I reject your reality, and will substitute my own!

Canadians life expectancy is 80 years, obviously criminals are 40 years

2008-12-12T06:57:00.002-07:00

Did Canadian life expectancy all of a sudden drop dramatically to worse than it was during the caveman days? I thought Canadian life expectancy was supposed to be around 80 years or so. Perhaps it is not the actual people that dont have the life expectancy but more the type of life that you live that have the life expectancy.

Perhaps it is this. I live a healthy and free life out of prison and I could live 80 years. If I break the law by doing drugs, rumbling in a gang, buying a gun and participate in gang wars and drive by shootings then suddenly my life expectancy drops down to perhaps 20-30 years of age? Figure either I get shot on the street, OD on the drugs or I go to prison and end up getting knifed by some guy named Bubba cause I refused to spoon with him after dark. Either which way, suddenly my life expectacy drops from 80 years of age to 30 years of age.

My wondering for the day is if that is the case, then how come when the courts decide 'life imprisonment' they are looking at the life span of a criminal and not the life span of a healthy law abiding citizen? I was reading in a news paper article today (http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20081211/creba_sentencing_081208/20081211?hub=Toronto) that the crown in the Jane Creba case (the one back in 2005 on Boxing Day where a group went on a shooting spree killing 15 year old Jane Creba and wounding 6 others) are going to seek an adult sentence for the youth that was involved. Not gonna go on a rant about the youth justice act and how you cant name the little welt on society but anyways. I was reading the first line that read "If J.S.R. is sentenced as an adult, he will get life in prison for the murder conviction..." and I was over joyed thinking, "great, lock up this kid for 40-50 years and teach him a lesson and send a message to the other youths in Canada that you can't just go on a shooting spree without consequences". It was the remainder of that sentence that had me re-reading it three times to make sure that I got it right "..with no parole eligibility for seven years." 7 years???? life imprisonment and he could get paroled in 7 years? what the heck is 'life' if you are going to be out on the streets in 7 years?

I know we are to treat people with respect and dignity and give them a chance to rehabilitate and come into society a new person with remorse and repentance...but 7 years????? You break the law at 20 so severly that you get a life sentence, you are going to live for 60 more years (according to statistics), that means even if you were to serve at least 1/3 of your present time in jail you would be in prison for at least 20 years before you can be released. That only leads me to believe that the Canadian justice system thinks that criminals have the life span of 30-40 years. On that case, a 20 year old only has 10-20 years to live in jail on a life sentence, so parole after 1/3 of their time is 3 (for the 10 years) or 7 (for the 20 years) years only. So, I guess this would suggest that the Canadian justice system thinks that criminals only live to 40 years of age.

I hope that this whole coalition and political over throwing ends soon, the Conservatives stay in power and smarten up and strike this whole parole based on a criminals life span and base it on the life span of a normal human being, since it is the normal ones that the criminals seem to like robbing, raping and killing.

relaxed? this is relaxed???

2008-09-01T21:12:00.003-06:00

Ok, I had to laugh. Honestly I did. I mean, I read this article online in the news in Singapore:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/373068/1/.html

New rules governing Speakers' Corner commence

I read this part of the article which read "The initiative comes as the Singapore government seeks to open up the space for political engagement in the country." Now, when I read this I figured "WOW, they are relaxing the rules, allowing people to speak their mind and demonstrate without a permit. First they allow for buying and chewing gum (as long as you have a doctors prescription and it is nicorette gum) and now free speech? wow!". Also people I know in Singapore were saying that there is some fear in that with the new relaxed rules that the park will turn into a nesting ground for chaos and disention and that perhaps the park will be held hostage by unruly type people like what is happening in Thailand at the moment.

At the end of the article I read that if you want to read more information about the 'new rules at Speakers Corner' you should go to their website at www.nparks.gov.sg. So, being the curious little Canuck that I am, I thought I would check out these new rules. I was surprised to discover that you have to still register to speak in Speakers Corner. So I went to the registry section, saw that I had to fill in name, NRIC number and all the particulars of what I am going to do (either a speech, performance or demonstration) and then there was a part that said I agree to the terms and conditions. So I clicked on that and was sent to the new rules (at least I think they are the new rules since there are a lot of stipulations). So there are 9 rules only. Let me give you a summary of them now:

1) your event is to be carried out in Speakers Corner at the commissioners permission. They can stop the event at anytime they feel there is a breach in the rules, conduct or feel that the event .."may endanger or cause discomfort or inconvenience to other park users and/or the general public."

Sounds fair. After all, you say you are going to speak about the plight of the common library book of today and you start juggling chain saws why you talk, definitly want to stop that from happening.

2) You have to obey the Parks and Trees Act (Cap. 216) and the Parks and Trees Regulations (Cap. 216, Rg 1).

Couldnt really find anything here but am assuming it is something like "you shall not dig up any trees; you shall not plant any trees; you shall not smoke, urinate, deface or deficate on any trees" and something in that nature. Also probably keep the peace, be of good behavior and dont streak around the park nude.

3) just dont destroy the park, hold your event during the time stated in your permission form and be respectful.

Hey, this isnt a rule, it is just plain good old common sense. Dont destroy public property, dont use a 100,000,000 watt sound system to speak but only a small hand held device, and if you break it you bought it sort of attitude.

4) Approved person takes responsibility for all liabilities that may happen during the performance.

Again, common sense. No company wants to take responsibility for the people there. You cant even get a parkade these days to take responsibilty for watching your car, that you pay to park there, and stop it from getting broken into.

5) you are exempted from the Public Entertainments And Meetings Act (Cap. 257) ('PEMA') only if you obey the rules set in 6-9 in relation to your event.

NOW it gets interesting

6) PUBLIC SPEAKING excempt from the rules if you are approved by the commissioner, you dont talk about religion or about something that may cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility, you speak in any of the 4 official languages (or related dialect) and can not display anything of lewd, offensive or violent media.

Yeah, that sure gives a lot of leeway here huh? you can speak freely, just have to be approved before you speak. Good thing we dont have this in Canada since we only have the two official languages of English and French. If this was the case, no German, Italian, Chinese, Polish or even the aboriginals in Canada could protest or speak in public. As for feelings of hatred and ill-will, I thought that is what public speaking is for. YOu speak, people listen and if they like it they stay if they dont they leave. You mean I cant speak on abortion cause someone might have feelings of hatred or ill will against me for my opinion?

7) PERFOMANCE OR EXHIBITION Only Singapore citizens and Permanant Residents can hold a performance or exhibition, everyone in the performance/exhibition obeys the approval of the commissioner, organizer or agent is present at all times, does not deal directly or indirectly with any religious topics, does not have any topic that may cause feelings of enmity, hatred, ill-will or hostility between different racial or religious groups in Singapore and the usual no lewd or crude media displayed.

I guess these make sense. Dont want any foreigners coming in and speaking in Singapore. I am sure all places are like that. I can also see why the organizer or agent is there at all times. Have to have someone around to arrest and blame if the performance turns ugly. Definitly dont want the performance to be insulting to a racial group. I mean, I could just imagine the hell that would break lose here in Canada if a group put on a performance extolling good points on Hitler and that he had a good mission and was just misunderstood.

8) DEMONSTRATIONS all Singaporean participants, approved by the commissioner, organizer present at all times, does not deal direct or indirectly with religious matter and will not cause ill will and such and such with other racial groups in Singapore, no lewd and crude media displayed before, during or after the demonstration.

Yeah, same stuff from the previous ones. Nothing really new here huh?

9) Police permit is to be obtained if a PR or foreigner will be participating in any of these events.

Yep, gotta watch us foreigners. Nasty little devil we are. Our only mission in life is to get in and speak evil and nasty words to the good people of Singapore. RIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHTTTTT

So those are the terms and conditions. Now, all I really want to know is, if these are the relaxed rules that are now in effect, how anal were they before? I mean, damn! What can you honestly and truly say in Speakers Corner? Supposedly a guy protested that the Singapore gov't encourages people to do business abroad but gives no help when trouble is met. Ok, fairly safe since I dont see anyone really having ill will on that topic. The only feeling you might get out of that demonstration is "stop being a whiner..you tried, you failed, what do you expect the govt to do about it? they wont even help with the rising cost of fuel, electricty and health care and you want them to bail you out of your job venture?"

I also noticed something strangely odd. I may be reading the whole thing wrong and all but if the new rules are to allow for people to talk more freely, then why is it you still need approval? You are excempt from asking for permission to speak but only if you get the approval and permission from the commissioner. Sooooo, I have the freedom to speak freely as long as I have been granted permission to speak? In what MM Lee world does that makes sense?

I think I can honestly say to my friends in Singapore that are worried that the park is going to become a hot spot for disent and become a hot bed of chaos in Singapore...relax. With relaxed rules like this now in effect, you are a long long way from having an open forum for open political discussion and demonstrations.

go green, ride the bus, cause it is too costly to drive

2008-09-01T20:58:00.002-06:00

I think the gov't has to learn one little thing when it comes to being greener. If you want people to consider taking pubic transport, now is the time. Since prices are going through the roof on gas people might now start considering being greener and taking public transport. I like how people start considering using public transport not for the good of the Earth or help with the world around them but because it hurts their pocket book to drive a car. Granted, the gas guzzlers on the road these days with the trucks, SUVs and all dont help either.

