"An Englishman is a person who does things because they have been done before. An American is a person who does things because they haven't been done before." - Mark Twain

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HR Developer... - "The Ideal Candidate: non smoking; gentle, caring and elegant presence."
Someone: "that's your requirement for a woman? :P"

Don’t Drink to That - Weird News Story Archive - "A study at Cardiff University in Wales shows that women who enjoy sex are more likely to become pregnant. Study leader Dr. Jacky Boivin said her “findings suggest that the quality of women’s sexual response may facilitate the migration of sperm,” thus enhancing the chances the woman will become pregnant. Meanwhile, another study suggests alcohol consumption reduces female fertility, says Denmark’s National University Hospital. As little as five glasses of wine per week significantly reduces the chance of getting pregnant, researchers say."
Gah

Political watchers remember JB Jeyaretnam as a determined fighter - "The saddest thing I noticed about JBJ was that he was so obsessed only about one particular subject - human rights and rights of parliamentary democracy"
The saddest thing I noticed about Sun Yat Sen was that he was so obsessed only about one particular subject - the three principles of Nationalism, Democracy, and Equalization

Menopausal moms see sex as formula for rejuvenation - "“Fifty is the average age when female menopause sets in,” explains author Arata Samon, who is also a physician. “Her children will be grown up, and she harbors anxieties concerning the value of her existence. This spurs some women of that age to take part-time jobs in the sex industry. In their view, having men pay them money represents a recognition of their femininity, which gives them a sense of satisfaction and relief.” Some of these women are said to spend their earnings from the sex trade at host clubs, affording them further gratification from handsome young hunks. Nikkan Gendai relates that when one fiftyish woman’s husband refused to grant her a divorce, she demanded he take her to a “happening bar.” After a few drinks to get her in the right mood, she disrobed and coupled with a willing gentleman before the eyes of her husband and the other patrons. The experience helped rekindle their flagging marriage."
HAHAHAHAHA

House-hubby wants money, not kids - "SHE earned $2.5 million in eight years while her husband could barely hold down a job. She was so flush with cash that when her company posted her to Hong Kong in 2004, she handed her husband $700,000 for housekeeping allowance. But her husband used the money to buy an apartment in Taiwan for his extra-marital trysts with a Taiwanese woman... 'The truth was more likely that the husband had difficulty holding down a job and found it convenient to rely on the wife's stronger earning capacity to maintain himself and the household.' Among other things, the judge ordered him to pay 30 per cent of his children's living expenses, which amount to $4,500 a month. If he can't pay up, the amount will be deducted from the proceeds of their matrimonial properties."
This is very screwed up, but even on the most charitable interpretation, each child costs a ridiculous $1,500 a month?! No wonder Singaporeans can't afford to have children. And when wives rely on their husbands' stronger earning capacity no one says anything (oh yeah, they blame sexism).

Campaign to Have a State Funeral for JBJ - "He is the reason we no longer have appeal to Privy Councils, the reason why our judiciary is so independent of foreign interference. He is the reason we no longer have an Anson constituency, and indirectly responsible for the wonderful GRC System we have today, which makes it easy for young people to join the PAP and get an easy victory. He showed our glorious leaders that defamation suits were the way to go... Most of all, through all these years, he is the man who showed us that it is pointless to speak up, pointless to resist, if you wanted a normal life, if you did not want to be sued left and right, if you did not want to be bankrupted. He is the man who showed us that there is no use joining opposition political parties, and if you wanted to contribute to Singapore at all, the only recourse was to join the PAP."

Fundamentalists blame Wall Street's woes on gays - "Christian fundamentalists are suggesting gays and lesbians are to blame for Wall Street's woes, a frequently made charge in the wake of national calamities. In a September 25th blog post titled 'The Nation Will Right Itself If It Fixes Sex', Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions."
No wonder Singapore isn't very hard hit - we still have Section 377A.

We'll All Feel Greenwich's Financial Pain In Our State Budget - "As the good times rolled in recent years, the state budget became increasingly dependent on Greenwich. Despite having only about 60,000 people, the town contributed nearly $600 million in state income taxes in 2006 — more than three times the income taxes paid by the combined populations of Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury. With only 1.8 percent of tax filers, Greenwich provides nearly 13 percent of all state income tax, helping to pay for schools in West Hartford and road repairs in Rockville, not to mention every other cost related to running the state... In Connecticut, the state income tax relies on the stock market for about 25 percent of its revenue. A huge drop in capital gains — and subsequent state income taxes — by a relative handful of Greenwich billionaires and millionaires could have a huge effect on the budget already projected to have a $147 million deficit."

