to food production. But there is also no assurance that climate changes will not be harmful, and even if on balance the impact is neutral, there may be large areas with large populations that suffer severely. Those people are vulnerable in a way that Americans, Western Europeans, and Japanese are not. Nor can the impact on health be dismissed or readily subsumed among generally improving health conditions, as for the developed world. Numerous parasitic and other vector-borne diseases affecting hundreds of millions of people are sensitive to climate. Again, there is no strong presumption that malaria mosquitos, to take an example, will on balance benefit from climate changes, but the risk is there."

Adaptation to effects of global warming

"As it was in our own country during this century, the trend in developing countries is to be less dependent on agriculture and less vulnerable to climate in transportation and other activities and health. If per capita income growth in the next 40 years compares with the 40 years just past, vulnerability to climate change should diminish, and the resources available for adaptation should be greater. I say this not to minimize concern about climate change, but to anticipate the question of whether developing countries should make sacrifices in their development to minimize the emission of gases that may change climate to their disadvantage. Their best defense against climate change may be their own continued development. What is desired is to optimize development by investing in greenhouse-gas abatement only when that appears, subject to all the uncertainties, to contribute more to their development in the future than the alternative direct investment in development. It is not economic growth versus environment; it is growth with the environment taken into account." - the article was written in 1992. Do not be quick to reach a similar conclusion for China - there's many things to be considered, such as those in the article by IHT.

" A related point: population growth is important for the climate change, in two respects. One is that carbon emissions in developing countries are positively driven by population; population growth does not merely dilute carbon emissions per capita, but for a number of reasons more people means more carbon. If China succeeds in holding population growth to near zero for the next couple of generations, it may do as much for the earth's atmosphere as would a heroic Chinese anticarbon program coupled with 2-percent annual population growth. The other population effect is simply that the most likely adverse impact of climate change on human productivity and welfare would be on food production. In the poorest parts of the world, the adequacy of food depends on the number of mouths and stomachs... For the developing worlds, the increasing concentration of people is probably more serious than the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide."

"At this point, I appear to have reached the conclusion that the developed world has no self-interest in expensively curtailing carbon consumption and that the developing cannot afford to incur economic penalties to slow the greenhouse effect. There is a mismatch between those who may be vulnerable to climate change and those who can afford to do anything about it. Why should the rich developed countries care enough about climate change to do anything about it? The answer must depend partly on how expensive it is going to be to do anything about it."

argument 1: " A strong argument for trying seriously to slow climate change is that the developing countries are vulnerable and we care. Developed countries are currently providing $50 billion per year of assistance to the developing world; we would be talking about expending or forgoing perhaps 4-8 times that much to slow emissions and slow climate change."

argument 2: " A second argument for an expensive program of carbon abatement is that, while our production of material goods and services may not suffer from climate change, our natural environment may be severely damaged. Natural ecosystems will be destroyed; plant and animal species will become extinct. Places of natural beauty will be degraded. Valuable chemistries of plant and animal life will be lost before we learn their genetic secrets. And the earth itself deserves our respect. For many people, something close to religious values are at stake."

argument 3: "The third argument for spending heavily to slow climate change is that the conclusions I reported earlier may be quite wrong. I said that the climate models predict that climates will change slowly and not much; the models do not produce discontinuities, surprises, catastrophes."

Increasingly, we find that "green technology" today is far more efficient than in 1992, and an utilitarian reason for developed countries to research and develop such technology should be plausible.

Mitigation of Global Warming
"Stopping or slowing deforestation is important for reasons other than carbon emissions but is quantitatively more important than reforestation. Reforestation is unlikely to take up as much as 100 billion tons of carbon; deforestation, in areas where deforestation is likely, could contribute several hundred billion tons of carbon, partly because forest subsoils contain carbon typically greater than the amount in the trees themselves, and this carbon is subject to oxidation when the trees are removed."

"...First, if in decades to come the greenhouse impact begins to confirm the more alarmist expectations, and if the economic sacrifices required to reduce emissions prove unmanageable for economic or political reasons, some of these "geoengineering" options will invite attention. Second, if they do, and especially if they prove to be within the budgetary capabilities of individual nations, international greenhouse diplomacy will be transformed." - geoengineering options such as carbon capture and sequestration

IHT Business of Green Blog: "...According to Gabriela von Goerne of Greenpeace in Germany, separating the CO2 and pumping it below ground is energy intensive and could create problems for future generations.

Environmentalists like von Goerne also say that funding for developing CCS could be used to improve the efficiency of renewable energies like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal rather than prolonging the use of fossil fuels.

Other environmentalists like Sanjeev Kumar at WWF in Belgium have a radically different view. Kumar says climate unfriendly coal plants are springing up so fast that generators should be forced to buy CCS equipment and start pump harmful emissions underground as soon as possible. ‘‘The growth of coal plants is absolutely scary,’’ says Kumar."