What I dont get is that now that there is incentive to ride the transport, why doesnt the gov't really push money into that area to help people consider riding the transport. Granted it probably wont help with lowering the gas prices since the less people buy the more the prices will have to go up to meet costs and profits and all.

Unless of course the gov't really has no incentive to help people ride the bus or LRT. After all, the more people ride those services, the less money goes into the purchase of gas, the less money there is for taxes to the gov't cofers on the gas sold, the less big companies there are to give 'campaign contributions' to help get certain people elected. So, perhaps riding the bus and LRT is good for the Earth and people living here but bad for the gov't and politicians. Who wants to bite the hand that feeds them, or at least keeps them in power huh? Pity we cant get some eggheads now to help develope that electric car or cars that run on water or some other type of fuel that wont destroy the ozone layer.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080901/public_transit_080901/20080901?hub=Canada

Lack of public transit hurting Canadian consumers
Updated Mon. Sep. 1 2008 2:52 PM ET

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Recent record high prices at the gas pumps have consumers looking at public transit as an affordable alternative to driving their own vehicles.

A survey put out by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Canadian Urban Transit Association reports consumers want to take public transit, but lack of buses and trains plus long waiting times are acting as a deterrent.

More than 40 per cent of those involved in the survey said they would seriously consider taking local transit if gas prices continue to rise.

The survey, released Monday, compiled answers from 1,100 Canadians and responses suggested a large increase in ridership, which could put a strain on an already over-extended system.

The groups in charge of conducting the survey said the federal government must put more money into these systems.

They also suggested the effect of gas prices on consumers will be on the minds of voters in the event of an election this autumn.

I am a molester at least 20 times a day

2008-08-13T08:10:00.004-06:00

Think there might be more to the case that isn't being reported in the news? I mean, does this sound like a case of molestation? 41 year old in a lift with a 15 year old, manuvering a bike and elbow brushes her breast. This is molestation? I have been to Singapore and seen the size of the lifts. You get a bike in there and not matter what you are brushing up against someone.

Granted, it is eerie, it is creepy and it is somewhat uncomfortable to have that happen, but is it worthy of such a high response?

On the other hand, I just wish I knew that Singapore was so tight on the whole brushing and molestation thing. I mean, if all it takes is brushing an elbow up against someones personal area, and I think I should include my butt and groin area here since it is equal to sexuality on a male as the breasts are on a woman, then after having ridden the MRT for 8 months I could have thousands of people charged. I was the victim of at least 10 molestations a day. Also, I am sure that I have been guilty of molesting at least 10-20 people (both men and women alike) a day going to and from work on the MRT. I know what you are saying, 'but the MRT is different'? really? how so? how is it different being crammed into a train with nearly 130 people that is built for perhaps 100 people and being in a lift that is designed for nearly 6 people and you are maneuvering a bike.

Obviously they are not printing the facts that the bike was a tricycle and the man pounced on the poor girl and was fondling her like an octopus. Only way I can think to explain why people would go to such extremes by arresting and charging the man.
Suspected serial molester nabbed
Posted: 14 August 2008 2303 hrs

SINGAPORE : Police have nabbed a 41-year-old man believed to be behind a string of molest cases in the eastern part of Singapore. It was his latest molest attempt, at a housing estate in Tampines on Wednesday, that led to his arrest.

At about 10.45am, the man had followed his 15-year-old victim into a lift and asked her to help him move the bicycle so that the lift door could shut properly. It was then that the girl felt his elbow brush against her breast. She later reported the matter to her parents, who went to the police.

Following investigations, police arrested the suspect at about 2.20pm, and are linking him to a rash of similar cases in housing estates in Tampines, Simei and Pasir Ris. He will be charged on Friday. - CNA/ms

Congratulations Singapore!

2008-07-17T20:58:00.003-06:00

I just happened to come across an article online about Singapore and the up coming National Day ceremonies. I couldnt believe my eyes when I read the article and had to re-read it twice till I accepted the truth.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen of Singapore, for a limited time and a limited time only, you can be as wild and crazy as us evil and corrupt North Americans and....are you ready for this?...."may be displayed (the Singaporean flag) on clothes and costumes during the period of National Day celebrations. " As well, hold onto your hats Singaporeans, "..may also be flown on private and commercial vehicles alike during this time. Decals, stickers, posters or other visual images of the flag may also be displayed freely. "

Now, before you start thinking that Singapore has become open minded and *gasp* free, rest assured that this madness is again only for a limited time of July 1st to September 30th. So, break out those flags Singaporeans. Show your patriotic love and dedication by taking advantage of your leaders generosity and love by allowing you to display your flag, the symbol of your own country that most nations have had access and freedom to for centuries, out in the open without fear of punishment or fines.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/361004/1/.html

Canadian gov'ts taking a lesson from the PAP

2008-07-02T20:30:00.001-06:00

Looks like the Canadian Liberal government is taking a page from the PAP/Lee government rule book. When you want to win, don't just beat the competition in a political fair fight, but ham string them and take them from the whole race all together. I am impressed that the Liberals are taking the whole sueing into bankruptcy one step farther than the Lee's ever did. Instead of just sueing one of the political people (Chee for example), the Canadian Prime Minister goes for the whole darn political party! Also, instead of going for a pitance amount like $500,000 or something, the Liberals wants $3.5 million! I guess when you are sueing a whole party you gotta up the ante and all.

I think the only problem with taking the PAP strategy is where are the Liberals going to find judges that are scared of the Liberals enough to rule in their favor regardless of the evidence. After all, with the PAP being in power for so long and the 'bare/brass knuckles' attitude that the PAP/Lee takes to government and justice, who is to say that if the judge rules against the PAP that they might not find their career in jeapordy.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080702/harper_liberals_080702/20080702?hub=Canada

Harper adds $1 million to lawsuit against Liberals
Updated Wed. Jul. 2 2008 8:28 PM ET

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper has upped the ante in his $2.5 million defamation suit against the Liberals, claiming an additional $1 million for "misappropriation of personality."

The potential blow to the Liberals' already depleted coffers came to light Wednesday as part of the 2007 annual financial statements filed by all federal political parties with Elections Canada.

The statements underscore just how little the Grits can afford to lose such a costly lawsuit: Harper's Conservatives vacuumed up donations last year at almost four times the rate of the cash-strapped Liberals, drawing on a pool of donors almost five times larger.

Harper launched his $2.5-million lawsuit against the Liberal party last March, after Grit officials refused to apologize for accusations that the prime minister knew about a "Conservative bribery" attempt in the Cadman affair.

The accusations, posted on the Liberal website, stemmed from a book on the late independent MP Chuck Cadman. Author Tom Zytaruk alleged that two Conservative officials offered Cadman, who was dying of cancer, a $1-million life insurance policy if he agreed to vote with the Tories in a crucial 2005 confidence vote.

Sources say Conservative and Liberal officials met in the spring to discuss a possible out-of-court settlement. But negotiations broke down and shortly thereafter, on June 4, Harper added another $1-million claim to the suit.

According to the Liberal financial return, Harper is claiming the additional damages for "misappropriation of personality and injunctive relief." The Liberal party "intends to fully defend this claim."

Conservative party spokesman Ryan Sparrow confirmed the additional claim but declined further comment.

The Tories have also gone to court seeking an injunction to prevent the Liberals from using what they claim is a "doctored" audio tape, recorded by Zytaruk. On it, Harper appears to acknowledge knowing about "an offer" made to Cadman "to replace financial considerations he might lose due to an election."

Harper has called the Liberals' bribery accusations "despicable" and has predicted the party will "come to regret engaging in this illegal and untruthful behaviour."

The Liberals can ill-afford to lose in court. According to the 2007 financial returns, the party raised just less than $4.5 million last year from 23,442 donors -- miles behind the Tories and just marginally ahead of the NDP, traditionally the poor cousin of the three main national parties.

The Conservatives were awash in cash, raking in almost $17 million from 107,492 donors.

The NDP pulled in almost $4 million from 23,303 contributors and the Bloc Quebecois, which runs only in Quebec, raised $429,971 from 4,486 donors.

The detailed returns show the Tories are an incredibly efficient fundraising machine adept at the art of getting regular, small amounts from thousands of donors. The party spent only $41,000 on fundraising in 2007, meaning it spent less than a penny for every dollar it raised.

"We're a big, member-driven party," said Sparrow.

"People respond to strong leadership and clear ideas."

All that cash enabled the Conservatives to spend $4.2 million on advertising last year -- almost all of it on televised ads attacking Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.

By contrast, the Liberals spent over $600,000 on fundraising -- about 13 cents for every dollar they raised-and could afford to spend only $543,000 on advertising.

Liberal spokesman Daniel Lauzon acknowledged that 2007 was a "challenging year" for the party. It is still struggling to adapt to the ban on corporate donations and restrictions on individual contributions, imposed in 2004 and tightened further by the Tories in 2007.

