"No state has an inherent right to survive through conscript troops and in the long run no state ever has. Roman matrons used to say to their sons: "Come back with your shield, or on it." Later on, this custom declined. So did Rome." - Robert Heinlein
***
Someone on being frustrated by the NUS administration: the thing is, allowing students to do graduate modules is the practice is most good universities. i duno why they are so adamant about it. im very disappointed. ive been planning this for so long. it's like, if u're a student who actually knows what he wants to learn and have a passion for a certain subject, NUS is the wrong school to go... it's only the right school for those who want to get the credentials, and force fit their educational demands into the constraints by the school.
one can even argue that the school is not doing it's part because what im asking for is perfectly within their resources ... they just have to say "yes" since there are already such classes.
***
The Year End Report – The Experience Overseas, So Far.
"The previous semester (the third) we have moved out of dorm into off-campus housing, where the entire Singaporean batch stays in the same place called the Valentine Place. We will be staying together till we graduate from Cornell, and I think there will not be any further changes to our lives in the next one and a half year.
I tried to ask myself to name an ang moh that I knew as a friend over the past one and a half years. I can’t. May be it’s just me – I am a strongly Chinese-cultured person. The non-singaporean friends I have were all Asians...
Due to the large number of us (Singaporeans) taking electrical engineering, it is very natural for us to cluster together during lectures, labs, and tutorials. (I think such a phenomenon is less common for non-EE courses). All the Singaporeans sit together in the front three rows for the lectures, holding discussions mainly among us. Most Singaporeans paired with each other for the labs. There are strategic advantages – first, we know that Singaporean partners are mostly quite good in their studies and wouldn’t drag you down, and secondly, we lived so close to each other (it’s like living in different houses in a chalet), so it’s easy to meet up for discussion. Well, of course, the drawback is we forgo the chance to interact with people from other countries...
The first thing that came to my mind, to illustrate what I think Singaporeans were seen in the eyes of the Americans, were the PRC scholars in NUS/NTU. (hehe sorry Foxy, just a comparison). I was hanging around in NUS last January (well, those who knows why I went there will know what I was doing there), and see a group of PRC people. It came into my mind immediately how I was just like them back in Cornell, for we do share some similarities:
1. Speaking with a slang – the Singlish.
2. Academic “market spoilers” with our GPA.
3. Mainly interacted among ourselves, especially during lectures.
There was one day where we have an exam at night. Before one lecture, the Singaporeans were discussing about the exam outside the lecture room and were late for lecture – it is very obviously, because the first three rows were suddenly empty. I was sitting with my Taiwanese buddy, and I could hear the Americans talking behind me, “oh, it’s those Singaporeans…”, and I couldn’t make out what they say after that. But I could sense some kind of hatred towards the Singaporean gang."
The Singaporean Electrical Engineering students in Cornell sound like the PRCs in NUS.
(More comments on insularity)
***
They send us the most wonderful things in our NUS mail:
"Kimberly-Clark Young Marketers' Award
Put your business skills to the test. Be a Brand Manager for a famous feminine care product in a real-world situation! You'll stand to win attractive prizes and you might even be recruited for an internship at Kimberly-Clark.
Participants are to:
1. Conceptualise an integrated above-the-line (ATL) and below-the-line (BTL) program for the launch of new Kotex Dri-Comfort sanitary pads.
2. Conceptualise and execute a campaign to drive trial and sampling of new Kotex Dri-Comfort pads as well as database collection for Kimberly-Clark on campus to female students and the general public."
The only down point is that each team must have at least one member from the NUS Business School. Damn. Though one has expressed conditional interest.
***
Dave Holt from AdvancedFightingFantasy.com:
"For everyone's information a Fighting Fantasy Adventure TV series is under development as we speak with a tv production company and I have been involved in its initial proposal with Steve J.
As FF Consultant I am involved in ensuring the FF continuity is maintained in the tv series and presented a proposal outling the basic premise of the show.
The show will consists of a group of four or five adventurers' who are mysteriously transported to an un-tamed, impressive virtual reality and live action wilderness in the lands of Allansia. Hosting the proceedings is Yaztromo the Wizard, a stout, aging guardian of Allansia, with wispy white hair and beard who has a fondness for sweat cakes, and his annoying talking pet crow known as Verminthrax.
Each programme would feature the team consisting of four heroic adventurers dressed as a thief, wizard, warrior and knight, one of which becomes the main leader. The proposed series will consist of 13 episodes set within nine uniquely different environments based upon the popular series of Children's interactive Gamebook by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone and have a plot roughly following the structure of the book in question. The adventurers' would individually and collectively face a series of bizarre and completely unknown situations, with only a map, and Yaztromo or Verminthrax's instructions "to reach the end of their quest".
The programme will have a number of sequenced events, set within a medieval fantasy setting and will benefit from a rich, colourful world with a dark-edge and lots of humorous elements. Each programme will have a consistent rhythm, pace and atmosphere and visually consist of a different theme ranging from a mixture of live-on location sets such as a forest and village to re-usable sets of a dungeon, mine, caves, and frozen waste etc. Within each programme the adventurers' will face over 5 challenges that are true to the original books.
Along the way the adventurers' will encounter a series of tricks n' traps and these will invole problem solving in order to reach the conclusion to their quest bestowed upon them by Yaztromo. Many of their tasks will involve the discovery of objects such as spells, weapons, red herrings and money in the form of King's Regals (small gold pieces), Silvers (small silver pieces) and Bartings (small copper pieces), which are the principal currency of Allansia. The value of these currencies varies from land to land, however typically, a GP (gold piece) = 10 SP (silver piece) and 10 SP (silver piece) = 1 CP (copper piece).
The series `Fighting Fantasy' will also feature animatronic monsters, live actors and real-time locations to create a fantasy world in which 5 adventurers will face a series of challenge games."
***
Intelligence from melons:
"in swizzieland, dogs can go anywhere. cable cars, public transport, ferris wheels and even the airport. this gorgeous golden retriever was in the same cable car as us!"
Ooh. Dog friendly country.