Carbon Taxes/Markets/Quotas

" Financing energy conservation, energy efficiency, and switching from high-carbon to lower-carbon or noncarbon fuels in Asia and Africa would not only be a major economic enterprise, but a complex effort in international diplomacy and politics...The kind of thing we are talking about is inducing the Chinese, through our somehow offsetting their cost, to forgo a massive electrification based on coal and the cheapest coal-combustion technology. Without engaging in blackmail, the Chinese can assert that it is not in their interest to do that at their own expense, even if they are the keystone of a "social contract" and no other nation will do anything unless the Chinese fully participate." - race to the bottom

"A carbon tax sufficient to make a big dent in the greenhouse problem would have to be roughly equivalent at least to a dollar per gallon on motor fuel, and for the United States alone such a tax on coal, petroleum, and natural gas would currently yield close to half a trillion dollars per year in revenue. No greenhouse taxing agency is going to collect a trillion dollars per year in revenue; and no treaty requiring the United States to levy internal carbon taxation at that level, keeping the proceeds, would be ratified by the Senate. Reduce the tax by an order of magnitude and it becomes imaginable, but then it becomes trivial as greenhouse policy." - all the problems of government intervention

" Tradable permits have been proposed as an alternative to the tax. There are two main possibilities: (i) estimating "reasonable" emissions country by country and establishing commensurate quotas or (ii) distributing tradable rights in accordance with some "equitablyÓ criterion, such as equal emissions per capita (a possibility that has actually been discussed). Depending on how restrictive the aggregate of such tradable emission rights might be, the latter is tantamount to distributing trillions of dollars in discounted value and making, for a country like Nigeria, the outcome of its population census the country's major economic policy. If, instead, quotas are negotiated to correspond to every country's currently "reasonable" emissions level, they will surely be renegotiated every 5 or 10 years, and selling an emissions right will be perceived as evidence that a quota was initially too generous. It is unlikely that governments will engage in trades that acknowledge excessive initial quotas."

Politics
"If the developed countries ever manage to act together toward the developing countries, their bargaining position is probably enhanced by the fact that cleaner fuels and more efficient fuel technologies bring a number of benefits other than reduced carbon, and recipients of greenhouse aid will be actively interested parties, not merely neutral agents attending to the global atmosphere. At the same time, large nations like India and China will be aware of the extortionate power that resides in ambitious coal-development projects."

"While the developed countries are feeling their way into some common attack on their own carbon emissions, a tangible expression of their interest and an effective first step would be to establish a permanent means of funding technical aid and technology transfer for developing countries, as well as research, development, and demonstration in carbon-saving technologies suitable to those countries. Eventually the rural Chinese household may cook more efficiently with nuclear-powered electricity, but for another generation or two what is important is less carbon-wasteful ways of cooking and heating."

I feel it is fairly comprehensive of what is happening today - other stuffs we can talk about include the debates over biofuels, the IPCC report, and the Kyoto Protocol.

Science versus Religion

2007-10-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

An article in the Straits Times awhile back, plus links to responses. Try doing an AQ in your mind on the article before reading the responses.

What is the purpose of knowledge?

2007-10-19T09:01:00.001-07:00

In 1969, the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy held a hearing at which the physicist Robert Wilson was called to testify. Wilson, who had served as the chief of experimental nuclear physics for the Manhattan Project, was at that point the head of CERN's main rival, Fermilab, and in charge of $250 million that Congress had recently allocated for the lab to build a new collider. Senator John Pastore, of Rhode Island, wanted to know the rationale behind a government expenditure of that size. Did the collider have anything to do with promoting "the security of the country"?

WILSON: No sir, I don't believe so.
PASTORE: Nothing at all?
WILSON: Nothing at all.
PASTORE: It has no value in that respect?
WILSON: It only has to do with the respect with which we regard one another, the dignity of men, our love of culture...It has to do with are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things we really venerate in our country and are patriotic about...It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to make it worth defending.

The GP Mock Prelim Paper and Compre Answer Scheme.

2007-10-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

The GP Mock Prelim Paper and Compre Answer Scheme

Third-Round Consultation Sign-Up

2007-10-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Updated Schedule.

Sample Essays from the GP Mock Prelim 07

2007-10-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Sample essays.

Second-Round Sign-Up for Consultation

2007-10-10T07:05:00.001-07:00

Updated schedule.

2007-10-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Challenges of ASEAN at 40

First-Round Sign-Up for Consultation

2007-10-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Check your dates and times.

GP Revision Material

2007-10-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Sample essays from the 2007 RJC GP Prelim

Sample AQ Answers from the 2007 RJC GP Prelims

Linked below are Compres and Essay Questions from other JCs as well as past-year Cambridge exams. Some of them come with answer schemes (for compres) and comments (for essays); for some JCs, either Paper 1 or Paper 2 was not sent to RJC, and hence is missing from this compilation.

Other JCs

Cambridge

Even if you don't intend to do any of them, do glance through them to familiarize yourself with the types of passages and questions that are likely to come out in the exams. Pay particular attention to the vocab questions, language questions, and AQ questions.

Non-Asians being non-critical, and the Iranian nuclear crisis.