But Lauzon said Liberals are making the "transition" and starting to show results. As proof, he pointed out that Liberal donations during the first quarter of 2008 were 60 per cent higher than the same period last year, although the Tories still managed to rake in five times more.

Another case of "WTF!??!?!?!?!"

2008-06-18T20:11:00.002-06:00

Just read this article. Apparently a teaching assistant went to a psychic, was asked if she worked with a girl with a name that starts with a 'V' and then said that she was being sexually abused by a man between the age of 23 and 26. What is the worst part of this stupid little thing? The teacher reported it and an investigation happened. Why?

"Under the Child and Family Services Act, anyone who works with children and has reasonable grounds to suspect a youngster is being harmed must report it immediately - and the CAS (Children's Aid Society) is obligated to follow up. "

Now, what exactly here is 'reasonable grounds'? Granted they did say that "..a list of behaviours exhibited by her daughter, which taken together with the report from the psychic, formed a theory of abuse. " How exactly does that work? I mean, there are a bunch of behaviors and they are not concerned in the least but when a psychic says "yes, I feel the vibe of abuse" all of a sudden those behaviors now have meaning? Who exactly is more of a whack job here, the teacher assistant for being a complete naive baboon for believing a psychic or the CAS for actually looking into it?

Little things I learned when going to psychology class (after all, this is what the 'theory' is based on, psychology). In my first month of intro psych I had diagnosed my room mate with at least 8 different mental disorders. In the 2nd month I was determined that I had at least 20 psychiatric problems. Why? cause I read what it was an looked for the symptoms.

This is a case of some naive idiots reading about something and looking for the symptoms. The mother or this teacher should not only get an apology from the school board, teacher assistant and CAS but the teacher assistant should be punished for causing a false alarm. I mean, if I went to the police and said "A psychic told me that my room mate has been captured and murdered and he hasnt been home for 2 days therefore it must be so" I think I would be arrested for starting a police inquiry and a false murder claim. Chances are the room mate just went out on a drinking binge with friends and is crashing with a hang over and the only murder that happened was the death of a few thousand of his brain cells.

As well, the CAS should take a look into their policy of '..obligated to start an investigation'. They should add in "..obligated to start an investigation if there is sufficient evidence." If you blindly do something (obligated investigations or mandatory punishments) you create a black and white rule for an incredibly grey world. Common sense, thought, deduction and just plain out simple reason has to take precident over a simple case of black and white.

There are so many more attacks to make on these idiots but I think you will make up your own mind. There will be people saying "yeah, they are complete idiots" and there are others that will say "Oh the psychic is probably correct. I mean, I know of a friend who had a sister that had a psychic say....".

Last note, if psychics are real, why dont they call you up and tell you things or walk to the police and say "this is the description here are the people these are the crimes, now go and find the evidence and put them behind bars"? Instead you have to go to them and answer questions like "tell me do you live in Canada? perhaps Alberta? Edmonton?" and narrow it down to something more pin pointed?

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080618/psychic_abuse_080618/20080618?hub=Canada

"what do you mean there was a cell phone beside me? didnt see a thing, lah"

2008-06-16T23:35:00.003-06:00

Life span of a cell phone left unattended in Singapore: 30 seconds.

Life span of an umbrella left unattended in Singapore: 20 minutes.

Why is it in the country with the lowest crime rate per capita things go missing so often and people seem to have the prison mentality of witnessing things gone missing or thefts. Why is it unless you actually see them with the item in their hand, or the cell phone is ringing in their pockets, when you are confronting them with whether or not they have the item will Singaporeans fess up and give things back? Why is it when I ask about Singaporeans that have taken seats from others on the MRT, if they would take an unattended handphone (and not return it to the owner) and if they would scream out bloody murder if the waitress charged them twice for a drink but sneak out without a peep if they saw that the waitress forgot to charge them for a main course, Singaporeans always know of people that have stolen seats, hand phones or dinners. Yet when I ask for the good stories I hear scattered stories like "once, when I was in primary school, I gave back a coin that one of my class mates had dropped." but nothing for the present after the age of 7.

Does anyone out there have ANY stories of Singaporeans that actually return a cell phone or report a mistake in a bill that is in their favor? My wife accusses me of being 'too honest' cause I will actually return something that does not belong to me. No wonder I am leaving the safest country in the world with the lowest crime rate per capita to return to the 2nd largest country in the world with drive by shootings and muggings reported in the news every day. I am just too honest for Singapore, but seem to be just right for Canada.

apologies may help heal wounds

2008-06-12T11:00:00.003-06:00

Harper apologizes for residential school abuse

This was the headline that I read in the news today. Granted, I have mixed feelings and emotions about this bit of Canadian history. Yes, what happened in the past was, and still is, a horrible black spot on our past and it is good that things are being done to smooth things over. While an apology does not make the history go away, it does help the heart heal slowly.

I do find it somewhat insulting when the natives (or First Nations) say "yes, an apology is nice, now give me my $10,000 plus 'affirmative action', totally free education AND subsidized housing to help ease the pain of my grandparents and me not learning the drum dance of my ancient elders, which I really have no use for in todays society". Though it is nice that the Conservative Government has stepped up to take leader responsibility for the horrible misjudgement there.

Now for the other interesting thing that I have come to find and am scratching my head over. I did a quick look at the past history of Canadian Elections back to 1867 to see who is more responsible for the problems of Canadian history. Granted, you could say "but the silencing of the Nation people happened when the first white man stepped foot on this great land of ours" and I would say "yes, that is true...and they were BRITISH/FRENCH. After 1867, we all became CANADIANS." Figure if Britian was our 'mother' and France was our 'father' then we are the second born 'child' of the two (First born being the USA, and we all know that the first born is always screwed up and the second born is better cause we learn from the stupid mistakes of the first born). Punishing the children for the sins of the parents would be like putting the father in jail for murder and then when the father dies in prison you put the children on trial and put them in prison to punish them for the crimes done. So, the Conservative gov't, that was in power for maybe 14 of the 38 times, has now said an apology, what do you think the odds of the Liberals, being in power for the other times, are going to step up to the plate (if they get back into power) and apologize again for their actions during this time? None. Why? cause unlike some countries, the political party is not the gov't but the gov't is the people which makes up both sides of the gov't.

When something goes wrong, you dont say "It was us, the Conservatives that did that, but the Liberals didnt". No, it is the Canadian Gov't that screwed up. If something goes right, then they try to say "yes the Liberals did that for you" but we all know that in the end you put the credit to the whole gov't of both Leader and Opposition of the gov't.

Anyways, it is a good thing that the apology was given and I hope that Canada can use this as a stepping stone to moving forward and we can stop the 'you destroyed my heritage, now I am at a loss of who I am....but, $1,000/month, plus not having to pay GST and a new ski-doo every year will help to ease the pain for starters' and we can say "we are Canadian. We are a joint people. If he is an alcoholic it is cause he is an alcoholic not cause anyone made him that way. If I am a failure, I am the failure, no one else made me that way" and we can possibly move forward to making Canada the great nation that it is.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080610/native_apology_080611/20080611?hub=Canada

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election_results_since_1867

Why I dont give to charity, Singapore style

2008-04-20T06:20:00.001-06:00

Long ago, while I was living in Canada, I used to give to the poor on the street. A person would come up to ask for change and I would give them money in relation to how badly of alcohol they smelt. If they were really reeking, then a dollar; if there was a hint, I would take them to the nearest soup/sandwich place and buy them a meal; and if there wasnt a hint of alcohol on them but simply down on their luck, I would give $5 or so. I would constantly buy things from people. I had a huge selection of those little tiny key chains and nicknacks that the deaf people in the food courts would sell ("I am deaf, please pay $5 for this trinket. Thank you" sort of deal). I mean, back then I was so naive, so foolish, so stupid. I mean, I had no clue that what I was doing was actually MAKING them the way that they were. Luckily I came to Singapore and learned from the masters.

At first, while in Canada, I equated my helping out the poor and the homeless in relation to how the gov't helps out the poor and the homeless. They have shelters, drug abuse rehab centres, soup kitchens, churches open their hall doors on the winter nights for the homeless people to sleep, the Salvation Army collects clothes and items to sell for cheap and then use that money to help out charity organizations. All of these are government funded and supported as well as supported by charity donations from other people. So I figure if the government is helping out the people then I, a lowly person, should be able to help out in some small way as well.

However, look at what problems I have been contributing to. I see a poor man on the street, I give him $2 out of charity and he has no incentive to try to better himself to get a job and support himself. I have taken away that fear of death that drives all people to try to do something with their lives. The PAP sees this and constantly says that if you have a social welfare system like welfare, unemployment insurance and other safety nets you are basically insulting the person and taking away their basic drive to do something with their lives. Why study hard and get a high paying job to buy many things when you can just sit back, be unemployed and collect free money from the gov't? Result? There are so many unemployed and lazy people in Canada but all of Singapore (minus the few obviously too lazy people on the streets. I mean, just cause you lost a leg or are blind doesnt mean that you cant do work. Obviously, based on gov't thought, they are just lazy) are busy working and employed.

