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Old 2010-06-13, 07:19   Link #7781
ZephyrLeanne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintessHeart View Post

If you ask me, Singapore is going to be the next Japan if we don't shoot our Minister of Education.
We need to bring Tharman back. Or Vivian Balakrishnan could step in. Both are ACSians (and so is the late Goh Keng Swee) and have at different occasions, stressed the importnace of finance and ECONOMICS in Singapore schools (I took Econs once so as to avoid Sciences).

[FYI, I studied S1-JC2 iin Singapore!]

The current minister was already a flap by "misleading" the public on the PSLE reform...

Singapore emphasizes teaching of mother tongue languages

Quote:
...
...

Local newspaper the Straits Times said that it has been receiving complaints from the public that a cut in the mother tongue languages weighting would lead students to take the subject less seriously.

Critics also said that de-emphasizing the mother tongue in primary school is a short-sighted move that will undermine Singapore's bilingual edge.

Ng Eng Hen on Tuesday apologized for misleading the public, saying "This is not the case. I think I should have chosen my words more carefully and apologize for creating the wrong impression."


Quote:
Both governments aren't helping their citizens to learn something called financial planning for the future.
I kena "cultural tsunami" when I went back to Japan after graduating from a Singpaore uni. to go to a Japanese college as a Asian-studies lecturer, after 10 years of being in Singapore, and the first thing that struck me was that Japanese students' concept of money is very poor, they don't understand how our economy works, they don't understand much about banks, they don't even know the BASIC 10-year cycle of the economy!

[As in, the economy is worst in the last 2 years of the decade, then picks up for 2 years, then down for 2 years, then slowly works upwards for 2, before 2 years of peak, then, it all repeats.]

Why? There's no tuckshops in Japan at all (as in, they bring their own food most of the time or else it's school-served "free" food, never bought), Economics doesn't exist as a subject (it's part of Maths, but only ONE CHAPTER in High school), and most Japanese just want to be a salaryman or in the case of scientifically inclined ones, a doctor or scientist or engineer. Few people want to be in bankers outside Tokyo.

And most believe that Japan's ecomony is forever going to tay in a straight line, they don't believe it can get worse, nor better.

Quote:
Since the value of "working hard" is defined by academics in both societies, what the youths would lose out in is generic skills and general knowledge, i.e, using Google (no I am not joking, how many times have you guys here heard of people you know telling you to help them find a piece of information easily available on Google, other than job opportunities?), most of which are valuable to personal independence.
Singapore? Unlikely. Japan? Likely. I came across that before. IN UNIVERSITY!

Quote:
On the local context, our polytechnic and highschool students are losing out to ITE (Institute of Technical Education) students,
Depends on what you're looking for...


Quote:
who are considered to be the "recycled and less intelligent of the society who cannot do well in school" (utter bs if you ask me), in this way because they do not know how to manage their money once they lose their day jobs.
Hm, well that's because the current minister is ploughing more money into science (to boost R&D) and ignoring Economics and the humanities (Tharman was fair to all subjects.)
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Old 2010-06-13, 11:29   Link #7782
TinyRedLeaf
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Thousands flee ethnic bloodshed in Kyrgyzstan
Quote:
Bishkek (June 13): Tens of thousands of refugees fled raging ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan today as the fragile interim government gave shoot-to-kill orders against marauding gangs terrorising the population.

Neighbouring Uzbekistan said it had hastily set up camps along the border to provide shelter for a crushing influx of more than 32,000 ethnic Uzbeks — mostly women and children — from its fellow former Soviet state.

Chaotic gun battles between rival groups in southern Kyrgyzstan left 97 people dead and more than 1,200 injured in three days, prompting the embattled Kyrgyz government to extend emergency rule and beg Moscow for help.

Russia sent a squadron of paratroopers to protect its airbase in the central Asian nation, but declined to get involved in the unrest that has riven Kyrgyzstan since former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in April.

Interim President Roza Otunbayeva's provisional government decreed late yesterday (June 12) that lethal force would now be authorised to protect civilians, amid growing calls from foreign leaders and aid groups to end the clashes.

AFP
It is an unfortunate time to be caught in such tragic circumstances. The United States is absorbed over its own problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Afghanistan, while Europe is busy trying to manage a looming sovereign-debt crisis.

