Links - 10th July 2016

Double races to be printed in NRIC to help foreigners avoid being called "bastard" [Archive] - Sam's Alfresco Coffee - The most Offensive and Politically Incorrect Forum ever! - "Undergraduate Shahril Yong, 24, lamented that the new flexibility came too late for him. Although he looks Malay, his race is classified as Chinese - his father's race. Before this year, children of mixed-race parentage had no choice but to take their paternal race. 'If my IC had said Malay, I could have received a university tuition fee subsidy,' he said. 'If I were younger, I would change to Malay-Chinese for that.'"
Addendum: This is a good article to show those who claim that Malays now pay the same university tuition fees as everyone. Even if it won't convince the Chinese Privilege crowd

Money no enough: Nearly half of Singaporean households are subsisting from paycheck to paycheck - "a report by CLSA revealed that almost half of households across the island are saving less than 10% of their monthly incomes, leaving them unable to cope with unexpected financial expenses. The report revealed that 30% of Singaporean households save less than 10% of their incomes, while an alarming 14% have no savings at all... an unexpected 37% of the top-income bracket is essentially spending everything they earn."

Disaster in the making: 4 out of 5 young Singaporeans have no savings - "Most Singaporeans aged 20-35 years old are just one missed payment away from a financial disaster. Figures released today by a Singapore based financial website point to a shocking lack of financial planning by younger people, as 4 out of 5 respondents have no savings at all."

Mom Was Called To School After Her Daughter Hit Another Student. Her Response Was Perfect. - "The boy had twanged my daughter’s bra and she had punched him in the face twice. I got the impression they were more angry with my daughter than the boy"
Almost everyone is cheering what the girl did. But if you use disproportionate force to defend yourself, you are no longer a pure victim. Also why is bra snapping considered sexual assault? Since teenage girls sometimes snap/unhook each other's bras are they sexually assaulting each other? Is giving someone a wedgie sexual assault? Is taupoking someone (non sexual) assault?

Father jailed for killing burglar - "Judge Barker told Hastings he had repeatedly stabbed Mr Williams in the back, the majority of the attack taking place outside the house when the possibility of danger was over. He said: "What you did could not possibly have been done while you were still under threat. "You had gone into the attack and you were engaged in retaliation. "Although Roger Williams was a burglar and had no right to be there, a householder is not entitled to use more than reasonable force to defend himself."

Millionaire Munir Hussain who fought off a knife-wielding burglar is jailed (while the intruder is let off) - "Mr Hussain made a break for freedom by throwing a coffee table at his attackers. He and Tokeer chased the gang and brought Salem to the ground in a front garden. Reading Crown Court heard how Mr Hussain and his brother then beat Salem while he lay on the ground, using a cricket bat, a pole and a hockey stick - leaving him with a fractured skull and brain damage following the 'sustained' attack... 'The prosecution rightly made it plain that there was no allegation against you, Munir Hussain, in respect of the force you used against Salem in defending your own home and family or of the force used by either of you in apprehending Salem. 'However, the attack which then occurred was totally unnecessary and amounted to a very violent revenge attack on a defenceless man... The 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act sets out the terms on which people might 'use no more force than absolutely necessary' against criminals. Victims or those who intervene to stop a criminal have the backing of the law if they act instinctively, if they fear for their safety and act accordingly, if they act to prevent a criminal escaping, or if their use of force is neither 'excessive nor disproportionate'."
Keywords: tied up, robbery, burglar, robber, jailed, paralysed, beaten, judge, called brother, daily mail, grossly disproportionate force

Airdre Mattner raped in South Korea: 60 Minutes preview - "the only way to find justice in South Korea was to run her own campaign. In doing so, she exposed a culture where violence against women, particularly foreigners, is often accepted... Western women are even known as “white whores” in some circles, added Langdon. After an international outcry when Airdre went public, police were forced to respond, and a Nigerian man was arrested for her rape. But he’s being prosecuted for sexual harassment rather than rape or even assault, because she was unconscious and therefore cannot prove she didn’t consent... Most hospitals don’t have rape kits and there are even websites where people can live stream rapes of unconscious women, and ask to join in."
Comment (from elsewhere): "Thing is, it's not just men being violent towards women. In Korea you will have no hard time spotting ladies hitting the guys, yelling or pulling hair.. Violence is somehow smoothly incorporated into their communication strategies :| And k-dramas do a fine job romanticizing it."