Canada's Thought Police - "If you fantasize about having sex with someone under 18 and write it down, even if only for your own masturbatory pleasure, you could go to jail for 10 years. Welcome to Canada, where the latest victims of the Catharine MacKinnon-inspired censorship laws are artists and lesbians... Under Butler, any representation at all of "degrading" sex can bring police action. The Butler ruling, which has framed the debate over pornography in Canada since it was handed down, was deeply influenced by prominent feminists. It drew explicitly from language of a brief submitted by the women's coalition known as LEAF, the Legal Education and Action Fund. Coauthored by University of Michigan law professor Catharine MacKinnon, a firebrand feminist at the center of US debates over freedom of speech, women's rights, and political correctness... In the name of defending what the MacKinnon-inspired courts call "materials which potentially victimize women", the store was fined C$200 (US$140) for selling a lesbian magazine. What was confined to academic shouting matches in the United States had become "sex crimes" in Canada. And despite the law's manifest harm to many women, MacKinnon did not back down... The Canadian system, in a bizarre twist on notions of justice, is forcing BBS operator Bolton to compensate an imaginary woman he hurt: in return for the release of his hardware and the dropping of criminal charges, he agreed to pay C$2,000 (US$1,400) to the Barbara Schlifer Clinic, a rape-crisis center... Bolton was bullied into conceding a link between his little bulletin board and all the potential rapes in Toronto. "
Once again, feminists shoot themselves in the foot.

A Singapore Hero - WSJ.com - "Singapore lost a man yesterday whose life reflected the best of the city-state. He suffered under the Japanese World War II occupation of the island; earned a place at the British bar; devoted himself to his work, family and faith; and forewent personal wealth to fight for democratic ideals in public office. No, we're not talking about the country's founder and longtime Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, for whom much of the above is true. Yesterday Singapore lost its pre-eminent opposition leader, Joshua B. Jeyaretnam."
See, want to sue them some more.

Games vs Girls: Which is Best? - "In order to get to the bottom of the question literally nobody is asking, we’ve broken it into categories - Availability, Obtainability, Quality, Time, Cost, Reward, Social Benefits and yes, Sexual Gratification. The most asinine shit you’ve read all year? Probably. Hold tight people, we’re about to get politically inappropriate."

Full-time NSman who died was granted 3-day medical leave - "20-year-old Private Joe Foo Wei Rong who died at Lim Chu Kang Camp on Tuesday morning had been given three days of medical leave on Sunday for a hamstring strain."
Chao Keng!!!

Australians urged to eat kangaroo - "Sheep and cows produce a high amount of environmentally unfriendly methane gas through belching and flatulence. But economist Ross Garnaut noted in a report on global warming that kangaroos produce virtually no methane."
Mmm, Kangaroo...

The Truth About Violent Youth and Video Games - "There is no epidemic of youth violence in America. The whole concept is a lie manufactured, distributed and perpetuated by the media. Kids are not killing each other more frequently than they used to. In fact, it turns out the opposite is true. Check out that ugly graph on the right. It doesn't take a genius to conclude that violent crime is at the lowest it has been in a good thirty years. For effect, I've also marked the release of the Playstation console, the first Grand Theft Auto game, the PS2 console, and the infamous GTA 3. Wow, look at those surges in violence! Believe it or not, I got that graph - and all the others in this piece - directly from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics... the Playstation era has, in fact, produced the most non-violent kids ever"

Aspen Public Radio | Broadcast Archive: Classical Music from Aspen - "Host Nikki Boxer invites listeners to join her every weekday for music at midday on Aspen Public Radio. Providing an interesting cross-section of styles, genres and musical periods, Classical Music from Aspen features everything from popular favorites to rarely-heard gems by obscure composers."
2 hours of music per weekday. Wow! In contrast, 92.4's podcasts are never updated and don't even offer music

Too big for La Bohème: svelte singers are the new shape of opera - "Traditionally, it isn't over until the fat lady sings. But it seems it will soon be over for the singing fat lady. The stereotypical large woman in a horned helmet and braids belting out Wagner is preparing for her swansong as opera embraces a new, younger audience. The drive to reach out to these fans is resulting in slimmer, fitter and more glamorous singers on stage."

The Censor in the Mirror - "Luo Ruiqing, who was the first to head the Propaganda Department after the Communists came to power, once admitted: “To let the media serve politics means to tell lies, to deceive the above and delude the below, to defile public opinions, and to create nonsensical news.”... Rigid censorship not only chokes artistic talent but also weakens the Chinese populace, who are forced to be less imaginative and less inventive. The crisis in education has been a hot topic in China for years. Why are so many Chinese students good at taking tests but poor at analytical thinking? Why are many Chinese college graduates less creative and innovative than college graduates in the West? Besides the commercialization of education, the absence of a free, tolerant environment has stunted the intellectual growth of students and teachers. People often ask how many great original thinkers and artists modern China has contributed to the world, and how many original products China has created on its own. Very few, considering that the country has 1.3 billion people. True, China is richer than before, but its wealth relies on duplicating and emulating foreign products. Such wealth is temporary and will dwindle away. Without its own original cultural and material products, a country can never stay rich and strong. In other words, the real wealth a country has is the talent of its people. In the case of China, the way to nurture that talent is to lift the yoke of censorship."