So now when I go out on the street and get jumped by school kids on Saturday pushing cans in my face, or see the old blind person on the street selling tissues or the like, I do what the PAP is telling us to do 'ignore them, tell them to get a real job and move on with your life'. So far, I seem to be blending in to the society quite well and if it wasn't for this damn white skin and blue eyes, I probably could be mistaken for a Singaporean.

Why Canadians are stupid when traveling

2008-04-05T19:51:00.003-06:00

This only goes to show how relaxed Canadians have become. We live in a country of legal actions, due process and a justice system that (while bogged down) often tries to find adequate justice (though sentencing needs to be adjusted somewhat). So when we travel to other countries, we forget that some countries are more barbaric than ours.

Remember, when touring primative and barbaric cultures/countries, be sure to obey their laws. When being attacked by a mob of people over possibly insulting a woman, be sure to die, or take the beatings in the mob, do NOT fight back or else you will be beaten and killed.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080405/cdn_teen_080405/20080405?hub=Canada

Saudi court sentences Canadian teen to year in jail
Updated Sat. Apr. 5 2008 5:13 PM ET

The Canadian Press

MONTREAL -- A Canadian teen charged in Saudi Arabia after a man died in a schoolyard rumble has been sentenced to one year in prison and 200 lashes, a family friend said Saturday.

Sultan Kohail, 17, was read his sentence before a Saudi youth court, Mahmoud Al-Ken said in an interview.

"Definitely it's a lot better than the death sentence that they were afraid of having,'' Al-Ken said.

Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty.

Kohail's brother, Mohamed, has already been convicted of the same charges and was sentenced last month to death by public beheading.

The brothers maintain their innocence and have both launched appeals.

Al-Ken said Sultan's lighter sentence was handed down by a different judge who permitted "vigorous'' cross-examination of the prosecution's witnesses, a key component he said Mohamed did not have in his case.

"We hope that this due process will be applied also in the appeal of Mohamed's (sentence),'' he said.

The Kohail family has argued Mohamed didn't get a fair trial. It says the 10 hearings in his case totalled 90 minutes and no witnesses were heard.

Sultan was released on bail in July 2007 and is free until his appeal is heard in about six weeks, Al-Ken said. He could not provide details on the lashes.

Mohamed, meanwhile, sits in a Jidda prison.

Sultan, Mohamed and a friend were detained in January 2007 after a schoolyard brawl left one man dead.

The Kohail brothers and Muhanna Masoud were involved in a fight that broke out after Sultan was accused of insulting a girl.

According to the account of the Kohail brothers, they scrapped with about 15 of the girl's male relatives and friends. Some were allegedly armed with clubs and knives.

Munzer Haraki, 19, a cousin of the girl who was supposedly insulted, died of internal injuries in the melee.

The Kohail family believes the prosecution failed to bring those responsible for the rumble to justice, Al-Ken said.

"Those who deliberately started the attack on the Kohails and their friend must be held accountable for their actions,'' he said.

Masoud, a Jordanian national, was also sentenced to death.

The Canadian government has said it will seek clemency for Mohamed Kohail after a directive from Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Ron Davidson, Canada's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, met with the Kohail family last week. He was also to meet with officials of the Saudi justice ministry to press for a fair process.

The brothers, both of Palestinian origin, have been Canadian citizens since 2005.

Ali Kohail, the brothers' father, has said the family had only temporarily relocated from a Montreal suburb to Saudi Arabia to attend a relative's wedding.

It will work out in the end...

2008-03-22T09:46:00.002-06:00

If you love someone and you have the power, beyond any doubt, to know that the thing they are going to do will fail and they will find themselves hurt/dead, would you let them do it because if you love someone you should let them make their own choices?

I was thinking the other day, because of it being Good Friday and all, about the god of the Catholic religion since I am a born Catholic but atheist at the moment (and have been since I reached that tender age in life...the age of reason and common sense). I got to thinking about life in the Catholic/Christian eyes and all and if 'evil' will win or if 'good' will win in the end battle. Here is my thinking and rational.

People say that God loves people so much that he made them in his own image, gave them the ability to reason and make their own decisions for good or bad and, if they follow the good path, will be seated at his right hand to live in blissful love and peace for all eternity and if they follow the bad path, like any loving father, will throw you down into a pit of fiery hell to be punished and tortured for all eternity (but he still loves you).

However, they say that God is all knowing and all seeing, not just of the past and present but also of the future. I mean, how can you have someone that is all knowing of the past and present and not the future? If you know about the present then you knew about it coming up, didnt you? I mean, if you know all of the present, you know that it has to be happening almost before it happens or else it is the past, and if you are all knowing about the past, then that is really easy since everyone with enough time can read all the papers and memorize what happened if it is available to us. I have pulled that trick before with friends about knowing of the present when someone says "wow, did you hear this?" and I just have to say "of course...old news" even though I have no clue what they are talking about. So, bottom line to this thought is God is omnipotent as well as omnipresent all over the world/galaxy/universe and however much space you want to give him.

So he knows the end of the whole world turn around and all. After all, he knows all past, present and future. Now we add in the part about him loving people to the point of all that he has done for them. If you love someone and you know that what they are going to do is going to kill them, you don't let them go through with it. Hurt them, possibly since hurting heals and you move on with your life and you learn but kill them? You see your daughter looking down the barrel of a shotgun and going for the trigger, you don't go "eh..she will learn". You take the gun away, scold the child and spank her (Hurt her) for her to learn the lesson. You see your son having a smoke with friends and hanging out with bad influences, you scold him, counsel him, try to make him see the error of his ways and make his own decisions not to smoke or hang out with bad influences. God sees us messing with bad influences, he points out the bible, gives us some help through prophets and messengers to teach us the error of our ways (before casting us to the pit of fire and hellish torment).

So, if God knows that we are going to die and that 'evil' will win, why isnt he stepping in and helping out? He sees us looking down the shotgun barrel, sees us going for the trigger, and yet he sits back and goes "eh, they will learn" and we blow our heads off? not exactly a loving father would you say? If that happened in real life that father would be up on charges of neglect and if there are any other children of his still alive they would be taken away by social services instantly. So, the only possible outcome to this line of reasoning is that obviously we are going to have our ups and downs in the world but in the end, if there really is a God that does love us, all things will work out in the end for the better because we are not being told to stop. If things are not going to work out and we are all going to die a horrible horrible death and our souls, regardless of good or bad, are going to be tormented for all eternity, then that just proves that there is no god.

Flawed logic? Yeah, for the die hard believers out there, let me guess the answer...take it all on faith and God will show you the true way....

my Engrish good, lah!

2008-02-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

When the trishaw uncle was being abused by the 3 caucasian men on youtube I had to side a bit with the Uncle on how idiot those visitors were. Though, I had to place some wondering about a country that makes their elders work so late into their golden years with no real welfare or social net and yet the politicians make $2 million dollar salaries with a country bank account in the billions; but that is another ranting.

However, when I read how a former boyband member Arroy Shen made fun of how horribly the Singaporean people speak English, I really can not say anything except "DAMN RIGHT THEY DO!" I mean, not ALL Singaporeans speak horrible English, but I would say that a fair percentage of them do. Though perhaps it is a simple case of if they sit back and think to themselves "I must speak proper English" then, with much mental dexterity, they can string together a "yes, I can come to your place on Tuesday to clean" but if they just relax it comes out in a more "can can clean Tuesday" and that is it. So many times I have gone to a Subway outlet to order a sandwich and had to play around with "dosted?" in my head before finally coming to the conclusion that he was asking if I wanted it "toasted", or how I hear about someones 'brudda' that is older than them and realize that they are talking about their 'brother'.

I think the good thing about the English language that the Singaporean (as well as all other people on the planet) enjoy is how malible and understandable it is. I have been trying to learn Mandarin and when I pronounce a word and I don't hit the exact pronunciation just right (even though it sounds in my head exactly like they are saying it) they freak out and make me repeat it again and again. It is almost like they have no word that is close to what I am saying and if it is not perfect then I have to keep practicing. However, when they say "pregran" or "dosted" or "brudda" and I correct them with "PREGnant" or "TOASTed" or "broTHER" they wave their hand and go "my English good, lah! Stop being so Ang Moh!", at which point I calmly have to remind myself that I am the visitor and they are the people living here and how many times I have heard people tell immigrants to Canada that "you are in Canada now, speak English!" and this is their way of saying "You are in Singapore now, speak SINGLISH!"

What gets me is that the two people bowed down to the public pressure and actually apologized for their comments. Ok, obviously they are trying to live off the popularity of the people, and if the people hate you, then you make no money. Just wish that they would have stuck to their words and did not apologize. Come on people, when it comes to sticking to your words, can can?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYuIg7Tnc7g (for those that speak the language, no translations sorry)

Sorry, my English isn't good either
By Liew Hanqing

February 09, 2008

TWO of the Taiwanese who made fun of Singaporean English on a TV programme have apologised.

Tne New Paper, 5 Feb
In an entry on his blog on Tuesday, former boyband member Arroy Shen apologised for remarks he made on the 28 Jan episode of the variety programme Mr Con and Ms Csi, about the way Singaporeans speak English.