***
Some joker on Wikipedia envisions future SPD episodes:
23. Zapped - A magician tries to make Sam human but decides to kidnap Syd instead
24. Reflections, Part 1 - Sky buys an evil new mirror
25. Reflections, Part 2 - Jack gets a battalizer to defeat the mirror
26. SWAT, Part 1 - A giant ape gives the rangers new powers
27. SWAT, Part 2 - Z pawns her new powers for new bling
28. Robotpalooza - Tommy returns to be DekaSwan!
29. Daddy - Sky is sad when he realizes his dad missed his first soccer practice at his new school
30. Alpha - Charlie, aka DekaBright, aka Alpha Ranger, comes looking for her boyfriend Sam but is disappointed when she finds out that he's now in love with that guy from Abandoned
31. Clowns - Wicked Clowns from Outer Space invade the earth!
32. BARK! - Cruger gets fleas and it's up to the rangers to get him a flea bath
33. MOOOOO, Part 1 - The Dino Rangers are transported to the future while fighting a cow-monster
34. MOOOOO, Part 2 - Tommy gives his powers to Devin and Cam gives his powers to Bulk, then Bulk and Devin fuse to become Bulkin, who morphs to become Buy-More-Toys Ranger.
35. Resurrection - Cruger's wife returns to informs him that the divorce is final
36. Awww... - Omega uses his fisty thingy on Morgana and she turns into a baby. The rangers argue over who will change the diapers
37. Grumm - The rangers file a complaint with Emperor Grumm's supervisor, Master Vile, who fires Grumm and gives Earth a free gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond for all their troubles
38. PUPPIES!!! - Kat makes the announcement! She and Cruger are parents of a new puppy/kitten hybrid called Puptens. Sam returns to the future to avoid paying back child support he owes Z. Jack and Syd move to America where Jack gets romantically involved with some girl named Natalie Day(if you got that reference then nicely done). Bridge and Sky move to Canada and get married and have 3 children through the miracle of whatever that process was they used in movie Junior. Boom gets a promotion to Red Time Force Ranger while Piggy begins working on his secret weapon, a giant bird feeder. Former Emperor Grumm gets a job working at a convenience store in Minnesota. Ross and Rachel move to Paris or stay in New York or something but they end up together that's all you care about. By episode's end, we realize the entire series was just a big dream that Rita had and she decides to start bugging those stupid Mystic Force Rangers.
Cute.
***
Beethoven (1.4m) beats Bono (20,000) in battle of the internet downloads - "Sgt Pepper could well end up as the best-selling online track of all time. But its sales figure of just 20,000 online in the two weeks since it has been available contrasts poorly with the admittedly free Beethoven symphonies. (Sgt Pepper cost 79p on the iTunes website.)"
Using loaf to lose crust - "A crust-free loaf has been invented to cater for fussy kids. Experts spent two years creating Hovis Invisible Crust which will be launched next month."
Thursday, July 21, 2005
"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties- no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." - Albert Einstein
Random Playlist Song: Walton - Crown Imperial (Coronation March) (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra)
***
Someone's nick: Was innocently changing my minor from "urban studies" to "none". Then poof! I became a Chemistry major... What the fuck!
Yay CORS!
***
Screwed Up Girl on the RJ recording of Dieu mentioned earlier: ........................wasn't that the batch that won syf?
they sound ...............
omg
Me: like tim described?
Screwed Up Girl: maybe even worse
or maybe it's a bad recording
like some dog's dying
Someone: u noe i'm starting to lose respect for the Arts Deans list?
Me: because I'm on it? ;)
Someone: so far I've spotted an ex-ahlian who never used to be very smart whom i knew in sec sch
and a few exclassmates who have seriously never displayed dean's list capabilities
My No 1 fan (blah blah) (on an old entry): U USED TO BLOG LIKE THE REST OF US lol
Me: last time lah
eh very different meh
more informal
just now I use more formal sentences
other than that about the same
oh yah and a bit more personal
because my life used to be more interesting
and not so many people used to read my blog
haha
My No 1 fan: yar lor the informality lor
Me: now it's very formal meh
My No 1 fan: more formal than before
there's an air of heaviness about it
lol
no longer lighthearted
Me: hmm
fewer anecdotes I think
I told you my life is boring now :P
My No 1 fan: yeah to both statements
=D
***
RJC now has "lots" of deans. Sigh. Looks like Yishun Town Secondary School's Technical Stream is not the only place to have one.
It's like dictators in Banana Republics; even if their blazers collapse from the weight of the medals they keep awarding themselves, everyone knows that they are ultimately empty and meaningless.
How long before we have a real "Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Tun Tan Sri Datuk Utama Seri", and no one thinks that it's a "sarcastic amalgamation of Malay aristocratic titles"?
***
Tim points me to 2 pieces of "Art" hanging in the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Yves Klein - Voir l'agrandissement, Monochrome IKB 3, 1960. Pigment pur et résine synthétique sur toile marouflée sur bois"
and
Ellsworth Kelly - Voir l'agrandissement, Dark blue Panel, 1985. Huile sur toile"
It seems I had underestimated the depths to which modern art had sunk. This is worse than paint being spilled. At least that has some variation.
I wonder how much the museum paid for this trash. Hopefully they were 'donated by the artist'.
Tim: from the guggenheim write-up:
He soon began to make paintings in separate panels that can be recombined to produce alternate compositions, as well as multipanel paintings in which each canvas is painted a single color.
pure forms supposed to evoke something
disgust, maybe
On a clear night in March at ten pm sharp a crowd of one hundred people, all dressed in black tie attire, came to the Galerie International d'Art Contemporain in Paris. The event was the first conceptual piece to be shown at this gallery by their new artist Mr. Yves Klein. The gallery was one of the finest in Paris.
Mr. Klein in a black dinner jacket proceeded to conduct a ten piece orchestra in his personal composition of The Monotone Symphony, which he had written in 1949. This symphony consisted of one note.
Three models appeared, all with very beautiful naked bodies. They were then conducted as was the full orchestra by Mr. Klein.
The music began. The models then rolled themselves in the blue paint that had been placed on giant pieces of artist paper - the paper had been carefully placed on one side of the galleries' wall and floor area - opposite the full orchestra. Everything was composed so breathtakingly beautifully. The spectacle was surely a metaphysical and spiritual event for all. This went on for twenty minutes.
When the symphony stopped it was followed by a strict twenty minutes of silence, in which everyone in the room willingly froze themselves in their own private meditation space.
At the end of Yves' piece everyone in the audience was fully aware they had been in the presence of a genius at work, the piece was a huge success! Mr. Klein triumphed. It would be his greatest moment in art history, a total success.
