Happy Birthday Professor Dawkins

Richard Dawkins celebrated his birthday on the 26th of March. Friends and well-wishers from all over the globe send him pictures, videos and audio messages. Here's mine.
Check out other's here.

Happy Happy Joy Joy Parliament

I read this article on Little Speck: Too much self-praise, What Singaporeans want is some frank, value-added debate. By Seah Chiang Nee, The Star on Mar 24, 2007. [Link]
It reflected on a topic that I have been thinking about so I thought I'll post it here.

NEEDED in 21st Century Singapore: A new breed of articulate Members of Parliament who can match the likes of Lee Kuan Yew, S. Rajaratnam and David Marshall.

With few exceptions, today’s lot – whether in government or opposition – lacks that sharp tongue and fire in the belly that marked the previous generation of politicians.

As the Old Guards left one after another, they were replaced by young, co-opted technocrat-MPs, who were good problem solvers, but who lacked the passion and ability to motivate Singaporeans.

Neither are they good at debates or explaining policies in the pull-no-punches way that Minister Mentor Lee and his peers could do with ease.
The lack is fine as long as the PAP continues to enjoy the complete trust of voters the way that Lee had.

But his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is dealing with – and has to win over – better educated, more cynical citizens with very high expectations.

That requires the party to govern with more than top scholars and good policies; it also needs people with the power of persuasion.

After demolishing all strong opposition one way or another, Minister Mentor Lee has admitted that many young MPs lack the opportunities to learn the thrusts of political debate.

For its own survival, the PAP has to allow its MPs to speak frankly and openly on issues of the day, even if it is galling to the party.

It has another reason to do this. It has rejected the opposition playing a checks-and-balance role in the government, saying it can do it by itself. For this to be credible, observers say, it has to be seen doing it.

Most Parliament sessions here – unlike in Kuala Lumpur – have been tame, polite affairs involving prepared questions and answers, after which the MP would sit down to make way for another.

This was evident during the recent Parliament budget session that was to give important tax changes (GST up 2%) and rising poverty a proper airing.

Most government MPs spoke in favour of a rise in the unpopular Goods and Services Tax – no GST can be popular anywhere in the world – from 5% to 7%. Yet they made it sound like it’s the long-awaited salvation.

(The budget also provided offsetting payments, with the poor and older people getting a larger share, which will help to mitigate – for five years – the impact on the lower class).

Singaporeans are generally opposed to the GST increase, which is the centrepiece of the budget, and several government MPs pitched for more aid to the poor.

But the majority of backbenchers praised the budget, some in exuberant terms that are opposed to public sentiment.

Despite the leaders’ exhortations to MPs to speak their minds, not many had done so.

A sample of backbenchers’ exuberant praises included – “generous and forward looking”, “good intentioned” and “made in heaven”, “a landmark budget”, “wonderful”, “innovative” and “pragmatic.”

The generosity of the budget is possible under the stewardship of the ruling People’s Action Party, said one MP, sounding like a Pyongyang news headline.

Another remarked: “Nowhere else in the world can you get a budget which includes love and compassion in abundance as this one.”

Some young Singaporeans say they were turned off by these flowery but useless descriptions.

Even a commentator of the pro-government Straits Times, Chua Mui Hoong, was moved to call on the PAP MPs to go beyond “cheerleading”.

“Too much self-praise by the PAP is off-putting,” she wrote.

“An MP's role should include critiquing policies, voicing independent points of view and scrutinising the executive's decisions,” she said, adding that some did so, but they were a minority.

Former PAP MP Hwang Soo Jin, 71, related how a doctor had surprised him by asking why Parliament had bothered to debate the budget when the government had already decided to implement it.

Hwang wrote in the Chinese Lianhe Zaobao that there was a 'chasm' between Parliament and the people.

After Lee Kuan Yew stepped down as Prime Minister in 1990, his successor, Goh Chok Tong had steadily eased up on control of people’s’ lives.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who took over from Goh, has pledged to continue the process.

Some feel Parliament could do with the return of several strong-minded ex-PAP backbenchers, who had the moral courage and skills to take on ministers.

They included former Speaker Tan Soo Khoon, Dr Tan Cheng Bock and Dr Wang Kai Yuen, who have left behind an outspokenly biting legacy.

Soo Khoon once hit out at government wastage, targeting seven gr-and ministerial building projects, labelling them sarcastically as the “Seven Wonders of Singapore.”