The rest of the world, meanwhile, is absorbed in World Cup celebrations. Not to make light of the deaths, but the global community really doesn't have much appetite for bloodshed at the moment.
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Old 2010-06-13, 11:35   Link #7783
SaintessHeart
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Spoiler for slightly OT:


Quote:
Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf View Post
Thousands flee ethnic bloodshed in Kyrgyzstan


It is an unfortunate time to be caught in such tragic circumstances. The United States is absorbed over its own problems in the Gulf of Mexico and Afghanistan, while Europe is busy trying to manage a looming sovereign-debt crisis.

The rest of the world, meanwhile, is absorbed in World Cup celebrations. Not to make light of the deaths, but the global community really doesn't have much appetite for bloodshed at the moment.
One thing that disturbs me is that it is a former SOVIET state, where "lethal force" is often translated as "full-auto mow them down".

Remember the Moscow Theater and Beslan Elementary sieges? Another of these is going to happen there soon.
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Old 2010-06-13, 11:43   Link #7784
MeoTwister5
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Quote:
To me, my school life is hell. It is so easy to get bored in class because we are simply spoonfed everything, much like the Japanese education system. I still can remember getting scolded for pointing out that drinking lots of water can be bad for health due to hyponatremia back in Secondary School.......I was made a fool in class out of a FACT that nobody believed in, even the teacher.
Sorry but I was compelled to correct that for some damn reason. I should also say that drinking a ton of water doesn't necessarily cause hyponatremia on the assumption the sodium reuptake of your kidneys in the PCT is working properly to compensate for diluted water loss.
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Old 2010-06-13, 11:53   Link #7785
SaintessHeart
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MeoTwister5 View Post
Sorry but I was compelled to correct that for some damn reason. I should also say that drinking a ton of water doesn't necessarily cause hyponatremia on the assumption the sodium reuptake of your kidneys in the PCT is working properly to compensate for diluted water loss.
Its okay. I am never good at spelling technical terms anyway other than penumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (which is probably the ONLY medical term I can spell with little difficulty everytime ).

I remember the incident clearly because that idiot simply told me that "there isn't such a thing and I made it up". It is like 9 years but it is still clear that the teacher probably is another overeducated degree holder who taught science.

As for the sodium reuptake, salt (or any primary form of sodium that is consumed into the body) does not directly contribute to the former if I am not wrong, it has to go through multiple chemical processes. However, diluted water is easily absorbed and passed out in the bloodstream, unless it is made up of large groups of water clusters.
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When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus.
Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.
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Old 2010-06-13, 15:30   Link #7786
Tiberium Wolf
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Executioner: Death by firing squad is '100 percent justice'

Reading this article I found 2 sentences that are really interesting.

Quote:
No one executed for their crime, the officer points out, has ever killed again.
Quote:
"The death penalty," the officer says, "is nothing more than sending a defective product back to the manufacturer. Let him fix it."
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Old 2010-06-13, 16:58   Link #7787
Knight Hawk
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Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites
Quote:
Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran.

To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert.
“The Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way,” said a US defence source in the area. “They have already done tests to make sure their own jets aren’t scrambled and no one gets shot down. This has all been done with the agreement of the [US] State Department.”

Sources in Saudi Arabia say it is common knowledge within defence circles in the kingdom that an arrangement is in place if Israel decides to launch the raid. Despite the tension between the two governments, they share a mutual loathing of the regime in Tehran and a common fear of Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “We all know this. We will let them [the Israelis] through and see nothing,” said one.

The four main targets for any raid on Iran would be the uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Qom, the gas storage development at Isfahan and the heavy-water reactor at Arak. Secondary targets include the lightwater reactor at Bushehr, which could produce weapons-grade plutonium when complete.
...
...
Israeli intelligence experts say that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are at least as worried as themselves and the West about an Iranian nuclear arsenal. Israel has sent missile-class warships and at least one submarine capable of launching a nuclear warhead through the Suez Canal for deployment in the Red Sea within the past year, as both a warning to Iran and in anticipation of a possible strike. Israeli newspapers reported last year that high-ranking officials, including the former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, have met their Saudi Arabian counterparts to discuss the Iranian issue. It was also reported that Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, met Saudi intelligence officials last year to gain assurances that Riyadh would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets violating Saudi airspace during the bombing run. Both governments have denied the reports.
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Old 2010-06-13, 17:29   Link #7788
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf View Post
Executioner: Death by firing squad is '100 percent justice'

Reading this article I found 2 sentences that are really interesting.

he made some good points. i also recommend a tour of the morgue by the 8th grade class at the end of the school year.
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Old 2010-06-13, 18:22   Link #7789
justinstrife
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf View Post
Executioner: Death by firing squad is '100 percent justice'