The spectacle had unquestionable poetic beauty, and Mr. Kleins' last words that night were, "THE MYTH IS IN ART".
shit man
***
On a rare exploit in Greasemonkey code, the fixing of which causes many problems in existing scripts:
A: But it does not sound realistic that someone makes and uses an exploit for this bug that is allready well-known. The chance is thousands times higher that one drops dead putting on his socks while getting up.
B: The chance that someone cracks your computer because you have voluntairily installed an attractive program that contained a trojan is even many millions times higher, but people tend to forget that.
***
Russia launches patriotism drive
"There are plans to organise patriotic song contests and competitions for Patriot of the Year.
Soviet-style military training will be reintroduced into schools.
And to improve the moral standing of the young generation, there will be lessons in "correct reproductive behaviour".
The plan aims to make patriotism the "spiritual backbone" of Russia and is designed to "counter attempts in the media at discrediting patriotic ideas".
The Kremlin sees the measures as vital for preserving national unity and state security.
It is unclear, though, whether this particular programme will achieve that - after all, money alone can't buy love for the motherland."
***
Found while doing a reverse search referral for "emma watson pedophilia" (sans quotes); the correct term apparently is Ephebephilia:
Rage of Consent - How Our Love/Hate Relationship with Youth Sexuality and Our Abuse Hysteria Is Endangering Our Culture
"The fact that we even call a post-pubescent a “child” in some circles is somewhat outrageous, considering that for most of history, these “children” were economically able, had marriages and families they maintained and supported, and some of them led armies, began cultural revolutions, or wrote incredible works of literature and art. Even in our time, most nations would allow, if not encourage, them to fight in wars. We treat them as adults in criminal trials as young as age twelve, and the pro-life movement encourages teen mothers to have their babies (though often offering them no continued support to mother them)...
“There’s just as much sexual abuse as there ever was, and to that now we’ve added grotesque nationwide sexual panic, hysteria, insane judicial policies, and a host of other woes. In my view, as a society, we’re not at all interested in helping children in the area of sexuality, but rather, our interest is in punishing adults who respond sexually to children. Children suffer from the hysteria just as much, or more, than everyone else,” adds Okami.
The irony here is that our culture may well have created a potent Catch-22. By disempowering our youth and hampering them from economic and emotional independence, by classifying young adults as children at older and older ages, and by rearing them to view adults as superior beings, we may doom many of these relationships from the start when they might otherwise be beneficial, and create trauma and negativity in them that would not otherwise be there.
... If we were to rear our children in environments which empowered and supported their sexuality and self-esteem, and were supported as parents and mentors in doing so ... if we made sure they received lifelong and comprehensive sex education, and we treated them like young adults, placing the responsibility and accountability for their actions on them ... that old rug, the “moral protection of the feeble innocents,” would be pulled right out from under us. A young adult can say yes or no, and when they have the pertinent information, support, and a healthy self-image, they can make informed choices capably.
We hear again and again that we ought to tell children that “no means no.” But if we tell them that their “no” has weight and meaning, we cannot tell them that their “yes” has none. And if we give their consent no value or worth, than their non-consent becomes worthless as well, and it should be unsurprising when it then gets ignored."
***
CL2280
Module Title : BASIC TRANSLATION
Module Description : This module introduces students to basics issues in the practice of translation and interpretation (both Chinese-English and English-Chinese). Students are exposed to different forms of writing and are trained to do written translation and consecutive interpretation. The course is conducted in an interactive manner and students are expected to actively participate in class discussion, language games and translation exercises during both lecture and tutorial. The course is practice-oriented and is intended for students who are bilingual (Chinese and English) and have an interest in the practice of translation and interpretation.
Ho ho.
***
Democratization and Growth by Elias Papaioannou, Gregorios Siourounis
"The relationship between the type of polity and economic performance is probably the oldest and one of the most controversial issues in the social sciences. Although there has been a burgeoning theoretical and empirical research on the relation between political liberalism and economic performance, both the economics and the political science literature lack a comprehensive analysis of the effects of democratization on growth. After identifying recent episodes of permanent democratic transitions, we analyze the dynamic evolution of growth before and after democratization. Our methodology addresses issues arising from time-invariant omitted variables, unobserved country heterogeneity, reverse causality and measurement error, and primarily explores the within country growth variation. Our before-after event study clearly challenges the recently documented insignificant correlation between political freedom and economic growth."
Random Playlist Song: Walton - Crown Imperial (Coronation March) (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra)
***
Someone's nick: Was innocently changing my minor from "urban studies" to "none". Then poof! I became a Chemistry major... What the fuck!
Yay CORS!
***
Screwed Up Girl on the RJ recording of Dieu mentioned earlier: ........................wasn't that the batch that won syf?
they sound ...............
omg
Me: like tim described?
Screwed Up Girl: maybe even worse
or maybe it's a bad recording
like some dog's dying
Someone: u noe i'm starting to lose respect for the Arts Deans list?
Me: because I'm on it? ;)
Someone: so far I've spotted an ex-ahlian who never used to be very smart whom i knew in sec sch
and a few exclassmates who have seriously never displayed dean's list capabilities
My No 1 fan (blah blah) (on an old entry): U USED TO BLOG LIKE THE REST OF US lol
Me: last time lah
eh very different meh
more informal
just now I use more formal sentences
other than that about the same
oh yah and a bit more personal
because my life used to be more interesting
and not so many people used to read my blog
haha
My No 1 fan: yar lor the informality lor
Me: now it's very formal meh
My No 1 fan: more formal than before
there's an air of heaviness about it
lol
no longer lighthearted
Me: hmm
fewer anecdotes I think
I told you my life is boring now :P
My No 1 fan: yeah to both statements
=D
***
RJC now has "lots" of deans. Sigh. Looks like Yishun Town Secondary School's Technical Stream is not the only place to have one.
It's like dictators in Banana Republics; even if their blazers collapse from the weight of the medals they keep awarding themselves, everyone knows that they are ultimately empty and meaningless.
How long before we have a real "Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di Pertuan Tun Tan Sri Datuk Utama Seri", and no one thinks that it's a "sarcastic amalgamation of Malay aristocratic titles"?