2007-10-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

The first part of the article talks about how the reaction to the French foreign minister's recent faux pas (in talking about war) shows how Europe and Russia are unwilling to rock the boat.

The second part of the article argues why this beating about the bush is a mistake: allowing Iran to achieve nuclear hegemony will only provoke violent response in the region; recent history has shown that the Middle Eastern nations are trigger-happy over conflicts of oil interests, theology, and territory - imagine the consequences if even one of those triggers were linked to a nuclear missile.

Read more.

Myanmar: the Next Iraq?

2007-10-05T07:11:00.000-07:00

Seen from afar, the growing turbulence in Myanmar appears a simple struggle between the brutal ruling junta and forces of democracy... Up close, however, the crisis is extremely complex and fraught with unpredictable perils that could risk turning Myanmar into Southeast Asia's version of strife-torn Iraq...

Extreme caution is advised in dealing with Myanmar. The central government has been at war for 50 years with 17 ethnic rebel groups seeking secession from the former 14-state Union of Burma created by the British Empire...

Most of the major ethnic groups have their own small armies and finance themselves by smuggling timber, jewels, and drugs...

If the junta were to be replaced by a democratic civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and military repression ended, it is likely Myanmar's ethnic rebellions could quickly re-ignite...

A new democratic government in Yangon that is not tough enough to deal with secessionist regions around its troubled periphery could see Burma fall into Iraqi-style internal turmoil, and also invite intervention by covetous neighbors. At worst, India and China could even clash head-on over control of strategic Burma...

A splintering Burma could create a fire-storm in Southeast Asia. Accordingly, the Western powers and Asean must understand that if they force the Burmese military from power, they had better have an almost equally strong new government to replace the unloved junta...

Read the whole article.

Lee Kuan Yew on Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi: "I have visited (Burma) and I know that there is only one instrument of government, and that is the army... If I were Aung San Suu Kyi, I think I'd rather be behind a fence and be a symbol than after two or three years, be found impotent." - SM Lee Kuan Yew, Reuters, Jun 6, 1996, which sparked a flurry of protests from Burmese students.

2007-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Global Issues

Links

2007-09-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Essay Bank

Student Profile

RJC 2007 J2 Prelims Paper 1

2007-09-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Examiners' Comments, .doc and .pdf

RJC 2007 J2 Prelims Paper 2 (Compre on "Asian Values")

2007-09-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Answer Scheme.

Additional material for the AQ.

India tries outsourcing its outsourcing,

2007-09-29T00:56:00.000-07:00

"Many... Americans, recently graduated from college... accepted a novel assignment from Infosys, the Indian technology giant: Fly [to India] to learn programming from scratch, then return to the United States to work in the Indian company's back office.

Now India is outsourcing outsourcing."

"Wipro's [another Indian company] chairman, Azim Premji, told Wall Street analysts this year that he was considering hubs in Idaho and Virginia, in addition to Georgia [states in America], to take advantage of 'states which are less developed,' Premji said."

(What is the irony in this situation? - One would expect America, a developed nation, to outsource jobs to India, a developing nation. In actuality, however, Indian companies are dicovering less developed regions in America where it would be cheaper to outsource Indian jobs.)

"Such is the new outsourcing. A company in the United States pays an Indian vendor 7,000 miles, or 11,200 kilometers, away to supply it with Mexican workers situated 150 miles south of the U.S. border.

Read more.

Myanmar crackdown sheds light on Beijing's aspirations.

2007-09-29T00:02:00.000-07:00

Some material to use for the essay question on whether China's growing power is a world threat, as well any other question on China's place in the international community.

Read more.

At stake here is China's identity as a rising superpower, whether China will use its clout in the region to (in the short term) force a de-escalation of violence against the pro-democracy protestors, and (in the long term) effect an improvement in governance. More generally, what will be China's foreign policy be towards regimes that violate human rights (Sudan, Zimbabwe) or which violate or refuse to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (North Korean, Iran)?

With the great economic and diplomatic pressues China can bring to bear on these countries (Sudan and Zimbabwe due to China's huge investments in those countries, North Korea and Myanmar due to historical relationships), merely doing nothing (pursuing a policy of "non-interference") may constitute a threat to the well-being of the people under oppressive regimes, and to world security.

"To what extend is cybergaming a healthy pursuit?"

2007-09-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

Daniel Radosh argues that too many video games over-emphasize realistic graphics and providing gamers with a "cinematic" experience, which undermine the sense of involvement. Many new video games, then, leave gamers with a sense of emptiness, once the initial thrill wears off. Instead of stimulating our intellectual and emotional growth (the traditionally cited advantage of gaming), they may stunt our inter- and intra-personal problem-solving capacities.

Instead, video games should strive to "offer experiences that are emotionally and aesthetically profound - stories that resonate deep inside us, reveal truths about humanity, and alter our perception of the world."

Read more.

(Point on language use: one "places emphasis on" something, but one "emphasizes" something - no "on" in the latter case. The same rule applies to words like "stress", "highlight", "accentuate", etc.)

