Merry Christmas one and all.
Today's blog is more for what happened last night. It is a yearly event which my dancing friends and I go for. But it seems, we didn't go for one last year. I keep thinking we did. This year's ball was less dancing and more entertainment, as T said, they should call it a "Dinner and Dance" since it wasn't really a ball. We were rather pissed about it. Imagine paying so much and yet didn't get a chance to dance much.
We went to a cafe after that. It was fun, but I was really dead tired and just wanted to go home and sleep.
Got home about 3am...
25 December 2005
23 December 2005
First Dance
Tonight will be the first night I have danced since leaving Singapore. O (my best friend) is rather excited about it. We have been dancing (ballroom and Latin) for the past 3 years and ever since I left, she hasn't found anyone else to dance with. So she is (as I am) so looking forward to tonight.
We will be the only ones practicing tonight as the rest of my dancing friends are busy. We have to familiarise ourselves before tomorrow's ball. Can't make too much of a fool of ourselves. :P
We will be the only ones practicing tonight as the rest of my dancing friends are busy. We have to familiarise ourselves before tomorrow's ball. Can't make too much of a fool of ourselves. :P
22 December 2005
Sick!
I can't believe it. I'm sick, some stomach flu or something. Ever since taking the vitamins and fish oil yesterday, I have been having a bad case of diarrhea. Even taking Imodium didn't help.
In the end, I had to go to a doctor (last night) because I was burning up too. T was so sad because we couldn't meet, so was I, but I didn't plan on falling sick at all.
I'm so pissed with myself. Having studied biology, I should have known better than to take vitamins and fish oil that has been opened for months! Yup, this was the vitamins and fish oil which I forgot to bring over to Melbourne and it was opened and left in Singapore for this whole period, nobody touched it. I believe that it has expired and that is what caused my diarrhea. Little do people realise that the expire date is for unopened bottles. Opened ones should be consumed within 3 months. *sigh*
Spent the whole of today sleeping, just started feeling much better this evening. Even had some porriage. I should be right as rain by tomorrow. I'm so excited about see T again.
In the end, I had to go to a doctor (last night) because I was burning up too. T was so sad because we couldn't meet, so was I, but I didn't plan on falling sick at all.
I'm so pissed with myself. Having studied biology, I should have known better than to take vitamins and fish oil that has been opened for months! Yup, this was the vitamins and fish oil which I forgot to bring over to Melbourne and it was opened and left in Singapore for this whole period, nobody touched it. I believe that it has expired and that is what caused my diarrhea. Little do people realise that the expire date is for unopened bottles. Opened ones should be consumed within 3 months. *sigh*
Spent the whole of today sleeping, just started feeling much better this evening. Even had some porriage. I should be right as rain by tomorrow. I'm so excited about see T again.
20 December 2005
Home bound
I'm going home today. I'm so excited :). T said he'll be picking me up from the airport as he had a car this week. Singapore here I return.
12 December 2005
The Front Door's Open, The Backyard's Locked
A lot of people would agree with this but the vocal 'conservative' people would start crying foul. They would say, what is wrong with staying the same, that the 'western' style democracy/freedom of speech is not for us and that we would have to develop our own. What I don't get is why should democracy or freedom of speech be 'western' style or 'Singapore' style? This is the same way they talk about the 'gay liftstyle', which until now, I'm still trying to figure out what it is.
Today
12 December 2005
THE FRONT DOOR'S OPEN, THE BACKYARD'S LOCKED
--------------------------------------------
To be global, must we rethink our conservative outlook at home? News Comment We set you thinking
Terence Chong
IF Singapore's policy-making style had to be summed up in a phrase, it would be selective globalisation: The conscious effort to encourage certain forms of globalisation and discourage others.
The Government, on one hand, encourages economic globalisation through the synchronisation of local financial regulations and policies with international standards and, on the other, it energetically protects an Asian "conservative" society from the ills of satellite dishes, pornographic magazines and other unwholesome global commodities.
This constant oscillation between being globally open and locally particular has given rise to the Singapore paradox.
The city-state enjoys its status as one of the most globalised countries in terms of migration, global finance and telecommunications. Yet it regularly garners criticism from international human rights institutions for its insistence on its own brand of politics, whereby certain civil liberties are curtailed in view of local multi-ethnic and multi-religious realities.
The practice of selective globalisation expresses the need to remain globally connected for the sake of nothing less than national survival and the desire to retain certain notions of tradition and conservatism that protect specific interests.
For the most part, the Government has succeeded in juggling the often conflicting demands of the local and the global. Nonetheless, three events this year suggest that this may have ramifications for its global city ambitions.
In June, the Government denied fridae.com, a gay portal, the entertainment licence to hold its annual Nation Party. fridae.com responded by moving its annual bash to Phuket. Ordinarily, this would not have been an issue but for the fact that the Government acknowledges there are homosexuals in the civil service, thus making the licence withdrawal look like a step
backwards.
fridae.com's pullout may have mollified the majority of conservative Singaporeans, which was the objective, but it does little to show the international community that the city-state is culturally exciting.
In the words of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, if we are only contented with being the cleanest and safest city, then the "with-it" world will pass Singapore by.
There was also an unexpected poke in the eye. In his farewell speech on Oct 11, the out-bound United States Ambassador Frank Lavin mildly criticised the Singapore Government for its repression of political expression. He also recounted his embarrassment at being asked by local police if he wanted to press charges against the demonstrators protesting outside the US embassy over the Iraq war. These remarks were surprising in a post-Clinton era, and are significant in light of the Singapore Government's strong support for the Bush administration's "war on terror" campaign and the Iraq war.
Lastly, but no less surprising, was Warwick University's decision not to set up a campus in Singapore. After months of deliberation and feasibility studies, the British university, renowned for its research excellence, declined the Economic Development Board's invitation, citing its concern over both financial costs and the lack of academic freedom in Singapore.
This marks the first time a potential investor has publicly cited Singapore's famed out-of-bounds markers, its emphasis on
non-confrontational academic analysis and the Government's intolerance for dissent, as reasons for not coming.
These three incidents suggest an important lesson: A nation-state and a global city require a different management ethos. Conventional arguments for cultural and ideological protectionism may sit well with the character of nation-states, but they are increasingly incongruent with the functions of global cities.
And since a global city becomes one only when others recognise it as such, all global cities require cultural legitimacy from the international community of transnational professionals, creative class and international opinion-shapers who have the power to confer it recognition.
The competition to distinguish one's self as a global city is, in reality, the competition to win legitimacy and recognition from this international community.
The fact that Singapore's survival as a nation-state depends on its status as a global city means the Government has little choice but to constantly shift gears between the national and the global when it comes to policy-making, thus compelling it to send mixed signals to this international community.
Casinos are allowed but satellite dishes are not; topless cabaret shows are permitted but civil disobedience is not; and the list goes on. These discrepancies are at the heart of the dilemma facing Singapore at the dawn of the 21st century.
Globalising at one's own pace and terms may be prudent for a small nation-state but how much of this prudence can an aspiring global city afford?
The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies.
Today
12 December 2005
THE FRONT DOOR'S OPEN, THE BACKYARD'S LOCKED
--------------------------------------------
To be global, must we rethink our conservative outlook at home? News Comment We set you thinking
Terence Chong
IF Singapore's policy-making style had to be summed up in a phrase, it would be selective globalisation: The conscious effort to encourage certain forms of globalisation and discourage others.
The Government, on one hand, encourages economic globalisation through the synchronisation of local financial regulations and policies with international standards and, on the other, it energetically protects an Asian "conservative" society from the ills of satellite dishes, pornographic magazines and other unwholesome global commodities.
This constant oscillation between being globally open and locally particular has given rise to the Singapore paradox.
The city-state enjoys its status as one of the most globalised countries in terms of migration, global finance and telecommunications. Yet it regularly garners criticism from international human rights institutions for its insistence on its own brand of politics, whereby certain civil liberties are curtailed in view of local multi-ethnic and multi-religious realities.
The practice of selective globalisation expresses the need to remain globally connected for the sake of nothing less than national survival and the desire to retain certain notions of tradition and conservatism that protect specific interests.
For the most part, the Government has succeeded in juggling the often conflicting demands of the local and the global. Nonetheless, three events this year suggest that this may have ramifications for its global city ambitions.
In June, the Government denied fridae.com, a gay portal, the entertainment licence to hold its annual Nation Party. fridae.com responded by moving its annual bash to Phuket. Ordinarily, this would not have been an issue but for the fact that the Government acknowledges there are homosexuals in the civil service, thus making the licence withdrawal look like a step
backwards.
fridae.com's pullout may have mollified the majority of conservative Singaporeans, which was the objective, but it does little to show the international community that the city-state is culturally exciting.
In the words of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, if we are only contented with being the cleanest and safest city, then the "with-it" world will pass Singapore by.
There was also an unexpected poke in the eye. In his farewell speech on Oct 11, the out-bound United States Ambassador Frank Lavin mildly criticised the Singapore Government for its repression of political expression. He also recounted his embarrassment at being asked by local police if he wanted to press charges against the demonstrators protesting outside the US embassy over the Iraq war. These remarks were surprising in a post-Clinton era, and are significant in light of the Singapore Government's strong support for the Bush administration's "war on terror" campaign and the Iraq war.
Lastly, but no less surprising, was Warwick University's decision not to set up a campus in Singapore. After months of deliberation and feasibility studies, the British university, renowned for its research excellence, declined the Economic Development Board's invitation, citing its concern over both financial costs and the lack of academic freedom in Singapore.
This marks the first time a potential investor has publicly cited Singapore's famed out-of-bounds markers, its emphasis on
non-confrontational academic analysis and the Government's intolerance for dissent, as reasons for not coming.
These three incidents suggest an important lesson: A nation-state and a global city require a different management ethos. Conventional arguments for cultural and ideological protectionism may sit well with the character of nation-states, but they are increasingly incongruent with the functions of global cities.
And since a global city becomes one only when others recognise it as such, all global cities require cultural legitimacy from the international community of transnational professionals, creative class and international opinion-shapers who have the power to confer it recognition.
The competition to distinguish one's self as a global city is, in reality, the competition to win legitimacy and recognition from this international community.
The fact that Singapore's survival as a nation-state depends on its status as a global city means the Government has little choice but to constantly shift gears between the national and the global when it comes to policy-making, thus compelling it to send mixed signals to this international community.
Casinos are allowed but satellite dishes are not; topless cabaret shows are permitted but civil disobedience is not; and the list goes on. These discrepancies are at the heart of the dilemma facing Singapore at the dawn of the 21st century.
Globalising at one's own pace and terms may be prudent for a small nation-state but how much of this prudence can an aspiring global city afford?
The writer is a Fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies.
02 December 2005
Hypocrites!
In regards to the hanging of Nguyen Tuong Van;
Australia take the speck out of your eye before you take the log out of Singapore's eye.
As stated in my previous posts I'm not for capital punishment (I signed the petition for him) but I think the way the media and gahmen of Australia making Singapore the villain is revolting!
Documents reveal that Australia urged Indonesia to invade East Timor in 1975
East Timor and Australia's oily politics
Australia bullies East Timor over oil and gas
Let's talk about human rights and being barbaric now!
Australia take the speck out of your eye before you take the log out of Singapore's eye.
As stated in my previous posts I'm not for capital punishment (I signed the petition for him) but I think the way the media and gahmen of Australia making Singapore the villain is revolting!
Documents reveal that Australia urged Indonesia to invade East Timor in 1975
East Timor and Australia's oily politics
Australia bullies East Timor over oil and gas
Let's talk about human rights and being barbaric now!
23 November 2005
N Korea compares Bush to Hitler
I so agree with this. What makes George W. Bush (II) so different from Hitler?
Today
23 November 2005
N KOREA COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
-------------------------------
SEOUL - North Korea's foreign ministry has threatened to multiply its defences a "thousand times" in an angry response to a United Nations vote which expressed serious concern about Pyongyang's human rights record.
The ministry dismissed the UN General Assembly vote as an "absurd attempt" by Washington to topple the Stalinist regime, and compared US President George W Bush to dictator Adolf Hitler.
The UN resolution expressed concern about reports on torture, public executions and the imposition of the death penalty for political reasons, as well as the extensive use of forced labour in communist North Korea.
The ministry statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the UN move was "no more than the barking of a dog at the moon."
The state-run KCNA also lashed out at the United States, which prepared the UN report, and called Mr Bush "a wicked man whom the world compares to fascist fanatic Hitler."
The news agency said Mr Bush's advocacy of democracy was a pretext for invading other countries.
"The US admonition for 'freedom' and 'democracy' is to invent pretexts for violating sovereignty of other countries ... and establishing its unchallenged domination over the world," it said.
KCNA also called Mr Bush a "warlike president" who "took the lead in advocating state-sponsored terrorism" and "openly defended murderous torture in prisons" - which it claimed were reminiscent of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
It was referring to the scandal that broke after the Washington Post reported that the US had secret prisons in various parts of the world, including Thailand and Europe. - AGENCIES
Today
23 November 2005
N KOREA COMPARES BUSH TO HITLER
-------------------------------
SEOUL - North Korea's foreign ministry has threatened to multiply its defences a "thousand times" in an angry response to a United Nations vote which expressed serious concern about Pyongyang's human rights record.
The ministry dismissed the UN General Assembly vote as an "absurd attempt" by Washington to topple the Stalinist regime, and compared US President George W Bush to dictator Adolf Hitler.
The UN resolution expressed concern about reports on torture, public executions and the imposition of the death penalty for political reasons, as well as the extensive use of forced labour in communist North Korea.
The ministry statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the UN move was "no more than the barking of a dog at the moon."
The state-run KCNA also lashed out at the United States, which prepared the UN report, and called Mr Bush "a wicked man whom the world compares to fascist fanatic Hitler."
The news agency said Mr Bush's advocacy of democracy was a pretext for invading other countries.
"The US admonition for 'freedom' and 'democracy' is to invent pretexts for violating sovereignty of other countries ... and establishing its unchallenged domination over the world," it said.
KCNA also called Mr Bush a "warlike president" who "took the lead in advocating state-sponsored terrorism" and "openly defended murderous torture in prisons" - which it claimed were reminiscent of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
It was referring to the scandal that broke after the Washington Post reported that the US had secret prisons in various parts of the world, including Thailand and Europe. - AGENCIES
22 November 2005
Conservative?
This article really shows that sex education for teenagers is really a must for us. Why is it the 'conservative' and the gahmen believes that just because we teach teenagers sex, they will immediately go out and have sex? Research has shown that with the correct information (both celibacy and also safe sex) teenages do make the right decisions. This would allow them to be informed of STDs and pregnancy.
Why is it the gahmen believe that they don't need sex education for teenages? They should stand firm on this issue instead of trying to please the conservatives.
SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE: 46% OF TEENS SAY YES
------------------------------------------
SEX before marriage is fine with us, say 56 per cent of the young Singaporeans in a recent survey.
And with this paper's readers recently debating whether students are getting adequate sex education, a more disturbing fact is that 46 per cent of those aged 15 to 19 said they would agree to pre-marital sex.
The percent of those who would say yes is highest among those aged 20 to 24, at 73 per cent.
Another surprising thing: More female respondents than males seem to be in favour of it. Out of 100 young people aged between 15 and 29 years old surveyed, 51 per cent of the males would agree to pre-marital sex, while 61 per cent of the females would give their consent.
The survey project is a collaboration between MediaCorp News and Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business, in support of a new news programme, the Channel U Weekend News Club.
Why is it the gahmen believe that they don't need sex education for teenages? They should stand firm on this issue instead of trying to please the conservatives.
SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE: 46% OF TEENS SAY YES
------------------------------------------
SEX before marriage is fine with us, say 56 per cent of the young Singaporeans in a recent survey.
And with this paper's readers recently debating whether students are getting adequate sex education, a more disturbing fact is that 46 per cent of those aged 15 to 19 said they would agree to pre-marital sex.