A Marvel Editor Explains How Captain America Was a Hydra Agent All Along - "In the comic the Red Skull of Hydra talks about “criminal trespassers” who “make a mockery” of America’s borders and calls the refugees in Germany an “invading army” bringing “fanatical beliefs and crime” to Europe. Obviously, this hate speech is nothing new for the organization, but it sounds like rhetoric we’ve been hearing this election. Is that purposeful?"
Maybe the moral of the story is that if you refuse to confront genuine issues and insist on keeping your head buried in the sand, don't be surprised when even moral and upright people turn to the "wrong side"

Young women, give up the vocal fry and reclaim your strong female voice
You know feminism is about first world problems when you have articles like these
Comments: "There is no patriarchy. It died decades ago. The patriarchy is to feminism what Emmanuel Goldstein was to the government of Oceania. It is something upon which every problem can be blamed even though nobody has seen it for decades."
"Women's voices are naturally higher in pitch (which is why Thatcher was famously coached in adopting a deeper tone). Some modes of speaking are less convincing. These were not taught to women by men in a dastardly move to block their advancement. Think about it: why would you want people around you to speak in a way that you can't stand? Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted". And let me never fall into the mistake of thinking that every barrier in my way has been put there deliberately to thwart my progress by unseen forces of a certain party/race/gender/ or anything else. And if I do, let me seek therapy!"
"You're just bumbling along minding your own business when suddenly you are part of the global patriarchy teaching women to talk in silly ways to keep them down. Muhahahahah you have uncovered my fiendish plot Commander Bond."
"Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that between the ages of 22 and 29 women earn 1.1% more than men of the same age, and between 30 and 39 women earn 0.2% more than men in the same age group (note PER HOUR)... Even in the Guardian they have had to admit this but via snide articles... This pay gap reduces and then reverses around the average age of having children. Guardian style feminists want to be paid the same despite spending less time at work and having multiple career gaps."
"There's a great explanation (by an actual linguist, which I don't think the author is) of why this article is pretty dubious, and antifeminist"
"Thanks for a great link presenting a more intelligent argument than that given above: the endless scrutiny of every aspect of women's lives is really a problem, and the article above is just another aspect of this (as indeed are most of the comments below the line).
Also maybe the the use of terms like "the patriarchy" and statements like "our culture assigned them a socially appropriate mannerism" is even more self-undermining than any amount of vocal fry or uptalk."
"Seriously is there anything which men can't be blamed for by feminists? 'Pah! Men are the reason women have periods...'"

Just don’t do it | language: a feminist guide - "No one writes articles telling men how they’re damaging their career prospects by using the wrong words. With women, on the other hand, it’s a regular occurrence... why bother with evidence when you can put your faith in stereotypes? On Friday, BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour did exactly that. During an item in which the comedian Viv Groskop discussed her new show about women’s habit of constantly saying sorry, another guest, the linguist Louise Mullany, pointed out that the stereotype of women constantly saying sorry has not been borne out by research. But the presenter and Groskop just brushed this aside... This endless policing of women’s language—their voices, their intonation patterns, the words they use, their syntax—is uncomfortably similar to the way our culture polices women’s bodily appearance... When feminists encounter articles with headlines like ‘Are you eating too much fruit?’ or ‘Why implants are the new Botox’, they know they are in the presence of Beauty Myth bullshit, whose purpose is to make women feel bad about themselves. Feminists do not share those articles approvingly on Facebook. Yet a high proportion of my feminist acquaintance did share Leanse’s ‘just’ piece, and some of them shared the Jezebel commentary which appeared under the headline ‘Women, stop saying “just” so much, it makes you sound like children’. An article headed ‘Women, stop eating so much fruit, it makes you put on weight’ would immediately have raised their hackles. So why was the Jezebel piece acceptable?... it’s an argument that most linguists now regard as problematic"