China and America

2007-09-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

Understanding Mattel’s Mea Culpa:
Quick to blame its Chinese suppliers for a massive recall, the toy giant now apologizes for its own mistakes. Why Mattel—and other major American companies—must save face with China. Read more.

In Mumbai, one man's meat is indeed another man's poison

2007-09-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Cooking chicken has become a high-security, covert operation for Shailaja Hazare, an undercover meat eater... Read more.

2007-09-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Common errors in English

Christianity

2007-09-17T03:16:00.000-07:00

The use of religion as a political tool.

Cinema: Jesus camp

"One is tempted to think that what we're seeing is a cult. But "cult" is a wholly inadequate word when some 100 million Americans are evangelicals and 30 million of them are charismatic or Pentecostal -- the type who lay great store in speaking in tongues, rolling and writhing on the ground, and who believe in healing through the laying of hands...

Such churches are not confined to America. They're here in Singapore, some with the "mega" label too. Have they gone as far as Becky Fischer? I don't know. But one cannot help but wonder what really, really, goes on in some Sunday schools."

"And as a gay person, I have seen an unremitting campaign to spread disinformation about gay people. One of the most common tactics is the conflation of homosexuality with paedophilia. Homosexuals, according to the propaganda handbook, are always on the lookout to recruit children into the "homosexual lifestyle"."

Yawningbread argues that some homophobics conflate homosexuality with paedophilia, commiting the fallacy of association. I suspect he himself is guilty of it in this post ridden with political agenda - associating various standards of christianity together. While, he only refers to "some Sunday schools", his lack of effort in clarifying what "schools" these are makes it an attack on Sunday Schools as a whole. For the uninformed, this may translate to disinformation about christianity - since you do not know which sunday schools are extremist in nature, you grow to think that all Christians are out to wage war against pagans.

Erwet posted the article "The next Christianity" sometime back.

"Perhaps the most remarkable point about these potential conflicts is that the trends pointing toward them have registered so little on the consciousness of even well-informed Northern observers. What, after all, do most Americans know about the distribution of Christians worldwide? I suspect that most see Christianity very much as it was a century ago — a predominantly European and North American faith. In discussions of the recent sexual-abuse crisis "the Catholic Church" and "the American Church" have been used more or less synonymously...

By any reasonable assessment of numbers, the most significant transformation of Christianity in the world today is not the liberal Reformation that is so much desired in the North. It is the Counter-Reformation coming from the global South. And it's very likely that in a decade or two neither component of global Christianity will recognize its counterpart as fully or authentically Christian."

Surely, yawningbread should realise by now there are different schools of thought within christianity itself - I do not think the liberal Christians in America actively discriminate against homosexuals, nor do I think Christians in Singapore are as charismatic as those children in "Jesus camp" yet.

2007-09-12T01:36:00.000-07:00

Why Indians fight modernization.

A former American ambassador to India, William Saxbe, put it into words in the 1970s: "When I call on cabinet ministers, the president, or governors, they all love to talk about their sons, sons-in-law and daughters in the U.S. and how well they're doing and how well they like things. The next day I read in the papers the very same people are denouncing the U.S. as a totally different kind of country."

Excerpts from an interview with Lee Kuan Yew

2007-09-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

The following are excerpts from an interview with Lee Kuan Yew, who served as prime minister of Singapore from 1959, when it gained partial independence from Britain, until he stepped down in 1990. He is currently minister mentor.

The interview took place at the Istana, where the Singapore president and prime minister work, on Aug. 24, 2007. Lee was questioned by Leonard M. Apcar, deputy managing editor of the International Herald Tribune, Wayne Arnold, a Singapore correspondent, and Seth Mydans, Southeast Asia bureau chief.

Read more...

China: Economics, and Politics

2007-09-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

Western Australia reaps huge profits from Chinese boom.

Here in the capital of vast, mineral-rich Western Australia, a wave of prosperity unleashed by Chinese hunger for its metals and energy have sent property prices soaring so high that affordable homes became scarce.

...

While the resources boom has enriched the state, it is also increasing its political clout on the national and international stage.

Web versus Newspapers.

2007-09-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

I'm killing newspapers.

Is it ethical to adopt a policy of non-intervention?

2007-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

The UN's silence on Myanmar.

Chaos in Darfur on rise as Arabs fight with Arabs.

Inflation Across Households

2007-08-31T00:55:00.000-07:00

Geez... I thought the analysis was strange when I first read it. It is, according to YawningBread.

The Good News Times strikes again

Asians - critical and/or conformist?

2007-08-28T00:55:00.001-07:00

Guy de Jonquieres argues that Asian thinkers do not dare to be different or be heard.

Sumana Rajarethnam argues that Asian thinkers are critical, but they also try to conform

What do you think?

2007-08-27T00:30:00.000-07:00

As China rises, pollution soars.

