Links - 26th May 2015

Clearing of Tanglin Halt ‘hangout’ upsets activists - "The recent clearance of items from State land near Tanglin Halt by the authorities has upset some community activists, who have been trying to revive its use for farming and as a hangout spot."
No wonder the kampong spirit is dead

Why Are So Many Vietnamese People Named Nguyen? - "Nguyen is the most common surname in Vietnam -- an estimated 40 percent of people in the country (and the Vietnamese diaspora) carry the name, according to Vietnam's Tuoi Tre News... The overwhelming prevalence of Nguyen -- on a percentage basis -- even surpasses the popularity of "Kim" and "Park" in Korea, "Singh" and "Patel" in India; and "Smith" and "Jones" in the Anglo-Saxon countries... Given the proliferation of Nguyens in Vietnamese society, one might conclude that this would create much confusion and chaos in daily discourse. However, this scenario is largely avoided by the Vietnamese custom -- adopted from the Chinese -- of addressing people by their last name (that is, what is considered the 'first' or personal name in western society). Most Vietnamese have three names -- the surname (or clan name), followed by a middle name, ending with the personal name. For example, with respect to the aforementioned Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, his family surname is "Nguyen," his middle name is "Tan," and his personal name is "Dung." Unlike western custom, the Prime Minister is usually referred to as 'Dung' (or 'Mr. Dung') in the media and even in formal occasions. In some cases, he may be referred to as 'Tan-Dung.' (Also, some Vietnamese use dual surnames to further alleviate any confusion)."

CDPHE: State women’s wellness center now serving transgenders - "state-run women’s wellness program now provides breast and cervical cancer screenings for transgender women, announced the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Wednesday."
Why would you provide cervical cancer screening for people who don't have cervixes?!

Bruce Jenner's Republican Revelation Draws Anger, Praise - "Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner did more than come out as a transgender woman in his 20/20 interview Friday night — he came out as a Republican, a party affiliation shared by a minority of LGBT people... Sawyer also inquired as to whether he’d be willing to ask Congress’s top Republicans, House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to back LGBT causes. “In a heartbeat, why not?” Jenner said. “And I think they’d be very receptive to it.” He said he realized his transgender identity may bother some conservative Republicans, but added that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have a monopoly on “understanding.” Jenner’s revelation of his political position resulted in some angry tweets. Some quoted by The Blaze, a conservative site, include “Bruce Jenner is so gross … he’s a freaking Republican” and “Bruce Jenner comes out … as a Republican. Now THAT’s offensive. This country is going to hell in a hand basket.”"
"Diversity" means everyone thinking identically

Obama speaks out against censorship and "I'm offended by that" culture. - YouTube

Blood transfusion to cleanse blood tainted by Cadbury products? - "While some of our Muslim brothers and sisters had accepted the matter as something that is beyond their control, there are those who have come out with ridiculous solutions to the matter. One such ridiculous demand was put up by the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs (ACCIN) during a recent press conference, asking Cabdury Malaysia to pay for “blood cleansing” procedure . Yes, that’s pumping out contaminated blood and putting in new one, for every Muslim in the country who had consumed the tainted chocolates... Other Muslim groups have also called for “Jihad” against Cadbury, while there are some who have threatened to burn down the confectionery. Such responses did not sit well with the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) president Amidi Abd Manan, who dismissed it as extremist and not representing Islam. He said although the discovery of porcine DNA in the products was a serious matter, the suggestions were emotional and irrational and would only embarrass Muslims. “Such calls only show the superficial thinking of the individual about Islam”... He also pointed out that people hardly make noise about practices like corruption, gambling and abuse of public funds, which are deemed “haram” in Islam. “It is funny that this is the case because the sins accumulated by these practices are bigger than that of consuming pork,” Mohd Asri said."

Accounts manager 46th man convicted of paid sex with minor in online vice ring - "An accounts manager was jailed for four weeks on Tuesday in relation to a long-running online vice ring scandal involving an underage girl. Singapore permanent resident Atet Kardjono Sianandar, 42, is the 48th man to be dealt with and 46th to be convicted among 51 men first hauled to court three years ago. His jail sentence is the lowest to date as he had tried to verify the minor's age and asked for her identity card. He admitted to paying $750 for the 17-year-old's sexual services at Elizabeth Hotel on Nov 20, 2010. In his text messages to the social escort's pimp, Tang Boon Thiew, Atet had asked whether the minor was over 18. Tang assured him that she was. Before the girl turned up at the hotel room, Atet had told Tang that he would like to check the minor's identity card but Tang told him she did not bring it along. Atet, who was represented by Mr Anand Nalachandran, could have been jailed for up to seven years and/or fined."

