Healthcare around the world The Latest PBS Frontline documentary (available online) on Healthcare all around the world rocks. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/ Makes you wonder if we can have compulsory insurance in Singapore too. Good healthcare but the underinsured: reasons, proposed solutions, doubts and a suggestion Good healthcare system Singapore has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Reasons commonly given include: (i) large degree of emphasis on the individual (or the individual's employer) to take responsibility of the individual's health care; and (ii) a stable political system. (http://www.watsonwyatt.com/europe/pubs/healthcare/render2.asp?ID=13850) Some of the ‘compulsory’ elements in Go Figure Headline: Train services at Choa Chu Kang station disrupted after man fell unto track Photo Caption: Police remove the body of a man that was killed this morning when he jumped in front of a moving train at Choa Chu Kang MRT station Go figure Self Improvement for others Life is odd. A principal's 'advice' has become a debate about how one should better motivate students. The divisions appear neatly drawn. One might choose between the old school "wake-up" call or the more modern "positive" encouragement. I can imagine dinner tables marked by different schools of thought. Seen this way, the principal's 'advice' is at its worst, old school, and at best, solid Protecting the old As the Singapore Government makes our facilities elderly friendly in light of our greying population, perhaps it is time to institute better legal protection for the elderly. The elderly in general are more vulnerable to scams. In North America, statistics and anecdotal evidence point this to fact. http://money.aol.com/bankrate/general/canvas3/_a/top-scams-targeting-the-elderly/ A brief note on Article 15(2) Recently I been looking at Article 15(2) of the Consitution and wondered what it is all about. A word of warning, my intepretation here is largely based on a literal reading of Article 15(2). My conclusion from reading Article 15(2) is that the use of public reason in determining public policy is very important. Here it goes: Article 15(2) in essence prevents state taxation for the purposes of a Press Freedom "In India, Singapore and Russia, by contrast, more people favoured stability over press freedom. In those countries, around 48% of respondents supported controls over the press to ensure peace and stability. Around 40% expressed the view that press freedom was more important. People were also asked to rate how free the press and broadcasters were in their country to report the news truthfully Where they find these people Mike Huckabee "As new polls highlight Mike Huckabee’s ascent in the Republican presidential field, he is drawing new scrutiny of his record in Arkansas, particularly his actions in the release of a convicted rapist who went on to murder a woman and his response to a questionnaire in which he said people with AIDS should be quarantined." {link} Rudy Gulliani Ms. Gustitus said: “He said he didn Military Intelligence Apparently, . If you watch Frontline, you know that the evidence against Iran as a terrorist state was quite weak previously. This is the timeline. 2002 was the year the Bush administration coined the term "the axis of evil". This axis of evil theory is I think a simple one. The greatest terrorist threat is when the wrong weapons fall into terrorist hands - because terrorists cells cannot by Lawyer goes missing .... (probably) with 6 million (probably), according to the Straits Times. Another case where there is a breach of trust over the proceeds of a property transaction. Last time these cases were hardly heard of. Lawyers were only allowed to charge a certain rate for property matters. In 2003, these scale fees were cut. There was "liberalisation" of the legal sector. Then the fixed scale FIGHTING TO BUY!!! Ugly Singaporeans? No. This is just ridiculous. But we too have the potential of becoming really really irrational consumers. Imagine: 7 million people. Christmas shopping 2020? Orchard Road? Finally, a New Australian PM Hope he does better. If the USD drop 50 cents, this guy might just win Only Republican who makes sense My mother is right - I should off all energy appliances WHENEVER I leave the room Well, it turns out that for the year 2006 (if the source is right), we have been per capita the fifth most polluting (as in CO2) nation in the world. I am pretty sure it has something to do with Jurong Island and our growth. And Leaf Monkey is one great Singaporean. - Go read his/her whole blog. I am proud of him/her for advocating (and somewhat setting an example) that we may live more ' What is this world coming to? This post is potentially PG. So be warned, and ask your parents to read first. Mr Stewart was caught in the act with his bicycle by cleaners in his bedroom at the Aberley House Hostel in Ayr. Gail Davidson, prosecuting, told Ayr Sheriff Court: "They knocked on the door several times and there was no reply. "They used a master key to unlock the door and they then observed the accused wearing Random Talks about Inflation I am not an Economist and really know nuts about the subject. But