HPI

2007-08-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Happy Planet Index (HPI), designed to challenge well-established indices of countries' development such as GDP and HDI.
It supposedly takes sustainability into account, including measuring ecological footprint per capita in its formula.

check it out: you might want to note that Singapore is the 131st happiest/planet-friendly country (out of 178) or 48th from the bottom, of those measured.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index

others that may come in handy:
Malaysia, 44th
Indonesia, 23rd

Vietnam, 12th
Sri lanka, 15th
Philippines, 17th
Thailand, 32nd
India, 62nd
Myanmar, 77th

USA, 150th

'happiest':))Vanuatu
'saddest':((Zimbabwe (no.178)

How far should the state protect citizens from their own (potentially harmful) choices?

2007-08-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

‘We can’t have a situation where we protect you even from yourself. If the entire population needs to be protected from their own choices, then we will be in a very, very sorry state in the future.’

- Minister for Community, Youth and Sports, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan

(Many examples of how Singaporeans were deprived of choice, for their own good.)

Newsworthiness

2007-08-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

behold, if you want to do a media question

Analysing the News - MediaKnowAll.com - How news are picked

Different News Values - ASNE - Can news ever be accurate? But what if the audience does not mind some subjectivity?

Respondents were read sets of phrases, and asked to choose which one better reflected their own preferences for newspaper coverage. Their responses were remarkably consistent with the views and values they expressed elsewhere in the research, including:
The pre-eminent value of accuracy, with 87 percent saying they'd rather see a paper hold a story until facts could be double-checked.
The desire for context, with 68 percent selecting "facts and explanations" that provide insight over "just the facts."

News Bias Explored
Links Page on News Bias Explored

2007-08-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

Science, Technology, and Society

Practice Compre #1 (AQ)

2007-08-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

“The world is what we make of it.”

P. V. Rao argues that literature, history and philosophy shape our understanding of the world and its truths, while Jacob Bronowski argues that science does this too.

Which writer’s argument appeals to you more? Using your experience and observation, justify your choice.

Sample AQ answer.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2007-08-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Following the atrocities of Nazi Germany, the United Nations saw the need to clarify what constitutes the rights of an individual, hence the drafting of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights. The declaration is a non-binding one, meaning it merely acts as a guideline for countries. Nonetheless, being part of international law, it is useful in affecting moral pressure on governments who violate the articles in the declaration. There are 30 articles, and here is a summary of the freedoms found within the articles:

1. All human beings are equal in dignity and rights
This addresses discrimation based on descent such as can be seen in the caste system of India. Dalits are viewed as below the caste system and are treated unfairly: they suffer from wage discrimination, do not own land, cannot use the same wells etc. They are the poorest of Indians.

2. All people are entitled to rights without distinction based on race, color, sex, religion, language, opinion, origin, property, birth or residency
This addresses rascism. It denounces the theory of racial superiority e.g. the Aryan race, or racial inferiority e.g. the Africans

3. Right to life, liberty and security
e.g. The indiscriminate use of land mines denies the right to life and security of civillians in India and Pakistan.

4. Freedom from slavery
e.g. The trafficking of children in West Africa. Traffickers usually approach impoverished families and offer them as little as US $15 to hand their son or daughter over to an employer. Many of the families who agree to sell their children hope that their child's employment will lead them to a better life filled with more opportunities. The children are then made to work without wages. Many are sold as prostitutes.

5. Freedom from torture
The term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person. e.g. In 1970s Mexico, the government tortured left-wing activists.

6. Right to be treated equally by the law

7. Right to equal protection by the law
e.g. The Sharia law is accused of not protecting men/women and Muslims/non-Muslims equally. In Saudi Arabia, a women's testimony in court is worth half that of a man's testimony, according to a Human Rights Watch report in 2002.

8. Right for all to effective remedy by competent tribunal
This addresses domestic violence. The UN defines domestic violence as: "the use of force or threats of force by a husband or boyfriend for the purpose of coercing and intimidating a woman into submission. The violence can take the form of pushing, hitting, choking, slapping, kicking, burning or stabbing." These women are not able to seek effective remedy within the legal system.

9. Freedom from arbitrary arrest
e.g The Patriot Act in US. Increased powers to monitor and detain suspected terrorists without charge or trial. The excuse used is that the nation is in a state of public emergency following the September 11 attacks.

10. Right to fair public hearing by independent tribunal
e.g. The prisoners of Guantanamo Bay. The US imprisoned around 600 men from at least 43 different countries in a camp in a US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The aim was to interrogate them about their suspected involvement in the al-Qaeda terrorist network. However, none of the foreign nationals in US custody has been granted access to legal counsel.

11. Right to presumption of innocence until proven guilty at public trial with all guarantees necessary for defence
e.g. Legal proceedings in Malaysia. Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia and leader of a popular pro-reform movement, was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison a trial widely seen as politically-motivated. His right to be presumed innocent was undermined by statements by the Prime Minister, and his counsel was prevented from presenting a full defence by threats of contempt of court proceedings.

