Links - 1st September 2015

Former election candidate Zeng Guo Yuan now selling tissue paper in Bugis - "A former election independent canddiate Zeng Guo Yuan is now selling tissue paper in Bugis to make a living after suffering from a terminal cancer in the nose. In an interview with the media, he said he has less than 6 months to live. Zeng Guo Yuan is now wheelchair-bound and drives a three-wheel motorcycle. The retired acupuncturist now makes a living by selling tissue paper in front of the popular Chinese temple in Bugis Waterloo Street."

Cancer-stricken 'Parrot Man' now sells tissue paper - "Mr Zeng also cannot look after his beloved parrots, which are now being cared for by his friends"

Zeng Guoyan's 5 reasons for not contesting - "The businessman appeared in an Arab outfit and claimed he was given the outfit by his clients in the UAE."

The Lions of Street Food - "the Pretty=Shitty Postulate: That is, the more attractive the restaurant in Southeast Asia, the less likely it is to serve delicious food... [Singapore] claims more food magazines per capita than any other on Earth... “The government gave us an incentive to move inside. But it’s not the same, it’s not as spontaneous.” Ang and Tan talk wistfully about Bangkok, how the simmering street environment creates more exciting flavors, how the sites and the sounds make for more memorable meals... If you take the food out of the street, do you take the street out of the food?... Daniel takes me to Hong Lim’s most famous stand, Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee, where the family still cooks the Chinese-Malay staple in a wok set over a crackling charcoal fire. You can taste the difference—not just in the subtle hits of smoke that perfume the dish, but in the rogue chunks of crispy pork fat and the light sheen of gently cooked egg that covers the noodles like a textbook Chinese carbonara... The proliferation of street food—in Thailand and Vietnam, just like in ancient Rome and Athens—is, by definition, an urban adaptation. When the bulk of Thailand’s population lived in rural villages, most meals were cooked and eaten at home... If Singapore stands as a crossroads of Eastern culinary traditions, and Bangkok’s identity is found in the delicate balance of flavor extremes, Saigon street food is about subtle elegance and sophistication, part of it left behind by French colonialism, part of it birthed from the Vietnamese’s own exacting standards.
Is it seditious to call Char Kway Teow Malay?

Back-to-basics call on maths - ""Too many children are not learning the basics off by heart at school. And, paradoxically, this is what is holding them back from developing a more complex understanding of maths," the report said. Its release follows several recent local and international studies, including a Herald investigation from 2013, that found New Zealand children's maths abilities are on a downward slide. The latest, released by the Ministry of Education on Friday, said scores drop dramatically between ages 8 to 12, with too many of the older children failing to grasp fundamentals such as fractions and decimals. The report criticised the introduction of changes to maths teaching with the Numeracy Project, introduced in 2000. It said the project was aimed at moving away from Victorian-era rote learning. But the NZI report says the pendulum has now "swung too far" in the other direction, and results had not improved. The project over-complicated teaching, it said, asking children to learn multiple methods for solving maths problems before learning basic facts, such as times tables, or written methods such as column addition. "Relational learning is important, but so is gaining fluency in the basics and written methods, which frees up children's working memory to develop the deeper conceptual mathematical understanding the Numeracy Project intended," it said."
What's the point of students loving learning if they don't learn anything?

Stray shots: Is "Wanna Know" The End Of Meek Mill's Career? - "cleverness will always win on the web. The Internet is not about the truth. The Internet is a swarming hive-mind chomping at the bit of desire. It is still, for the most part, fantasy and escape. You cannot feed it with the truth because people will grow to resent you. It thrives on narrative. And it only reveals the truth when it is uncovering something hidden, dark and secretive like a plot"

The Secret Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians - "According to the researcher, many Palestinians captured by Shiite militias in Iraq have been brutally tortured and forced to "confess" to their alleged involvement in terrorism. Since 2003, the number of Palestinians there has dropped from 25,000 to 6,000. Most interesting is the complete indifference displayed by international human rights organizations, the media and the Palestinian Authority (PA) toward the mistreatment of Palestinians in Arab countries. International journalists do not care about the Palestinians in the Arab world because this is not a story that can be blamed on Israel... Not only do the Arab countries despise the Palestinians, they also want them to be the problem of Israel alone. Since 1948, Arab governments have refused to allow Palestinians permanently to settle in their countries and become equal citizens. Now these Arab countries are also killing and torturing them and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing, all while world leaders continue to bury their heads in the sand and point an accusing finger at Israel."
"Dont you know? The shia millitants are funded by zionist pigs who seek global domination and subjugation
of peaceful muslims.( shit you not, that is what some of my friends believe)"

Rahman Dahlan: Umno members okay with funds in president's account - "Umno members are agreeable with the practice of political donations being channeled into the party president's personal account. Supreme council member Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said in the past, donations were distributed into trustee accounts, which led to a lot of complications... Rahman said he and fellow party members felt more confident with the donations being placed in the president's account as it was safer there... Rahman, the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister, said it was a noble act by donors who did not impose conditions. "On previous occasions where money was channeled to certain quarters, they were subjected to conditions and that made the arrangements illegal. However, those who donated money to Umno were well wishers. "It is the same as us giving money to Palestinians and Gaza because we believe in the cause," he added."