***
Tim points me to 2 pieces of "Art" hanging in the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Yves Klein - Voir l'agrandissement, Monochrome IKB 3, 1960. Pigment pur et résine synthétique sur toile marouflée sur bois"
and
Ellsworth Kelly - Voir l'agrandissement, Dark blue Panel, 1985. Huile sur toile"
It seems I had underestimated the depths to which modern art had sunk. This is worse than paint being spilled. At least that has some variation.
I wonder how much the museum paid for this trash. Hopefully they were 'donated by the artist'.
Tim: from the guggenheim write-up:
He soon began to make paintings in separate panels that can be recombined to produce alternate compositions, as well as multipanel paintings in which each canvas is painted a single color.
pure forms supposed to evoke something
disgust, maybe
On a clear night in March at ten pm sharp a crowd of one hundred people, all dressed in black tie attire, came to the Galerie International d'Art Contemporain in Paris. The event was the first conceptual piece to be shown at this gallery by their new artist Mr. Yves Klein. The gallery was one of the finest in Paris.
Mr. Klein in a black dinner jacket proceeded to conduct a ten piece orchestra in his personal composition of The Monotone Symphony, which he had written in 1949. This symphony consisted of one note.
Three models appeared, all with very beautiful naked bodies. They were then conducted as was the full orchestra by Mr. Klein.
The music began. The models then rolled themselves in the blue paint that had been placed on giant pieces of artist paper - the paper had been carefully placed on one side of the galleries' wall and floor area - opposite the full orchestra. Everything was composed so breathtakingly beautifully. The spectacle was surely a metaphysical and spiritual event for all. This went on for twenty minutes.
When the symphony stopped it was followed by a strict twenty minutes of silence, in which everyone in the room willingly froze themselves in their own private meditation space.
At the end of Yves' piece everyone in the audience was fully aware they had been in the presence of a genius at work, the piece was a huge success! Mr. Klein triumphed. It would be his greatest moment in art history, a total success.
The spectacle had unquestionable poetic beauty, and Mr. Kleins' last words that night were, "THE MYTH IS IN ART".
shit man
***
On a rare exploit in Greasemonkey code, the fixing of which causes many problems in existing scripts:
A: But it does not sound realistic that someone makes and uses an exploit for this bug that is allready well-known. The chance is thousands times higher that one drops dead putting on his socks while getting up.
B: The chance that someone cracks your computer because you have voluntairily installed an attractive program that contained a trojan is even many millions times higher, but people tend to forget that.
***
Russia launches patriotism drive
"There are plans to organise patriotic song contests and competitions for Patriot of the Year.
Soviet-style military training will be reintroduced into schools.
And to improve the moral standing of the young generation, there will be lessons in "correct reproductive behaviour".
The plan aims to make patriotism the "spiritual backbone" of Russia and is designed to "counter attempts in the media at discrediting patriotic ideas".
The Kremlin sees the measures as vital for preserving national unity and state security.
It is unclear, though, whether this particular programme will achieve that - after all, money alone can't buy love for the motherland."
***
Found while doing a reverse search referral for "emma watson pedophilia" (sans quotes); the correct term apparently is Ephebephilia:
Rage of Consent - How Our Love/Hate Relationship with Youth Sexuality and Our Abuse Hysteria Is Endangering Our Culture
"The fact that we even call a post-pubescent a “child” in some circles is somewhat outrageous, considering that for most of history, these “children” were economically able, had marriages and families they maintained and supported, and some of them led armies, began cultural revolutions, or wrote incredible works of literature and art. Even in our time, most nations would allow, if not encourage, them to fight in wars. We treat them as adults in criminal trials as young as age twelve, and the pro-life movement encourages teen mothers to have their babies (though often offering them no continued support to mother them)...
“There’s just as much sexual abuse as there ever was, and to that now we’ve added grotesque nationwide sexual panic, hysteria, insane judicial policies, and a host of other woes. In my view, as a society, we’re not at all interested in helping children in the area of sexuality, but rather, our interest is in punishing adults who respond sexually to children. Children suffer from the hysteria just as much, or more, than everyone else,” adds Okami.
The irony here is that our culture may well have created a potent Catch-22. By disempowering our youth and hampering them from economic and emotional independence, by classifying young adults as children at older and older ages, and by rearing them to view adults as superior beings, we may doom many of these relationships from the start when they might otherwise be beneficial, and create trauma and negativity in them that would not otherwise be there.
... If we were to rear our children in environments which empowered and supported their sexuality and self-esteem, and were supported as parents and mentors in doing so ... if we made sure they received lifelong and comprehensive sex education, and we treated them like young adults, placing the responsibility and accountability for their actions on them ... that old rug, the “moral protection of the feeble innocents,” would be pulled right out from under us. A young adult can say yes or no, and when they have the pertinent information, support, and a healthy self-image, they can make informed choices capably.
We hear again and again that we ought to tell children that “no means no.” But if we tell them that their “no” has weight and meaning, we cannot tell them that their “yes” has none. And if we give their consent no value or worth, than their non-consent becomes worthless as well, and it should be unsurprising when it then gets ignored."
***
CL2280
Module Title : BASIC TRANSLATION
Module Description : This module introduces students to basics issues in the practice of translation and interpretation (both Chinese-English and English-Chinese). Students are exposed to different forms of writing and are trained to do written translation and consecutive interpretation. The course is conducted in an interactive manner and students are expected to actively participate in class discussion, language games and translation exercises during both lecture and tutorial. The course is practice-oriented and is intended for students who are bilingual (Chinese and English) and have an interest in the practice of translation and interpretation.
Ho ho.
***
Democratization and Growth by Elias Papaioannou, Gregorios Siourounis
"The relationship between the type of polity and economic performance is probably the oldest and one of the most controversial issues in the social sciences. Although there has been a burgeoning theoretical and empirical research on the relation between political liberalism and economic performance, both the economics and the political science literature lack a comprehensive analysis of the effects of democratization on growth. After identifying recent episodes of permanent democratic transitions, we analyze the dynamic evolution of growth before and after democratization. Our methodology addresses issues arising from time-invariant omitted variables, unobserved country heterogeneity, reverse causality and measurement error, and primarily explores the within country growth variation. Our before-after event study clearly challenges the recently documented insignificant correlation between political freedom and economic growth."
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
"The Constitution gives every American the inalienable right to make a damn fool of himself." - John Ciardi
***
"In the past, you don't like your enemy... you put on your armour.... ride your horse... poke him in the chest... Now it's rule of the law... revenge is extracted by suing the pants off your enemy."