The percent of those who would say yes is highest among those aged 20 to 24, at 73 per cent.
Another surprising thing: More female respondents than males seem to be in favour of it. Out of 100 young people aged between 15 and 29 years old surveyed, 51 per cent of the males would agree to pre-marital sex, while 61 per cent of the females would give their consent.
The survey project is a collaboration between MediaCorp News and Singapore Polytechnic's School of Business, in support of a new news programme, the Channel U Weekend News Club.
15 November 2005
Quotations
Some quotes from famous people in history, which still applies to today's political climate.
For the religious fanatics, fundamentalist Christians (or religious wrongs as I call them) :
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.
For all good people in the world who are silent :
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
For all who discrimiate, whether by sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, etc :
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Sad to say, the world will never learn from its mistakes.
For the religious fanatics, fundamentalist Christians (or religious wrongs as I call them) :
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.
Blaise Pascal
French mathematician, physicist (1623 - 1662)
For all good people in the world who are silent :
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke
Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)
For all who discrimiate, whether by sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, etc :
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln
16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
Sad to say, the world will never learn from its mistakes.
12 November 2005
Remembrance Day
Yesterday (11 Nov) was remembrance day in Australia and, it seems, a number of countries in the world. It was the day they (we) remembered the people who died in the world wars. At 11am, a moment of silence was given to these great heroes.
It is wonderful that as a Singaporean male, who has to go to war and die for my country when and if the time arrives, I'm still considered a 2nd class citizen and a criminal in the eyes of the law. Nice to know that I'm good enough to die of our "beliefs" but is a criminal when not.
It is wonderful that as a Singaporean male, who has to go to war and die for my country when and if the time arrives, I'm still considered a 2nd class citizen and a criminal in the eyes of the law. Nice to know that I'm good enough to die of our "beliefs" but is a criminal when not.
11 November 2005
Oppression?
I was having a chat with my Australian colleague and she asked me, "Isn't Singapore oppressive?". Now I was taken aback by that question because she has never been to Singapore before. So I wondered where she got her information from. It seems that the reports by the paper and even the net doesn't place Singapore in a good light. Her impression was formed by what she has been reading over the years. And she wasn’t the only one, my German colleague also echoed the sentiments.
I wouldn't say much about what I said to them but I did tell them that Singapore wasn't as oppressive as what they think and that it wasn't a "police state" (in fact we get away with quite a lot :P). Even though Singapore doesn't have the ‘freedom of responsible speech’ as Australia, German or even Korea, things have changed in the past 10 years and Singaporeans have started to voice their opinions about policies and even started questioning the gahmen. Not only did the gahmen not clamp down on these people, the actually encouraged it but there are still limits... for now. I told her that things would change and in time to come Singapore would have Australia's responsible speech too.
They were very satisfied with my answer but it did get me thinking. The gahmen wants Singapore to become a city like New York and London but with impressions like this about Singapore hanging around, it cannot. What makes a city cosmopolitan like New York and London is not the gahmen but the people, locals and foreigners. People flock to these cities because they have been know to be open minded, non-discriminatory and accepting of all people (including the dreaded GLBT community). People go there knowing that they are safe and whatever they do or say wouldn’t get them thrown into prison or deported from the country. This isn’t the impression foreigners have about Singapore. I’m talking about the citizens of these countries, the ones that make a city cosmopolitan not the gahmens. If we don’t change our image as a “oppressive” and “police state”, becoming like London or New York will not be possible.
I sometimes wonder if the Singapore gahmen knows this.
I wouldn't say much about what I said to them but I did tell them that Singapore wasn't as oppressive as what they think and that it wasn't a "police state" (in fact we get away with quite a lot :P). Even though Singapore doesn't have the ‘freedom of responsible speech’ as Australia, German or even Korea, things have changed in the past 10 years and Singaporeans have started to voice their opinions about policies and even started questioning the gahmen. Not only did the gahmen not clamp down on these people, the actually encouraged it but there are still limits... for now. I told her that things would change and in time to come Singapore would have Australia's responsible speech too.
They were very satisfied with my answer but it did get me thinking. The gahmen wants Singapore to become a city like New York and London but with impressions like this about Singapore hanging around, it cannot. What makes a city cosmopolitan like New York and London is not the gahmen but the people, locals and foreigners. People flock to these cities because they have been know to be open minded, non-discriminatory and accepting of all people (including the dreaded GLBT community). People go there knowing that they are safe and whatever they do or say wouldn’t get them thrown into prison or deported from the country. This isn’t the impression foreigners have about Singapore. I’m talking about the citizens of these countries, the ones that make a city cosmopolitan not the gahmens. If we don’t change our image as a “oppressive” and “police state”, becoming like London or New York will not be possible.
I sometimes wonder if the Singapore gahmen knows this.
06 November 2005
Have I said too much?
After ranting for the past few days, I wonder if the gahmen is going to come down on me for writing things like that, "unpatriotic" things. I wonder if I have crossed their line or are these comments allowed now? Maybe the gahmen just going to ignore me because this blog (and maybe me) is insignificant. Yup, Singaporeans are still worried that the gahmen will come down on them when they speak their minds.
If I do get clamped down, it would show that the gahmen has read this blog and I have touched on topics that are too sensitive. Which would be sad. Meaning that be are back to the dark ages. What would be nice (a dream I know) that they would take the comments of all of us GLBT into consideration and maybe decriminalise us. It would be one of the steps for Singapore to be a cosmopolitan city.
Just a dream.
If I do get clamped down, it would show that the gahmen has read this blog and I have touched on topics that are too sensitive. Which would be sad. Meaning that be are back to the dark ages. What would be nice (a dream I know) that they would take the comments of all of us GLBT into consideration and maybe decriminalise us. It would be one of the steps for Singapore to be a cosmopolitan city.
Just a dream.
04 November 2005
Battered husbands
There have been a report and number of letters about battered husbands in Singapore in Today. So I was right in my accessment that 'equality and justice' is NOT for all. Mr Aidan is a battered husband in Singapore.
BULLIED BY 42KG WIFE
--------------------
Women's Charter abused to 'punish' man; time to enshrine protection and
uphold equality
Letter from Aidan L*
--- snap ---
The outmoded Women's Charter, promulgated in the 1960s to protect housewives left high and dry by their spouses in the event of a divorce, should be changed.
Many modern women are educated and their income may equal or even surpass their husbands', but the Act opens a loophole for abuse where a women just has to make a police complaint and the latter will have to act - even if the complaint is frivolous and unsubstantiated.
The men are made to support their spouses even when their wives' earnings exceed theirs. The Women's Charter has been increasingly used to "punish" the man for the marriage breakup - even though, in most cases, both parties are responsible.
We have in recent years witnessed more men seeking PPOs. But are men really protected? Probably, women know that they are unlikely to be punished, or at least punished heavily - hence they continue to launch their verbal or physical assaults.
The Women's Charter should be pro-family instead of skewed in favour of the female gender. It should be viewed as the Family Charter, to take into account changing modern values, and to uphold equity and equality for both sexes. It's time that men's protection be enshrined too.
Why is the Women's Charter not amended? It would seem that our ministers don't believe that this can happen to men. It is a rather chauvinistic point of view but sad to say it seems that is the point of view of a number of our gahmen.
Check out this post which shows up the ministers.
With discriminating attitudes there are in parliment, would we ever see real equality and justice for all Singaporeans?
BULLIED BY 42KG WIFE
--------------------
Women's Charter abused to 'punish' man; time to enshrine protection and
uphold equality
Letter from Aidan L*
--- snap ---
The outmoded Women's Charter, promulgated in the 1960s to protect housewives left high and dry by their spouses in the event of a divorce, should be changed.
Many modern women are educated and their income may equal or even surpass their husbands', but the Act opens a loophole for abuse where a women just has to make a police complaint and the latter will have to act - even if the complaint is frivolous and unsubstantiated.
The men are made to support their spouses even when their wives' earnings exceed theirs. The Women's Charter has been increasingly used to "punish" the man for the marriage breakup - even though, in most cases, both parties are responsible.
We have in recent years witnessed more men seeking PPOs. But are men really protected? Probably, women know that they are unlikely to be punished, or at least punished heavily - hence they continue to launch their verbal or physical assaults.
The Women's Charter should be pro-family instead of skewed in favour of the female gender. It should be viewed as the Family Charter, to take into account changing modern values, and to uphold equity and equality for both sexes. It's time that men's protection be enshrined too.
Why is the Women's Charter not amended? It would seem that our ministers don't believe that this can happen to men. It is a rather chauvinistic point of view but sad to say it seems that is the point of view of a number of our gahmen.
Check out this post which shows up the ministers.
With discriminating attitudes there are in parliment, would we ever see real equality and justice for all Singaporeans?
03 November 2005
I don't understand the Singapore pledge
We, the citizens of Singapore,
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation
What democracy? What justice and equality?
I don't see it for the GLBT community. If it really is based on justice and equality then things should be done and laws to be changed so that everyone is equal. Not where one sexuality is not more superior than another or women having more advantages than men in a marriage (women's charter).
I can understand that being a small country, we have to be pro-family but if the family breaks up and throws a gay son or lesbian daughter out of the house, is that very pro-family? This is not something that hasn't happen, it is something that is continually happening, families disowning their children because of this. Misconceptions breeds mistrust and hate, wonderful elements for a family.
I can understand we need more babies but the number of couples getting married AND having babies has no relation to the GLBT community.
Just because gay men/lesbians are more visible doesn't mean that there will be more gay men/lesbians in Singapore. It has been shown (in all countries that citizens have equal status) that about 5% or less of the population is gay/lesbian. So regardless of how you try to hide it there will be gay and lesbians around. When a GLBT community is visible, young GLBT people will realise that they are not sick (normal) and are not the only one. Nobody, should have to go through what all I and all of my gay/lesbian friends had to go though in coming to terms with our homosexuality.
I'm don't think that we will get equal status as heterosexuals but knowing that at least we will not be criminalised or considered unwell or deviant would be nice. I’m talking about repelling section 377, is that too much to ask? From the looks of it, yes it is because fundamentalism and homophobia rules Singapore. The truth of being gay/lesbian has always been obscured (by censorship, anything showing homosexuality in a favourable or 'normal' light is not allowed) and because there is no avenue for Singaporeans to know the truth about being gay/lesbian, most Singaporeans will always have a misconception that we are "sick", we "choose" to be homosexual and we "recruit" young people into our "filthy" lifestyle to "increase our numbers" and thus be against us.
As much as I love my country, I'm really unhappy/angry that the gahmen is making me feel like an outcast and a 2nd class citizen. So if every citizen matters, isn’t it time to repel penal code 377? Who are we protecting with 377? Don't we have enough sex laws to protect all people without having 377?
Reference: My musings
pledge ourselves as one united people,
regardless of race, language or religion,
to build a democratic society
based on justice and equality
so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and
progress for our nation
What democracy? What justice and equality?
I don't see it for the GLBT community. If it really is based on justice and equality then things should be done and laws to be changed so that everyone is equal. Not where one sexuality is not more superior than another or women having more advantages than men in a marriage (women's charter).
I can understand that being a small country, we have to be pro-family but if the family breaks up and throws a gay son or lesbian daughter out of the house, is that very pro-family? This is not something that hasn't happen, it is something that is continually happening, families disowning their children because of this. Misconceptions breeds mistrust and hate, wonderful elements for a family.
I can understand we need more babies but the number of couples getting married AND having babies has no relation to the GLBT community.
Just because gay men/lesbians are more visible doesn't mean that there will be more gay men/lesbians in Singapore. It has been shown (in all countries that citizens have equal status) that about 5% or less of the population is gay/lesbian. So regardless of how you try to hide it there will be gay and lesbians around. When a GLBT community is visible, young GLBT people will realise that they are not sick (normal) and are not the only one. Nobody, should have to go through what all I and all of my gay/lesbian friends had to go though in coming to terms with our homosexuality.
I'm don't think that we will get equal status as heterosexuals but knowing that at least we will not be criminalised or considered unwell or deviant would be nice. I’m talking about repelling section 377, is that too much to ask? From the looks of it, yes it is because fundamentalism and homophobia rules Singapore. The truth of being gay/lesbian has always been obscured (by censorship, anything showing homosexuality in a favourable or 'normal' light is not allowed) and because there is no avenue for Singaporeans to know the truth about being gay/lesbian, most Singaporeans will always have a misconception that we are "sick", we "choose" to be homosexual and we "recruit" young people into our "filthy" lifestyle to "increase our numbers" and thus be against us.
As much as I love my country, I'm really unhappy/angry that the gahmen is making me feel like an outcast and a 2nd class citizen. So if every citizen matters, isn’t it time to repel penal code 377? Who are we protecting with 377? Don't we have enough sex laws to protect all people without having 377?
Reference: My musings
02 November 2005
10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong
- Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning
- Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall
- Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract
- Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal
- Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed
- Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children
- Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children
- Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America
- Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children
- Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans
Replace America with Singapore. Is there a difference? Aren't we suppose to be secular? Why would religion come into play for our laws? Isn't the religious beliefs against us against the law (in some way?), where one group's views are forced upon the population and minor group?
But then again, with the GLBT community are not people. We just pay tax and are 2nd class citizens because heterosexuality is more superior.
Hypocrites at work
I read with disbelief the article on Today (2 Nov 2005) stating that President George Bush is 'concerned' about 'human rights violations in Myanmar'. Gosh, has he looked at his own country. Let me also quote the bible Mr. Bush, "Take the log out of your eye before you take the speck out of your neighbour's eye". America is the biggest hypocrite when it comes to human rights. What rights do the GLBT community? Their rights have been denied them again and again because of religious reasons. If you are so concerned about human rights, then let the GLBT community marry or just grant them equal rights and status as a heterosexual marriage, then I'll say you can talk about human rights.
Today
2 November 2005
COURAGEOUS MS CHARM MEETS BUSH
------------------------------
WASHINGTON - United States President George W Bush, saying he was concerned over human rights violations in Myanmar, met 23-year-old Ms Charm Tong, who is campaigning for the rights of minority groups in the military-ruled state.
Ms Charm Tong, a founding member of the widely respected Shan Women's Action Network, is a "courageous and compassionate" critic of Myanmar's military rulers, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, adding that she "has dedicated her life to helping those who suffer under the military rule in Rangoon and to exposing the regime's abuses, particularly against women."
Ms Charm Tong was named among "Asia's heroes of 2005" by Time magazine this month. Her Swan group has documented the reported rape of hundreds of women and girls by Myanmar's soldiers.
A refugee from Myanmar's central Shan state, home to the country's biggest ethnic minority, Ms Charm Tong is based along the Thailand-Myanmar border where she runs a school for young Shan.
"I raised with the president our concerns on the human rights violations, especially the military's use of systematic rape of innocent girls and women as a weapon of war," told AFP after the White House meeting, which she said lasted about 50 minutes. "The president said he was very concerned and wanted to know what more can be done to help the people." - AFP
Today
2 November 2005
COURAGEOUS MS CHARM MEETS BUSH
------------------------------
WASHINGTON - United States President George W Bush, saying he was concerned over human rights violations in Myanmar, met 23-year-old Ms Charm Tong, who is campaigning for the rights of minority groups in the military-ruled state.
Ms Charm Tong, a founding member of the widely respected Shan Women's Action Network, is a "courageous and compassionate" critic of Myanmar's military rulers, said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, adding that she "has dedicated her life to helping those who suffer under the military rule in Rangoon and to exposing the regime's abuses, particularly against women."
Ms Charm Tong was named among "Asia's heroes of 2005" by Time magazine this month. Her Swan group has documented the reported rape of hundreds of women and girls by Myanmar's soldiers.
A refugee from Myanmar's central Shan state, home to the country's biggest ethnic minority, Ms Charm Tong is based along the Thailand-Myanmar border where she runs a school for young Shan.