Addressing Singaporeans in general, Arroy wrote in Mandarin: 'I may have gone overboard with my comments and offended many people.

'My English isn't good, and I will continue working hard to improve.

'I have been blunt and rude - I'm really sorry.'

He ended the entry by wishing everybody a happy Chinese New Year.

Xu Wei, an English teacher who was featured on the same episode, apologised on her blog the next day.

She wrote: 'I do apologise... if that unconsciously-spoken bad joke really irritated you.

'I meant to make fun of my own bad hearing... But I think on account of the length of the programme, they did some editing of what I said and the context was lost. Please forgive my well-meant slip of tongue.'

The apologies came in the wake of an onslaught of angry messages left by Singapore netizens on video-sharing site YouTube and on both the blogs.

Arroy had demonstrated how he thought Singaporeans pronounced words like 'sorry' and 'tissue paper'.

Xu Wei described an encounter with a Singapore immigration officer who asked her if she was pregnant.

She claimed she did not understand the officer because he had kept asking 'pegnan? pegnan?'

Their comments were met with roaring laughter from the show's hosts and other guests.

After a segment of the variety programme was uploaded on YouTube last week, it got more than 25,000 views and 900 comments.

Many netizens called for a formal apology from CTi TV, the Taiwanese cable network which produces the show, as well as the individuals.

Some seem to have graciously accepted the online apologies.

Wrote netizen yuanyuan on Arroy's blog: 'I respect your courage for apologising, and I accept your apology - Happy Chinese New Year.'

Added Pearlc: 'You are a good man who is trying to make up for something which I think is honestly not your fault.

'But it is really awful of the other presenters, especially that so-called English teacher, to comment on Singaporean English when their pronunciation is not as perfect as they think it is.'

And some netizens are still upset.

Wrote Sam: 'These comments affect a country's image. We probably won't be satisfied until we get a public apology from the show, and all who participated in the mockery.'

your paying millions for THIS?!?!?!?!

2008-02-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

I guess this is why I am not a politician or a business man. The whole business world of growing this and shrinking that and all just boggles my little mind. I mean, here is the article from The Straits Times saying that Singapore needs to grow to 5.5 million people. According to wikipedia, the population of Singapore in 2007 was 4.6 million, so that means that Singapore needs to grow an extra 900,000 to 1 million people.

I agree with the ministers logic and theory. I mean, what better way to increase economy and have more money flowing around than to have more people (Especially rich expat/millionaires) living in Singapore spending money on necessities like power, health care, mobile phones, food, CPF investments. All fantastic ideas on how to boost the economy and raise Singapore to high heights of the economic power of the world and be noticed.

Only question I have is, where are you going to house these extra million people that you want to bring in through birth or emigration? At the moment I am amazed that when an HDB flat by the gov't goes up for sale there are usually only 800 units for sale and minutes after the bidding for these places open there are already 5,000 names wanting the place. Now whether that means that there are 5000 people at the age of 30 still living at home with their parents that can not afford the resale flats and have to rely on the gov't subsidy of a $95,000 flat for just walls, floors and ceiling; or whether that means that there are at least 5000 people out there in resale flats already that want to sell their flat at a super high price ($200,000), bank the money, move into the cheaper newer flat ($85,000), fill it with appliances ($15,000) and then put their name into the bidding for a new flat and start the cycle all over again (Old flat sold = $200,000, new flat bought with appliances = $90,000, Profit = $110,000). Over in North America we call this 'house flipping' and it is a very good business if you can work it just right though sort of short changes the middle guy by the house flippers taking advantage of the subsidy and gov't generosity.

I guess this might be one thing that the ministers really dont have to consider. I mean, with a million dollar salary from their part time job as policitians and then their real salary from their full time job, not like they have to worry about space. I am sure that when they go home, sit in their spacious million dollar houses, and walk the quiet neighbourhood of the rich they figure that the whole of Singapore is like this and all are living in granduer and wealth. Figure this is the one downside (of possibly many) of Singapore politics that I am so curious as to why Singaporeans dont do anything about, or at least the opposition parties use as a platform during their very brief few days of election time every 4 years. Why have a country run by the rich for the rich when there are so many poor (or at least struggling) in Singapore. I mean, chances are they dont think of themselves as poor, but if you have 4 generations living in the same house and your grandmother is working at the local McDs or coffee shop to make ends meet, you are below the poverty line; if you are a foreign worker and have 10 people living in a 2 room flat then you are poor; if you are living cheque to cheque hoping that no one falls sick because the hospital bills themselves (even though you have minor cheap insurance) would take your entire live savings, you are poor.

Why doesnt the opposition use the platfrom "citizens of Singapore running for office to make a country for the citizens of Singapore...not for the businesses of Singapore" A country run by the people, of the people, for the people...not a gov't of corporations, for corporations, of corporations.

In the end, no matter what, I am dying to find out where this Minister plans on housing this new million that he wants Singapore to grow by, or is it a case of not his problem. He is in charge of raising the economy and money of Singapore, let the housing minister deal with where he is going to put them all. Do the ministers in Singapore actual talk together for a common goal and aim or are they just looking at 'How do I increase my side of the gov't?' and not care about the rest?

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/326498/1/.html

Singapore must build up critical mass of labour to compete well
By Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 02 February 2008 1945 hrs

Singapore needs to build up a critical mass of people in the workforce so that the country can continue to compete for good investments and good jobs.

Minister in Prime Minister's Office and Labour Chief, Lim Swee Say, said this is why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.

Mr Lim was one of four ministers who engaged some 900 participants at the plenary session of a conference organised by the Institute of Policy Studies on Friday.

Singapore is the only economy in the world with unemployment rate of 1.7 percent yet it is able to grow its economy at 7.9 percent.

And participants at the conference were told that Singapore managed to do this because of a strong workforce.

Mr Lim added: "The point here is this: every economy, if you want to keep growing faster than the rest of the world, have to build a look ahead. Where are the bottlenecks? How we can break the bottleneck and solve that bottleneck before it chokes our growth? Therefore (it) comes back to manpower. I am very sure that for us to continue to compete for good investments, for good jobs, we must have good manpower in sufficient number."

He was replying to a question on why Singapore needs to grow its population to 5.5 million.

Also giving their take on this were three other Cabinet Ministers who explained how this number will affect their respective ministries.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said that in attracting such numbers, demand for healthcare services will also go up.

And he has managed to catch a glimpse of what it would be like to cater to such demand.

Mr Khaw says: "Tan Tock Seng Hospital, there was a day, for don't know what reason, January 14, was 98 percent (full) and it's almost like Hotel 81 occupancy rate. The last decade, the entry of foreign population, expats and so on (have resulted in) very sharp growth, very good for the economy."

And also good for Singapore is attracting new residents to ensure that there's enough young people in the labour force.

George Yeo, Foreign Affairs Minister, said: "Is it possible that we may need that many people if we do not want to age too much or if we need suddenly to tap upon new sources of growth. We check all types of constraints - shorelines for the ports, runways for Changi, water resources, car park space, road space - so our department tests all the limits. If we push that, how far can we go, before we become non-linear and the cost becomes too much to bear? As far as we can, do not put artificial constraints on ourselves so that we will have maximum flexibility to grow, and the opportunities to grow will come to us."

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister, said with more people in Singapore a balance needs to be found to maintain the environment.

He added: "The environment is an important issue. Clearly providing the necessary resources will become an important issue. But at the same time going forward, I think there will be issues of tradeoffs and compromises because resources are limited. The environment that we have build in the past 14 years painstakingly...has been noticed by international community. (This) is not something that we should give away easily."

It was a lively and candid one and a half hours of discussion with active participation from the audience, who asked questions which range from good governance to what lies ahead for Singapore.

In fact, the session was extended to cater to more questions from the floor.

Questions posed also include the issue of dual citizenship and what the leaders wish to see in 2030. - CNA/ch

and the DUH! award goes to...

2008-02-02T01:10:00.000-07:00

Came across this article on the net today. Apparently 67% of Canadians in a relationship say that a white lie is acceptable though 31% of men and 42% of women say that trust and honesty matter most in a relationship.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080201/white_lies_AM_080201/20080201?hub=Canada

Something tells me that the 67% that say white lies are acceptable are those that are in a relationship right now, whereas those 31%/42% of people that value honesty the most are those that are not in a relationship yet and still have that 'PollyAnna' view that a relationship is a giving and sharing commitment between two people. Of course, they do clarify and say that honesty and trust with the big things ("did you sleep with my sister?" "where were you out last night til 3am and came home smelling of booze and drugs?" "how come the bank account is empty? we had nearly $25,000 in there yesterday. Where did it go?") are all very important questions to be open and honest about. However, the little things like "Do these pants make me look fat?" or "Do you think my high school friend is hot?" really need a white lie to cover your butt. After all, white lies are not deceitful lies to keep things hidden, but more a way of reassuring a partners poor self esteem about certain issues, those that are fishing for compliments.