12. Right to privacy in home, family and correspondence
e.g. Privacy on the Internet. In the UK, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act of 2000 allows a limited group of government authorities to demand private information about people's Internet and mobile phone habits from the companies that provide connections

13. Freedom of movement in your own country, and the right to leave/return to any countries.
e.g. Villagers internally displaced in Turkey. During the 15-year conflict between government forces and the armed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), Kurdish villagers were forced out of their homes and off their land by Turkish security forces and paramilitary village guards with the aim of depriving the PKK of access to shelter, food, and recruits.

14. Right to political asylum in other countries
e.g. Asylum seekers in Australia. Australia prevents illegal immigrants from entering its shores.

15. Right to nationality
e.g. Issue of Nationality in Cote d'Ivoire. In the 1990s, Ivorian political leaders adopted a series of measures which denied the possibility of citizenship to immigrants and their children and have resulted in the arbitrary arrest, deportation, and even murder, of some foreign nationals.

16. Right to marriage and family, and to equal rights of men and women during and after marriage
In South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, girls under 18 are forced to get married for economic and cultural reasons.

17. Right to own property
e.g. Land reform in Zimbabwe. The government seized 35m acres of land from rich, white farmers for redistribution to poor, landless black Zimbabweans.

18. Freedom of thought, conscience, religion

19. Freedom of opinion and expression

20. Freedom of assembly

21. Right to take part in and select government

22. Right to social security and realization of economic, social and cultural rights

23. Right to work, to equal pay for equal work, to join trade unions

24. Right to reasonable hours of work and paid holidays

25. Right to adequate living standard for self and family, including food, housing, clothing, medical care & social security

26. Right to education

27. Right to participate in cultural life, and to protect intellectual property rights

28. Right to social and international order permitting these freedoms to be realized

29. Each person has responsibilities to the community and others as essential for a democratic society
e.g. The use of guns in the US. Given the right to bear arms, 66% of murders in 2000 were committed with firearms.

30. Repression in the name of rights is unacceptable
e.g. The concept of Asian values. The notion of 'Asian values' has been used by various governments in the region to argue that a western style free press is not appropriate for Asia.

Full text here.

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity."

2007-08-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Managing Civil Disobedience: Calibrated Coercion"

Legalism

Rule of Law

Is War ever the solution?

2007-08-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

Ending Zimbabwe's horrors: "No one is surprised when a Roman Catholic bishop condemns the violence of war. But when was the last time you heard of one pleading for a military invasion?" Read more.

Is there such a thing as a just war?

A more detailed treatise on The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Cool Stuff By J. S. Mill

2007-08-12T06:59:00.000-07:00

There are many who consider as an injury to themselves any conduct which they have a distaste for, and resent it as an outrage to their feelings; ... But there is no parity between the feeling of a person for his own opinion, and the feeling of another who is offended at his holding it; no more than between the desire of a thief to take a purse, and the desire of the right owner to keep it. And a person's taste is as much his own peculiar concern as his opinion or his purse.

J. S. Mill draws examples from Muslims and their disgust for pork, Spaniards and their dislike for married clergies, Puritans and their puritanical beliefs to make his case for the 'harm principle', which has been mentioned in the class comprehension.

Might be useful for your AQ...

J. S. Mill, On Liberty -- Chapter IV(=D)

censorship

2007-08-12T03:28:00.000-07:00

Watch Royston Tan's Cut on censorship in Singapore. (3 parts)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JdfPl_TYHo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMAGETY2hs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm0u7vL6vVY

Practice Compre #2

2007-08-10T22:52:00.000-07:00

Cambridge November 2006 GP Paper (Freedom) (Full Paper)

The full paper gives space after each question for answers. I have condensed the questions into one page for those who support Al Gore.

I will post the marking scheme after we've gone through the compre in class.

Practice Compre #1

2007-08-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

NJC 2007 Prelims Paper 2 (Science and Philosophy)

NJC 2007 Prelims Paper 2 Marking Scheme

Uses of a freer media.

2007-08-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

China, the Olympics and the press.

Can Hollywood make a Bollywood movie?

2007-08-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

Another perspective on the globalization debate - it is not a simple weighing of the net benefits of free trade against the local cost of cultural erosion. Read more...

Is consuming locally produced food more environmentally friendly?

2007-08-09T03:13:00.000-07:00

"Food miles" - the geographical distance between the producers and consumers of food.

"... eating local reduces fossil fuel consumption... On its face, the connection between lowering food miles and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions is a no-brainer."

But is reducing food miles necessarily good for the environment?

"Instead of measuring a product's carbon footprint through food miles alone... scientists expanded their equations to include other energy-consuming aspects of production..."

"... lamb raised on New Zealand's clover-choked pastures and shipped 11,000 miles by boat to Britain produced 1,520 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per ton while British lamb produced 6,280 pounds of carbon dioxide per ton, in part because poorer British pastures force farmers to use feed."

(The principles of comparative advantage still apply if we "expand [our] equations to include other energy-consuming aspects of production.")

Read more...

Racism is good?