"I raised with the president our concerns on the human rights violations, especially the military's use of systematic rape of innocent girls and women as a weapon of war," told AFP after the White House meeting, which she said lasted about 50 minutes. "The president said he was very concerned and wanted to know what more can be done to help the people." - AFP
31 October 2005
Forget the Bad
What's the key to a rewarding and lasting relationship?
Some people may tell you that it is to find out each other's weaknesses, understand them, and work through them together as a couple. Although this is feasible to a certain extent, it can become frustrating and exhausting, because there will be problem spots that you won't be able to resolve together.
A woman discovered what loving someone truly involved, when she asked her husband to try out a relationship-building exercise she came across in a magazine.
She approached him and said, "I read in a magazine a while ago, about how we can strengthen our marriage. Each of us will write a list of the things we find a bit annoying about the other person. Then we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together."
Her husband agreed, so each of them went into a separate room and thought of all the things that annoyed them about each other. They thought about this for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with.
The following morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists.
"I'll start," offered the wife and took out her list. It had many items on it. Enough to fill three pages in fact. As she started reading the list of little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband's eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," her husband replied, "Keep reading your list."
The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over it.
"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both of our lists," she said happily.
Softly, her husband started, "I don't have anything on my list. I love you the way you are. And I wouldn't want to try and change anything about you." Very often, raising the negative aspects of a relationship can erode its strength rather than reinforce it. When you love someone, it should be in spite of his or her flaws. There will always be things to disappoint, depress and annoy us about our partners. But why dwell on these when there is so much beauty, promise and light as well?
Two simple tips for couples
To make full your loving cup
If you're wrong, admit it
If you're right, shut up
Good advice for couples but you also shouldn't bottle up things that you can't stand about your partner, talking about things that irritate you is good too but it shouldn't be a 'you did this, you did that' it should be a 'I'm not happy when you do this' because the first approach is more of a personal attack and the second is a 'there are things about your behaviour that I don't like'. I learnt that the hard way, not with T but with A, my first boyfriend and D (my second) help me to understand this.
Some people may tell you that it is to find out each other's weaknesses, understand them, and work through them together as a couple. Although this is feasible to a certain extent, it can become frustrating and exhausting, because there will be problem spots that you won't be able to resolve together.
A woman discovered what loving someone truly involved, when she asked her husband to try out a relationship-building exercise she came across in a magazine.
She approached him and said, "I read in a magazine a while ago, about how we can strengthen our marriage. Each of us will write a list of the things we find a bit annoying about the other person. Then we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together."
Her husband agreed, so each of them went into a separate room and thought of all the things that annoyed them about each other. They thought about this for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with.
The following morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists.
"I'll start," offered the wife and took out her list. It had many items on it. Enough to fill three pages in fact. As she started reading the list of little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband's eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," her husband replied, "Keep reading your list."
The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over it.
"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both of our lists," she said happily.
Softly, her husband started, "I don't have anything on my list. I love you the way you are. And I wouldn't want to try and change anything about you." Very often, raising the negative aspects of a relationship can erode its strength rather than reinforce it. When you love someone, it should be in spite of his or her flaws. There will always be things to disappoint, depress and annoy us about our partners. But why dwell on these when there is so much beauty, promise and light as well?
Two simple tips for couples
To make full your loving cup
If you're wrong, admit it
If you're right, shut up
Good advice for couples but you also shouldn't bottle up things that you can't stand about your partner, talking about things that irritate you is good too but it shouldn't be a 'you did this, you did that' it should be a 'I'm not happy when you do this' because the first approach is more of a personal attack and the second is a 'there are things about your behaviour that I don't like'. I learnt that the hard way, not with T but with A, my first boyfriend and D (my second) help me to understand this.
29 October 2005
Singapore Clamps Down On Gay Web Sites
by Peter Hacker 365Gay.com Asia Bureau Chief
Posted: October 28, 2005 11:00 am ET
(Singapore) Singapore dealt another blow to the city-state's LGBT community on Friday banning one gay Web site and fining another.
The government controls the internet through its Media Development Authority. The MDA said that both sites - one based in Singapore, the other overseas - contained offensive material.
It said that it acted after receiving complaints about the two companies. An MDA investigation found what the agency called content "promoting a promiscuous homosexual lifestyle".
Both sites contained information on dating and hookups and had nude photographs. The offshore site, which was not publicly named, was also accused of trying to recruit underage boys for sex - a charge often leveled by the government against gays.
Homosexuality is illegal in Singapore. In addition it bans nude images on the internet.
The government cannot prosecute the offshore company, but the local Web site, identified as "Meet Gay Singapore Friends", was fined $3,000 (US) and warned it would be closed down if it did not remove the offensive material. The company said on Friday it would comply.
Despite the criminalization of homosexuality Singapore's government has made continued statements that it does not discriminate against gays
High-ranking Singapore officials have blamed gay events for rising HIV infections. The country also has banned Asia's largest gay-themed party, Nation '05, from its shores. The event has been moved to Thailand.
In August the The government issued a warning to gays traveling to Singapore that they could face imprisonment if they are caught having gay sex.
©365Gay.com 2005
I'm okay with the gahmen banning pornographic sites, even though it is rather against free will.
This is another example of our non-homophobic gahmen because there is another Singapore website (sammyboy.com) that has porn and such and yet it is still up and running and it seems gahmen is doing nothing. So heterosexual porn is okay but not homosexual porn.
Posted: October 28, 2005 11:00 am ET
(Singapore) Singapore dealt another blow to the city-state's LGBT community on Friday banning one gay Web site and fining another.
The government controls the internet through its Media Development Authority. The MDA said that both sites - one based in Singapore, the other overseas - contained offensive material.
It said that it acted after receiving complaints about the two companies. An MDA investigation found what the agency called content "promoting a promiscuous homosexual lifestyle".
Both sites contained information on dating and hookups and had nude photographs. The offshore site, which was not publicly named, was also accused of trying to recruit underage boys for sex - a charge often leveled by the government against gays.
Homosexuality is illegal in Singapore. In addition it bans nude images on the internet.
The government cannot prosecute the offshore company, but the local Web site, identified as "Meet Gay Singapore Friends", was fined $3,000 (US) and warned it would be closed down if it did not remove the offensive material. The company said on Friday it would comply.
Despite the criminalization of homosexuality Singapore's government has made continued statements that it does not discriminate against gays
High-ranking Singapore officials have blamed gay events for rising HIV infections. The country also has banned Asia's largest gay-themed party, Nation '05, from its shores. The event has been moved to Thailand.
In August the The government issued a warning to gays traveling to Singapore that they could face imprisonment if they are caught having gay sex.
©365Gay.com 2005
I'm okay with the gahmen banning pornographic sites, even though it is rather against free will.
This is another example of our non-homophobic gahmen because there is another Singapore website (sammyboy.com) that has porn and such and yet it is still up and running and it seems gahmen is doing nothing. So heterosexual porn is okay but not homosexual porn.
22 October 2005
Birthday apart
Today is T's birthday and for the first time we have been together that I'm not celebrating it with him. :( I really, really hate this. I knew that this will happen when I came over but I didn't know it would make me feel this bad and sad. *sigh*
It didn't really help with me watching the last season of "Sex and the city" again, the one where everything worked out. Charlotte York (Kristin Davis)'s husband Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) is so nice and sweet, reminded me so much of T (character wise). The whole of the last season made me want to be with him even more, to be living with him ASAP.
It didn't really help with me watching the last season of "Sex and the city" again, the one where everything worked out. Charlotte York (Kristin Davis)'s husband Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler) is so nice and sweet, reminded me so much of T (character wise). The whole of the last season made me want to be with him even more, to be living with him ASAP.
17 October 2005
At last someone she wouldn't kill
I was so happy to learn that my best friend (O) has found a boyfriend. She even sms'ed me from Singapore to tell me about it. Gosh, never seen her so excited before and it is the first time she has used the b word on a guy. :) Don't know much about him though, she is rather illusive about telling me stuff but then I'll interrogate her when she comes for a visit in December.
I have known O for more than 10 years and this is the first time that she knows a guy whom she can chat with without feeling like she wants to kill him. The other guys she dated (she said went out with but no boyfriend) have all gotten on her nerves after a while, too clingy, too boring, too full of himself... so it is a thrill she can actually find a guy who meets her criteria of being a boyfriend.
I have known O for more than 10 years and this is the first time that she knows a guy whom she can chat with without feeling like she wants to kill him. The other guys she dated (she said went out with but no boyfriend) have all gotten on her nerves after a while, too clingy, too boring, too full of himself... so it is a thrill she can actually find a guy who meets her criteria of being a boyfriend.
09 October 2005
Another earthquake
Gosh, another one, an earthquake yesterday (8 Oct 2005). Let us all remember the people who have died and the ones who have been left behind, who have to pick up the pieces.
God bless them. Amen.
God bless them. Amen.
07 October 2005
My musings
Except taken from Todayonline.com
7 Oct 2005
--- snip ---
While he reiterated the Government's disapproval of the liberal "Western model" for Singapore's purposes, Mr Lee listed the sort of changes he expects to see.
"I think in 20 years, our society will change. I think the politics of it will change. The issues probably will change, although the fundamentals of living in this small red dot will remain the same," he said.
Will one of those changes include a gay Cabinet minister, or is the Government homophobic? "I don't think we are homophobic," he replied, asserting his agreement with the views of then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that gays are "people like you and me", in Mr Lee's words.
"But there are some segments of Singaporeans who may even disagree with that, and we have to be aware of that," he said.
These are factors the Government must take into account, he said, when gay groups want to "flaunt (their) gayness" through parades and parties like the Nation.05.
"I'm not sure I want to do that in Singapore because I think it will be offensive to a large number of Singaporeans and will be very divisive," he added.
In a brief 10-minute speech before the Q&A, he highlighted the need to encourage diversity but not division, especially when it comes to nurturing the next generation, one of four main tasks he identified as needed in the next 20 years.
--- snip ---
Not homophobic? Let us now see:
Nice to know that I'm a law breaker (section 377) and immoral (internet penal code, censorship).
Then read this article.
The government is not homophobic, the Prime Minister says
Let's say together "4 legs good, 2 legs better".
7 Oct 2005
PM confident of strong poll showing, though it won't be 2001 again
--- snip ---
While he reiterated the Government's disapproval of the liberal "Western model" for Singapore's purposes, Mr Lee listed the sort of changes he expects to see.
"I think in 20 years, our society will change. I think the politics of it will change. The issues probably will change, although the fundamentals of living in this small red dot will remain the same," he said.
Will one of those changes include a gay Cabinet minister, or is the Government homophobic? "I don't think we are homophobic," he replied, asserting his agreement with the views of then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong that gays are "people like you and me", in Mr Lee's words.
"But there are some segments of Singaporeans who may even disagree with that, and we have to be aware of that," he said.
These are factors the Government must take into account, he said, when gay groups want to "flaunt (their) gayness" through parades and parties like the Nation.05.
"I'm not sure I want to do that in Singapore because I think it will be offensive to a large number of Singaporeans and will be very divisive," he added.
In a brief 10-minute speech before the Q&A, he highlighted the need to encourage diversity but not division, especially when it comes to nurturing the next generation, one of four main tasks he identified as needed in the next 20 years.
--- snip ---
Not homophobic? Let us now see:
- Section 377 crimilising gay sex is still around
- The internet penal code states "whether the material advocates homosexuality or lesbianism, or depicts or promotes incest, paedophilia, bestiality and necrophilia" is prohibited on 'moral' grounds
- Anything (print, movies, TV shows) that shows homosexuality as normal or in a good light is considered advocating homosexuality and is NOT allowed (the reverse is allowed)
- Gay support groups like "People Like Us" are not allowed to form officially
- 2 gay parties (Snowball 2004 and Nation 2005) were banned because they 'promoted' homosexuality and risky behaviour i.e. increase the number of gays who will contract HIV
- Los Angeles-based Christian gay pop musicians Jason and deMarco were the planned feature performers for the April 3 Action for AIDS event organised by Christian group Safehaven was banned because they 'promoted homosexuality'
Nice to know that I'm a law breaker (section 377) and immoral (internet penal code, censorship).
Then read this article.
The government is not homophobic, the Prime Minister says
Let's say together "4 legs good, 2 legs better".
04 October 2005
First PT in AU
Tonight was the first night of my personal training (PT) at my gym.
It was really terrible. I couldn't believe that after 2.5 months of stopping my PT in Sg my endurance and stamina had dropped to my pre-PT level!
It was only half and hour long but I was dizzy and out of breath and was about to puke at the end of it, all the symptoms of an unfit person doing exercise and to think that I'm going to the gym regularly. I was so embrassed. Apparently, lifting weights is different from doing cardio. Strange.
Anyhow, I just hope that my next one would be better.
It was really terrible. I couldn't believe that after 2.5 months of stopping my PT in Sg my endurance and stamina had dropped to my pre-PT level!
It was only half and hour long but I was dizzy and out of breath and was about to puke at the end of it, all the symptoms of an unfit person doing exercise and to think that I'm going to the gym regularly. I was so embrassed. Apparently, lifting weights is different from doing cardio. Strange.
Anyhow, I just hope that my next one would be better.
02 October 2005
Happy (belated) Anniversary
Hahahaha... was talking to T today and realised that I've had my blog for a 13 months now. Wow, that is a long time and I also have realised after reading this blog again, that I've started becoming more 'talkative' than I was when I started.
It is nice to be able to have my thoughts out there (hopfully I wouldn't get into any trouble :) ). At least I have an outlet for my opinions.
It is nice to be able to have my thoughts out there (hopfully I wouldn't get into any trouble :) ). At least I have an outlet for my opinions.
Bombings
Let us take a moment to remember the ones who have died in yesterday's Bali bombing and also pray that these terrorist will see the error of their ways soon. So help us God.
01 October 2005
Tulips
It was a wonderful day today. Went out with a gay group to the Tulip festival.
The people were nice and somehow I fit right in. :)
I'm very tired now (walking almost the whole day).
The people were nice and somehow I fit right in. :)
I'm very tired now (walking almost the whole day).
30 September 2005
Racism
I had a view about the gahmen using the hard hand of the law to punish the 2 racist bloggers in Sg and I think this article is exactly what I think.
Today
20 Sep 2005
EDUCATION IS THE KEY, NOT A GAG AND FINES
-----------------------------------------
Recently, a Muslim friend made a remark about the 17-year-old boy who was charged for racist remarks on his blog.
He said that blogger had to be taught a lesson because "this is Singapore. Like it or not, people should be taught to respect other races".
In the last few weeks, two others have been charged for similar offences. Some people are calling for the arrest of a Government scholar who made racist remarks on his blog months ago.
While many feel it is right for the Government to send out a zero-tolerance message, it is, however, worrying when they agree that the judiciary should apply the full force of the Sedition Act to individuals who make racially-insensitive remarks.
They also find appealing the suggestion that, like in some other Commonwealth jurisdictions, the penalty for crimes with a racial element should automatically be increased.
But in the many commentaries and views expressed so far in the media, few have paused to ask: "Why did the youth write such things?"
The root of the problem may run deeper.
Some of my peers went through school and never had the opportunity to get to know an ethnic minority friend. I have met some people in their late 30s who have never visited Little India, Geylang or Arab Street.
From the time we get our birth certificate to our death, one word persists: Race.
Race matters when we seek partners, get married or search for housing.
Race is also an issue when you are in the workforce. Your race decides which self-help group your monthly donations go to and how others perceive you.
For example, I recently decided to stop the monthly contributions to my self-help group for several reasons.
I do not believe in having to be a member of a particular race to make a difference for that group. As a Singaporean, I prefer to make an annual donation and divide it among all the self-help groups.
When I stop-ped contributing, I was blamed by some of my friends from ethnic minorities for "selling out my own kind".
As long as race matters, we will have racists. We will also have individuals who find others racially insensitive or those who sell out "their own kind".