I used to have the total 100% rule of answering all questions honestly. If you asked me a question you had better be ready for the honest answer. If you asked if you are fat, and you are gaining the weight, be prepared for the 'oh yeah, you are' answer. However, after being in a relationship and now marriage for a year, I have come to realize that we dont ask questions for honesty, we ask them for reassurance in our own personal appearance. I have even made it clear to my wife that I really don't want the honest answer. If it comes up about sexual partners, I want to be told that I am the best she ever hadl; I want to know that I am the smartest boyfriend she has had; I want to hear that I am the sexiest man she knows. We both know all those answers are outright lies and untrue, but hearing them makes me feel so much better. Just as when she asks if she looks fat and I say "no honey, you look gorgeous" we both know it is a lie, but we both appreciate the self esteem boost.

Apparently for an online poll these are the results:

Are white lies an acceptable part of a relationship?
Yes 4505 votes (60 %)
No 3006 votes (40 %)

Total Votes: 7511

What is suspicious?

2008-01-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

When I ride the MRT here in Singapore, I am constantly watching that 'bomb threat awareness' video that is played on a loop. To sum it all up, if you havent been to Singapore and ridden the train, is that because there were bombings in Bali, London and various other major cities around the world that killed and wounded hundreds of people, Singaporeans should be on the watch because it could happen here. I guess when there were video tapes found years back of a bus stop where American soldiers/expats were known to frequent and a possible bomb planning was in the works, it just goes to show that Singapore is a hot bed for terrorist activity. This video tells people to watch for people carrying suspicious and heavy bags, people that act in a suspicious manner (in the video it is portrayed by a man in big dark sunglasses with a big dark hat wearing dark clothing carrying a big dark bag shifting from foot to foot and looking around nervously), and he leaves his bag under the seat and denies that it is his when pressed by a woman. I think I mentioned it before somewhere in my posts because there were a few things that I scratched my head about and had a laugh at.

There are also the posters and signs all over the MRT station for backpacks with the title "Suspicious? report it" or "If only it was this simple to spot" with a picture of a backpack with a big lit fuse round bomb like the mad bomber in The Pink Panther always ran around carrying. So with all these signs and warnings telling Singaporeans to be wary of suspicious items because the threat is out there, I feel somewhat safe.

However, obviously there is a problem with the definition of the word 'suspicious'. What is suspicious to you might not be suspicious to me. For instance, the other day my wife, her friend and I were out walking through a packed mall. As we were going up an escalator, I noticed a shopping bag sitting next to a garbage can at the base of the escalator and upon looking into it as I walked past it I noticed that there was a leather shoulder bag inside this bag. As the video would say "hmmmm, this is suspicious", or at least that is what I thought. I walked by to see how long the bag would stay there. I got to the top of the escalator and still the bag was being walked around by all the people but no one was apparently calling '999 or alert our staff' like directed in all the informational bombardments. I then asked my wife and her friend if they saw the suspicious looking bag to which they looked at me strangely and then started to look around them for possibly a big black bag (like in the video) with a man in black sunglasses and hat darting away from it mumbling "not mine..not mine", or possibly a big bag ticking with a skull and cross bones taped to the front. When I described the bag and pointed to it from the next floor up, the two just shrugged and went "guess someone is just throwing away their old bag and using the new bag that they bought" and walked away.

Granted, that could be the case. I mean, you buy your bag, transfer all your stuff to the new bag in a busy shopping mall and leave the old bag on the floor because it is too big to stuff into the small bin. Could it also be a case of 'no one would bomb a shopping mall, the hub of economy, terrorists only bomb transport stations to disrupt the transport line of manpower and supplies'? what and where does an item have to be before it can be considered suspicious?

As for why I didnt call it in or report it. I had to fall back on my excuse that if I can not complain about the gov't, point out flaws in economy and have an opinion about anything that goes on here, I guess I also dont have the right to point out these suspicious things since I obviously am overly sensitive and suspicious of these things.

Black and white international

2008-01-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

Being a true blooded Canadian that I am all for equality in race, colour, creed and gender. What is good for the goose is always good for the gander and vice versa in all aspects of life. Women with 1 year maternity leave should mean that men get 1 year paternity leave as well; women's pay should be equal to men's pay if the job description is the same (equal pay for equal work); women should not have to wait for a man to ask her out but should be able to ask a man out or even propose to him without fear of social stigma; no one should be excluded from anything because of gender or race. I also believe in the equality in that criteria should not be reduced based on your gender. There shouldnt be a male/female entrance fitness test to be firefighters or police, but instead make one test that encompasses all people.

However, one thing that Canadians should understand is that our thoughts of equality in Canada is not shared by the world. Just because we have these politicians making laws to make sure that all are treated equally and no one gets their toes stepped on or feelings hurt that does not mean that the world has to obey or have our same ideals. We say 'no knives in school' but we grant sihks the right to carry a knife because it is their religious practice; we say 'no scarves or ties on the soccer field' but then it goes to court when girls are held off from playing because of the hijab; we have rules and laws saying that homosexuals can not be discriminated against in any aspect of law and should have rights and freedoms equal to all other citizens, and yet we hum and haw and flip a coin on the same sex marriage debate to the point that it is almost like the marijuana debate where I have to wake up every morning and ask a lawyer "so, is pot legal or illegal today? what about same sex marriage? is my homosexual friend still married to his partner or has their marriage been dissolved?"

That being said, I wish that the female ski jumpers would stop this fight. While I am all for fighting in Canada for your rights and freedoms, the thing that they are fighting is an international thing. You might as well try to get the Vatican to elect a gay pope, or Singapore to disband the death penalty than get the world to agree that gender equality should exist. The two points that are reported constantly are the same. The Canadian Olympic Committee is saying "In Canada, we have gender equality so there should be female ski jumping in the Olympics because it is in Canada and it is a discrimination issue" whereas the International Olympic Committee is saying that "the female ski jumping has not held the required events to meet the criteria to be considered an event". Now, the only way I can see this from being resolved is that the female ski jumping find out the criteria, meet the criteria to a T and then apply for the event. Just because it is being held in Canada does not make it open to Canadian laws and I say this because I really really would not want the hosting country's laws to rule the event of the international event. Can you imagine what would happen if the Olympics were held in a country that had a law saying that homosexuals were to be canned or executed and it was discovered that the entire male gymnastics participants were gay? or if atheltes were canned for having steroids in their system? the entire Olympic games would turn into one great big canning event.

So while I admire the fighting spirit of the female ski jumpers, I have to say to back off and accept that while Canada is an equality based society to the point of confusion and contradiction, the world is not as grey as Canada and sometimes the world is simply black and white.

Lost In Translation - Restaurant Menus

2008-01-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

I remember getting an email from a friend that included a chinese menu with strange names like "Batter bits deep fried yummy" or item names like that and some comments people made were that it was racist and horribly degrading to the asian culture and no restaurant would dare do that sort of thing. Then I found this article (http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_196267.html) that apparently gives illusions that it does happen. Why? Simple lost in translation.

I gave it a read and thought it was most enlightening. If you are thinking of heading to China for the Olympics, you might be interested in giving this a little bit of a read to let you know what you are in for and can expect.

Lost in translation no more
Beijing to come up with standardised English translations for outlandish-sounding dishes, in run-up to the Olympics
By Tracy Quek, China Correspondent

BEIJING - FANCY some 'American Flag Cooks the Space Person' for lunch? Not in the mood? How does a helping of 'Explodes the Vegetable Meat to Steam' sound instead?
Reading the English translation of the Chinese menu off the Sanlitun Kitchen's outdoor advertising board, potential foreign patrons might be scared off by these outlandish-sounding dishes.

The eatery offering Hong Kong-style cuisine in Sanlitun Street, a popular expatriate haunt dotted with cafes and bars, is not the only one in Beijing lost in translation when it comes to names of dishes.

'American Flag Cooks the Space Person' actually refers to a braised ginseng dish while 'Explodes the Vegetable Meat to Steam' is steamed rice with preserved Szechuan pickle and meat patty. The eatery also offers a fried rice dish which is translated as 'The rich and powerful people fry'.

Chinese cuisine is famous the world over, but on the mainland, bad English translations of otherwise delectable and popular Chinese dishes can render them not only unappetising and confusing, but also downright macabre at times.

Soon, however, non-Chinese readers will know exactly what they are feasting on.

What's in a name?
THE names of Chinese dishes contain cultural and artistic elements. Some have historical, geographical and political backgrounds, others originate from Chinese fairy tales and folk tales.
Translators have divided the names of dishes into four categories: ingredients used, cooking method, taste, and name of a person or place.

Under the ingredients category, a dish's main ingredients make up its name, such as the Mushroom-Duck's Foot.

Dishes listed under cooking method would be described by the way they are cooked. For example: Fish Fillet Boiled In Hot Chilli Oil.

The third category goes with the taste or texture of the food. A good example is Crispy Chicken.

Dishes could also be named after either their creator or the place they originate from. One example is Mapo Tofu, which is a tofu dish invented by Mapo, the name of a Chinese woman.

The Beijing tourism bureau is due to release a set of standardised English translations for Chinese menus before the Spring Festival next month, which it hopes restaurants in the city will adopt for their bilingual menus ahead of the Olympic Games in August.

The final draft is expected to contain translations for more than 2,700 dishes and drinks. It was partially revised after opinions were sought from netizens and language experts last August, Xinhua news sgency reported yesterday.

