News Stories

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Reince Priebus wins Republican Party chairman post
I never knew about this guy until he was mention on the Daily show. I always thought the next Chairman was the lady with 15 guns but it went to the guy with a silly name.

No, I do NOT know what is the funny point about this, seriously, as in, I fail to get the joke... but at least it's not Michael Steele who got the post. The 15 gun woman? Why not upgrade to the full monty: the 21-gun salute!

[TinyRedLeaf]

It seems that a particularly strident editorial had struck a raw nerve in many places, not just in the United States.

Retreat of the 'Tiger Mother'

(New York, Jan 14, Fri): Try this at a dinner party in one of the hothouses of Ivy League aspiration — Cambridge, Scarsdale, Evanston, Marin County: Declare that the way Asian-American parents succeed in raising such successful children is by denying them play dates and sleepovers, and demanding that they bring home straight As.

Note that you once told your own hyper-successful Asian-American daughter that she was "garbage". That you threatened to throw out your other daughter’s dollhouse and refused to let her go to the bathroom one evening until she mastered a difficult piano composition. That you threw the home-made birthday cards they gave you as seven- and four-year-olds back in their faces, saying you expected more effort.

Better yet, write a book about it.

What kind of reaction might you get?

In the week since The Wall Street Journal published an excerpt of the new book by Ms Amy Chua, a Yale law professor, under the headline Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior, Ms Chua has received death threats, she says, and "hundreds and hundreds" of e-mail messages. The excerpt generated more than 5,000 comments on the newspaper's website, and countless blog entries referring in shorthand to "that Tiger Mother".

Some argued that the parents of all those Asians among Harvard's chosen few must be doing something right; others called Ms Chua a "monster" or "nuts" — and a very savvy provocateur.

"It's been a little surprising, and a little bit intense, definitely," Ms Chua said in a phone interview yesterday, between what she called a "24/7" effort to "clarify some misunderstandings". Her narration, she said, was meant to be ironic and self-mocking — "I find it very funny, almost obtuse".

But reading the book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, it can be hard to tell when she is kidding.

"In retrospect, these coaching suggestions seem a bit extreme," she writes in the book after describing how she once threatened to burn her daughter’s stuffed animals if she did not play a piano composition perfectly. "On the other hand, they were highly effective."

Born to Chinese parents who were raised in the Philippines and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ms Chua, 48, graduated from Harvard and Harvard Law, where she was an executive editor of the Law Review.

She confessed in her book that she is "not good at enjoying life", and that she wasn't naturally curious or sceptical like other law students. "I just wanted to write down everything the professor said and memorise it."

The reaction to the book was particularly anguished among those who are products of extreme Asian parents. "I'm horrified that she's American-born and hanging on to this, when most of us are trying to escape it," said Ms Betty Ming Liu, the daughter of Chinese immigrants from Vietnam and author of one of the many blog posts about the book.

A California woman recalled how her sister became the perfect Asian daughter Ms Chua aspires to produce — only to kill herself because she was afraid to tell anyone she suffered from depression.

Ms Ann Hulbert, the author of Raising America, a history of a century’s worth of conflicting child-rearing advice, who is writing a book about child prodigies, notes that it is not hard to reignite the Mummy Wars.

"There is a kind of utter certainty in her writing," she said of Ms Chua, "and that confidence goes so against the underlying grain of American parenting and child-rearing expertise that it immediately elicits a response that then suggests a kind of certainty on the other side that isn’t there, either."

NYT

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

It seems that a particularly strident editorial had struck a raw nerve in many places, not just in the United States.

Retreat of the 'Tiger Mother'

Not too unfamiliar.

Meanwhile...

New Testament story about John the Baptist and Herod prompted Tony Blair 'wobble' on bombing Iraq

Tony Blair, meeting Pope Benedict XVI in June 2006, had a "wobble" over attacking Iraq after reading the Bible.
Alastair Campbell famously avoided questions about Tony Blair's faith by declaring: "We don't do God."

It turns out that in spare moments during a hectic life in Downing Street, Campbell had to consult the scriptures to work out what was going in the mind of his boss.

Campbell writes in his diaries, serialised in Saturday's Guardian, that the former prime minister would read the Bible before making big decisions. Blair even had what Campbell described as a "wobble" on the eve of Britain's first bombing mission against Iraq under his premiership after reading the Bible.