The solution lies not in penalising such persons, but rather in understanding their way of thinking and engaging these thoughts constructively.
By punishing racists, we risk aggravating racism. For fear of sanction, people may stop sharing their real thoughts on the issue of race. And these thoughts could gestate in such a way that they become ideologies with a cult following.
It cannot be denied that there are benefits in a zero-tolerance-to-racism policy. The legislature and modern Singapore's brief history have provided some very strong grounds to do so.
However, we cannot rule out alternative ways to deal with the issue. We should make the punishment fit the crime in more ways than one.
For example, why not empower our judiciary to get these youth to serve in the communities they make fun of. Such youth may then be in a better position to understand that community.
Perhaps, the current review of the laws will pave the way for such measures.
The show of brute force through the long arm of the law and the heavy hammer of the judiciary may provide a quick fix. But education and a culture of allowing people to learn from their mistakes can take us to greater heights.
The writer, a corporate counsel, contributes this in a personal capacity.
It seems odd that when the Prime Minister is trying to make Sg more open, things like this shows that it is not so. Another incident concerning bloggers was caustic.soda who was sued by a gahmen agency because of his remakes made on his blog, which I think the are very mild compared with the things people say about him in their private conversations. And if people are people, this 'sayings' can be more damaging to a person's reputation than a blog can. Simple reason being that people read blogs and webpages with a pinch of salt (like reading the newspaper) whereas they tend to believe (sometimes like gospel truth) what others say, especially when that person is a close friend or family member. The phrase "word of mouth" wasn’t coined for no reason.
All people that I know believed that it akin to an elephant crushing an ant. Who in the right mind would want to go against a gahmen agency with millions?
These 2 incidents are so now etched into the minds of Sg. So is the gahmen going back on its word to have a more open society and the law going to be used on everyone that doesn't agree with the gahmen's paradigm? I hope not. I believe that Sg is starting to become a mature society and it would be a shame if the gahmen is moving back to treating the Sg people like kids. I sometimes wonder if the Sg gahmen thinks that they are the only mature people around who are the only ones that can make the right decisions for Sg.
At this point in time, we don’t have ‘freedom of speech’ in Sg but I’m hoping that with PM Lee S L’s leadership, we would be able to see some real changes to becoming a real open society where different opinions and views are not taken as unlawful but as a mature society showing its concern for the country. I mean if I don’t care about a country, why would I bother to say things about it, good or bad. Criticisms, constructive ones, are bore out of concern but we also have to acknowledge that there are people who will criticise for the sake of criticising. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with those black sheep as they are usually few.
Today
20 Sep 2005
EDUCATION IS THE KEY, NOT A GAG AND FINES
-----------------------------------------
Recently, a Muslim friend made a remark about the 17-year-old boy who was charged for racist remarks on his blog.
He said that blogger had to be taught a lesson because "this is Singapore. Like it or not, people should be taught to respect other races".
In the last few weeks, two others have been charged for similar offences. Some people are calling for the arrest of a Government scholar who made racist remarks on his blog months ago.
While many feel it is right for the Government to send out a zero-tolerance message, it is, however, worrying when they agree that the judiciary should apply the full force of the Sedition Act to individuals who make racially-insensitive remarks.
They also find appealing the suggestion that, like in some other Commonwealth jurisdictions, the penalty for crimes with a racial element should automatically be increased.
But in the many commentaries and views expressed so far in the media, few have paused to ask: "Why did the youth write such things?"
The root of the problem may run deeper.
Some of my peers went through school and never had the opportunity to get to know an ethnic minority friend. I have met some people in their late 30s who have never visited Little India, Geylang or Arab Street.
From the time we get our birth certificate to our death, one word persists: Race.
Race matters when we seek partners, get married or search for housing.
Race is also an issue when you are in the workforce. Your race decides which self-help group your monthly donations go to and how others perceive you.
For example, I recently decided to stop the monthly contributions to my self-help group for several reasons.
I do not believe in having to be a member of a particular race to make a difference for that group. As a Singaporean, I prefer to make an annual donation and divide it among all the self-help groups.
When I stop-ped contributing, I was blamed by some of my friends from ethnic minorities for "selling out my own kind".
As long as race matters, we will have racists. We will also have individuals who find others racially insensitive or those who sell out "their own kind".
The solution lies not in penalising such persons, but rather in understanding their way of thinking and engaging these thoughts constructively.
By punishing racists, we risk aggravating racism. For fear of sanction, people may stop sharing their real thoughts on the issue of race. And these thoughts could gestate in such a way that they become ideologies with a cult following.
It cannot be denied that there are benefits in a zero-tolerance-to-racism policy. The legislature and modern Singapore's brief history have provided some very strong grounds to do so.
However, we cannot rule out alternative ways to deal with the issue. We should make the punishment fit the crime in more ways than one.
For example, why not empower our judiciary to get these youth to serve in the communities they make fun of. Such youth may then be in a better position to understand that community.
Perhaps, the current review of the laws will pave the way for such measures.
The show of brute force through the long arm of the law and the heavy hammer of the judiciary may provide a quick fix. But education and a culture of allowing people to learn from their mistakes can take us to greater heights.
The writer, a corporate counsel, contributes this in a personal capacity.
It seems odd that when the Prime Minister is trying to make Sg more open, things like this shows that it is not so. Another incident concerning bloggers was caustic.soda who was sued by a gahmen agency because of his remakes made on his blog, which I think the are very mild compared with the things people say about him in their private conversations. And if people are people, this 'sayings' can be more damaging to a person's reputation than a blog can. Simple reason being that people read blogs and webpages with a pinch of salt (like reading the newspaper) whereas they tend to believe (sometimes like gospel truth) what others say, especially when that person is a close friend or family member. The phrase "word of mouth" wasn’t coined for no reason.
All people that I know believed that it akin to an elephant crushing an ant. Who in the right mind would want to go against a gahmen agency with millions?
These 2 incidents are so now etched into the minds of Sg. So is the gahmen going back on its word to have a more open society and the law going to be used on everyone that doesn't agree with the gahmen's paradigm? I hope not. I believe that Sg is starting to become a mature society and it would be a shame if the gahmen is moving back to treating the Sg people like kids. I sometimes wonder if the Sg gahmen thinks that they are the only mature people around who are the only ones that can make the right decisions for Sg.
At this point in time, we don’t have ‘freedom of speech’ in Sg but I’m hoping that with PM Lee S L’s leadership, we would be able to see some real changes to becoming a real open society where different opinions and views are not taken as unlawful but as a mature society showing its concern for the country. I mean if I don’t care about a country, why would I bother to say things about it, good or bad. Criticisms, constructive ones, are bore out of concern but we also have to acknowledge that there are people who will criticise for the sake of criticising. We shouldn’t concern ourselves with those black sheep as they are usually few.
29 September 2005
Sexualism / sexualist
Discovered something very interesting in wikipedia today. I realised that my use of heterosexist is wrong/flawed. Below is a snippet of heterosexism.
Heterosexism has been suggested as alternative to homophobia, in part because it uses a parallel structure to sexism or racism. This parallel approach, however, is logically flawed, as the literal meaning of the word would therefore be "a belief that one type of heterosexuality is inherently 'better' than another type of heterosexuality" (see the dictionary definition of, for example, racism). A true parallel construction can be found in the word sexualism.
So the word that can really replace homophobia is sexualism, which I presume would be the right word to used. I've always figured that homophobia is like a fear of GLTB people, which doesn't really mean the person hates us (personal view). So sexualist would be the word from now.
Heterosexism has been suggested as alternative to homophobia, in part because it uses a parallel structure to sexism or racism. This parallel approach, however, is logically flawed, as the literal meaning of the word would therefore be "a belief that one type of heterosexuality is inherently 'better' than another type of heterosexuality" (see the dictionary definition of, for example, racism). A true parallel construction can be found in the word sexualism.
So the word that can really replace homophobia is sexualism, which I presume would be the right word to used. I've always figured that homophobia is like a fear of GLTB people, which doesn't really mean the person hates us (personal view). So sexualist would be the word from now.
27 September 2005
Aches and pains
My back doesn't hurt so much now but my arm gets tired rather easily and at this point in time, my right shoulder feels like it has been lifting heavy weights the whole day, like when I do a workout at the gym where my trainer is too enthusiastic. Well, comes with compensation. When a muscle is healing, the others around it try to compensate and because it is not its usually ‘job’ it gets tired quickly.
Can’t do much work now. My shoulder aches too much to type/use the mouse for long. So reading a lot now. Really can’t wait to go home and rest it.
Can’t do much work now. My shoulder aches too much to type/use the mouse for long. So reading a lot now. Really can’t wait to go home and rest it.
26 September 2005
So ridiculous
When to see the doctor at 1PM. Went early so that I can register (since it was my first time). Didn't get to see the doctor until 1:30PM (even though I had an appointment, so much like Sg where an appointment doesn't mean shit). Then got to see the doctor for 2 mins. What a bloody waste if my time! He didn't do anything but tell me what I already knew ("this happened because some of your muscle fibres... blah, blah") and told me to go the chemist (Sg's equivalent of pharmacist) and get some pain killers that had muscle relaxant in it, an on the shelf drug! If I know that was all, I would have just to the chemist in the morning and not suffer until 1:30PM with the pain. So ridiculous.
I found out from one of my colleague that the medical here in Au is not totally free. Their 'medi-care' thingy is free only for certain things. First off, medical here is NOT free. If you visit the doctor and want it to be free, you'll have to visit a gahmen one and if my visit to the doctor is anything to go by, it would be a long wait. If you go private, you'll be able to 'claim' a percentage of what you paid. Hospitalisation is also 'claimable'. Ambulance service is expensive unless you take up an insurance. If you go to the A&E, you have to pay for it, in full. No claiming.
Gosh, you pay so much in taxes and realise in the end, the medical is not free or even well subsidised. You have to pay for all drugs that you get even if the doctor prescribed it. So even (like me) you can get the doctor's consultation for free, you'll still have to pay for the medication. You'll still have to go to the chemist to get it. From what I can tell the only people that benefit from the high taxes, through welfare, are the young, able bodied people who are too lazy to work.
I really pray that nothing will happen to me during my stay here. I really don't fancy having to pay for my medical bills.
I found out from one of my colleague that the medical here in Au is not totally free. Their 'medi-care' thingy is free only for certain things. First off, medical here is NOT free. If you visit the doctor and want it to be free, you'll have to visit a gahmen one and if my visit to the doctor is anything to go by, it would be a long wait. If you go private, you'll be able to 'claim' a percentage of what you paid. Hospitalisation is also 'claimable'. Ambulance service is expensive unless you take up an insurance. If you go to the A&E, you have to pay for it, in full. No claiming.
Gosh, you pay so much in taxes and realise in the end, the medical is not free or even well subsidised. You have to pay for all drugs that you get even if the doctor prescribed it. So even (like me) you can get the doctor's consultation for free, you'll still have to pay for the medication. You'll still have to go to the chemist to get it. From what I can tell the only people that benefit from the high taxes, through welfare, are the young, able bodied people who are too lazy to work.
I really pray that nothing will happen to me during my stay here. I really don't fancy having to pay for my medical bills.
Bad bad bad
Gosh, woke up today with a sprained upper back (somewhere in my right shoulder blade area). It really hurt like hell when I sat up from bed. Have no idea how it came about. Going to see the doctor later at 1PM. Will write more after. Ouch!
24 September 2005
Turning to a couch potato
Gosh, realised today that I'm really turning into a couch potato. I'm watching more TV now than I've ever watched in Sg. In Sg I hardly watch much TV, maybe 2 hours a week. Yup, a week. I was that active. Going to the gym, dancing, yoga, dinner with friends, going out with T, etc. so much so that I hardly have time for myself. Now, I have so much time on my hands and I don't know what to do with it except to watch TV. So pathetic!
At least in the coming week I'm going to make things change. I'm starting my personal training at my gym this week. After such a long break (of not doing weights seriously) I don't even know if I'd be able to lift the weights I used to lift. Anyway, it is the least of my worries since I'm paying someone else to do it. I hope to take up a package with this trainer of mine, will talk to him about it after and see how much it would cost me.
Told T about this cute guy (Chinese or at least Asian) that was at class today (gym class). He was really cute and had the type of body that I drool over. :P He was doing the class in front of me (his side was facing me), so I kept stealing glances at him. Can't help but feel that I know him from somewhere, just can't seem to place it.
At least in the coming week I'm going to make things change. I'm starting my personal training at my gym this week. After such a long break (of not doing weights seriously) I don't even know if I'd be able to lift the weights I used to lift. Anyway, it is the least of my worries since I'm paying someone else to do it. I hope to take up a package with this trainer of mine, will talk to him about it after and see how much it would cost me.
Told T about this cute guy (Chinese or at least Asian) that was at class today (gym class). He was really cute and had the type of body that I drool over. :P He was doing the class in front of me (his side was facing me), so I kept stealing glances at him. Can't help but feel that I know him from somewhere, just can't seem to place it.
17 September 2005
The 2-Variable Intuition Test
I found this test and did it for fun. :)
| Very Well-Rounded 70% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and 62% EMOTIONAL INTUITION | ||||
Try my other test! The 3 Variable Funny Test It rules. | ||||
My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
|
| Link: The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid |
15 September 2005
First month
Wow, I have been working here for a month already! So cool. I have been in Australia for 7 weeks already. Wow rather fast, almost 2 months already.
Still haven't got used to the erratic weather, doubt I ever will. Have been living in USA (San Francisco and Portland) and the weather has NOT been as erratic as this. It can be very cold and then very hot all in a span of 1 hour. And the clouds, gosh, it can be bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky and then in 5 min the dark clouds can appear and then it will rain.
Stupid weather.
Still haven't got used to the erratic weather, doubt I ever will. Have been living in USA (San Francisco and Portland) and the weather has NOT been as erratic as this. It can be very cold and then very hot all in a span of 1 hour. And the clouds, gosh, it can be bright and sunny with no clouds in the sky and then in 5 min the dark clouds can appear and then it will rain.
Stupid weather.
08 September 2005
Next generation iPod mini, the iPod nano
Gosh, the new iPod nano (just unveiled today) is just so small and beautiful! I'm so tempted to get one but then I don't even use my iPod now since I don't have long journeys anymore.
My current iPod is the 2nd iPod that own. I had the 1st gen iPod, the original :), then T bought me my current one (3rd gen) the year before (2003) for my birthday.
My current iPod is the 2nd iPod that own. I had the 1st gen iPod, the original :), then T bought me my current one (3rd gen) the year before (2003) for my birthday.
07 September 2005
Trust in God
This hymn is playing in my head again.
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way He will make a way
By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His word will still remain
He will do something new today
This usually happens when I have a lot of things on my mind about the future (should I, would I what if...) and realised that I'm stressing myself out for no reason whatsoever. This hymn makes me rethink my position and realise that God will bless me in whatever the future holds. God will not make send me anything I cannot handle. So I should just give God my life and let God be the driver and hope that I'll not be a back seat driver.
T is back in Singapore at last :). He returned very late (3AM Melbourne time). So tonight can chat with him. Hooray. :)
God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way He will make a way
By a roadway in the wilderness
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His word will still remain
He will do something new today
This usually happens when I have a lot of things on my mind about the future (should I, would I what if...) and realised that I'm stressing myself out for no reason whatsoever. This hymn makes me rethink my position and realise that God will bless me in whatever the future holds. God will not make send me anything I cannot handle. So I should just give God my life and let God be the driver and hope that I'll not be a back seat driver.
T is back in Singapore at last :). He returned very late (3AM Melbourne time). So tonight can chat with him. Hooray. :)
06 September 2005
So excited
I'm so excited, T is returning to Singapore today. He was no vacation since Saturday, so we haven't 'spoken' since Sat. Wow, 3 days. It is really funny, we are not living together and furthermore, not living in the same country and yet our daily (or almost daily) 'chatting' on the net and webcaming makes it tolerable to being apart. During these 3 days, it was really difficult. It was amazing.