Why women talk less | language: a feminist guide - "In a study of same-sex group discussions among secondary school pupils, Judith Baxter found that boys who emerged as leaders were able to do so because other boys deferred to their suggestions, echoed their comments and laughed at their jokes. Among girls there were individuals who behaved in similar ways to the dominant boys, but their attempts to take the lead were less successful, because they were not supported by other girls. In fact, they were actively resisted and resented. The class teacher told Baxter that girls did not accept other girls’ authority, whereas no one had a problem with boys taking charge. The girls themselves were blunter, saying: ‘boys aren’t as bitchy as girls. And girls aren’t as bitchy to blokes’... Rather than waiting for permission to speak, boys call out when they have something to say. Girls do this less often, and teachers’ reaction when they do it is much less tolerant. Something similar has been observed among adults"
Female aggression and mate competition manifest themselves in multiple ways

Young women are now earning more than men – that's not sexist, just fair
Comment: "After being bombarded for yoinks by articles by the Graun feminists subtly pushing their version of equality - men are wrong, basically (see the one yesterday about masculinity being inherently wrong/evil) - they finally got sloppy and outright state their real world view. And it's basically that they want to put women first and men a distant second. Anyone who believes feminists (at least the ones that write for the Graun) are any sort of believers in equality are fucking idiots."

Can cosmetic brands afford to opt out of China over animal testing? - "Asia's beauty sector has become quite lucrative for Western brands, however they have been faced with the challenge of holding onto cruelty free claims while also being able to take a piece of China’s $26.3 bn cosmetics market. Brands like Urban Decay have had to pull out of the country at the last minute, after coming under fire due to its conflicting animal testing policy... foreign firms still have to submit their cosmetics for animal testing before selling them in China"

Fast running is as deadly as sitting on couch, scientists find - Telegraph - "Too much exercise really can kill you, scientists have discovered, after finding runners who speed along at 7mph or more are doing themselves more harm than good. A study of 1,098 runners found that those who ran the fastest were nine times more likely to die prematurely within 12 years than those who enjoyed a more sedate pace of around 5mph for two or three times a week. In fact, strenuous runners were as likely to die as those who did no physical activity"

Kids are more likely to trust attractive adults - "more children, especially girls, selected the attractive face initially and both boys and girls were more likely to believe the answer given by the more attractive face"

What is Beautiful is Culturally Good: The Physical Attractiveness Stereotype has Different Content in Collectivistic Cultures - "A total of 157 university students in Korea rated photos of other Korean students at three levels of attractiveness on dimensions included in meta-analyses of the physical attractiveness stereotype as shown in North America. Consistent with predictions based on the greater tendency in collectivistic cultures to stress harmonious relationships, participants did not perceive attractive targets as higher in potency, as North American participants do, and did perceive attractive targets as higher in integrity and in concern for others, as North American participants do not. It is argued that all cultures stereotype on the basis of physical attractiveness but that the content of the stereotype depends on cultural values. An explanation for attractiveness stereotyping is offered that is applicable to any culture."

The Sex Toys of the Future Are Here — And We Should All Be Excited About Them - "Traditionally, there have been few options on the sex toy market available for men, or at least not as many as there were for women. Fortunately, there's evidence to suggest the stigma is loosening its grip on the conversation... Brian Sloan, inventor of the Autoblow 2, is confident that it will one day become just as acceptable for men to own sex toys as it is for women. "I guess it's kind of a double standard, that it's normal now for women but it's not yet normal for men," he told the Daily Dot last year. "But I gotta think that it'll equalize. If women's products are being sold at Walgreen's, pretty soon men's products will be, too."

Casuarina Curry - "If setup is in places with no lift access, additional $50 for every level of stairs"

BBC World Service - The World This Week, The lessons of Hillsborough - "I've been covering Sudanese and South Sudanese politics for many years, and one thing I've noticed is that when people call each other brother, there's usually an insult coming"