Judgment Day [Review] ~ SON:sation - Everything film - "Besides the character-driven themes on compassion, sacrifice, ethics, and faith, the film also features broad key messages for the audience to ponder on. Judgment Day commences with a 72 hours countdown towards imminent doom, which is disappointed by a scientific miscalculation (which is hard to believe by today's standards) and resumes normal life. People's lives are rebooted even though doomsday didn't arrive. The 72 hours urge people into a bottleneck in decision-making, where everyone listens to their own selfishness and allows it to make the call. Thereafter, remorse soon greets the outcome of their decisions and gradually allows consideration of others to take priority. This forms a before and after scenario for interesting food for thought."
In this film, we find out the perils and price of taking a "no regrets", "live every day as if it is your last" motivational bullshit philosophy

[TMG Exclusive] Speaking truth to Parliament - The Middle Ground - "MEMBERS of Parliament are busy people, we all know that. Most of them have full-time jobs. But still they have to find the time to look after you – their constituents. From dealing with parking fines, to deciding how much to spend and on what, no issue is too big or small for the people you voted to represent you in the G. The big issues are debated in Parliament and – not including the upcoming sitting on August 17 – there have been a total of 115 sessions since the last election in 2011. Now that GE2015 is on the horizon, we had one question: How often is your MP showing up in Parliament, and how hard is he (or she) working to speak up for you? The results will surprise you. MPs whom you might expect to be quite vocal turned out not so; and only two MPs attended all 115 sittings"

Chemo worsens quality of life for patients near death - "Patients who were feeling good had the most to lose and the least to gain by using chemo"

What do you eat in Antarctica? How the chef at Palmer Station keeps things fresh without fresh food. - "Having spent months at a time living on ships in the Antarctic, I know all too well the threat chefs like Hiller face after weeks with no freshies: the menace of the beige plate. Rice, mashed potatoes, chicken, bread, canned corn—all meals can start to take on the same unappealing color if chefs are not overtly mindful of maintaining variety... Until a decade ago, chefs could grow fresh herbs such as cilantro, sprouts, and basil inside Antarctic research stations. The two other U.S. bases, South Pole and McMurdo, still maintain greenhouses today. But because Palmer Station is north of the Antarctic Circle, scientists worry stray seeds from the herbs could potentially grow in the summertime, spreading invasive species on the continent. To eliminate this threat, Palmer Station has banned the practice. Eating native Antarctic animals and plants is also strictly prohibited at all Antarctic bases."

An ‘unarmed’ white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage? - "More than a week after Hammond’s death, his family’s attorney says race is almost certainly playing a role in the disconcerting silence. Unlike the victims in the highest-profile police shootings over the past year — in cities from Ferguson and Cleveland to North Charleston and Cincinnati — Hammond was white... “The whole issue of race is getting distorted and what’s getting lost is the real issue which is excessive force,” said Bland, the attorney. “All people need to be outraged by this. All people need to be asking the hard questions.”"

Fat Sex: What Everyone Wants To Know But Is Afraid To Ask

Girls catfish ISIS for travel money - "The Chechen girls are under investigation for fraud after they allegedly scammed ISIS members into giving them money on the pretense that they would use it to travel from their homeland to Syria. The ladies got away with $3,300 before being discovered.. The girls’ (totally illegal) stunt isn’t the first of its kind. RT News reported that sometimes men create fake accounts, pretending to be females, with the same ISIS-swindling intentions."

The New ‘Baywatch’ Movie Will Be As Good As ‘Schindler’s List’

Check Your Privilege, Liberal Women - "Banks took to Twitter to send me and another conservative, Wayne Dupree, a close up photo of her genitals. I suppose this is what passes for dialogue in more progressive circles, but among sentient humans it tends to derail the conversation considerably. Two days later, she followed up with a lewd Tweet to my wife. When I expressed dismay at this tactic, she proceeded to hurl racial slurs at me and call my wife ugly. All of this was applauded by her legions of young, progressive fans. Some of them followed suit and bombarded me with their own graphic pictures. Several wished death on me, because how else are you supposed to react when someone criticizes your favorite singer?... All the while, of course, I was repeatedly informed that I am the sexist, the racist, and the bigot. In fact, according to some, it was sexist for me to criticize her for sending nude photos. She’s “comfortable with her body” and I shouldn’t “slut shame” her, they insisted. If only Anthony Weiner had thought of using that line. I’d say Banks has gotten a free pass for her hatefulness and bigotry, but that wouldn’t be completely true. A “pass” insinuates that she did something wrong, but in the minds of many liberals, she behaved heroically. Pass? More like applause and a trophy... Privilege? Azealia Banks has the privilege. Lena Dunham has privilege. Your average gender studies major has privilege. They have the privilege of Perpetual Victimhood, a status that affords infinite entitlements and endless excuses... They indeed have the unmitigated privilege to speak with hate and act without self-control, but maybe, in the end, that’s not much of a privilege at all."