During these 3 days, I realise how much I truly love him. How much I really cherish him. We do have our differences but we seem to work them out all the time, our communication is really wonderful. He has a 'we can work everything out' attitude.
So here I am waiting patiently for him to return and come online. :)
During these 3 days, I realise how much I truly love him. How much I really cherish him. We do have our differences but we seem to work them out all the time, our communication is really wonderful. He has a 'we can work everything out' attitude.
So here I am waiting patiently for him to return and come online. :)
05 September 2005
I miss my life
As much as I said that I've settled down in Australia (since it has been 6 weeks), somehow it doesn't feel like home. I miss T a lot and I think that is the major reason why I'm not really settling down. The other is the fact that I'm all alone here. No friends except for my roommate. I think that if T was here, it would feel more like home but then again it might not.
I've written to HDB to see if I'd be able to buy a HDB flat while still working here in Australia. If that is possible, I'll ask my parents to have a look around (in Holland V) and see if there are any good buys. And maybe get them to legally buy it. I hope that it is possible. It would be in 3 years (or actually 2.5 years) but no harm it finding out things earlier.
I really do miss my life in Singapore. My being so busy and having loads of friends. I think I do miss my Singapore routine.
I've written to HDB to see if I'd be able to buy a HDB flat while still working here in Australia. If that is possible, I'll ask my parents to have a look around (in Holland V) and see if there are any good buys. And maybe get them to legally buy it. I hope that it is possible. It would be in 3 years (or actually 2.5 years) but no harm it finding out things earlier.
I really do miss my life in Singapore. My being so busy and having loads of friends. I think I do miss my Singapore routine.
02 September 2005
I'm so bored
Gosh, I really need to find friends. Friends of my own. After a month here, I'm starting to get bored with my routine. I was so active in Singapore, not only because of going to the gym but also my other activities like ballroom dancing. But now, I only go to the gym and it is not as fun as in Singapore because I have no friends in the gym. So I don't know how long I can keep this up before I get bored out of my mind.
It will be difficult to make friends here and now, especially when I'm not studying. I wonder where can I make friends from? Well, if God willing, I should move out of my routine and start going out with social gay groups. That is provided I can take the first step. Well, it will happen, just have to venture out of my comfort zone (again). :)
It will be difficult to make friends here and now, especially when I'm not studying. I wonder where can I make friends from? Well, if God willing, I should move out of my routine and start going out with social gay groups. That is provided I can take the first step. Well, it will happen, just have to venture out of my comfort zone (again). :)
30 August 2005
Freezing... indoors
Today is so ridiculous! The office is much colder than it is outside, it is windy outside. Can you imagine how awful it is. As much as I like the cold, this is ridiculous for an office. My fingers are so cold that it is clamming up, I can hardly type and it is my work progress so much slower than it is suppose to. Gosh. There were people moving in and out trying to fix the problem but until now (they started since yesterday) nothing seems to have been done. I really can't wait to go out into the heat. This is almost as bad as my company in Singapore; Very cold inside, very warm outside but here it is very cold inside but warmer outside. Less of a contrast.
Last night I had the shock of my life. A return ticket to Singapore in December will cost me AUD1400 or so. I couldn't believe it. I have never paid that much for a plane ticket before except when I was going to New York. The prices I checked was from zuji.com and it only had Singapore Air and Qantas so it could be rather high because of that. Those 2 airlines have never been known for cheap fares. I'll be going down to a travel agent this weekend to check out the prices and maybe make a reservation. I just hope I'll just have to spend about AUD1000 on it. If I went back at some other time it would cost much less. Well, what to do, if not for my parents, I wouldn't bother at all but wait until next March or so to return and do some shopping.
Another incident happened last night that I couldn't understand. I had a 'depression' attack. I became so down at about 9PM or so and it was so weird. I realised one cause was because I miss T so much. It seems after so long (about 3.5 weeks) this feeling has not really subsided. I think I'm just getting used to it and not really miss him less. Is that how people really cope, by getting used to things? I just hope attacks like that wouldn't happen too often. It is bad enough last night, T was so worried and was wondering what was happening to me. I couldn't even understand it. Maybe I just need more friends to have that human contact that a 'people person' like me craves. :P
Last night I had the shock of my life. A return ticket to Singapore in December will cost me AUD1400 or so. I couldn't believe it. I have never paid that much for a plane ticket before except when I was going to New York. The prices I checked was from zuji.com and it only had Singapore Air and Qantas so it could be rather high because of that. Those 2 airlines have never been known for cheap fares. I'll be going down to a travel agent this weekend to check out the prices and maybe make a reservation. I just hope I'll just have to spend about AUD1000 on it. If I went back at some other time it would cost much less. Well, what to do, if not for my parents, I wouldn't bother at all but wait until next March or so to return and do some shopping.
Another incident happened last night that I couldn't understand. I had a 'depression' attack. I became so down at about 9PM or so and it was so weird. I realised one cause was because I miss T so much. It seems after so long (about 3.5 weeks) this feeling has not really subsided. I think I'm just getting used to it and not really miss him less. Is that how people really cope, by getting used to things? I just hope attacks like that wouldn't happen too often. It is bad enough last night, T was so worried and was wondering what was happening to me. I couldn't even understand it. Maybe I just need more friends to have that human contact that a 'people person' like me craves. :P
21 August 2005
So lost today
Today is another day where I'm letting the future get to me. I know that I'm suppose to all God to lead me for my coming here was part of God's divine will. What God has in store for me (and T) I really cannot comprehend. And basically that is the problem. I keep having this feeling that I want to get back to Singapore as fast as possible, I don't know if that stems from either:
1) The fact that I'm more or less alone here and have no friends as yet
2) That T is not here with me and I'm feeling his absence more and more
3) The unknown future (like how to deal with my parents visiting me and T when T comes over, should I buy a house here...)
So many things and too much to worry about. That is my problem, I know in my heart that God has sent me here for a reason and I'm to find that out. Whether I'll be stay in Australia for the rest of my life and another matter altogether, but that is what I'm worrying about. I really like it here but there are too many unknowns at this moment (parents, T, friends or lack there of) that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Gosh, Lord, I really need to calm myself down and put all my trust in you, knowing that you'll bless me in my life and that in the end everything will turn out well if I just let you guide. I just hope that I'll be able to do that, letting the Lord guide me that is. Being human, we tend to believe in our own power, thinking that we have control of our lives and planning for the future would be the only way to go but we keep forgetting about the parable of the rich man and his rich harvest (the one where he wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones but the Lord called him a fool because he was going to die that night). I must remember that and forget about my worries because with God in the drivers seat, we can sleep comfortable in the back knowing that things will turn out right.
1) The fact that I'm more or less alone here and have no friends as yet
2) That T is not here with me and I'm feeling his absence more and more
3) The unknown future (like how to deal with my parents visiting me and T when T comes over, should I buy a house here...)
So many things and too much to worry about. That is my problem, I know in my heart that God has sent me here for a reason and I'm to find that out. Whether I'll be stay in Australia for the rest of my life and another matter altogether, but that is what I'm worrying about. I really like it here but there are too many unknowns at this moment (parents, T, friends or lack there of) that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Gosh, Lord, I really need to calm myself down and put all my trust in you, knowing that you'll bless me in my life and that in the end everything will turn out well if I just let you guide. I just hope that I'll be able to do that, letting the Lord guide me that is. Being human, we tend to believe in our own power, thinking that we have control of our lives and planning for the future would be the only way to go but we keep forgetting about the parable of the rich man and his rich harvest (the one where he wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger ones but the Lord called him a fool because he was going to die that night). I must remember that and forget about my worries because with God in the drivers seat, we can sleep comfortable in the back knowing that things will turn out right.
20 August 2005
Saving Face
It really is watching shows like this that allows me to really really appreciate NO censorship. "Saving Face" is a movie by Alice Wu (written and directed). The movie is not bad. The beginning part really played up the Chinese community, the cultural aspects of things. It's portray of the Chinese community and its cultural was very accurate but the ending was a let down, Alice allowed her wants and fantasies to overshadow the reality of the situations. Thus it became a typical Hollywood happy ending (girl gets girl, mother gets her man), even though it is really culturally not possible. Not for majority of the Chinese community anyway.
There was this part where Wil came out to her ma but her ma's reaction was typical, "我是个好妈，你不可能是 gay". Like the 2 are linked!
I would recommend people to watch this movie, as it really shows the "face" of the Chinese and how much one generation has changed in its thinking.
Synopsis of Saving Face:
For 28-year old New Yorker Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang (Michelle Krusiee), life is a juggling act between a promising career as a surgeon and her responsibilities as a dutiful daughter. Like the #7 train she takes to visit her Chinese family on a weekly basis, Wil is perpetually in transit between two worlds. The expectations of the Flushing, Queens society she is from and the desires that alienate her from it have made Wil content to live below the surface -- even if it means playing an inadvertent game of charades with her widowed mother (Joan Chen) and the old world Ma represents. The masquerade is comic even in its pain as Wil tolerates Ma's weekly set ups with eligible Chinese-American boys at the Friday Chinese socials; but it quickly becomes a farce when Ma's mask cracks first.
One night, Wil comes home to find Ma on her doorstep -pregnant. Disgraced by the Chinese community, and with no where else to go, Ma moves in with her daughter, making it difficult for Wil to nurture a budding relationship with gorgeous dance Vivian (Lynn Chen). As her carefully compartmentalised worlds collide, Wil is forced to find her mother a husband, placate her girlfriend, and choose between breaking a cycle of keeping up appearances, or risk losing the girl she loves.
SAVING FACE is a romantic comedy about a daughter struggling to understand her mother's heart, which ultimately allows her to understand her own. It is the story of unspoken loves, contemporary and cultural taboos, and the journey of two women towards living their lives honestly.
There was this part where Wil came out to her ma but her ma's reaction was typical, "我是个好妈，你不可能是 gay". Like the 2 are linked!
I would recommend people to watch this movie, as it really shows the "face" of the Chinese and how much one generation has changed in its thinking.
Synopsis of Saving Face:
For 28-year old New Yorker Wilhelmina "Wil" Pang (Michelle Krusiee), life is a juggling act between a promising career as a surgeon and her responsibilities as a dutiful daughter. Like the #7 train she takes to visit her Chinese family on a weekly basis, Wil is perpetually in transit between two worlds. The expectations of the Flushing, Queens society she is from and the desires that alienate her from it have made Wil content to live below the surface -- even if it means playing an inadvertent game of charades with her widowed mother (Joan Chen) and the old world Ma represents. The masquerade is comic even in its pain as Wil tolerates Ma's weekly set ups with eligible Chinese-American boys at the Friday Chinese socials; but it quickly becomes a farce when Ma's mask cracks first.
One night, Wil comes home to find Ma on her doorstep -pregnant. Disgraced by the Chinese community, and with no where else to go, Ma moves in with her daughter, making it difficult for Wil to nurture a budding relationship with gorgeous dance Vivian (Lynn Chen). As her carefully compartmentalised worlds collide, Wil is forced to find her mother a husband, placate her girlfriend, and choose between breaking a cycle of keeping up appearances, or risk losing the girl she loves.
SAVING FACE is a romantic comedy about a daughter struggling to understand her mother's heart, which ultimately allows her to understand her own. It is the story of unspoken loves, contemporary and cultural taboos, and the journey of two women towards living their lives honestly.
19 August 2005
TGIF
My first week of work and today is the last day, TGIF!
Work has been slow the past week and the people here are different from the ones in Singapore. I've been left alone most of the time, unlike in Singapore wherever I went to a new company, most people will try to make me feel welcome, asking me out for lunch and etc. Over here it really is 'each for his/her own'. Culture shock, yea in a way but I think it should be expected. I think I was lucky in my past 2 jobs in that the people were all friendly. Well, it will take time but I think I can break into the culture sooner or later (I hope sooner though).
So one week gone and work is starting to pick up. According to E, he and R has lots in store for me to do. It will take time and I'll slowly get more and more busy.
T and I are coping with being apart. We have webcamed a lot, so we can see each other. I really miss the intimate moments we have, like when I 'bite' him on the shoulder when there is nobody around (like in supermarkets, bookstores, etc.) my sign of affection :) and of course I do miss the more physical intimate times that we have too. Well, we all have to make sacrifices. I'm just hoping that these 2 years will pass fast so that we can be together again.
Speaking of which, T was wondering if I would ever move back to Singapore again. Well, I told him nothing is carved in stone so anything is possible. I just pray that in the next 10 years or so, we would really see change in Singapore, not just in the economic sense. It wouldn't be easy but if the gahmen decide to repell section 377 from the penal code, then I can say that equality is starting to set in in Singapore. So there would really be a "society built on justice and EQUALITY", which at this moment there isn't.
Work has been slow the past week and the people here are different from the ones in Singapore. I've been left alone most of the time, unlike in Singapore wherever I went to a new company, most people will try to make me feel welcome, asking me out for lunch and etc. Over here it really is 'each for his/her own'. Culture shock, yea in a way but I think it should be expected. I think I was lucky in my past 2 jobs in that the people were all friendly. Well, it will take time but I think I can break into the culture sooner or later (I hope sooner though).
So one week gone and work is starting to pick up. According to E, he and R has lots in store for me to do. It will take time and I'll slowly get more and more busy.
T and I are coping with being apart. We have webcamed a lot, so we can see each other. I really miss the intimate moments we have, like when I 'bite' him on the shoulder when there is nobody around (like in supermarkets, bookstores, etc.) my sign of affection :) and of course I do miss the more physical intimate times that we have too. Well, we all have to make sacrifices. I'm just hoping that these 2 years will pass fast so that we can be together again.
Speaking of which, T was wondering if I would ever move back to Singapore again. Well, I told him nothing is carved in stone so anything is possible. I just pray that in the next 10 years or so, we would really see change in Singapore, not just in the economic sense. It wouldn't be easy but if the gahmen decide to repell section 377 from the penal code, then I can say that equality is starting to set in in Singapore. So there would really be a "society built on justice and EQUALITY", which at this moment there isn't.
12 August 2005
One week later
Well, I've survived one week (excluding) without T and I survived. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after I've accepted the fact and know that we'll be together sometime later. It seems that I'm rather stong contrary to what I thought I would be. Homesickness is gone too. So now just have work too look forward to.
I went in to the office today and was given a job to do (even though it was suppose to be a familiarisation), but I'm not complaining. It is fun. I've started doing it even though I know I don't have to. I think I'll finish it by today and then when Monday arrives, I'll just have to see if it works with the data. Rather exciting.
Today, it was a bit warmer than yesterday. This week was the coldest week in Melbourne, it seems that it has never been this cold for 20 years. So now warmer weather should be here. :)
I went in to the office today and was given a job to do (even though it was suppose to be a familiarisation), but I'm not complaining. It is fun. I've started doing it even though I know I don't have to. I think I'll finish it by today and then when Monday arrives, I'll just have to see if it works with the data. Rather exciting.
Today, it was a bit warmer than yesterday. This week was the coldest week in Melbourne, it seems that it has never been this cold for 20 years. So now warmer weather should be here. :)
10 August 2005
Such is the world
At last, my long 'vacation' is coming to an end. Starting work next Monday and I have to go in on Friday to do some paperwork. What is a job without paperwork.
Just opened my bank account today. Gosh, ever since 9/11 all banks have stepped up security. I thought it was only in Singapore but it seems that Hong Kong and Australia too. So I have to gather that all the world has done this. I had such a difficult time getting a savings account opened but at least it is opened now.
There was a problem with my rental agreement so I had to go to the house agent's office to get her to rectify it, then had to travel back to t he bank again to open my account. Such a nuisance but at least it is done.
It was suppose to be cold today with sleet but the sun is out and it is warm. As usual cannot trust weather reports even here. That is what my roommate told me.