2007-08-09T02:53:00.000-07:00

The downside of diversity

"IT HAS BECOME increasingly popular to speak of racial and ethnic diversity as a civic strength..."

"But a massive new study... found that virtually all measures of civic health are lower in more diverse settings."

"Greater diversity equals more misery."

"It certainly is not pleasant when [I am hailed] as the guy who found out racism is good." (Robert Putnam, head of the study)

"If ethnic diversity, at least in the short run, is a liability for social connectedness... it can be a big asset when it comes to driving productivity and innovation... the diversity paradox..."

Read more...

Repugnance

2007-08-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

Wisdom of Repugnance

On Liberty

2007-08-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

On Liberty by J S Mill

An addendum to Guoren's Zimbabwe post.

2007-08-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Mugabe's decree on prices puts Zimbabwe economy in a tailspin.

Free trade is not a zero-sum game.

2007-08-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

The United States and Korea recently signed a landmark bilateral free-trade agreement...

Sing Dollar

2007-08-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

"Singapore dollar

L egal Tender

From the information that the sites offered, I think that the joint currency is related more to the history that Singapore and Brunei shared, rather than a step towards a common market although they are reaping economic benefits such as increased tourism. It doesn't really seem as though they are working towards establishing a complete joint economy.

BUT I could be wrong(: so if anyone else knows about anything else, please post!"

- Jing yu

The Next Christianity

2007-08-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting article that can be linked to Clash of Civilisation.

The Next Christianity

contradictory articles on zimbabwe

2007-08-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

different manipulation of news for various agendas (purpose)

Som relief seen in Zimbabwe
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/Zimbabwe/0,,2-11-1662_2148705,00.html

Zimbabwe: Doomsday predictions premature
http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/2841.cfm

Voices from inside Zimbabwe
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6450621.stm

President's address
http://allafrica.com/stories/200707250557.html

George Orwell

2007-07-31T02:05:00.000-07:00

George Orwell - Politics and the English Language.

Communist Manifesto

2007-07-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Trends than Marx and Engels observed in their time, can we observe today too?

The Communist Manifesto, Chapter 1

United Nations

2007-07-16T04:14:00.000-07:00

Some background info:
A brief history of United Nations
Founding of the United Nations

Current Affairs:
The U.S Relationship with the United Nations
China-Taiwan-UN relationship

FOX News: Oil-for-food Scandal
Myths and Facts: Oil-for-food

Related to Singapore:

UN Urges Singapore Not to Execute Nigerian for Drug Trafficking
The United Nations has called on authorities in Singapore not to go ahead with the planned execution of a Nigerian sentenced to death for trafficking in heroin.
The UN expert on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, says the planned execution of Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi on Friday would violate international legal standards on the use of the death penalty.
Alston says “the standards accepted by the international community is that capital punishment may be imposed only when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence, leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts.”
Singapore "too ruthless" to be asked into Eastern Timor UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, when asked whether he would pressure Singapore to contribute troops along with Australia to alleviate suffering in East Timor, was hesitant. “Singapore troops are simply too ruthless,” the Secretary General’s office insisted. “Singaporeans are known throughout the world as extremely courageous and honourable, ever since they fought so bravely in intense battles with Malaysia for their independence a few decades ago. But we simply don’t need such skill and precision in our operations with East Timor. We are also worried that the Singapore troops will frighten the local population and this might work to our detriment.”

2007-07-15T06:20:00.001-07:00

Economists question dominance of free-market ideas.

The biofuel myths.

2007-07-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

Biofuels are clean and green.
Biofuels will not result in deforestation.
Biofuels will bring rural development.
Biofuels will not cause hunger.

Environmentalism

2007-07-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

For reference:
Myth that Green protection hits Economy, UNEP Says
Report calls on Europe to move on global warming
Serious Effects of Global Warming Already Have Begun, says IPCC
Should the United States ratify the Kyoto Protocol?
Global Warming is Unstoppable and Humans are to Blame, says UN Report
Controlling Global Warming is Cost-Effective and Within Reach
Cleaning Up the Environment Could Save 13Million Lives Annually, Report shows
Indoor Pollution from Cooking Fires Kills 1.5Million People Annually
World Water Day: A Billion People Worldwide Lack Safe Drinking Water
Scholars Predict 50Million Environmental Refugees by 2010

2007 J2 CT2 GP Compre

2007-07-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

Answer Scheme.

2007-07-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Using rape as a weapon.

Iraq's diverse cultures share a way of understanding the family, "patriliny," in which identities ranging from religion to ethnicity to clan are conferred by fathers alone, not mothers. Understanding patriliny can help shed light on inter-group conflict in Iraq, specifically on the inter-sectarian rapes and killings that take place every day.

Caste System in India

2007-07-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

An almost-all-encompassing article on the Indian Caste System. explains what it is, how it was enforced, how it evolved, justification and criticisms with regards to its existence as a social model. (the wikipedia article is largely inaccurate with regards to this topic)

Mahatma Gandhi vs. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (the first 12 paragraphs would be relevant) :
While Mahatma Gandhi justified the caste system, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar anticipated the limitations of using caste as a political resource and instead, emphasized on eliminating the concept of caste from the society.