The standardised list appears to be the first of its kind. A quick check with popular dining establishments in Beijing found that individual eateries engage translation companies to come up with bilingual menus, some with better results than others.

As part of a public relations campaign to spruce up its image before its international debut at the Olympics, Beijing is on a mission to sweep its restaurants, hotels, street signs and other public signboards clear of unintelligible English and mis-spellings.

China's capital city expects to host at least 500,000 foreigners who will attend the world's most prestigious sporting event, and officials are keen to impress.

As a result, Beijing residents have been bombarded with campaigns exhorting them to stop spitting, quit littering and to queue up, among other drives aimed at changing entrenched bad habits.

Taxi drivers listen to English lessons on tape while driving and have been banned from smoking in their cabs.

The city's 4,000 unrated hotels have also been told to translate their names, service hours, room rates, menus and notices for guests into accurate English.

When it comes to local food, of which Chinese people are fiercely proud, Beijing wants all embarrassing translations done away with.

'The names of Chinese dishes have long been part of our culture, and we hope we can share our culture with others through the Beijing Olympics in a tasteful and, more importantly, appropriate way,' Mr Feng Dongming, the head of the translation programme and vice-dean of the Tourism School at Beijing Union University, told Xinhua.

A team set up by the Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and the Beijing Tourism Bureau has been working on correcting the translation problem since March 2006, backed by a committee of 20 language experts and catering service managers.

Translators have divided the dish names into four categories: ingredients, cooking method, taste, and name of a person or a place.

Some netizens, however, have turned up their noses at the standardised list.

'Why should we waste time and effort coming up with English translations? Do you see restaurants in other Western countries that have Chinese menus for Chinese visitors?' asked one.

Two out of five restaurants contacted by The Straits Times said they would welcome the new translations. The rest said they would wait to see the list before deciding whether to adopt it.

Ms Zhang Xin, financial manager of a famous Beijing Peking duck restaurant, Liqun Roast Duck, said foreign customers have no problem with her restaurant's bilingual menu, but said smaller eateries will benefit.

'The standard English menu is good news because some small restaurants' English menus are a mess. The key is to help people understand what they're eating,' she said.

tracyq@sph.com.sg
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LINA MIAO

The Noose goes Stereotypical in really poor taste

2008-01-13T17:48:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I would watch a North American show that had a chinese person in it and think to myself "my god, how horrible, degrading and disgusting to portray him like that" The reason being that whenever a chinese person was portrayed on TV they always had big huge teeth, thick coke bottle glasses and always spoke in extremely poor English with horrible pronunciation ("you wanta some flied lice? good good today..or...how abwout somea woast pwork? sweet and soooour........good good") I often felt bad and would voice my concern to friends about the stereotypes that we are putting on the film and say that I did not find the character to be interesting or amusing in the least and considered it down right annoying and in poor taste.

That, however, has changed since I saw the January 13th, 2008 episode of The Noose. They had a 'caucasian' on the show (Gurmit Singh http://www.gurmitsinghonline.com/) play a caucasian hawker centre cook that came over from a stint in China to cook 'western' food for the Singaporean people. His specialty? Dumplings. What did he do to make my attitude change? All they did was put a white wig on his head and have him jump around like an idiot with a thick Singaporean/Chinese accent and go "hi mom" and wave hysterically at the camera. This is not the first time I have watched poor taste in humor on this show and thought to myself "what is happening?"

Then it dawned on me. Singaporeans always seem to tell me that they have respect for other people. They wouldnt go to stereotypes because of the huge multinational mixture of races in their country. That is why there are high sedition laws because they hold a high respect for other nations and cultures. So, using that as a guildline, I guess by portraying the caucasian individual stereotypically like that, since I do have to admit that caucasians under the age of 10 (or at least the mental age of 10) that are on camera always jump around like brain dead idiots, it must be acceptable. Therefore, since portraying a caucasian to that extreme stereotype, then I guess it is perfectly fine to laugh at the stereotypical chinese individual in films and shows over in North America. So next time I see a chinese man in a show announcing that he has just arrived to North America to make his fortune I will laugh hysterically at his thick accent, and his comical blunders of 'flied lice' and 'weft wing and light wing powitics'.

MM Lee still fiery with political brass knuckles and looking for a street fight

2008-01-12T23:45:00.000-07:00

I read in the Singaporean paper 'The New Paper' on January 12, 2008 an article about MM Lee speaking to a group about retirement. Apparently a poor 23 year old reporter asked about the restrictions on civil liberties and MM Lee fired back asking what liberties were restricted. Apparently in his idea, freedom of speech is not limited or constricted, since if you want to talk at Hong Lim Park all you need to do is get a licence (http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,153258,00.html?):

****
MM Lee said, to laughter from the audience, "You just put your name, that's all"

Speakers must register at the Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post before they speak.

He added that a free press is not the answer to all of a country's development problems.

"Don't take what the Western media say about us as true."
****

Personally, I think once you have to ask for permission to speak, your freedom of speech has been limited. One thing that I have thought you should run with on freedom of speech is that "My right to swing my arms stops at where your nose starts". For those that might not have been taught in school to read between the lines and find meaning behind the words. I have always taken this to mean that I can say what I like, when I like, and say whatever I like BUT I also have to take into consideration what words I am saying and take responsibility for my own words. What I say I have to be able to back up with evidence and proof. I can say "I think that...." and have a personal opinion but that personal opinion is open for debate and the people listening to it have to use their own discreation. I can say that I think that a certain lawyer is a theif, and people have to be able to make up their own minds.

Now, I ask any Singaporean out there. Please, here is the ultimate test of the freedom of speech that you apparently have since MM Lee says all you have to do is put your name down and you can speak. Go and put your name down or put in your application for a public protest with whomever you have to and the reason for the public protest is"

"Protesting the fact that you have to get a licence to hold a protest. You feel that any group of people (over 4 people) should be able to congregate at any part of Singapore and hold a protest as long as you are:

1) not disrupting traffic;
2) not hurting or blocking anyone access to certain areas (e.g. you cant be blocking them from entering Plaza Singapura because you are protesting Plaza Sing prices);
3) keeping the noise level down to a respectable level (E.G. Not firing off fireworks or loudspeakers so loud that people 5 streets over can hear you but still loud enough for those that are in the area can hear you), and;
4) not forcing people to stop and listen (E.G. you are just talking and if people want to stop and listen, they can..if they dont want to stop and listen, they can just move on."

I have wanted to apply and do this but I find that no one really likes to listen to an expat talk like this about Singapore. I have found that I can be with my friends who talk about how they hate the increase in pay for the ministers, how they are frustrated with the PAP grip on everything in Singapore and how the cost of living and HDB prices are rising faster and faster but the salaries are stagnant and there is no power to do anything for the workers....but as soon as I open my mouth and say that I agree it is a screwed up system I get told to 'shut up' because I am a 'visitor' to this great and wonderful nation and I should not say a damn thing but just be grateful that I am in the safest and greatest country in the world.

Think of this as a stepping stone to helping those causes that are repressed. If you apply to hold a rally for homosexuality, it will probably be denied because you have to ask permission. BUT if you manage to hold a protest to remove the stipulation that you have to ask permission, you can then hold you protest legally because protests are not illegal. Before running across the mine field (Singapore) to fight the enemy (PAP), you should clear the mine field (political field) of mines (unfair rules and regulations placed in for the PAP to remain in control) before you engage the enemy (political or social).

ski jumping women

2008-01-08T23:23:00.000-07:00

Are Canadians getting as arrogant as our neighbours to the south? I know that we adopt American TV, music, films and culture...but do we have to adopt the arrogrance of 'our ideas in our country have to be respected across the world'? What am I refering to? the female ski jumpers and their quest to get recognized as an Olympic event.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080108/Ski_Jumpers_080108/20080108?hub=Canada

Canadian gov't wants to step in and say that they support the Canadian female ski jumpers wanting to be recognized. They have people screaming out discrimination and how it is against the law to discriminate against something based on genders. Looks like ski jumping has the grand father clause against the gender discrimination thing because any game introduced to the Olympics has to have both male and female sides, but ski jumping has been around since 1924.

Guess it all depends on just getting the numbers. The article says that the game has to be practiced in 25 countries on 3 continents to be considered an event. So, they get the numbers, they have a case. If it is a case of Canada has a huge show up (83 women) but only 15 other countres have female jumpers, then sit down and quite making a big fuss. I mean, I am all for equality and all, but equality means equality. If you dont have the numbers, being female or male means nothing.

Now I am reading that there is talk about boycotting the games to make their point. Oh please please please boycott. Historically the Olympics were only played by men with men watching the games since the games were designed for both country peace and harmony as well as preparing men for war and battle games. I mean, look at the original events..running, jumping, javelin (weapon), discus (another weapon item) and swimming...all designed for war. Ski jumping? bob sleigh? luge? Not exactly war based now are they? Unless you are strapping your soldiers in spandex, shoving a skate up their butts and shooting them down icy slopes and making them turn by doing kegal exercises, not war based. Females...boycott the Olympics and all you will be doing is returning the Olympics back to their original state before females came into the scene. No great loss to the moment and society.