This is what he wrote on 16 December 1998 in The Alastair Campbell Diaries Volume Two: Power and the People 1997-1999:

TB was clearly having a bit of a wobble. He said he had been reading the Bible last night, as he often did when the really big decisions were on, and he had read something about John the Baptist and Herod which had caused him to rethink, albeit not change his mind.

Campbell then did his Biblical homework and added this footnote:

John the Baptist denounced the marriage of Herod Antipas, Herod ordered him to be imprisoned and later beheaded.

At one level the disclosure is not a great surprise. It is impossible to understand Blair the politician without appreciating his deeply held Christian faith. This developed at Oxford under the influence of his Australian mentor, the late Anglican priest Peter Thomson.

Blair, who converted to Catholicism after leaving Downing Street, is devoting much of his time now to his Faith Foundation which promotes dialogue between faiths. His approach is summed up in a famous declaration he made to Labour's annual conference after the 9/11 attacks:

It is time the West confronted its ignorance of Islam. Jews, Muslims and Christians are all children of Abraham.

But it is still interesting to learn that Blair really did head up to his flat above No 11 Downing Street to read the Bible when he had to make life and death decisions.

Blair's "wobble" over Iraq in 1998 also challenges the idea of some of his most ardent critics that his faith drove him to overthrow Saddam Hussein. It appears that, in fact, his faith made the former prime minister think very deeply about his actions.

The disclosure by Campbell helps to clarify Blair's thinking when he was asked by Michael Parkinson in March 2006 about Iraq. This is what Blair said:

Well, I think if you have faith about these things, then you realise that judgment is made by other people.

Questioned further, Blair said:

If you believe in God, [the judgment] is made by God as well.

In a leading article the Mirror wrote:

In a remarkable TV interview with Michael Parkinson tonight, Blair suggests God will back him on Iraq.

It is clear now that Blair was not claiming any divine support. He was simply saying that he would be judged by God.

The Guardian is publishing Campbell's diaries a week before Blair makes his second appearance before the Chilcot enquiry next Friday. The enquiry is examining events between 2001 and 2009 which means that the latest volume of Campbell's diaries, which cover the first two years of Blair's premiership, will be of little interest to Sir John Chilcot.

But the extracts in Saturday's Guardian do give a flavour of how the world was a gentler place in 1998. In April 1998 Blair was able to give a clear undertaking to Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia that Britain would not threaten the territorial inetgrity of Iraq.

This is what Campbell wrote on 18 April 1998 during a visit to Saudi Arabia:

We were taken to a ludicrously sumptuous room to wait for the Crown Prince Abdullah. On Iraq, Abdullah said they loved the Iraqi people – they are our brothers. TB said we would not threaten the territorial integrity of Iraq.

But, pray tell, why did Blair go to war with Iraq in 2003 later?
And no, don't use NATO as an excuse.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Not too unfamiliar.

I actually have seen enough of these trash in school who just memorise everything and bring home straight 'A's, yet being total stuck-ups who can't even do their part of a group project properly.

Yes you heard it right, I call them trash. I even called one of these kinds of people "Damn useless <insert sexual insult> bitch" for trying to plagarise work from a research journal and submit it as her part of our group project, then claiming that "the marker wouldn't realise" (and what makes her think that the marker haven't read such stuff from a previous month's WSJ?).

Copying then improving on it in your own style and way is called improvise, and it is good effort. Just plain copying is no different from writing "I am a useless retard who can't do my own work so euthanise me" in the work you are trying to submit.

I used to have a friend many years ago who committed suicide because her mother placed too much pressure on her. Similarly, my mother used to be like this. Until I got used to the caning because of the more painful bashes and cuts I got in school due to bullying, and a social worker has to step in because I was dropping ten-ton insults on my school principal, calling him a "government dog and backboneless fat alcoholic (he had a slipped disc and a protruding belly)".

These kind of emotional scars don't go away. They remain with the child for a lifetime, and even worse, what is being used on the child will result in what the child will use on other people. In my case, I always have this urge to try and egg depressive and down-feeling people into committing suicide, instead of trying to counsel them like the other good people. How do I get this kind of psychotic sadistic paradigm? Ask those pieces of trash who have bullied me in school, those teachers who sit there and do nothing, and that useless government dog and his lackeys ; after all, they taught by example on how to deal with people with low self-esteem.