How prevalent is the Caste system in "Modern" India?:
A 'Broken People' in booming India

Just to get an idea of how many hundred castes there are in India, you might want to visit these matrimonial websites, Jeevan Sathi and Bharat Matrimony and click on the drop down menu that says select caste.

2007-07-07T09:14:00.001-07:00

Only traditional Islam can do it (counter fundamentalist Islam).

2007-07-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Is Marriage still relevant in today's society?

The case for same sex marriage

Engels and the origins of human society

2007-07-03T05:47:00.000-07:00

Much Of The World Has Been Deluded by Singapore’s Hollow Roars Of Success.

2007-07-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Whistle-blower in India uses a blog for protection.

"Third World Traveler": MANY good articles on this website.

2007-07-01T01:53:00.000-07:00

Came across this site, THIRD WORLD TRAVELER; I'm sorry for not having found this earlier.

The articles are categorized region (Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, etc), by international organization (WTO, IMF, UN, etc) and by issue (Democracy, Globalization, Patriotism; Oil, Drugs, Food, etc)

PLEASE TAKE TIME TO EXPLORE THE SITE. There is no need to read EVERY article there, nor even MOST of them. Look at the titles of the articles, and read which ever catches you fancy.

A few categories I found myself visiting often:

Definitions of "Third World"

Transnational Corporations and the Third World

Oil-related World Issues

Globalization

Do dip into this resource regularly!

(I will spend the next few posts excerpting some of the articles from THIRD WORLD TRAVELER I have read recently.)

2007-06-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Appeal to nature.

2007-06-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

Global poll shows wide distrust of United States.

Global survey shows rejection of U.S. idea of democracy.

2007-06-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Science, religion and the battle for the human soul.

(Many cool links on this website.)

Economists estimate inflation hits 20,000% in Zimbabwe; prices rise by the hour.

2007-06-27T09:27:00.000-07:00

Mugabe floats new plan to 'empower' Zimbabwe.

Media in Singapore.

2007-06-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

SINGAPORE: 'Light touch' on new media, but government alert to radical websites;
Government to restrict access to websites that might pose a threat to Singapore.

Fairly typical of legislation and law enforcement in Singapore: the promise of liberality ("we will leave you alone") but with the right to use extreme measures held in reserve ("but we can and will shut you down if we want to"). Ministerial power is constrained not by stringent legislation but by ministerial discretion. The wording of the statutes grants ministers fairly broad powers to decide when certain freedoms should be curtailed. There has been few if any successful litigations against such exercises of ministerial prerogative.

The Constitution declares the right to free speech and then subsequently conditions the practice of the right.

(Read the whole article)

There is a similar interpretation of the government's simultaneous refusal to repeal the law that criminalizes "unnatural sex acts", and "assurance" that the law will not be actively implemented (i.e. homosexuals will be be persecuted). The government defends this schizophrenic stance with the usual claims of pragmatism: Singapore has to move with the times, but at the same time obey its conservative majority. Others suggest that the law is retained for political purposes (for example, in Malaysia, how Anwar, the political thorn in then PM Mahathir's side, was removed with trumped-up charges of sodomy.)

The End of History

2007-05-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Having gone through The Clash of Civilizations, we might want to touch on something as dramatic, like The End of History. I haven't read it myself, although I have just read this.

Meanwhile, we could visit Wikipedia to read up on criticisms of Civilisations and Huntington.

Homosexuality

2007-05-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Renckens' wrenching idea

Intellectual and spiritual torpor: present-day Catholic Church views on homosexuality

There was a post on it last year:

The Bible as justification

To modernise but not to westernise

2007-05-22T04:18:00.000-07:00

Apart from Japan, we might want to examine how other countries are coping

Bhutan lets down its guard, to dissonant effect

Bhutan reluctantly embraces democracy

The Painstaking Essays.

2007-05-22T04:10:00.000-07:00

Go to the folder in TLN yourself!

How Asians can have more babies

2007-05-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

... a lesson that East Asia has yet to learn... Investment in children through government spending may provide a much better return than accumulating vast fiscal surpluses to be invested in low yielding foreign assets or unnecessary infrastructure.

There is a dumb arrogance in East Asia's approach to excess savings and its inability to face up to the reasons for its abysmal fertility rates. The two are linked. That must change if the whole region is not to be a geriatric poorhouse. Read more...

The kind of leadership the GST hike is paying for.

2007-05-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yet more reactionary leadership

"Some Articles On..." - Globalization

2007-05-18T01:25:00.000-07:00

Letter From China: In Asia, the past divides and alienates. (Political implication of globalization)

International law creeping over sovereignty (Political implication of globalization)

Migration benefits all (Economic implication of globalization)

Environmentalism

2007-05-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

More:

Wind farms offer more power, possible problems

Climate experts: Tech a last resort

Asian rice emits greenhouse gas

Delegates debate on greenhouse gas emissions