Observations - 27th May 2015

"I may be fake but my money ain't"

"Changed my name on GrabTaxi [from John] to Daniela. Getting a taxi is now much easier. :)"

"The question we must ask is why every time Muslims are in trouble they don't go to a Muslim majority countries for help? They despise western value but always choose to go west, why?"

"Every single country I have lived in (Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore) that is predominately of East Asian ancestry people are generally pessimistic, unhappy, stressed, overworked, and there is a large population (usually women) seeking to get the hell out by any means necessary. This is generally not true in Western Europe or North America...maybe it is the society these cultures create, generally suck?? Of all of those the happiest people seemed to be Taiwanese....or maybe I should say the most relaxed. In general salaries are low compared to living costs, there is a very thin social safety net, and too much pressure on kids and men to get ahead, it creates a pressure cooker...and when the ultimate goal in life is the attainment of money...my belief is you will never be happy, because there is never enough.."

The flip side of young adults not being fully mature (e.g. the brain only fully developing at 25) is that they should not get all the rights of adults. Should the age of voting, consent, drinking, driving and legal responsibility in general be raised?

"The Richest people seldom say anything publicly.
They have too much to lose. If they offend the wrong people."

"It's a lot more fun giving your money away than it is making it and I just feel very sorry sometimes for the people who haven't yet discovered what will become the greatest joy in their life. And I might say that the thing that gave me greatest pleasure looking at the rich list yesterday was the remarkable Richard Ross having an asterisk against his name saying no longer on the rich list because he's given it all away" - Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chair of The Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship (BBC Best of Today podcast: Monday's Business with Simon Jack, 27th April 2015)


"I think the idea of "opposing for the sake of opposing" is far too often used by those who disagree with the opposing viewpoint but do not want to deal with the arguments made."

"The objective of online debate isn't to convince afterall, but to shatter the other side convincingly in a forum of neutral heavy observers"


"The whole idea of using "offence" as a criterion for arrests is stupid. People who know less about their beliefs (hence are unable to defend it intellectually when criticised) are the ones most likely to react viscerally, by being "offended". In other words, the criterion for "preserving" racial and religious harmony is that of how the least informed and / or least thoughtful segments of the society reacts to criticism."

Which is a more sacred sacred cow in Singapore? "Racial Harmony" or "Meritocracy"? What happens if they conflict?


"pinkdot, a.k.a. let's-embrace-the-stereotypes-and-exclude-people-who-don't-conform-to-themdot"

"intellectually dishonest LGBT activists and crazy allies are the reason why many gay people don't give a damn about activism and prefer to live their lives outside of the LGBT activist bubble"


"One thing the genteel young lady must always remember about men is that a hard cock has no conscience"

Am told American boob jobs look fake since natural looking ones are more complicated and open surgeons to malpractice suits (i.e. expensive)

"When she later realised that [I had pranked her], her first reaction was to hit me. Now, she did not use a lot of force to hit me as well, but I was struck at how instinctive it was for her. I wonder if it's a female SE Asian thing. It's certainly happened to me before in Singapore (and only by female Singaporeans), but never in England. And while many may think that it's harmless horseplay, it's still really an instinct to violence."

"He uses statistics as a Singaporean girl uses bras - for padding rather than for support"


Not sure why having served NS gives one infallibility on military matters or strategy

If National Service were so good in correcting young men, why do so many post-NS men still cause trouble?


It's good to "derail" "conversations". Because railroads can only go in two directions. And they might not be ones that everyone wants to go to.

If we use a definition of relative poverty, there's an easy way to end poverty - impoverish the rich

"she was whining that she couldn't find a job cos she's indian and female and fat
and someone said oh yeah it has nothing to do with the fact that you have a masters in history
or sociology or gender studies, one of those i can't remember"

"Social Justice Avengers: Earth's Most Self - Righteous Heroes: Age of Tumblr"

"Can we get a trigger warning when something is so fucking stupid that it'll give you PTSD?"



Saying you're feminist because of the wonderful things the First/Second Wave gave us: like saying you're Republican because they ended Slavery

RT @Nero Amazed at the people moaning about Game of Thrones. If there’s a fictional rape to be angry about surely it’s the one in Rolling Stone.

If feminism should be defined by its dictionary definition (i.e. that feminism is *simply* believing in sexual equality), so should harassment. So most feminist 'harassment', isn't

In Singapore, the Foreign Maid Levy and Grandparent Caregiver Relief give working women tax relief - but not men. Of course AWARE is silent on this.