He likened some of these gleaming new buildings to five-star hotels, which led him to wonder if the ministries were competing to see which of them could “be better than the Four Seasons Hotel.”

“(People) complain because they realise that if you spend so much money, then we will be taxed more. That's why people are unhappy,” he added.

Parliament is a stepping-stone for tomorrow’s leaders, which explains why MPs should be encouraged to use their flair.

Some analysts, however, believe that sustained periods of affluence and stability are not ideal to producing brilliant leaders; only chaos or wars can.

It was chaotic Singapore in the 50s and 60s that threw up leaders like Lee and his contemporaries – and that just can’t be re-created.

Enough said. Well I have to say that the Singapore Parliament does seems to be very boring, to me anyway. It looks, to me anyway, staged. Kind of like WWF. I use to believe that WWF were for real when I was young. I mean they look real, the people appears to be really fighting one another, they seems really passionate about what they are doing and stuff. But in the end, it's all a show. The outcome of the fights are always decided forehand. Kind of like the reality TVs we have nowdays. The results are not exactly surprising.

Maybe I am not been fair, but maybe been on the same political party does make it hard(er?) for you to disagree on policies. It seems that the MPs will come up all hot and enthusiastic on some issues like: "are you sure Singapore can support a the growing population?(6.5 millions)?", "are the welfare payment really enough?", "is there enough done to off-set the GST impact?", "our transport system, is it good enough?", blah... You know.

Then some ministers will come on and in a nut shell says: "yah, don't worry about it, we're good."

And then the MPs will be like: "Oh, really? ... Ok."

That's what it looks like to me anyway.

And our few oppositions are not really very impressive, frankly.

That's why its so hard for Singapore government to answer a question straight and not treat us like idiots.

There's no one to hold their feet to the fire and asks difficult questions and demand a straight answer.

Do you agree?

See! I told you people are weird!

Or at least horny.
A guy was charged with having sex with a dead deer that he found in a ditch.

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/03/oh_deer.html#comments

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1122061deer1.html

Enough said.

Humans are weird 2

(I have to break up the post into 2, blogspot won't let me post one long entry.)

We also do self-mutilation, or self-inflicted violence as some would call it. What's the deal? Who the hell will want to slash their own arm? [Link]
No animals would do that. The concept would be too strange for them to understand.

We not only like to hurt yourself, we also like to hurt other people( not to mention animals). We call it torture. And we are very good at it. [Link] It take thinking to come up with so many different sorts of tortures. The Chinese were surprisingly very good at it. The Roman were petty creative. I hear a good torturer can keep you alive for months, even years.

It's not all in the past though. WWII would see some outstanding examples in the use of tortures. Cambodian recent past can gives you a few pointers. All these happens not too long ago, less than 50 years.

And for the toture-inclined but in a hurry kind of guy, you can consider human sacrifice. Popular in almost all major religions in the past and still happens more often than you think till very recently. South East Asia was filled with human sacrifices. And then that's the problems of deciding if witch-burning is a form of human sacrifice. Oh well.[Link]

You know what's really really weird? Necrophilia. Fucking a corpse. Again it happens more often than you think. It's happening right now. Only a human, with all our intelligence, can look at a dead body and think of fucking it. No animals would do that. The thought would not even occurs to them.

Only humans, who is superior to all other animals, could have done any of the above things. Can anyone explain to me why?

Humans are weird

No doubt about it, we humans do some strange things. Things no other animals do.
You know what's interesting? Suicide. There are over 1 millions suicide a year and many more attempts. That's about one every 30 seconds. But the time you read till here, another guy have bite the big one. I said guys because more guys die in suicide than woman, although the woman attempt more. We are better at it. If girls want to talk about equal abilities, more woman have to die in suicide. The rates are rising, it's a fact, check it out yourself: [Link]

And we are the only creature to do than. Have you seen any animals jumping off down a building? Or lying down in front of a train? Or hanging itself from a roof? No. Only human.

And if it's not enough than we kill yourself, we kill other animals too. Not for food. But for fun. That's what hunters do nowadays. The thought of hunting for fun would never occurs to a tiger or a lion. Hunting is hard work.

And if's not enough than we kill other animals, we kill other people too. Murder. Now that's a human concept. As society progresses, murder is considered bad manners, so we change it to assassination. A new name.

And when we do it in huge numbers, we call it genocide. Happens more often than you think.

And when both side kill each others in huge numbers, we call it war. Oh yeah.