Orland Park man credits hot sauce with saving his life - "An Orland Park man is enjoying more than a year's supply of free hot sauce, which he credits with triggering a seizure that may have helped save his life. Randy Schmitz, 30, said that after sampling Flashbang hot sauce on a toothpick last August at the Pepper Place in Myrtle Beach, S.C., while on vacation, he fell to the ground in convulsions, prompting emergency medical treatment — and, ultimately, an MRI scan of his brain that detected a cancerous tumor in its early stages."

Bali nine: Why I won't be lighting a candle for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan - "Sukumaran and Chan knew the penalty if they were caught. You cannot arrive anywhere in Indonesia without signs explicitly stating the consequences of importing and exporting drugs on Indonesian soil. It is Indonesian law... the Bali nine controversy is equally about sovereign rights and the penalties imposed on those who decide to flout them. If that eight kilograms of heroin had made it back to Australia, had been cut and filtered before being distributed on the streets of Sydney's suburbs, it would have fetched millions of dollars for the drug ring's architects... Light a candle for their families, by all means. Light a candle for the loss of two human lives that could have ended so differently. But don't light a candle for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan simply because they are about to be put to death by a sovereign nation following its law. They took their chances and they lost."
If you deserve your sentence if you knowingly break the law, do apostates in Saudi Arabia deserve death?
Should we sentence tobacco and alcohol merchants to death?

College girls banned from whistling at builders - Telegraph - ""It has come to the attention of the college that some female students have been making comments to, or whistling at, the builders both whilst on site and as they walk around the campus"... Meanwhile new laws could see wolf-whistling builders placed on the sex offenders register. The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill will create a new offence of "communicating indecently", punishable by up to 10 years in jail"

This is why we must stop personal attacks in politics - "It is the PAP's rhetoric, often bordering on incitement, that provides the substratum for mistrust and hate. For example, Mr Tang Liang Hong was accused of being an anti-Islam, anti-Christian Chinese chauvinist. The incendiary labels stoked vicious threats against Mr Tang so much so that immediately following the elections in 1997, he fled the country. In a similar vein, Mr Francis Seow was accused of being a stooge of the US Government colluding with the CIA. For effect, the NTUC even staged a theatrical protest outside the US embassy. An over-emotional PAP supporter given to delusions could have easily acted in a very regrettable manner against Mr Seow The late J B Jeyaretnam was likened to a “mangy dog”, and his political challenge became analogous to a scenario involving cul-de-sacs and weapons. I have been called a gangster, a traitor who opposes Singapore and even diagnosed a psychopath. When you top this off with a call to “annihilate” me, you set up a scenario laced with poisonous tension, tempting individuals to perpetrate acts of malice and aggression. It happened on several occasions to my family and I. For present purposes, I will cite only two: The first was that my German Shepherd dog was poisoned, the cause of death was confirmed by the vet. The second involved the repeated slashing of my car tyres. Both episodes happened in the late 1990s at the height of the PAP's vitriol against me."

The dirty little secret no one wants to admit about Baltimore - "The population of Baltimore is 622,000 and 63 percent of its population is black. The mayor, state’s attorney, police chief and city council president are black, as is 48 percent of the police force"

Baltimore Is a Democrat Problem, Not America's Problem - "Contrary to the emotional blackmail some leftists are attempting to peddle, Baltimore is not America’s problem or shame. That failed city is solely and completely a Democrat problem. Like many failed cities, Detroit comes to mind, and every city besieged recently by rioting, Democrats and their union pals have had carte blanche to inflict their ideas and policies on Baltimore since 1967, the last time there was a Republican Mayor... Where I currently reside here in Watauga County, North Carolina, the poverty level is 31.3%. Median income is only $34,293. In both of those areas we are much worse off than Baltimore, that has a poverty rate of only 23.8% and a median income of $41,385. Despite all that, we don’t riot here in Watauga County"

The price that Ed Miliband is prepared to pay to win the Muslim vote - Telegraph - "Take Ed Miliband, who told Muslim News last week that a future Labour government would outlaw Islamophobia, making it an aggravated crime... If Miliband’s definition of Islamophobia includes shouting until one’s last breath against the disgusting chauvinists who prey on young girls and treat women as second-class citizens, then please do count me in. I’d gladly go to jail for that. The alternative, you see, is throroughly contemptible in the moral sense. "

Nerdcore › Friend-pretending Selfie-Arm

It's lucky the Bali bombers didn't have drugs on them - "By 2010, just 13 of the 70 JI terrorists convicted for their involvement in the Bali bombings and 2004 attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta were still in prison. By May 2014, just five men from the two Bali attacks remained ­in jail."

The Partisan Brain: How Dissonant Science Messages Lead Conservatives and Liberals to (Dis)Trust Science - "Our results suggest liberals and conservatives alike react negatively to dissonant science communication, resulting in diminished trust of the scientific community"