--- Yortsin on International History (Phantasmagoria)
He still hasn't lost his touch :)
***
Someone: After serious consideration and discussions with the Deans of the Business and Law Schools, the university has decided that the Business School will remain at Kent Ridge, but also have a facility at Bukit Timah in which it can conduct enhancement and enrichment programs that will bring alumni, students and faculty together.
Me: let the law students stew on their own haha
Someone: yar lor
Me: how to do law CBMs like that
how will law do non-law electives?
Someone: then their own pang sai business already
call other ppl SNAILS
this is called retribution
lol
Someone: let's see if my ego can take the bashing if i get bashers
seriously. i think i've protected my ego too long
too fragile liao
Me: yah
I help you train up by insulting you
Someone else: my fren thot tat agagooga was an indian guy :P
Tim: [I want] RJ's Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder
i want to hear just how badly they mangled it
playing RJ Chorale's
why's it so slow?! they can't handle the triplets/doubles otherwise?
wah lau.
the beautiful girl they're singing about must have passed away.
intolerable. i shut it off
Me on the next Young Republic gathering: We need a more diverse crowd!
Someone: in other words, need more girls la.
***
The Watling Street episode of Time Commanders was a disaster. Most teams in other episodes I watched lost, but this team was doomed to failue from the get-go due to internal squabbling and awful tactics, and not just because Boadicea / Boudica / Boudicca (whichever you prefer) outnumbered them 6:1.
Dr Aryeh Nusbacher, Senior Lecturer in War Studies, Royal Military Academy (RMA) Sandhurst: The problem is that we heard somebody before talking about Ben-Hur. And they have got cultural preconceptions about war. They think there needs to be a front line. They think it needs to be long and they, this is true if you've got muskets. But they don't have muskets. What a Roman army needs is depth.
Mike Loades, Historical Weapons Expert: They're seconds away from defeat. Well it's not defeat, it's complete annihilation.
Interesting thing I learnt from the episode: Woad, the blue dye the Celts applied over their bodies as magical war paint, helps wounds to close and heal, so the Celts' ascribing it magical properties was not entirely unwarranted.
***
Gay Teenager Stirs a Storm
"Teenagers have been outing themselves online for years, and many of Zach's friends already knew he was gay. It was another sentence in the Web log: "Today, my mother, father and I had a very long 'talk' in my room, where they let me know I am to apply for a fundamentalist Christian program for gays."
"It's like boot camp," Zach added in a dispatch the next day. "If I do come out straight, I'll be so mentally unstable and depressed it won't matter."
The camp in question, Refuge, is a youth program of Love in Action International, a group in Memphis that runs a religion-based program intended to change the sexual orientation of gay men and women. Often called reparative or conversion therapy, such programs took hold in fundamentalist Christian circles in the 1970's, when mainstream psychiatric organizations overturned previous designations of homosexuality as a mental disorder, and gained ground rapidly from the late 90's. Programs like Love in Action have always been controversial, but Zach's blog entries have brought wide attention to a less-known aspect of them, their application to teenagers...
The program at Love in Action has parallels to 12-step recovery programs. Participants, referred to as clients, study the Bible, meet with counselors and keep a "moral inventory," a journal in which they detail their struggle with same-sex temptation over the years, which they read at emotionally raw group meetings, former clients say.
Excessive jewelry or stylish clothing from labels like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are forbidden, and so is watching television, listening to secular music (even Bach) and reading unapproved books or magazines.
"It's like checking into prison," said Brandon Tidwell, 29, who completed the adult program in 2002 but eventually rejected its teachings, reconciling his Christian beliefs with being gay.
Physical contact among clients other than a handshake is forbidden, and so is "campy" talk or behavior, according to program rules that Zach posted on his blog before he began at Refuge. Occasionally, recalled Jeff Harwood, 41, a Love in Action graduate who still considers himself gay, some participants would mock the mandatory football games.
"You could get away with maybe one limp-wristed pass before another client would catch you,"
... Critics of programs that seek to change sexual orientation say the programs themselves can open a person to lifelong problems, including guilt, shame and even suicidal impulses. The stakes are higher for adolescents, who are already wrestling with deep questions of identity and sexuality, mental-health experts say.
"Their identities are still in flux," said Dr. Jack Drescher, the chairman of the committee on gay, lesbian and bisexual issues of the American Psychiatric Association, which in 2000 formally rejected regimens like reparative or conversion therapy as scientifically unproven. "One serious risk for the parent to consider is that most of the people who undergo these treatments don't change. That means that most people who go through these experiences often come out feeling worse than when they went in.""
***
To the Marketplace, my minions!
"To surmise the 2 hour endurance test (I wonder how much of the sermon the teens actually listen into - I can barely get them to pay attention to an hour of teaching): there are 7 pillars holding up society. These are: Family, Religion, Education, Government, Arts, Media and Business. In Singapore, Christianity has done very well in the above two (Family and Religion).
Curious that there was no mention of science and technology as foundations of society. Then again, I doubt the Church and the Sciences have been on good terms since the latter propsed that the Earth revolved around the Sun and people evolved from apes.
Dare say science and tech not important in Singapore? Later City Harvest kena sued by A*STAR then they knoe.
However, sayeth the Rev. Kong Hee, this is not enough. Religion is not just about transforming people, friends or family. It's about changing societies and nations! We must push our influence into the other 'pillars' of Media, the Arts, Government, Education and Business - collectively known as The Marketplace...
Sayeth the Rev. Kong Hee, 'Jesus wore the modern-day equivalent of a business suit. That is why I'm dressed like this. I want to be like Jesus! Hallejulah!'
Something seems amiss when Jesus gets an Extreme Makeover going from humble carpenter to Donald Trump.
The pastor proceeded to give many examples from the Bible of people Jesus met and formed Marketplace business contacts with, including tax collectors - which happened to the most depised people in society at the point in time, so I wonder what kind of connections Jesus was making. Not to mention what kind of argument Rev. Kong Hee was making.
Rev. Kong Hee also says Jesus attended high-class functions and banquets to further his Marketplace influence.
From Donald Trump, Jesus now become wedding singer liddat. I dunno leh, if Jesus so well-connected and popular, why he still crucified ah?