Now if you combine killing yourself with killing other people, why you are a probably a suicide bomber.

Suicide bombers. Now that's a strange concept. I mean what's your excuse? "Because God tells me to"?

Religion. The big one. We can convince ourselves that there is a man (clearly a man because only a man can be so egoistic) in the sky who sees all and hears all, and spend his time listening to all our problems and from time to time fixes them.

Now, the man has a list of ten things we cannot do and if we did any of them, we will go to a place of flames and fire and torture and pain and suffering and damnation for ever and ever and ever.

And you know what, the man loves us. Oh yeah.

Continue on next post...

You can speak in Tongues!

It's easy. Anyone can do it. Lots of people are doing it.


If you want to speak like that (and why won't you want to), but don't know how to, this is your lucky day! Why I have a YouTube video here to teach you how.


And if that easy to follow guide could not help you, have no worries! Because I have found you a Speak in Tongues in 5-Days or Your Money Back deal! It's guaranteed!

Just do it!!! ahunnnn moooarrr juuteeee nanoooo verrrrr bbbabbbababa oororor hhaahah!

Seriously, people actually do this stuff. Normal, intelligent and rational people.

Link to malaysian athesit article.

Let's make babies

What to do? The country needs more babies.

Show your patriotism, your country needs you now.
Ladies keen to do your part, please send a recent photo to email below.
Only those above the age of 16 need apply.

What's wrong with Singapore.

Our great leaders
The news for the last week has been mostly on the parliament debate, or the lack of it. Mr Brown made a list of the top 10 things our ministers and members of parliament said about the new budget. It was “soooo good”. The excellences of the budget aside.I have begun, sometime back, to take everything the government said with a pinch of salt. The reason is simple. I realise that everything that is been said, has an agenda. I mean, seriously, these are politicians. It’s doubtful even how much of their own opinions they can express, after all most of them are from the same party. What we have here is a system where a single party find its own member and through various means get the people they chose elected. It’s kind of a weird system in the sense that I don’t know how much of the people’s wishes are represented and how much the people actually wants the “chosen ones” to be their voices in parliament. Although I must also admit, it kindof work (I prefer it to the mess in US for a start). But there are drawbacks to everything.

Sense of Belonging
One of the drawbacks is that the people’s sense of belonging is eroded. If you can never have a say in a place, the place never really belongs to you. And this is a serious issue. And this issue will get increasingly serious with the influx of immigrants (6.4 million I heard?). The new immigrants, having just arrived have little if no sense of belonging or emotional attachment to Singapore. So the increase amount of new immigrants will reduce the total sense of belonging as a whole. While the current citizens on the island have a certain amount of emotion attachment, it too is reduced by an increase in the amount of “outsiders” in their country. It may not sound nice, but it’s true (and I don’t mean it in a bad way). The newcomers have their own language, habits, bla….and well I would said, Singapore as a general whole are not too happy with this invasion of their space. Anyway, the point is, the more different Singapore becomes, the less sense of belonging we can come to expect from the common man in the street.

The 10 years series.
What’s wrong with the 10 years series? Well recently MOE phased out the pre-1997 ten years series because the syllabuses have changed. Well, that’s pretty reasonable, but the students(and I suspect the parents) panicked. It was reported (thesundaytimes march 4 2007) that students are hunting 2nd hand book store for the old 10 years series. Prices have increased for those old books and I suspect(again) there will be a pirated maket going on soon enough. Kiasu? Yes, but more than that. Singapore students pass exams by doing 10 years series. To a point where if you want higher marks, do more 10 years series. I dare say if we ban 10 years series, Singapore students won’t know what to do. Why do I say that? The only subject without 10 years series is literature, which also happens to be the subject Singapore students score worse in. I suspect (yet again) that the concept of walking into an examination hall and expressing yourself without a prior answers to refer to scare the hell out of our students. “But what if I don’t put down the correct answers!!!” Personally, I hated 10 years series, never actually did any. I feel the over-reliance on 10 years series breed a generation of people who are good at memorising a given answer and sticking to it. Destroys ones confident of expressions. And forms a habit of doing the ‘correct’ thing, which may not be the right thing.

Censorship
So many things to say and examples to give. I’ll just give a recent one: Incredible wife makes disappearing act
What the fuck were they thinking?
Seriously, creative industries are going to have to play a great part in Singapore economy, after all our only resource is our people right? Well I just want to say that for creative individual, either everything goes or nothing goes.