Been communicating with T via IM and webcams. It is cool, at least we can see each other and 'chat' even though we are miles apart. I do miss him but hey, we'll get through this and he'll join me soon. I just hope it wouldn't take too long though :P.
Just opened my bank account today. Gosh, ever since 9/11 all banks have stepped up security. I thought it was only in Singapore but it seems that Hong Kong and Australia too. So I have to gather that all the world has done this. I had such a difficult time getting a savings account opened but at least it is opened now.
There was a problem with my rental agreement so I had to go to the house agent's office to get her to rectify it, then had to travel back to t he bank again to open my account. Such a nuisance but at least it is done.
It was suppose to be cold today with sleet but the sun is out and it is warm. As usual cannot trust weather reports even here. That is what my roommate told me.
Been communicating with T via IM and webcams. It is cool, at least we can see each other and 'chat' even though we are miles apart. I do miss him but hey, we'll get through this and he'll join me soon. I just hope it wouldn't take too long though :P.
07 August 2005
Parting
Well, it was a blissful 2 weeks but T has returned to Singapore this afternoon. It wasn't easy but we believe that if our love is strong and true, we'll be able to survive this and in 2 years time he'd return and we'll have our lives together again. Yup, he's going back and will be back in 2 years time.
He just got a new job in Singapore and he wants to make the most out of it before coming over. That is the reason why his 'vacation' had to be cut short by 1 week.
The parting was not really bad. I have this ache in my heart but I know in time it would be manageable. At the end of the year, I'll be going back to Singapore and mid next year he'll be coming back, so our partings are about 6 months long. Only 104 weeks I tell myself wishing I have a time machine to move past this 'difficult' time.
Whether we'll survive 2 years apart is another thing. But I believe that when God shows you your soulmate, God'll not take him away just for the fun of it. So if God willing and us trying, we'll be together again. Until that day arrives, I'll keep myself busy and make full use of my life. I am comfortable being alone, so with T away, I'm more alone now that ever.
Everyone back home (my tons of friends whom I dearly miss) said that it shouldn't be a problem for me to make friends here, with my character. That I really don't know. The culture here is very different and not that I feel inferior to the whites here. Gosh, me feel inferior to anyone? Got to be joking :).
I hope that things work out well for me. I'm still waiting to sign on the dotted line on my job (yup, I haven't started working as yet) this is because of red tape (as usual). I know that I'll gain a lot from this job. I really thank my Lord for this opportunity, even though I did doubt a lot about it when I first arrived.
Today's gospel was about Peter's walk on water with Jesus, it was this that made me realise that I shouldn't doubt Jesus' love and care for me but to know that this opportunity was given to me because Jesus wanted me to have it. So I should cherish it and not waste it. This could be a test for me to prove to nobody but myself that I can survive this, especially with God behind me.
He just got a new job in Singapore and he wants to make the most out of it before coming over. That is the reason why his 'vacation' had to be cut short by 1 week.
The parting was not really bad. I have this ache in my heart but I know in time it would be manageable. At the end of the year, I'll be going back to Singapore and mid next year he'll be coming back, so our partings are about 6 months long. Only 104 weeks I tell myself wishing I have a time machine to move past this 'difficult' time.
Whether we'll survive 2 years apart is another thing. But I believe that when God shows you your soulmate, God'll not take him away just for the fun of it. So if God willing and us trying, we'll be together again. Until that day arrives, I'll keep myself busy and make full use of my life. I am comfortable being alone, so with T away, I'm more alone now that ever.
Everyone back home (my tons of friends whom I dearly miss) said that it shouldn't be a problem for me to make friends here, with my character. That I really don't know. The culture here is very different and not that I feel inferior to the whites here. Gosh, me feel inferior to anyone? Got to be joking :).
I hope that things work out well for me. I'm still waiting to sign on the dotted line on my job (yup, I haven't started working as yet) this is because of red tape (as usual). I know that I'll gain a lot from this job. I really thank my Lord for this opportunity, even though I did doubt a lot about it when I first arrived.
Today's gospel was about Peter's walk on water with Jesus, it was this that made me realise that I shouldn't doubt Jesus' love and care for me but to know that this opportunity was given to me because Jesus wanted me to have it. So I should cherish it and not waste it. This could be a test for me to prove to nobody but myself that I can survive this, especially with God behind me.
25 July 2005
Writing again
It really has been a long time since I lost wrote. I've been so busy getting ready and furthermore I didn't have broadband anymore (didn't think it was worth having it when I was about to leave) so I was stuck with dial-up for about 2-3 weeks. It was really terrible, anyone who have moved from LAN/broadband to dial-up (56k) would understand how I feel. There is no more instant responses. It takes about half and hour for me to just read my e-mails!
Anyhow, that is over and now that I've settled down I thought I'd starting writing again.
Settled down, yup, I'm now in Melbourne. I took me a while to get the hang of it but it is great now. T is still sleeping, enjoying the warmth of the bedroom/bed. Now the only thing is for me to look forward to working. Just wondering if I can push my starting date to a little later to just go a for a little break. It is so nice to be sleeping with him again.
At least the NKF saga is now over. But it seems to me that things moved a little too fast.
So now that my new life has started. It isn't as easy as I thought it would be. The good-byes at the airport was really terrible but I know I'll survive. I felt so homesick the first few days I was here. Wondering if I made the right decision and if this is where the Lord wants me to me. I was really blessed in moving here. It took me ages to get my PR (there were so many problems) but after that things started to look up. Before I came over, I already had a home, etc, etc done for me. I have a close friend in Australia who needed a roommate (at the right time) and I said that I would mind being his if he didn't mind waiting for a month or two before I arrive. So when I came here, I had everything, home, phone, internet connection... I just needed to transplant myself. Then the next thing was my job, I got one in the end 2 days before I arrived and now I'm just waiting for the big interview.
Back to the homesickness, I do hope that I'd be able to keep it in check as T will be going back to Singapore soon. I just pray that the Lord will give me strength and keep me busy so that I've no time to be really homesick. But I have survived in America when I had nothing (I had to find my own apartment, etc.) and had nobody to help me. I was really homesick then. Now, it is different, but the feeling of just wanting to drop everything and leave came back. It took me about 3-4 weeks to get over that in America, I wonder how long it will take for me to get into the routine here and start enjoying my life.
Anyhow, that is over and now that I've settled down I thought I'd starting writing again.
Settled down, yup, I'm now in Melbourne. I took me a while to get the hang of it but it is great now. T is still sleeping, enjoying the warmth of the bedroom/bed. Now the only thing is for me to look forward to working. Just wondering if I can push my starting date to a little later to just go a for a little break. It is so nice to be sleeping with him again.
At least the NKF saga is now over. But it seems to me that things moved a little too fast.
So now that my new life has started. It isn't as easy as I thought it would be. The good-byes at the airport was really terrible but I know I'll survive. I felt so homesick the first few days I was here. Wondering if I made the right decision and if this is where the Lord wants me to me. I was really blessed in moving here. It took me ages to get my PR (there were so many problems) but after that things started to look up. Before I came over, I already had a home, etc, etc done for me. I have a close friend in Australia who needed a roommate (at the right time) and I said that I would mind being his if he didn't mind waiting for a month or two before I arrive. So when I came here, I had everything, home, phone, internet connection... I just needed to transplant myself. Then the next thing was my job, I got one in the end 2 days before I arrived and now I'm just waiting for the big interview.
Back to the homesickness, I do hope that I'd be able to keep it in check as T will be going back to Singapore soon. I just pray that the Lord will give me strength and keep me busy so that I've no time to be really homesick. But I have survived in America when I had nothing (I had to find my own apartment, etc.) and had nobody to help me. I was really homesick then. Now, it is different, but the feeling of just wanting to drop everything and leave came back. It took me about 3-4 weeks to get over that in America, I wonder how long it will take for me to get into the routine here and start enjoying my life.
14 July 2005
Backlash
NKF dropped the lawsuit against SPH yesterday after 2 days of cross-examination of the CEO. And now the backlash against NKF started. 3800 people have cancelled their monthly donations. Most of them said that they would resume donating when the CEO resigns.
I personally think that not only should the CEO resign but also the board of directors. I mean, the CEO had/did lots of things that they have to approve before he would dare to do it. For example, his 10 - 12 months bonuses during the time when Singaporeans either had: a) no job, b) suffered a pay cut. And in 2003 when he had a 10 month bouns, most people didn't get any bonus. The other example is NKF paying for his personal car's road tax and repairs.
So what I say is get the board and the CEO out instead of just the CEO.
I personally think that not only should the CEO resign but also the board of directors. I mean, the CEO had/did lots of things that they have to approve before he would dare to do it. For example, his 10 - 12 months bonuses during the time when Singaporeans either had: a) no job, b) suffered a pay cut. And in 2003 when he had a 10 month bouns, most people didn't get any bonus. The other example is NKF paying for his personal car's road tax and repairs.
So what I say is get the board and the CEO out instead of just the CEO.
13 July 2005
Ex-PM's wife's comments
I read with disbelief the under mentioned article. Mrs Goh (the wife of ex-PM of Singapore) making a statement like this?! Of all people I would have expected her to understand the situation but I was wrong.
NKF - charitable organisation indeed. Even I would like to be a CEO of NKF now. Who wouldn't want to earn so much money and all at the expense of well-wishers. And once again, I'm not saying that anyone should starve, but to became rich on other people's donated money is really too much.
What is the meaning of charity?
Although the law states that 30% of donations can be used for the running of a charitable organisation, it doesn't mean that all 30% has to be used up. And it doesn't mean that the 30% can be used to bestow lavish things, like gold taps and Mercedes Benz cars (6 in fact, company cars) on officers. It also doesn't mean that NKF should pay for their road tax, yes, Mr T. T. Durai's road tax, repairs for his personal Mercedes is paid for by NKF. Which means Singaporeans paid for his road tax and car repairs. Majority of whom use public transport.
*sigh*
------------------
The Straits Times
14 July 2005
MRS GOH: I've full trust in NKF and its CEO
The NKF's patron, Mrs Goh Chok Tong, told reporters at the close of the case that she had complete trust in the organisation and its chief executive. Mr T. T. Durai.
She had come to court on both days of the hearing and sat on the NKF side. Yesterday, she was there for part of the moring and again in the afternoon.
As Senior Conusel Davinder Singh led Mr Durai to concede point by point that he had no case, Mrs Goh, a lawyer, could be seen shaking her head.
After the hearing, Mrs Goh was asked by reporters what she thought about the way the case went.
She said it did not make sense to her to attack an organisation which helped the sick. All the NKF had wanted from The Straits Times was a retraction, she said, but the case had been extended to question NKF's transparency and "expensive things".
"Why make a fuss out of it?" she asked.
She said she would continue as patron, and added: "I have complete trust in the NKF and Mr Durai."
Asked if Mr Durai's annual salary and bonuse were "excessive", she replied: "For a person who runs a million-dollar charitable organisation, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves."
NKF - charitable organisation indeed. Even I would like to be a CEO of NKF now. Who wouldn't want to earn so much money and all at the expense of well-wishers. And once again, I'm not saying that anyone should starve, but to became rich on other people's donated money is really too much.
What is the meaning of charity?
Although the law states that 30% of donations can be used for the running of a charitable organisation, it doesn't mean that all 30% has to be used up. And it doesn't mean that the 30% can be used to bestow lavish things, like gold taps and Mercedes Benz cars (6 in fact, company cars) on officers. It also doesn't mean that NKF should pay for their road tax, yes, Mr T. T. Durai's road tax, repairs for his personal Mercedes is paid for by NKF. Which means Singaporeans paid for his road tax and car repairs. Majority of whom use public transport.
*sigh*
------------------
The Straits Times
14 July 2005
MRS GOH: I've full trust in NKF and its CEO
The NKF's patron, Mrs Goh Chok Tong, told reporters at the close of the case that she had complete trust in the organisation and its chief executive. Mr T. T. Durai.
She had come to court on both days of the hearing and sat on the NKF side. Yesterday, she was there for part of the moring and again in the afternoon.
As Senior Conusel Davinder Singh led Mr Durai to concede point by point that he had no case, Mrs Goh, a lawyer, could be seen shaking her head.
After the hearing, Mrs Goh was asked by reporters what she thought about the way the case went.
She said it did not make sense to her to attack an organisation which helped the sick. All the NKF had wanted from The Straits Times was a retraction, she said, but the case had been extended to question NKF's transparency and "expensive things".
"Why make a fuss out of it?" she asked.
She said she would continue as patron, and added: "I have complete trust in the NKF and Mr Durai."
Asked if Mr Durai's annual salary and bonuse were "excessive", she replied: "For a person who runs a million-dollar charitable organisation, $600,000 is peanuts as it has a few hundred millions in reserves."
12 July 2005
Charity
When I think about charitable organisations, I usually think of the people as loving and very self-sacrificing people. Who (most of the time) give up a high paying position to do this self-sacrificing work. But it seems that there are black sweep here too. Take the beloved CEO of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), Mr. T.T. Durai. He is earning SGD600,000 a year with a monthly salary of SGD25,000. He takes first class flights and have taps in his bathroom in the office has taps that cost SGD990. This has come to light because of a law-suit that NKF filed against The Straits Times.
Gosh, it is amazing. No wonder he left his law job to be CEO of a chartable organisation and I thought he was being self-sacrificing but no, it is for his own pockets and interest. I really wonder how do people like him sleep at night (most probably in his SGD8,000 bed), knowing full well that he's taking the money of kind people, some of who are poor and yet try their best to help the more needy.
I mean, I'm not against people earning a good living but if you are working for an organisation that relies on the donations to help the needy, then don't expect to get high salaries/allowances. Donations are made in good faith that majority of it will go to those who need it.
This is a really sad case. The worse part about it, this would make the real charitable organisations suffer because people will think twice about donating.
------------------------------------
An extract of the cross-examination by chief prosecutor Davinder Singh.
Davinder Singh: So for the past three years you have earned about $1.8 million from the NKF.
T.T. Durai: Yes.
Davinder Singh: And the man who earns $1,000 a month who takes out $50 of his pay packet every month thinking that it is going to save lives, should he not know that that is the kind of money you earn?
T.T. Durai: There is nothing wrong with the money I earn.
Davinder Singh: $1.8 million, I wonder what is wrong. $1.8 million. Should the man who takes $50 out of his pay packet of $1,000, leaving $950 for him, his wife and his children, with no savings, should he not know that some of that money is going or has gone into a $500,000 to $600,000 pay package for you?
T.T. Durai: Surely he knows.
Davinder Singh: Tell me, how does he know?
T.T. Durai: Let me explain. People donate money to the NKF to run a dialysis programme that saves lives. We have built a dialysis programme. We run...
Judge: Please answer the question.
Davinder Singh: You said: 'Surely he knows.'
T.T. Durai: No, I am saying a person who contributes to the foundation knows that there are people working in the institution.
Judge: No. The question is, should that person know that you are earning $500,000, $600,000 a year? It is a simple question.
T.T. Durai: No, your honour, I do not see a need for him to know.
Davinder Singh: Thank you. It has nothing to do with privacy. It is about embarrassment, is it not?
T.T. Durai: No.
Davinder Singh: You would lose all authority, all moral authority to look at him in his eyes, isn't that right?
T.T. Durai: That is not true.
Davinder Singh: If he knew that you were flying first class on his money, you could not look him in his eyes, isn't that true?
T.T. Durai: It is not true.
Davinder Singh: If he knew that his salary couldn't even buy the bathroom fittings in your private office suite, you couldn't look him in his eyes.
T.T. Durai: That is not true.
Davinder Singh: We now understand why you say the $990 tap is not expensive. Well, coming from you at $600,000 a year, we now know why you say it is not expensive. But tell us, for that man with $1,000/$2,000, is it expensive?
T.T. Durai: Yes, he may consider it expensive.
Davinder Singh: He may, or is it? Tell us the truth.