... Like in this example Rev. Kong Hee gives, this businessman wants to build a super stadium dedicated to God in the middle of urban Jakarta. He owns a field with tons of coal underneath but the price of coal is so low it's not worthwhile to mine it and make money.
So how? (This is where Rev. Kong Hee sounds really excited) God answers this guy's prayers. Hundreds of miners in China die in multiple mining accidents forcing all the mines in the country to close. The price of coal goes up, giving the guy a profit margin to mine his coal! Hallejulah!"
***
On a roll - "They have six-inch and foot-long versions, myriad fillings and sauces that defy description. Now Britons have so taken to Subway sandwiches that the franchise is challenging McDonald's as the UK's No1 fast-food outlet.... Choice, therefore, becomes an increasingly illusory concept. As Lang notes, already and almost without noticing it, most of us (urban dwellers especially) no longer have the option of returning home at lunchtime for a home-cooked meal, making us dependent on the nearest fast-food outlet for our midday refuelling. And while the array of options within a Subway store may appear vast, if those stores have squeezed out every alternative along the high street, the offering suddenly looks less bountiful."
***
"In the past, you don't like your enemy... you put on your armour.... ride your horse... poke him in the chest... Now it's rule of the law... revenge is extracted by suing the pants off your enemy."
--- Yortsin on International History (Phantasmagoria)
He still hasn't lost his touch :)
***
Someone: After serious consideration and discussions with the Deans of the Business and Law Schools, the university has decided that the Business School will remain at Kent Ridge, but also have a facility at Bukit Timah in which it can conduct enhancement and enrichment programs that will bring alumni, students and faculty together.
Me: let the law students stew on their own haha
Someone: yar lor
Me: how to do law CBMs like that
how will law do non-law electives?
Someone: then their own pang sai business already
call other ppl SNAILS
this is called retribution
lol
Someone: let's see if my ego can take the bashing if i get bashers
seriously. i think i've protected my ego too long
too fragile liao
Me: yah
I help you train up by insulting you
Someone else: my fren thot tat agagooga was an indian guy :P
Tim: [I want] RJ's Dieu! qu'il la fait bon regarder
i want to hear just how badly they mangled it
playing RJ Chorale's
why's it so slow?! they can't handle the triplets/doubles otherwise?
wah lau.
the beautiful girl they're singing about must have passed away.
intolerable. i shut it off
Me on the next Young Republic gathering: We need a more diverse crowd!
Someone: in other words, need more girls la.
***
The Watling Street episode of Time Commanders was a disaster. Most teams in other episodes I watched lost, but this team was doomed to failue from the get-go due to internal squabbling and awful tactics, and not just because Boadicea / Boudica / Boudicca (whichever you prefer) outnumbered them 6:1.
Dr Aryeh Nusbacher, Senior Lecturer in War Studies, Royal Military Academy (RMA) Sandhurst: The problem is that we heard somebody before talking about Ben-Hur. And they have got cultural preconceptions about war. They think there needs to be a front line. They think it needs to be long and they, this is true if you've got muskets. But they don't have muskets. What a Roman army needs is depth.
Mike Loades, Historical Weapons Expert: They're seconds away from defeat. Well it's not defeat, it's complete annihilation.
Interesting thing I learnt from the episode: Woad, the blue dye the Celts applied over their bodies as magical war paint, helps wounds to close and heal, so the Celts' ascribing it magical properties was not entirely unwarranted.
***
Gay Teenager Stirs a Storm
"Teenagers have been outing themselves online for years, and many of Zach's friends already knew he was gay. It was another sentence in the Web log: "Today, my mother, father and I had a very long 'talk' in my room, where they let me know I am to apply for a fundamentalist Christian program for gays."
"It's like boot camp," Zach added in a dispatch the next day. "If I do come out straight, I'll be so mentally unstable and depressed it won't matter."
The camp in question, Refuge, is a youth program of Love in Action International, a group in Memphis that runs a religion-based program intended to change the sexual orientation of gay men and women. Often called reparative or conversion therapy, such programs took hold in fundamentalist Christian circles in the 1970's, when mainstream psychiatric organizations overturned previous designations of homosexuality as a mental disorder, and gained ground rapidly from the late 90's. Programs like Love in Action have always been controversial, but Zach's blog entries have brought wide attention to a less-known aspect of them, their application to teenagers...
The program at Love in Action has parallels to 12-step recovery programs. Participants, referred to as clients, study the Bible, meet with counselors and keep a "moral inventory," a journal in which they detail their struggle with same-sex temptation over the years, which they read at emotionally raw group meetings, former clients say.
Excessive jewelry or stylish clothing from labels like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger are forbidden, and so is watching television, listening to secular music (even Bach) and reading unapproved books or magazines.
"It's like checking into prison," said Brandon Tidwell, 29, who completed the adult program in 2002 but eventually rejected its teachings, reconciling his Christian beliefs with being gay.
Physical contact among clients other than a handshake is forbidden, and so is "campy" talk or behavior, according to program rules that Zach posted on his blog before he began at Refuge. Occasionally, recalled Jeff Harwood, 41, a Love in Action graduate who still considers himself gay, some participants would mock the mandatory football games.
"You could get away with maybe one limp-wristed pass before another client would catch you,"
... Critics of programs that seek to change sexual orientation say the programs themselves can open a person to lifelong problems, including guilt, shame and even suicidal impulses. The stakes are higher for adolescents, who are already wrestling with deep questions of identity and sexuality, mental-health experts say.
"Their identities are still in flux," said Dr. Jack Drescher, the chairman of the committee on gay, lesbian and bisexual issues of the American Psychiatric Association, which in 2000 formally rejected regimens like reparative or conversion therapy as scientifically unproven. "One serious risk for the parent to consider is that most of the people who undergo these treatments don't change. That means that most people who go through these experiences often come out feeling worse than when they went in.""
***
To the Marketplace, my minions!
"To surmise the 2 hour endurance test (I wonder how much of the sermon the teens actually listen into - I can barely get them to pay attention to an hour of teaching): there are 7 pillars holding up society. These are: Family, Religion, Education, Government, Arts, Media and Business. In Singapore, Christianity has done very well in the above two (Family and Religion).
Curious that there was no mention of science and technology as foundations of society. Then again, I doubt the Church and the Sciences have been on good terms since the latter propsed that the Earth revolved around the Sun and people evolved from apes.