[MrTerrorist]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

No, I do NOT know what is the funny point about this, seriously, as in, I fail to get the joke... but at least it's not Michael Steele who got the post. The 15 gun woman? Why not upgrade to the full monty: the 21-gun salute!

Here's the joke i'm talking about.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tu...op-of-the-gops

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I actually have seen enough of these trash in school who just memorise everything and bring home straight 'A's, yet being total stuck-ups who can't even do their part of a group project properly.

Yes you heard it right, I call them trash. I even called one of these kinds of people "Damn useless <insert sexual insult> bitch" for trying to plagarise work from a research journal and submit it as her part of our group project, then claiming that "the marker wouldn't realise" (and what makes her think that the marker haven't read such stuff from a previous month's WSJ?).

Copying then improving on it in your own style and way is called improvise, and it is good effort. Just plain copying is no different from writing "I am a useless retard who can't do my own work so euthanise me" in the work you are trying to submit.

I used to have a friend many years ago who committed suicide because her mother placed too much pressure on her. Similarly, my mother used to be like this. Until I got used to the caning because of the more painful bashes and cuts I got in school due to bullying, and a social worker has to step in because I was dropping ten-ton insults on my school principal, calling him a "government dog and backboneless fat alcoholic (he had a slipped disc and a protruding belly)".

These kind of emotional scars don't go away. They remain with the child for a lifetime, and even worse, what is being used on the child will result in what the child will use on other people. In my case, I always have this urge to try and egg depressive and down-feeling people into committing suicide, instead of trying to counsel them like the other good people. How do I get this kind of psychotic sadistic paradigm? Ask those pieces of trash who have bullied me in school, those teachers who sit there and do nothing, and that useless government dog and his lackeys ; after all, they taught by example on how to deal with people with low self-esteem.

Which secondary school is this?

[yezhanquan]

There was a reason why I opted to cut short my Uni education and told myself to get some experience in the Great University of Life. So far, I'm loving most of it, warts and all.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

Spoiler for saving space:

I actually have seen enough of these trash in school who just memorise everything and bring home straight 'A's, yet being total stuck-ups who can't even do their part of a group project properly.

Yes you heard it right, I call them trash. I even called one of these kinds of people "Damn useless <insert sexual insult> bitch" for trying to plagarise work from a research journal and submit it as her part of our group project, then claiming that "the marker wouldn't realise" (and what makes her think that the marker haven't read such stuff from a previous month's WSJ?).

Copying then improving on it in your own style and way is called improvise, and it is good effort. Just plain copying is no different from writing "I am a useless retard who can't do my own work so euthanise me" in the work you are trying to submit.

I used to have a friend many years ago who committed suicide because her mother placed too much pressure on her. Similarly, my mother used to be like this. Until I got used to the caning because of the more painful bashes and cuts I got in school due to bullying, and a social worker has to step in because I was dropping ten-ton insults on my school principal, calling him a "government dog and backboneless fat alcoholic (he had a slipped disc and a protruding belly)".

These kind of emotional scars don't go away. They remain with the child for a lifetime, and even worse, what is being used on the child will result in what the child will use on other people. In my case, I always have this urge to try and egg depressive and down-feeling people into committing suicide, instead of trying to counsel them like the other good people. How do I get this kind of psychotic sadistic paradigm? Ask those pieces of trash who have bullied me in school, those teachers who sit there and do nothing, and that useless government dog and his lackeys ; after all, they taught by example on how to deal with people with low self-esteem.

You said before than you had a ''screwy'' school experience and given what you write kind of agree ...

IAEA envoys visit Iran's Natanz enrichment site
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70F12F20110116

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

There was a reason why I opted to cut short my Uni education and told myself to get some experience in the Great University of Life. So far, I'm loving most of it, warts and all.

Gap year?
Most people here do it. But since I'm Brit-Chinese, I didn't. I ended up being up the youngest in my cohort. The other Chinese and the Korean were born a week BEFORE ME!

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Which secondary school is this?

Not revealing. Don't wanna be "sued for slander" (pretty genius on how the legal system works in that aspect. *sarcastic*).

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

There was a reason why I opted to cut short my Uni education and told myself to get some experience in the Great University of Life. So far, I'm loving most of it, warts and all.