T.T. Durai: I cannot speak for him. It depends on the type of building, the use of the item.
Davinder Singh: The man in his HDB one-room, two-rooms, three-rooms flat, earning a salary of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 - would he find that tap at $990 plus 10 per cent discount expensive?
T.T. Durai: He may consider it expensive, yes.
Davinder Singh: He may, or will he?
T.T. Durai: If he is an educated person, if he knows the use of the particular office, for what purpose, he may probably think it is something reasonable.
Gosh, it is amazing. No wonder he left his law job to be CEO of a chartable organisation and I thought he was being self-sacrificing but no, it is for his own pockets and interest. I really wonder how do people like him sleep at night (most probably in his SGD8,000 bed), knowing full well that he's taking the money of kind people, some of who are poor and yet try their best to help the more needy.
I mean, I'm not against people earning a good living but if you are working for an organisation that relies on the donations to help the needy, then don't expect to get high salaries/allowances. Donations are made in good faith that majority of it will go to those who need it.
This is a really sad case. The worse part about it, this would make the real charitable organisations suffer because people will think twice about donating.
------------------------------------
An extract of the cross-examination by chief prosecutor Davinder Singh.
Davinder Singh: So for the past three years you have earned about $1.8 million from the NKF.
T.T. Durai: Yes.
Davinder Singh: And the man who earns $1,000 a month who takes out $50 of his pay packet every month thinking that it is going to save lives, should he not know that that is the kind of money you earn?
T.T. Durai: There is nothing wrong with the money I earn.
Davinder Singh: $1.8 million, I wonder what is wrong. $1.8 million. Should the man who takes $50 out of his pay packet of $1,000, leaving $950 for him, his wife and his children, with no savings, should he not know that some of that money is going or has gone into a $500,000 to $600,000 pay package for you?
T.T. Durai: Surely he knows.
Davinder Singh: Tell me, how does he know?
T.T. Durai: Let me explain. People donate money to the NKF to run a dialysis programme that saves lives. We have built a dialysis programme. We run...
Judge: Please answer the question.
Davinder Singh: You said: 'Surely he knows.'
T.T. Durai: No, I am saying a person who contributes to the foundation knows that there are people working in the institution.
Judge: No. The question is, should that person know that you are earning $500,000, $600,000 a year? It is a simple question.
T.T. Durai: No, your honour, I do not see a need for him to know.
Davinder Singh: Thank you. It has nothing to do with privacy. It is about embarrassment, is it not?
T.T. Durai: No.
Davinder Singh: You would lose all authority, all moral authority to look at him in his eyes, isn't that right?
T.T. Durai: That is not true.
Davinder Singh: If he knew that you were flying first class on his money, you could not look him in his eyes, isn't that true?
T.T. Durai: It is not true.
Davinder Singh: If he knew that his salary couldn't even buy the bathroom fittings in your private office suite, you couldn't look him in his eyes.
T.T. Durai: That is not true.
Davinder Singh: We now understand why you say the $990 tap is not expensive. Well, coming from you at $600,000 a year, we now know why you say it is not expensive. But tell us, for that man with $1,000/$2,000, is it expensive?
T.T. Durai: Yes, he may consider it expensive.
Davinder Singh: He may, or is it? Tell us the truth.
T.T. Durai: I cannot speak for him. It depends on the type of building, the use of the item.
Davinder Singh: The man in his HDB one-room, two-rooms, three-rooms flat, earning a salary of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 - would he find that tap at $990 plus 10 per cent discount expensive?
T.T. Durai: He may consider it expensive, yes.
Davinder Singh: He may, or will he?
T.T. Durai: If he is an educated person, if he knows the use of the particular office, for what purpose, he may probably think it is something reasonable.
09 July 2005
08 July 2005
Short lived celebrations for London
It was so terrible when I heard about it! My colleague came to me about 5:30pm or so yesterday and told me London had been bombed. I thought she was joking because they just won the the bid to hold the 2012 Olympics which was announced less than 24 hours before.
It was a shock and I couldn't believe it. Just when we thought that things will start settling down, these barbaric shit heads did something again. What can the world do but step up their security and send condolences to London.
We are living in a very sad time where some people believe that in order to make a point people have to be killed. Where is the sanctity of life in all this?
As the English morn their dead and try to get their lives back to normal, let us pray for them (whatever God we pray to) and for those that have no god, a moment of silence to respect the innocents who died.
Amen.
It was a shock and I couldn't believe it. Just when we thought that things will start settling down, these barbaric shit heads did something again. What can the world do but step up their security and send condolences to London.
We are living in a very sad time where some people believe that in order to make a point people have to be killed. Where is the sanctity of life in all this?
As the English morn their dead and try to get their lives back to normal, let us pray for them (whatever God we pray to) and for those that have no god, a moment of silence to respect the innocents who died.
Amen.
07 July 2005
Podcasting ROCKS!
I'm really hooked to podcasting. Every since Steve Jobs showcased the new iTunes with podcast subscripting feature, I've been itching to try it out. I'm no the type that would bother going to the website and downloads or listen to podcast on a daily basis. Too lazy. So when iTune 4.9 came out (30 June in Singapore) I subscribed to a few podcast.
Yesterday, I started listening to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and I got hooked to his podcast. It is so amazing to listen to other people who are not radio/TV personalities but ordinary people.
Yesterday, I started listening to Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and I got hooked to his podcast. It is so amazing to listen to other people who are not radio/TV personalities but ordinary people.
02 July 2005
Hangover
Gosh, I didn't expect this to happen. Woke up today and couldn't walk straight (haha very funny T). I frightened myself, thinking that it was some inner ear infection that it has affected by sense of balance. Now I realised that the 1 glass of red wine was more potent than I thought it would be. I'm still feeling the effects of it. Hmmm... I wonder if it is because of my training that made me more intolerant to alcohol or something else. This is actually very interesting, never had a problem this bad especially it has been about 7 hours since my drink last night (or this morning if you are a sucker for timing). Tried to recall the last time I actually drank and I can't recall, yes it has been that long.
Had a beautiful time last night with my friends, out for dinner then drinks. It is a farewell for me (of sorts ;) ). So it has started. The farewell parties.
Had a beautiful time last night with my friends, out for dinner then drinks. It is a farewell for me (of sorts ;) ). So it has started. The farewell parties.
30 June 2005
First farewell
Had my first farewell today. It was light heartening experience to know that I've touch so many lives and made rather a lot of friends.
28 June 2005
Interesting finding
I was searching through google for yoga studios in Melbourne (yes I practise yoga and have been at it for about 4 years now) and chance upon this website Hot Nude Yoga. Yoga in the nude! Cool isn't it.
23 June 2005
*smile*
Mom is happier today. I think my telling her that I'll call everyday, since calling home is so cheap from Australia, she has started to smile and be more herself. *smile* I'm so glad now. At least calling card calls are cheap from Australia to Singapore.
22 June 2005
Grief and sorrow
*sigh* It seems mom is still rather sad that I'm leaving, even though she knows that I wouldn't forget her.
Acceptance is so difficult. I don't blame her for taking a long time to come to acceptance, but it does get on my nerves (a bit) to see her eyes water at the slightest. *sigh* How am I going to leave happily? Doesn't she know that not being happy for me makes it more difficult for me to leave? Is my life destined to be forever ruled by my mother? I know in time she'll get used to me not being around, until then I'll just have to try my best to make this 'transition' so painless as possible. *sigh* Because of mom, I don't really feel like going now. It really hurts to know that she is so sad about it. I know she is still trying to come to terms with it. This is really not easy, even for me. Love really makes things difficult.
At least calling her on a daily basis is very possible, now that I've discovered that calling cards in Australia can charge as low as 1.1c per minute. It was so cool finding that out but knowing her, she'll say I'm wasting money calling home daily. Well, we'll see how it goes.
Acceptance is so difficult. I don't blame her for taking a long time to come to acceptance, but it does get on my nerves (a bit) to see her eyes water at the slightest. *sigh* How am I going to leave happily? Doesn't she know that not being happy for me makes it more difficult for me to leave? Is my life destined to be forever ruled by my mother? I know in time she'll get used to me not being around, until then I'll just have to try my best to make this 'transition' so painless as possible. *sigh* Because of mom, I don't really feel like going now. It really hurts to know that she is so sad about it. I know she is still trying to come to terms with it. This is really not easy, even for me. Love really makes things difficult.
At least calling her on a daily basis is very possible, now that I've discovered that calling cards in Australia can charge as low as 1.1c per minute. It was so cool finding that out but knowing her, she'll say I'm wasting money calling home daily. Well, we'll see how it goes.
17 June 2005
Things are getting difficult
Now that I've only 5 weeks more before I leave, it is starting to become really scary and sad. I realise that with my short life in Singapore, I have so many friends. Friends who have been with me through thick and thin. The ones who were still very good friends with me after I came out to them.
I have been blessed. Really blessed because I have never met people that have turned away from me after they found out I was gay. I cherish my friends and it is starting to get difficult to think that I'll be miles away from them.
I do realise that I'm giving up a lot by moving. My life, my friends, my family but I pray that I will be strong (with the help of the Lord) and trust that this is the path I have to travel. Why? I really don't know but I believe that the Lord will give me a clue soon.
Anyhow, as I work towards my last day, I think of all the beautiful moments in my life with the people I love and I can't help but wonder if I'm doing the right thing.
I have been blessed. Really blessed because I have never met people that have turned away from me after they found out I was gay. I cherish my friends and it is starting to get difficult to think that I'll be miles away from them.
I do realise that I'm giving up a lot by moving. My life, my friends, my family but I pray that I will be strong (with the help of the Lord) and trust that this is the path I have to travel. Why? I really don't know but I believe that the Lord will give me a clue soon.
Anyhow, as I work towards my last day, I think of all the beautiful moments in my life with the people I love and I can't help but wonder if I'm doing the right thing.
14 June 2005
Gay Men Are Found to Have Different Scent of Attraction
A good article that shows gay men are just different and not because they choose to be.
New York Times
May 9, 2005
Gay Men Are Found to Have Different Scent of Attraction
By NICHOLAS WADE
Using a brain imaging technique, Swedish researchers have shown that homosexual and heterosexual men respond differently to two odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the gay men respond in the same way as women.
The new research may open the way to studying human pheromones, as well as the biological basis of sexual preference. Pheromones, chemicals emitted by one individual to evoke some behavior in another of the same species, are known to govern sexual activity in animals, but experts differ as to what role, if any, they play in making humans sexually attractive to one another.
The new research, which supports the existence of human pheromones, is reported in today's issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Ivanka Savic and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
The two chemicals in the study were a testosterone derivative produced in men's sweat and an estrogen-like compound in women's urine, both of which have long been suspected of being pheromones.
Most odors cause specific smell-related regions of the human brain to light up when visualized by a form of brain imaging that tracks blood flow in the brain and therefore, by inference, sites where neurons are active. Several years ago, Dr. Savic and colleagues showed that the two chemicals activated the brain in a quite different way from ordinary scents.
The estrogen-like compound, though it activated the usual smell-related regions in women, lighted up the hypothalamus in men. This is a region in the central base of the brain that governs sexual behavior and, through its control of the pituitary gland lying just beneath it, the hormonal state of the body.
The male sweat chemical, on the other hand, did just the opposite; it activated mostly the hypothalamus in women and the smell-related regions in men. The two chemicals seemed to be leading a double life, playing the role of odor with one sex and of pheromone with another.
The Swedish researchers have now repeated the experiment but with the addition of gay men as a third group. The gay men responded to the two chemicals in the same way as did women, Dr. Savic reports, as if the hypothalamus's response is determined not by biological sex but by the owner's sexual orientation.
Dr. Savic said that she had also studied gay women, but that the data were "somewhat complicated" and not yet ready for publication.
The finding is similar to a report in 1991 by Dr. Simon LeVay that a small region of the hypothalamus is twice as large in straight men as in women or gay men. The brain scanning technique used by the Swedish researchers lacks the resolution to see the region studied by Dr. LeVay, which is a mere millimeter or so across. But both findings suggest that the hypothalamus is organized in a way related to sexual orientation.
The new finding, if confirmed, would break ground in two important directions, those of human pheromones and human sexuality.
Mice are known to influence each other's sexual behavior through emission of chemicals that act like hormones on the recipient's brain and so are known as pheromones. Hopes by the fragrance industry, among others, of finding human pheromones were dashed several years ago when it emerged that a tiny structure in the nose through which mice detect many pheromones, the vomeronasal organ, is largely inactive in humans, having lost its nervous connection with the brain.
Researchers interpreted that to mean that humans, as they evolved to rely on sight more than smell, had no need of the primitive cues that pass for sexual attractiveness in mice. But a role for human pheromones could not be ruled out, especially in light of findings that women living or working together tend to synchronize their menstrual cycles.
Some researchers see Dr. Savic's work as strong evidence in favor of human pheromones. "The question of whether human pheromones exist has been answered. They do," wrote the authors of a commentary in Neuron about Dr. Savic's report of 2001.
Dr. Catherine Dulac, a Harvard University biologist who studies pheromones in mice, said that if a chemical modified the function of the hypothalamus, that might be enough to regard it as a pheromone. She said the Swedish study was extremely interesting, even though "humans are a terrible experimental subject." She noted, however, that the researchers used a far higher dose of the armpit chemical than anyone would be exposed to in normal life.
If human pheromones do exist, Dr. Savic's approach may allow insights into how the brain is organized not just for sexual orientation but also for sexuality in general.
"The big question is not where homosexuality comes from, but where does sexuality come from," said Dr. Dean Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health.
The different pattern of activity that Dr. Savic sees in the brains of gay men could be either a cause of their sexual orientation or an effect of it. If sexual orientation has a genetic cause, or is influenced by hormones in the womb or at puberty, then the neurons in the hypothalamus could wire themselves up in a way that permanently shapes which sex a person is attracted to.
Alternatively, Dr. Savic's finding could be just a consequence of straight and gay men's using their brain in different ways.
"We cannot tell if the different pattern is cause or effect," Dr. Savic said. "The study does not give any answer to these crucial questions."
But the technique might provide an answer, Dr. Hamer noted, if it were applied to people of different ages to see when in life the different pattern of response developed.
Dr. LeVay said he believed from animal experiments that the size differences in the hypothalamic region he had studied arose before birth, perhaps in response to differences in the circulating level of sex hormones. Both his finding and Dr. Savic's suggest that the hypothalamus is specifically organized in relation to sexual orientation, he said.
Some researchers believe there is likely to be a genetic component of homosexuality because of its concordance among twins. The occurrence of male homosexuality in both members of a twin pair is 22 percent in nonidentical twins but rises to 52 percent in identical twins.
Gay men have fewer children, meaning that in Darwinian terms, any genetic variant that promotes homosexuality should be quickly eliminated from the population. Dr. Hamer believes that such genes may nevertheless persist because, although in men they reduce the number of descendants, in women they act to increase fertility.
New York Times
May 9, 2005
Gay Men Are Found to Have Different Scent of Attraction
By NICHOLAS WADE
Using a brain imaging technique, Swedish researchers have shown that homosexual and heterosexual men respond differently to two odors that may be involved in sexual arousal, and that the gay men respond in the same way as women.
The new research may open the way to studying human pheromones, as well as the biological basis of sexual preference. Pheromones, chemicals emitted by one individual to evoke some behavior in another of the same species, are known to govern sexual activity in animals, but experts differ as to what role, if any, they play in making humans sexually attractive to one another.
The new research, which supports the existence of human pheromones, is reported in today's issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Ivanka Savic and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
The two chemicals in the study were a testosterone derivative produced in men's sweat and an estrogen-like compound in women's urine, both of which have long been suspected of being pheromones.
Most odors cause specific smell-related regions of the human brain to light up when visualized by a form of brain imaging that tracks blood flow in the brain and therefore, by inference, sites where neurons are active. Several years ago, Dr. Savic and colleagues showed that the two chemicals activated the brain in a quite different way from ordinary scents.