Dare say science and tech not important in Singapore? Later City Harvest kena sued by A*STAR then they knoe.
However, sayeth the Rev. Kong Hee, this is not enough. Religion is not just about transforming people, friends or family. It's about changing societies and nations! We must push our influence into the other 'pillars' of Media, the Arts, Government, Education and Business - collectively known as The Marketplace...
Sayeth the Rev. Kong Hee, 'Jesus wore the modern-day equivalent of a business suit. That is why I'm dressed like this. I want to be like Jesus! Hallejulah!'
Something seems amiss when Jesus gets an Extreme Makeover going from humble carpenter to Donald Trump.
The pastor proceeded to give many examples from the Bible of people Jesus met and formed Marketplace business contacts with, including tax collectors - which happened to the most depised people in society at the point in time, so I wonder what kind of connections Jesus was making. Not to mention what kind of argument Rev. Kong Hee was making.
Rev. Kong Hee also says Jesus attended high-class functions and banquets to further his Marketplace influence.
From Donald Trump, Jesus now become wedding singer liddat. I dunno leh, if Jesus so well-connected and popular, why he still crucified ah?
... Like in this example Rev. Kong Hee gives, this businessman wants to build a super stadium dedicated to God in the middle of urban Jakarta. He owns a field with tons of coal underneath but the price of coal is so low it's not worthwhile to mine it and make money.
So how? (This is where Rev. Kong Hee sounds really excited) God answers this guy's prayers. Hundreds of miners in China die in multiple mining accidents forcing all the mines in the country to close. The price of coal goes up, giving the guy a profit margin to mine his coal! Hallejulah!"
***
On a roll - "They have six-inch and foot-long versions, myriad fillings and sauces that defy description. Now Britons have so taken to Subway sandwiches that the franchise is challenging McDonald's as the UK's No1 fast-food outlet.... Choice, therefore, becomes an increasingly illusory concept. As Lang notes, already and almost without noticing it, most of us (urban dwellers especially) no longer have the option of returning home at lunchtime for a home-cooked meal, making us dependent on the nearest fast-food outlet for our midday refuelling. And while the array of options within a Subway store may appear vast, if those stores have squeezed out every alternative along the high street, the offering suddenly looks less bountiful."
Monday, July 18, 2005
"There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all." - Robert Orben
***
DXO is a most curious place. Part of the outside is 'decorated' with many fluffy white protrusions. On closer inspection, though, one finds that these protrusions are actually cable ties - white plastic strips which are used to secure wires together. Right. The notice at the entrance makes a pretense at humour, but it comes across as being forced and un-funny (eg "Pets are not allowed. Party animals are welcome", or words to that effect). They also have a sexist admission policy which is unfortunately not unique to them; males need to be 23 to enter, but females only 18.
The toilets at DXO suck. To be more precise, those on the ground level suck. Firstly, the mirrored area and the washbasin are shared between the male and female parts of the toilet. The toilet's open concept mean that no partition separates the gender-specific areas from the general area; the icons that denote which gender goes to which side are indistinct, blurred and placed below eye level. To cut a long story short, this means that I walked into the female section of the toilet at first, not noticing that there were 2 areas beyond the common one; Kok Heng theorises that this is done on purpose, so guys and girls will run into each other in the toilet, accidentally or otherwise. I saw a whole row of cubicles, and wondered if the lack of partitions and apparent lack of signage meant it was a unisex toilet. I went into one cubicle and noticed the little bin beside the toilet bowl. With this clue, I went back into the common area and entered the male area, finally noticing the small, indistinct signs pointing each gender in the right direction, as well as the curious mirror placed at eye level above the common urinal.
The attempt of my No 1 fan, She with formerly rebonded and dyed mid-back length hair which is now dyed black and soft straightened, is fond of black dominatrix-style pumps, and has a serious attitude problem, yet who disavows the title of ah lian (tamade to you too), to humiliate me with the “Clip Gabriel’s Rebonded Hair” meme failed, unfortunately. 2 clips were donated by her, and 1 from my No 2 fan, She with D cup breasts, a military uniform fetish and used to have a thing for Calmone, though she took it back quickly after taking a photo. Apparently I looked horny in them though. Oh, and 1 brown hair tie was given to me by some random girl at the entrance when I was pimping T-shirts before the Gates to Hell opened, so kudos are due to her.
A lot of reporters asked for group photos of all the Tomorrow.sg editors. Unfortunately, they walked away unsatiated. We were saying that instead, we should've gotten a group photo of all the reporters. We didn't manage that, but we did snap shots of most of them in a role reversal.
There was a plot to get me drunk, so I went to hide in the VIP room where I knew my No 1 and No 2 fans couldn't get (unfortunately, some bright spark gave the VIP room glass walls, so everyone could peer in and see what we were doing). However, I was not safe from Tym machinations. I asked her to get me a drink, and she came back with a glass of safe-looking Coke-like liquid which unfortunately tasted unpleasant, being both bitter and sour - someVodka- Rum-Coke combination. I trusted to her discretion, but she managed to outdo herself by ordering a Whiskey Tonic next, which was truly awful. Her third attempt was better - a Vodka Orange. The drinks were horribly diluted. I hope they don't serve up this concentration when the drinks aren't free flow, or they're going to go out of business pretty soon (so much for the nice plaque commemorating their opening on 25th May 2005). Then again, it might've been a way to stop underaged youth who sneaked in (yes, we know you were in there) from getting too drunk.
[Addendum: Critic 1 reports: My colleague went into DXO at 1030pm. Not part of the blogging community. the drinks were still diluted. that's why the place is so empty]
A very amusing photo should be coming up on kennysia.com within the day. Well, if it doesn't, go bug Kenny! It has since been removed due to cries of outrage. Oh well.
Only one stranger came up to take a photo with me, though 2-3 people touched my hair (IIRC). Aww. Though one more wanted to, and incidentally delivered the most amusing (at least to me) line of the day:
Uhh.
***
[Addendum: Lancerlord informs us that girls really *do* throw stones at boys. Tsk tsk, looks likes the T-shirt is inciting violence!]
***
Someone: are men always like this?
Me: hmm. I wouldn't know. haven't been with any men, you see
what do your female friends say?