I wasn't allowed to take a gap year. Dammit, I wanted one.

But then again, I would be stuck in the library reading my life away so I think it would be better to stay in school.

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Gap year?
Most people here do it. But since I'm Brit-Chinese, I didn't. I ended up being up the youngest in my cohort. The other Chinese and the Korean were born a week BEFORE ME!

You took IB. We took poly diplomas and Air levels, PLUS the SAF.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

You took IB. We took poly diplomas and Air levels, PLUS the SAF.

IB doesn't have any impact on gap years, many do so RIGHT AFTER IB/SAF, then only head to Uni AFTER that, or in SMU, take a gap year IN THE MIDDLE of their courses. It happens. Anyways, when they do, they go... backpacking...!

[Ithekro]

I suffered from burn out in my fifth year of college...but finished my BA that year. I suppose 20 years of school with the last 6 being with practically no break might have something to do with it (I think I had one summer off after by senior year of high school started...and that was I think three years into college.) But then I didn't overload myself with units each quarter, and just took summer quarter as well to keep up (aside from two quarters where I messed around with general classes because I missed the application date for my second college which ran on a different schedule. Those computer classes were a mistake for my average grade. Never try to learn C++ in a 6 week summer course then get sick for a week...you will never catch up. Especially if you'd only learned Basic the quarter before. Made Visual Basic a mess the next quarter...so confused over syntax that year since C++ and Basic are basically opposites in sentance structure...and C++ makes no sense if you are use to English sentance structure because you've been taking a lot of English, History, and Political Science courses).

Amazingly I did get a computer programming job...doing html and visual basic for web design (for a month before the company ended...it was a dot com...or dot gone as they say. Their backer didn't put up, so they shut down)

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

IB doesn't have any impact on gap years, many do so RIGHT AFTER IB/SAF, then only head to Uni AFTER that, or in SMU, take a gap year IN THE MIDDLE of their courses. It happens. Anyways, when they do, they go... backpacking...!

I never had the money to go backpacking. If I had, I would want to visit dangerous places like the Middle East (and if the ISAF allows, Afghanistan), Korean DMZ, the China-India border, Pakistan, etc.

Maybe I'll go Texas too and take a look at their gun culture.

[ganbaru]

Former dictator "Baby Doc" Duvalier back in Haiti
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70F2Q420110117

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I wasn't allowed to take a gap year. Dammit, I wanted one.

But then again, I would be stuck in the library reading my life away so I think it would be better to stay in school.

Actually, it was me choosing between a normal B.A. and Honours. Case-in-point: I have heard comments about a colleague of mine being described as more "book-smart" than "street-smart". At where we work, it can... complicate things.

[AnimeFan188]

"Japanese researchers will launch a project this year to resurrect the long-extinct
mammoth by using cloning technology to bring the ancient pachyderm back to life in
around five years time.

The researchers will try to revive the species by obtaining tissue this summer from
the carcass of a mammoth preserved in a Russian research laboratory, the Yomiuri
Shimbun reported."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117...20110117104445

[Ithekro]

Well let's see if the prototype "Jurassic Park" type cloning works.

[Frenchie]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"Japanese researchers will launch a project this year to resurrect the long-extinct
mammoth by using cloning technology to bring the ancient pachyderm back to life in
around five years time.

The researchers will try to revive the species by obtaining tissue this summer from
the carcass of a mammoth preserved in a Russian research laboratory, the Yomiuri
Shimbun reported."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117...20110117104445

Clearly this will be yet another excuse for Americans to buy (more) guns in fear of a Godzmammoth attack.

[Kaijo]

Goldman-Sachs, a benficiary of the US bailout, has decided to exclude US investors from it's Facebook deal.

Hmm, how about we consider excluding Goldman-Sachs from benefits they might otherwise receive by staying in the US?

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"Japanese researchers will launch a project this year to resurrect the long-extinct
mammoth by using cloning technology to bring the ancient pachyderm back to life in
around five years time.

The researchers will try to revive the species by obtaining tissue this summer from
the carcass of a mammoth preserved in a Russian research laboratory, the Yomiuri
Shimbun reported."

See:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110117...20110117104445

Now if this works out, and we can manage to find some preserved neanderthal tissue, that's when the really interesting cloning can begin. I sure hope I can live long enough to see the day.