I am getting worried about what I "think" will happen in Singapore. Recently a Minister said that increase in CPI does not mean increase costs of living. Singapore's inflation has always been rather low. Due to cheap products in China, we have been all rather lucky. Considering how commodity prices were hitting 11 year high (wheat) An Eventual Gambling Problem : Insights from Genting I read the Time Magazine article “Asia Growing Gambling Addiction” [1] with a heavy heart. I find Casino seriously distasteful because it is mere exploitation of the irrational, the superstitious and usually, the uneducated. This might be considered racist, but when it comes to gambling, the average Asian cannot count. Don’t think. And frankly, stupid. If you have been to Genting, you know what Eavesdropping : Sex and Abstinence I was momentarily surprised when the conversation turned to sex. After potential for eavesdropping on discussions about sex was not that common, especially while drinking coffee at Coffee Bean. These two young girls (one looks 19, the other looks 17) were initially talking about relationships {and here note inaccuracies of memory, poor hearing and paraphrasing}. The older looking one said; “We Taxi Touting : Greed and Naivety Enforcement but is the underlying problem resolved? I have read various lamentations by online folks "whacking" taxi drivers for touting. The result - mainstream media picked it up and it is now a serious issue. Frankly, I don't know what these people are angry about. The penalties are already very harsh - with loss of income and livelihood for very long periods. But yet taxi drivers are still Random thoughts on the usual things 377A outcome I have heard that two of my friends who are gays will like to leave Singapore if they can. At least one of them is a very nice person and I hate that he might feel this way.,etc. These two gays friends could well be representative of how Singaporean gays in general feel (not sure about that). Some of those who like to leave will eventually do so. The inability to pursue one's Of Oranges and Milk and Worms What if Sodomy was Oranges and 'Normal Sex' was Milk? In Country Durian, a group of concerned citizens have asked that for a repeal of section 881B. Section 881B Whether in a private or public place, a Male person shall not drink of orange juice, with another Male person. A loud outcry ensued and the nation is divided. Members of the Vanilla camp have argued that drinking of orange juices Just another day Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind, Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves, The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach, Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow. Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, Let me TED: Rev. Tom Honey I almost entirely agree with him. Respect Differences: Some thoughts on the Keep "377A" movement For many of us, sexual orientation is an important component of our personal identity. Hence, section 377A not only disregards but in effect, prohibits and demeans one’s key aspect of personal identity. It does so by criminalizing consenting acts in private on the basis of sexuality.  Today, this oppression continues because of majority disapproval. As the MHA Summary of the Key amendment to the For my own records The Future is Drying Up Consumer Credit Outstanding in the US Rising Food Prices: The Agonies of Agflation http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/seminars/2004/mussa/pdf/aliber.pdf A response to "a quiet contemplation" a paragraph contemplated The often-invoked Hobbesian basis why we protect race and religion from dangerous speech is that we as society will suffer terribly if we do not do so. There shall be riots, it is said. Society will be lost. It shall crumble. This can be seen, some in power say, in our historical account. Hobbes had said it simply enough. Without these laws there will be “Bellum omnium First World : A good article and some thoughts on social control Bernard wrote in an excellent article entitled: Further than Closer to a First World Nation The immediate solution that any law-abiding Singaporean would do is to call the police and find out who did it, and possibly charge the person who did it with a sedition law. Yes, the law is able to handle this efficiently, but it does not solve the underlying Hijacking the Debate? Are Middle Class Concerns now at Forefront of Compulsory Annuities In a strange twist in the compulsory annuities debate, protestors have attempted to compel the state to perform better in terms of CPF returns. If it (the proposed compulsory purchase of annuities) is, as some critics might allege, a draconian encroachment on their compulsory savings, then what the so called critics are asking For my own records From Business Times Published October 5, 2007 MM Lee: Stagflation can still make comeback He cautions against too much euphoria in the current state of the economy By CHUANG PECK MING Noting that inflation is already up, he said: 'And because inflation is high, there is little room for the US Federal Reserve to further lower interest rates without risking higher inflation. And inflation will Free Burma