Someone: i didnt ask them
they're all reading HBP [Ed: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]
Me: ... women
Someone else: oh dear
why is it always the '82 batch
bunch of psychos, the whole lot of them
Someone else (2): go do the evol psych class and hope the fundamentalist idiots don't wreck that too... "morality is god's gift to humanity"... bull***t
Someone else (3): in seattle, it is USD2.40 per gallon. singapore oil/gas price is alot cheaper.
Me: You must be kidding. 1 gallon = 3.785 litres. So USD2.40 per gallon works out to USD2.40 for 3.785 litres.
At the current conversion rate of 1:1.687, that's S$4.05 per gallon, or S$1.07 per litre. Singapore oil is a lot cheaper huh.
***
Subject: Anorexia Post
Message: I really appreciate the pics you posted of the anorexic women. The sad thing is, those women believe still that they are beautiful and perfect because they have been glamourized. [well not all of them, because a few pics werent like that] but you get my drift.
I'm a survivor of the "disease" and i think it is important that society sees exactly what it is doing. I like being thin and petite now, I like my women thin and petite, but I dont want to see their ribs and hips, and I'm glad mine donot protrude any more.
Yeah. I'm done now :)
***
World Cup Organizers Seek Heavier Fines For Streakers - "Wolfgang Niersbach, vice president of the World Cup organizing committee, said Friday, "You can't assume these so-called streakers will always have peaceful intent. We don't want to imagine,for example, what would happen if one had a knife.""
How long do these people expect to fool the masses by bandying around the word "security" everytime they want to railroad some silly non-security related measure through?
***
DXO is a most curious place. Part of the outside is 'decorated' with many fluffy white protrusions. On closer inspection, though, one finds that these protrusions are actually cable ties - white plastic strips which are used to secure wires together. Right. The notice at the entrance makes a pretense at humour, but it comes across as being forced and un-funny (eg "Pets are not allowed. Party animals are welcome", or words to that effect). They also have a sexist admission policy which is unfortunately not unique to them; males need to be 23 to enter, but females only 18.
The toilets at DXO suck. To be more precise, those on the ground level suck. Firstly, the mirrored area and the washbasin are shared between the male and female parts of the toilet. The toilet's open concept mean that no partition separates the gender-specific areas from the general area; the icons that denote which gender goes to which side are indistinct, blurred and placed below eye level. To cut a long story short, this means that I walked into the female section of the toilet at first, not noticing that there were 2 areas beyond the common one; Kok Heng theorises that this is done on purpose, so guys and girls will run into each other in the toilet, accidentally or otherwise. I saw a whole row of cubicles, and wondered if the lack of partitions and apparent lack of signage meant it was a unisex toilet. I went into one cubicle and noticed the little bin beside the toilet bowl. With this clue, I went back into the common area and entered the male area, finally noticing the small, indistinct signs pointing each gender in the right direction, as well as the curious mirror placed at eye level above the common urinal.
The attempt of my No 1 fan, She with formerly rebonded and dyed mid-back length hair which is now dyed black and soft straightened, is fond of black dominatrix-style pumps, and has a serious attitude problem, yet who disavows the title of ah lian (tamade to you too), to humiliate me with the “Clip Gabriel’s Rebonded Hair” meme failed, unfortunately. 2 clips were donated by her, and 1 from my No 2 fan, She with D cup breasts, a military uniform fetish and used to have a thing for Calmone, though she took it back quickly after taking a photo. Apparently I looked horny in them though. Oh, and 1 brown hair tie was given to me by some random girl at the entrance when I was pimping T-shirts before the Gates to Hell opened, so kudos are due to her.
A lot of reporters asked for group photos of all the Tomorrow.sg editors. Unfortunately, they walked away unsatiated. We were saying that instead, we should've gotten a group photo of all the reporters. We didn't manage that, but we did snap shots of most of them in a role reversal.
There was a plot to get me drunk, so I went to hide in the VIP room where I knew my No 1 and No 2 fans couldn't get (unfortunately, some bright spark gave the VIP room glass walls, so everyone could peer in and see what we were doing). However, I was not safe from Tym machinations. I asked her to get me a drink, and she came back with a glass of safe-looking Coke-like liquid which unfortunately tasted unpleasant, being both bitter and sour - some
[Addendum: Critic 1 reports: My colleague went into DXO at 1030pm. Not part of the blogging community. the drinks were still diluted. that's why the place is so empty]
Only one stranger came up to take a photo with me, though 2-3 people touched my hair (IIRC). Aww. Though one more wanted to, and incidentally delivered the most amusing (at least to me) line of the day:
Are you the guy who wrote “Why People Think My Chemistry Teacher is Gay?”
Uhh.
***
[Addendum: Lancerlord informs us that girls really *do* throw stones at boys. Tsk tsk, looks likes the T-shirt is inciting violence!]
***
Someone: are men always like this?
Me: hmm. I wouldn't know. haven't been with any men, you see
what do your female friends say?
Someone: i didnt ask them
they're all reading HBP [Ed: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]
Me: ... women
Someone else: oh dear
why is it always the '82 batch
bunch of psychos, the whole lot of them
Someone else (2): go do the evol psych class and hope the fundamentalist idiots don't wreck that too... "morality is god's gift to humanity"... bull***t
Someone else (3): in seattle, it is USD2.40 per gallon. singapore oil/gas price is alot cheaper.
Me: You must be kidding. 1 gallon = 3.785 litres. So USD2.40 per gallon works out to USD2.40 for 3.785 litres.
At the current conversion rate of 1:1.687, that's S$4.05 per gallon, or S$1.07 per litre. Singapore oil is a lot cheaper huh.
***
Subject: Anorexia Post
Message: I really appreciate the pics you posted of the anorexic women. The sad thing is, those women believe still that they are beautiful and perfect because they have been glamourized. [well not all of them, because a few pics werent like that] but you get my drift.
I'm a survivor of the "disease" and i think it is important that society sees exactly what it is doing. I like being thin and petite now, I like my women thin and petite, but I dont want to see their ribs and hips, and I'm glad mine donot protrude any more.
Yeah. I'm done now :)
***
World Cup Organizers Seek Heavier Fines For Streakers - "Wolfgang Niersbach, vice president of the World Cup organizing committee, said Friday, "You can't assume these so-called streakers will always have peaceful intent. We don't want to imagine,for example, what would happen if one had a knife.""
How long do these people expect to fool the masses by bandying around the word "security" everytime they want to railroad some silly non-security related measure through?