Reading this article I found 2 sentences that are really interesting.
I love a story with a happy ending.
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Old 2010-06-14, 00:13   Link #7790
monir
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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I found the following interesting:

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

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Old 2010-06-14, 00:41   Link #7791
MitsubishiZero
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Quote:
Originally Posted by monir View Post
I found the following interesting:

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

so, is the US going to declare that Afghanistan has "weapons of mass destruction" or any BS excuses to invade Afghanistan, take all the resources away and then abandon the place???
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Old 2010-06-14, 00:42   Link #7792
Xellos-_^
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MitsubishiZero View Post
so, is the US going to declare that Afghanistan has "weapons of mass destruction" or any BS excuses to invade Afghanistan, take all the resources away and then abandon the place???
who needs excuse? we are already there.
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Old 2010-06-14, 01:40   Link #7793
Kamui4356
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Quote:
Originally Posted by MitsubishiZero View Post
so, is the US going to declare that Afghanistan has "weapons of mass destruction" or any BS excuses to invade Afghanistan, take all the resources away and then abandon the place???
As Xellos said, the US is already in Afghanistan. Your location says Canada. Canadian troops have been in Afghanistan too. Where have you been for the last 9 years?

Anyway, this is great news for the people in Afghanistan. It gives them a good base for future economic growth. Now they might actually be able to build their country into a somewhat modern, if still islamic, state with jobs and an improvement in their quality of life.
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Old 2010-06-14, 01:52   Link #7794
TinyRedLeaf
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Join Date: Apr 2006
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A third of Mars once covered by ocean, study shows
Quote:
Paris (June 13): A huge, potentially life-giving sea likely covered more than a third of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, according to a study released today.

Spread over an area the size of the Atlantic Ocean, it would have straddled the north pole and contained the equivalent of a 10th of the water on Earth.

For decades, scientists have argued whether the Red Planet once harboured bodies of water big enough to help nourish a true hydrological cycle marked by evaporation and rainfall. Recent evidence suggests as much, but doubts remained.

To dig deeper, research associate Gaetano Di Achille and assistant professor Brian Hynek of the University of Colorodo in Boulder sifted through huge stores of images collected by Nasa's Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter in the late 1990s and other more recent European and US satellite-based monitoring systems.

The data was not new, but the researchers were the first to link up all available information on Mars' terrain into a single computer-driven model.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience, found 52 river-delta deposits scattered across the planet. More than half occurred at about the same elevation, and thus probably marked the boundary of the once-massive sea.

All of these would have been connected either directly to the ocean, or to its groundwater table along with several large, adjacent lakes. The scientists calculated that the ancient sea covered 36 per cent of the planet's surface and contained about 124 million cu km (30 million cubic miles) of water.

AFP
Blue Mars doesn't seem so far-fetched now, perhaps.
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Old 2010-06-14, 04:23   Link #7795
SaintessHeart
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiberium Wolf View Post
Executioner: Death by firing squad is '100 percent justice'

Reading this article I found 2 sentences that are really interesting.

Quote:
"The death penalty," the officer says, "is nothing more than sending a defective product back to the manufacturer. Let him fix it."
Though I don't exactly believe in some omnipotent entity existing, that sentence is pure truth and win.

What? It is already written explicitly in the holy scriptures (Bible, Quran, Torah, etc) that ONLY "God" has the right to judge what he made!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamui4356 View Post
As Xellos said, the US is already in Afghanistan. Your location says Canada. Canadian troops have been in Afghanistan too. Where have you been for the last 9 years?

Anyway, this is great news for the people in Afghanistan. It gives them a good base for future economic growth. Now they might actually be able to build their country into a somewhat modern, if still islamic, state with jobs and an improvement in their quality of life.
With the government brokering a peace with the Talidogs, I doubt it would get anywhere in the near future.

At least now the people don't have to depend on opium exports to fund their living.

Not to be a pessimist, but I doubt it would work with Iran's AA defences in place. Israel's jets will be shot down in no time even with Riyadh's approval.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf View Post
A third of Mars once covered by ocean, study shows


Blue Mars doesn't seem so far-fetched now, perhaps.
In Chemistry, we studied something called "dynamic equilibrium", where the different states of an element or compound can coexist in any condition. I am not surprised if there is ice or water on mars since the planet is made of iron based sands, which under a number of chemical reactions, can give out water, one of which being acting as a reactant as iron oxide - the compound that made mars red.
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When three puppygirls named after pastries are on top of each other, it is called Eclair a'la menthe et Biscotti aux fraises avec beaucoup de Ricotta sur le dessus.
Most of all, you have to be disciplined and you have to save, even if you hate our current financial system. Because if you don't save, then you're guaranteed to end up with nothing.
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Old 2010-06-14, 04:35   Link #7796
MrTerrorist
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Quote:
Originally Posted by monir View Post
I found the following interesting:

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

Well that's good to know. Hopefully, these minerals mines may boost the Afghan economy and improve the lives of present and future lives of the people. This story kinda reminds of how Brunei had noting important until it was discovered it had vast amount of oil and gas underneath the country.
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Old 2010-06-14, 05:39   Link #7797
bladeofdarkness
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Age: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintessHeart View Post
Not to be a pessimist, but I doubt it would work with Iran's AA defences in place. Israel's jets will be shot down in no time even with Riyadh's approval.
the current AA systems that Iran possesses is not capable of stopping modern 4.5 jets of the sort that Israel has like the F16I and F15I models (equipped with tech specifically meant to counter the correct air defenses that Iran has)
and the systems they ARE trying to buy from Russia (S-300), keeps getting its sales date pushed back due to US/Israeli pressure on the Russians not to sell it.

but its still probably nothing more then a bluff meant to spook Iran rather then actually allow an Israeli raid
if they DID reach that kind of agreement, they wouldn't reveal it to the public until AFTER the strike (probably not even then)

you want the REAL reason there might be an actual war in the region soon
look no farther
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...904907,00.html
Quote:
Iranian aid ships head for Gaza

State radio says one vessel left port Sunday, another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys
Reuters

Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said Monday – a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers, Hamas.

One ship left port Sunday and another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys, the report said. The boats would be part of international efforts to break Israel's isolation of the Gaza Strip.
"Until the end of the Gaza blockade, Iran will continue to ship aid," said an official at Iran's Society for the Defense of the Palestinian Nation.
in short
1) Iranian ships try to get to Gaza against the blockade
2) Israeli Navy stop them
3) possible recurrence of the same type of crap that happened in the last flotilla
4) Iran uses it as an excuse for farther provocation / Casus belli
5) ?????
6) profit

just giving everyone a heads up.
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Last edited by bladeofdarkness; 2010-06-14 at 06:39.
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Old 2010-06-14, 08:39   Link #7798
JMvS
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Join Date: Mar 2008
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Age: 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by monir View Post
I found the following interesting:

U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan

Not exactly a surprise, as these mountains have been renowned for their mineral wealth (specifically, all kinds of gem and precious stones), which they owe to their extremely diverse and rich geological setting, given the sheer size of the country, it was bound to be filled with lots of mineral deposits.

Well... that doesn't bode well for peace. Just look at all those mineral rich countries in Africa which were plagued by civil and border wars for decades.

At least it doesn't appear that those resources would be able to fund civil war, like more "concentrated" riches, like diamonds, gold, coltan or even oil do.

But that's precisely the point: those riches require huge investments in infrastructure: large mining facilities (which would require large amount of energy as well as water), and extensive transport infrastructure, like highways and railroads. For those investments to be realized, peace is a prerequisite, not a consequence.

Or maybe we'll see Chinese and American interests invest hugely in securing and exploiting those specific areas, ignoring the rest of the country, plunder-economy style, as it's done elsewhere.
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Old 2010-06-14, 10:56   Link #7799
SeijiSensei
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Iranian aid ships head for Gaza

Are they planning on sailing through the Suez Canal? Does anyone other than me think this might not go over too well with the Saudis and the Egyptians?
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Old 2010-06-14, 11:04   Link #7800
bladeofdarkness
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: at GNR, bringing you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts
Age: 39
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
Iranian aid ships head for Gaza

Are they planning on sailing through the Suez Canal? Does anyone other than me think this might not go over too well with the Saudis and the Egyptians?
if these were WARSHIPS, then you'd have a point
Iranian warships are more likely to get to the Mediterranean by being carried by a fleet of transportation helicopters then they are passing through the Suez Canal

but seeing as these are claimed to be "civilian" vessels (i say claimed, because god knows who and what is actually on board) it gives Egypt less of a justification to prevent their passing, and would be under pressure to allow it

frankly, israel should declare right away that if the ships attempt to violate the blockade, they would be sunk the second they cross into Israeli territorial waters (its their right, since Iran is a declared enemy state)
make this declaration before the ships get too far from Iran.
that way, Iran would not be able to justify sending those ships there without escort
and since any such escort is not likely to get past the Suez Canal, they wont be able to justify sending those ships when knowing that they would be attacked.
maybe prevent the whole debacle before it gets there.
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