I can't see the difference..can you?

2008-01-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been going on for many episodes now. Singapore has taken a giant leap forward in coming to par with the rest of the world in political humour. First, The USA has their ground breaking political humour like The Stephen Colbert Report and Jon Stewart. Sharp tongued, free spirited individuals who, with a team of great writers, find the things that people in America are wondering about and put them to words. Great men that sparked (at least in my opinion) the idea to make the movie "Man Of The Year" with Robin Williams about a political humourist who runs for president and wins. Which amazingly enough, Stephen Colbert I heard put his name up and asked people if he should run for president. I think I heard it took nearly a day for enough people to throw their hats in to say he should, whereas it took nearly a week or two for some other individuals to get the support needed to throw names up for election.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA1eLPZIjLU

Then there is "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", which is a Canadian attempt at the political humour. Here a free bunch of individuals take stabs at headlines with their own twists, along with actually meeting politicians in the politican circle. Sometimes they arent that funny, but there are times that they are great. I mean, when you get Canadians going to America and asking the Americans to congratulate Canada on getting running water just last week and the Americans actually believe that Canada just got running water, that shows great TV. I remember one American actually congratulated the Prime Minister on getting his first 'double, double' (coffee with double milk and double sugar).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CptXVdqprE

Now, Singapore has thrown their hat into the mix. They have come up with a show called "The Noose", which I am wondering if it is a subtle stab at being the 'island of death' or having the highest execution rate by hanging per capita of any other country in the world. A news report style production taking current news stories and adding their idea of humour to it. Though one thing for certain is that while '22 Minutes' has the Prime Minister on with a regular occurance in Canada, and Stephen Colbert constantly pokes fun at the political system and all, you will never never NEVER see a part of the Noose actually meaning the political scene. Why? is it because Singaporeans are so in awe of the fabulous job that politicians do that they have nothing to complain or poke fun at which is why they happily give their politicians millions of dollars ($3.8 million to the Prime Minister alone) a year as a salary, plus little perks and incentives here and there? Is it because Singaporeans respect those people in power? Or could it possibly be that every person that has actually said anything slightly offensive about anyone of the PAP members in power the person who said the words find themselves in a court of law being sued for Slander and eventually have to pay the politician they talked about $500,000 in damages? Guess without proper evidence, it is up to the person to ask that question and answer it themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ImnvzPzdVA

I dont know, can you see the difference in humour/acting ability? Granted, USA and Canada have multiple supplies of writers, humourists and actors to draw on while SIngapore has an incredibly small pool but still. I remember watching 22 minutes and Colbert and thinking "wow, those writers are truely great. I definitly do not have the talent to write for them". After watching the Noose, however, I am thinking "wow, I not only could write for this show, but I could probably do a whole lot better than this". Then I stop and remember "yeah, I cant work because the govt wont give me PR status til I get a job, but no one will hire me till I get PR status".

Oh, and here is a comparison of weather segments from '22 Minutes' and "The Noose". I know which one I laughed so hard on and which one I said "please find better writers and get a guy that can act".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXSf_ud_hY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVB7Q2Ge0Ts

*sigh* I miss comedy....where has all the laughter gone from Singapore?

Catholics cant use the name Allah..have to call him "the god that can not be named"

2008-01-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Ok, now this is only fair I think:

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s2132032.htm
http://zfikri.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/cabinet-allah-for-muslims-only/
http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Asia/STIStory_192747.html
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-31238220080104

Apparently it has been ruled by a Malaysian court that a Roman Catholic newspaper can not use the name 'Allah'. My person favorite line came from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin in the zfikri.wordpress.com article when he said "...the use of the word “Allah” should not be subject of public debate such that it will give the impression there there[sic] is no religiious freedom in this country."

Let me see if I get this straight. They shouldnt debate the use of the word "Allah" because it would give the impression that there is no religious freedom in the country, but they are banning the catholic church from using the word Allah. Hmmmm, so you are free to be any religion that you want, you just cant talk about other religions? yeah, if it quacks like a duck.....

Though I think that it is only fair that Catholic shouldn't use the word "allah". After all, it isnt like the Muslim church uses the name Jesus or Jehovah. Instead he is known as 'false god' or 'the god of the evil infidels that needs to be slain'. Of course, catholics, or any other religion except muslim, are often known as 'evil infidels' or 'targets' or 'soulless evil doers'. Guess we just just go back to calling the muslim gods what they have been called in the past "false gods".

Personally, I dont really care what who is called and why. Muslim's have the god Allah, Catholics have Jesus and God, Buddhists have Buddhists and when the religions are all peeled back to the bare bones facts, if you take away the customs and traditions that have evolved over the years, they are all pretty much the same. Love thy fellow man and be good to each other....and kill anything that is different than you are.

Hogswatch speaks the truth of life

2007-12-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

Now I was going to put something up about the Omaha family that left their 4 kids in a parked car at a meter that displayed a sign reading a tow-a-way zone during peak hours while the two parents went into the courthouse to appear on something, only to have the car (complete with kids) towed away. Then the family turns around and tries to sue the towing company for imprisoning their children and causing severe mental anguish on the child. Yeah, ranks right up there with the parents that put their kids on intercountry flights alone and expect other people to look after their child.

However, I came across a little tidbit on youtube about my favorite author. Terry Pratchett has got to be one of the most fantastic writers of all time. One of those fantasy writers that takes a story from the reality of Earth, puts it to characters that you think are totally false and then makes the message known. Of course, the reader sits back and thinks "they are fantasy, obviously a work of fiction and untrue" but then the more you think about it, the more the characters look like real life and then in the last few chapters of his books he springs upon you the true meaning of his message. A sort of 'you see timmy' of the old shows of the 60's and 70's where the entire show is summed up in a few short sentences to teach the lifes lesson they want you to learn. Here is that snippet from 'Hogfather' that was put to the TV. The main message is between 2:25 and 3:50.

Granted, the show was not as fantastic as the book is, but it is pretty darn good. If you have not read his books, I highly highly highly recommend his writings, especially if you are a fan of Tom Sharpe. If you are a fan of Pratchett, you obviously know what I am talking about with him being a fantastic writer. Incidentally, while all his characters are fantastically written and wonderfully creative, Death and Granny Weatherwax are my two favorite characters.

5 year old gets off westjet with stranger

2007-12-15T00:14:00.000-07:00

Guess with the grinches that spoil xmas, it is good to know that there are some good samaritans out there that are watching the other persons back. Like they say "It takes a village to raise a child" and in this case the village helped bring the child from one end to the other safely. Lucky it was a good hearted person and not a twisted criminal that seem to be breeding in this day and age like rabbits.

WestJet allows stranger to walk five-year-old girl off flight
Last Updated: Friday, December 14, 2007 7:02 PM ET

CBC News

The parents of a five-year-old girl travelling alone are furious with WestJet for breaking its own guidelines and allowing a stranger to accompany the child off a flight.

Sara-Maude St-Louis, 5, was taking her first plane ride Thursday from Edmonton, where she lives with her mother, to Montreal to see her father. The parents paid a special fee to ensure someone from the airline would look after her.

Sara-Maude St-Louis plays with her father in Pontiac, Que. after taking a WestJet flight by herself from Edmonton.

(CBC) Her mother and stepfather took Sara-Maude to the gate under the impression that WestJet staff members would check on her during the flight and then escort the little girl off the plane when she arrived at her destination, which is the company's policy for unaccompanied minors.

Instead, nobody checked on her at all, said her father Steve St-Louis. He's furious with the airline and says Sara-Maude could have been kidnapped or hurt if not for a Good Samaritan who sat next to her.

Pierre Cataford, a father of four from Montreal, played games and drew pictures with Sara-Maude during the long flight.

The girl was wearing a large VIP tag around her neck, but Cataford told CBC News that he did not see flight attendants check on her.

When the plane landed in Montreal, Cataford said he waited for someone to escort Sara-Maude but no one came, so he walked the five-year-old off the plane as crew members waved goodbye to them.

Sara-Maude's father said he was shocked to see a stranger walking into the arrivals area with his daughter.

"She was alone. Nobody came to see her. Nobody asked if she was okay. I mean it was terrifying. It was unbelievable," St-Louis said from his home in Pontiac, Que.

WestJet confirmed it's investigating the incident and issued a statement Friday: "The situation is of utmost concern for WestJet and we are taking this matter very seriously. We have apologized to the parents of the child and are doing all that we can to ensure that this does not happen in the future."

No federal rules for unaccompanied minors
Canada does not have a policy that makes it mandatory for airlines to look after children who travel alone.

"Canadian laws are set out that way as we speak right now and they give all the flexibility to air carriers to establish their own rules," said Jadrino Huot of the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The agency said it asked Air Canada to clarify its policy on unaccompanied minors last month after a 13-year-old girl was not escorted by airline staff to meet her mother in Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

Sara-Maude's parents say they plan to sue WestJet.

The airline is flying Sara-Maude's mother and stepfather to Montreal to pick her up at the end of the month, and the parents said they won't let the girl fly alone again until she's much older.