The estrogen-like compound, though it activated the usual smell-related regions in women, lighted up the hypothalamus in men. This is a region in the central base of the brain that governs sexual behavior and, through its control of the pituitary gland lying just beneath it, the hormonal state of the body.
The male sweat chemical, on the other hand, did just the opposite; it activated mostly the hypothalamus in women and the smell-related regions in men. The two chemicals seemed to be leading a double life, playing the role of odor with one sex and of pheromone with another.
The Swedish researchers have now repeated the experiment but with the addition of gay men as a third group. The gay men responded to the two chemicals in the same way as did women, Dr. Savic reports, as if the hypothalamus's response is determined not by biological sex but by the owner's sexual orientation.
Dr. Savic said that she had also studied gay women, but that the data were "somewhat complicated" and not yet ready for publication.
The finding is similar to a report in 1991 by Dr. Simon LeVay that a small region of the hypothalamus is twice as large in straight men as in women or gay men. The brain scanning technique used by the Swedish researchers lacks the resolution to see the region studied by Dr. LeVay, which is a mere millimeter or so across. But both findings suggest that the hypothalamus is organized in a way related to sexual orientation.
The new finding, if confirmed, would break ground in two important directions, those of human pheromones and human sexuality.
Mice are known to influence each other's sexual behavior through emission of chemicals that act like hormones on the recipient's brain and so are known as pheromones. Hopes by the fragrance industry, among others, of finding human pheromones were dashed several years ago when it emerged that a tiny structure in the nose through which mice detect many pheromones, the vomeronasal organ, is largely inactive in humans, having lost its nervous connection with the brain.
Researchers interpreted that to mean that humans, as they evolved to rely on sight more than smell, had no need of the primitive cues that pass for sexual attractiveness in mice. But a role for human pheromones could not be ruled out, especially in light of findings that women living or working together tend to synchronize their menstrual cycles.
Some researchers see Dr. Savic's work as strong evidence in favor of human pheromones. "The question of whether human pheromones exist has been answered. They do," wrote the authors of a commentary in Neuron about Dr. Savic's report of 2001.
Dr. Catherine Dulac, a Harvard University biologist who studies pheromones in mice, said that if a chemical modified the function of the hypothalamus, that might be enough to regard it as a pheromone. She said the Swedish study was extremely interesting, even though "humans are a terrible experimental subject." She noted, however, that the researchers used a far higher dose of the armpit chemical than anyone would be exposed to in normal life.
If human pheromones do exist, Dr. Savic's approach may allow insights into how the brain is organized not just for sexual orientation but also for sexuality in general.
"The big question is not where homosexuality comes from, but where does sexuality come from," said Dr. Dean Hamer, a geneticist at the National Institutes of Health.
The different pattern of activity that Dr. Savic sees in the brains of gay men could be either a cause of their sexual orientation or an effect of it. If sexual orientation has a genetic cause, or is influenced by hormones in the womb or at puberty, then the neurons in the hypothalamus could wire themselves up in a way that permanently shapes which sex a person is attracted to.
Alternatively, Dr. Savic's finding could be just a consequence of straight and gay men's using their brain in different ways.
"We cannot tell if the different pattern is cause or effect," Dr. Savic said. "The study does not give any answer to these crucial questions."
But the technique might provide an answer, Dr. Hamer noted, if it were applied to people of different ages to see when in life the different pattern of response developed.
Dr. LeVay said he believed from animal experiments that the size differences in the hypothalamic region he had studied arose before birth, perhaps in response to differences in the circulating level of sex hormones. Both his finding and Dr. Savic's suggest that the hypothalamus is specifically organized in relation to sexual orientation, he said.
Some researchers believe there is likely to be a genetic component of homosexuality because of its concordance among twins. The occurrence of male homosexuality in both members of a twin pair is 22 percent in nonidentical twins but rises to 52 percent in identical twins.
Gay men have fewer children, meaning that in Darwinian terms, any genetic variant that promotes homosexuality should be quickly eliminated from the population. Dr. Hamer believes that such genes may nevertheless persist because, although in men they reduce the number of descendants, in women they act to increase fertility.
13 June 2005
Done and done
Gosh, I'm so happy. The program that I've been trying to get working is running at last. It really took me a long time to get the script right. It is another achievement for me. :)
Today I've also send my first batch of stuff over to Australia. Gosh, not long now before I'm gone. Time is starting to slip away from me.
Today I've also send my first batch of stuff over to Australia. Gosh, not long now before I'm gone. Time is starting to slip away from me.
10 June 2005
Nation no more
I just reaslied that the annual gay and lesbian dance party, Nation, will not be held in Singapore anymore. Then again it comes as no surprise to anyone from the GLBT community.
It is so sad, the the gahmen and agencies, can only see gay parties = AIDS. And the way the Singapore paper is making it seem that gay men are the only ones getting HIV is really typical.
It is so sad, the the gahmen and agencies, can only see gay parties = AIDS. And the way the Singapore paper is making it seem that gay men are the only ones getting HIV is really typical.
Packing
Gosh, I seem to have so many things to pack. My books alone will take up a number of boxes.
I have decided that I'll not bring everything over since I'll be returning at least once a year to visit my parents.
It is getting terribly exciting. My friend (Australian) has found a nice apartment for us to share and it it very centrally located and the price isn't bad, almost like living in Orchard/Scotts Road. :)
We have booked our tickets though T will be returning to Singapore (for he can't leave as yet).
I have decided that I'll not bring everything over since I'll be returning at least once a year to visit my parents.
It is getting terribly exciting. My friend (Australian) has found a nice apartment for us to share and it it very centrally located and the price isn't bad, almost like living in Orchard/Scotts Road. :)
We have booked our tickets though T will be returning to Singapore (for he can't leave as yet).
29 May 2005
Another wedding banquet
Today I attended a friend’s wedding. It was nice catching up with people whom I’ve not seen for some time. Later on when they were doing a screening of their lives together (the marring couple) I felt sad. Sad because T and I will never have a chance to have family and friends together to enjoy and give us their blessings. The world is just so unfair but then again since when is the world fair.
Even if we are in a place (like Canada) where same-sex marriages are permitted, this type of celebration of the union will never happen. I have thought about this and I realised that in the Asian context, it has never been anything to do with religion or religious views, in face Buddhism never stated that anything is sinful or wrong (except when it causes great harm to another person) unless you indulge in it. Like drinking, sex, etc. In Asia, the important part of getting married is so that you can continue the family name. This is our culture. So unlike in America (yea, the ‘greatest’ human rights country) where the objection to same-sex marriages is based in Christianity, in Asia it is because of carrying on the family line.
So there I was sitting there, enjoying the wedding banquet and my friends but felling very sad that this can never happen to me.
Even if we are in a place (like Canada) where same-sex marriages are permitted, this type of celebration of the union will never happen. I have thought about this and I realised that in the Asian context, it has never been anything to do with religion or religious views, in face Buddhism never stated that anything is sinful or wrong (except when it causes great harm to another person) unless you indulge in it. Like drinking, sex, etc. In Asia, the important part of getting married is so that you can continue the family name. This is our culture. So unlike in America (yea, the ‘greatest’ human rights country) where the objection to same-sex marriages is based in Christianity, in Asia it is because of carrying on the family line.
So there I was sitting there, enjoying the wedding banquet and my friends but felling very sad that this can never happen to me.
18 May 2005
West Wing and more
I just watched the “West Wing” episode 25 (yes, yes I know it is really OLD but hey I just obtained the DVDs recently so don’t flame me. :P I love the show but I think this episode really stands out because of the way the President (played by Martin Sheen) reprimanded a Laura Schlessinger like person. If you are interested to know more about it you can go to this site and read it.
I don’t want to comment anything about it. I want to talk about the fundamentalist christians’ reaction to it.
I’ve read a number of websites dedicated to this ‘speech’ and most of them are by the fundamentalist christians’ who cited reasons why this speech is flawed. And the most important thing that hit me is that they say we (GLTB and the producers of “West Wing”) take these verses out of context. Gosh! The audacity! So when we quote the bible to justify our existence (created not made and still loved by God) we are taking it out of context and when they do it, it is right and proper. No they definitely do not take the quotes against homosexuality out of context. Of course not, why Jesus came to preach separation, discrimination and bigotry. He came to condemn the sinners and to exalt the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees. He told people to judge because by judging, your Father in heaven will praise you.
These people believed that Jesus will condemn the GLTB community if he was alive today. The same way the Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Christ would condemn the tax-collectors and prostitutes of that time. Jesus welcomed the outcast, telling them that God loves them because they are his children. And that is the most important part of Jesus teachings, loving the outcast, Jesus never gave lip service, he did these things. That is why Mother Teresa is considered a Saint (note the capital S) because she really was Jesus in the flesh. She loved the outcast and loved being seen with them, like Jesus who preferred to be with the outcast then with the rich, wealthy and effluent.
I don’t want to comment anything about it. I want to talk about the fundamentalist christians’ reaction to it.
I’ve read a number of websites dedicated to this ‘speech’ and most of them are by the fundamentalist christians’ who cited reasons why this speech is flawed. And the most important thing that hit me is that they say we (GLTB and the producers of “West Wing”) take these verses out of context. Gosh! The audacity! So when we quote the bible to justify our existence (created not made and still loved by God) we are taking it out of context and when they do it, it is right and proper. No they definitely do not take the quotes against homosexuality out of context. Of course not, why Jesus came to preach separation, discrimination and bigotry. He came to condemn the sinners and to exalt the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees. He told people to judge because by judging, your Father in heaven will praise you.
These people believed that Jesus will condemn the GLTB community if he was alive today. The same way the Pharisees and Sadducees believed that the Christ would condemn the tax-collectors and prostitutes of that time. Jesus welcomed the outcast, telling them that God loves them because they are his children. And that is the most important part of Jesus teachings, loving the outcast, Jesus never gave lip service, he did these things. That is why Mother Teresa is considered a Saint (note the capital S) because she really was Jesus in the flesh. She loved the outcast and loved being seen with them, like Jesus who preferred to be with the outcast then with the rich, wealthy and effluent.
17 May 2005
The all loving, all accepting Catholic Church
Gay Catholics Denied Communion
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 16, 2005 12:01 am ET
(St. Paul, Minnesota) A group of about 100 gay Roman Catholics and their supporters were denied Holy Communion at Pentecost Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Sunday.
The Rainbow Sash Alliance has been taking Communion on Pentecost at the Cathedral for the past four years, but Archbishop Harry Flynn changed the policy this year, under pressure from the Vatican.
Earlier this month Flynn, in a letter to the Rainbow Sash Alliance, warned that members would be denied communion because their sashes were seen as a protest against Catholic teaching and unacceptable to the Vatican.
"I am asking you to remove your sashes before you receive Holy Communion," Flynn wrote. "I ask you to observe this sign of respect for the Eucharist not only in the Cathedral but in all our parishes. No one wearing the sash will be permitted to receive the Blessed Sacrament."
The Rainbow Sash movement is an international organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Catholics and their families and friends.
Among those who attended mass Sunday were Dominican Sister Donna Quinn, director of the National Coalition of American Nuns, Joseph and Barbara Parot of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and long time Catholic gay rights activist Rick Garcia.
After the sash wearers were denied, Sister Donna, the Parots and Garcia approached the altar and received Communion. To the surprise of some, including the sash wearers, the four then approached the sash-wearers and gave them a portion of their consecrated hosts.
"It is a scandal that the Body of Christ would be denied to a baptized Catholic who approached the altar simply because of what he or she was wearing. I am still shocked and in disbelief that the priest would deny these people," said Sister Donna Quinn. "The Eucharist should not be used as a political tool and that is exactly what Cardinal George has made it."
Sister Quinn and the Parots approached the priest after Mass and expressed their displeasure and sadness at his action.
"Some priests and bishops throughout the country have denied communion to sash wearers today. How many of these same priests have ever denied anyone else communion?" Garcia asked. "This has nothing to do with upholding Church teaching and it has everything to do with rank anti-gay sentiment."
©365Gay.com 2005
------
Oh yea, Jesus came to teach us discrimination and he came save only the few, I get it now.
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: May 16, 2005 12:01 am ET
(St. Paul, Minnesota) A group of about 100 gay Roman Catholics and their supporters were denied Holy Communion at Pentecost Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul on Sunday.
The Rainbow Sash Alliance has been taking Communion on Pentecost at the Cathedral for the past four years, but Archbishop Harry Flynn changed the policy this year, under pressure from the Vatican.
Earlier this month Flynn, in a letter to the Rainbow Sash Alliance, warned that members would be denied communion because their sashes were seen as a protest against Catholic teaching and unacceptable to the Vatican.
"I am asking you to remove your sashes before you receive Holy Communion," Flynn wrote. "I ask you to observe this sign of respect for the Eucharist not only in the Cathedral but in all our parishes. No one wearing the sash will be permitted to receive the Blessed Sacrament."
The Rainbow Sash movement is an international organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Catholics and their families and friends.
Among those who attended mass Sunday were Dominican Sister Donna Quinn, director of the National Coalition of American Nuns, Joseph and Barbara Parot of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and long time Catholic gay rights activist Rick Garcia.
After the sash wearers were denied, Sister Donna, the Parots and Garcia approached the altar and received Communion. To the surprise of some, including the sash wearers, the four then approached the sash-wearers and gave them a portion of their consecrated hosts.
"It is a scandal that the Body of Christ would be denied to a baptized Catholic who approached the altar simply because of what he or she was wearing. I am still shocked and in disbelief that the priest would deny these people," said Sister Donna Quinn. "The Eucharist should not be used as a political tool and that is exactly what Cardinal George has made it."
Sister Quinn and the Parots approached the priest after Mass and expressed their displeasure and sadness at his action.
"Some priests and bishops throughout the country have denied communion to sash wearers today. How many of these same priests have ever denied anyone else communion?" Garcia asked. "This has nothing to do with upholding Church teaching and it has everything to do with rank anti-gay sentiment."
©365Gay.com 2005
------
Oh yea, Jesus came to teach us discrimination and he came save only the few, I get it now.
11 May 2005
Working in Australia
I have been holding an Australian PR since January last year. I have been planning to work in Australia for a while now and maybe become an Australian or come back after a number of years (thinking for 8 to 10, to gain enough experience). Who knows what the future holds. All I know is that I'm not making any plans that are caste in stone. Just praying for discernment and knowing that the Lord will bless and help me.
A number of people asked my why PR if I just wanted to work there. There is a simple reason, there is no way I'll get a job here if I require a work permit. Unlike in Singapore, getting work permits in Australia is a great hassle and no company would bother to hire a foreigner if there is local equivalent. Less hassle.
I've just sent my CV to a professor that I spoke to earlier today (I was at a conference and so happens his lab is in Melbourne). He gave me a short interview and said that I fit in perfectly to what they required to replace a person that has left. So I'd most probably get this job and I really hope so.
So the wheels have started turning and things seem to be moving very smoothly. I am blessed.
T knows about my plans and because of this he has decided that he would like to do what I'm doing too, get PR to work in Australia for a while. The experience would do us both good. I know things would work out well, with the Lord guiding and blessing me.
A number of people asked my why PR if I just wanted to work there. There is a simple reason, there is no way I'll get a job here if I require a work permit. Unlike in Singapore, getting work permits in Australia is a great hassle and no company would bother to hire a foreigner if there is local equivalent. Less hassle.
I've just sent my CV to a professor that I spoke to earlier today (I was at a conference and so happens his lab is in Melbourne). He gave me a short interview and said that I fit in perfectly to what they required to replace a person that has left. So I'd most probably get this job and I really hope so.
So the wheels have started turning and things seem to be moving very smoothly. I am blessed.
T knows about my plans and because of this he has decided that he would like to do what I'm doing too, get PR to work in Australia for a while. The experience would do us both good. I know things would work out well, with the Lord guiding and blessing me.
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