Links - 9th May 2017 (1)

Facebook is making Messenger Lite available in 132 more countries, but not the US - "The Facebook app and Messenger are commonly criticized for being too large and consuming too many resources. For people in emerging markets with less powerful devices, that can be an issue, which led Facebook to develop Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite. Now, Messenger Lite will be available to download in 132 more countries"
This is great, given that there is no usable mobile site for Messenger (mzero.facebook.com is awful). Facebook Lite isn't that great (it doesn't even have feature parity with the mobile site).

Despite critics’ claims, the GOP health bill doesn’t classify rape or sexual assault as a preexisting condition - The Washington Post - "an almost Rube Goldberg scenario would need to happen before an insurer can legally classify her or his rape or sexual assault as an actual preexisting condition... We always say at The Fact Checker that the more complicated the topic, the more susceptible it is to spin. Both media coverage and hyperbole among advocates are at fault for creating a misleading representation of the House GOP health bill. We wavered between Three and Four Pinocchios, but the out-of-control rhetoric and the numerous assumptions pushed us to Four Pinocchios."

Girl who's proud of breaking up relationships thinks boys are trash : TumblrAtRest - "I've never really watched Laci Green because I find her annoying (to be fair, this isn't due to the content of her videos, just more her personality. I hate all of the "cutesy" YouTubers, too), but she didn't seem to be a misandric person with a misandric following, rather just this goofy girl who talked about sex and/or feminism."
"When she says she has "wrecked three homes" she means she has purposely ruined three relationships"

Cafe owner struggles to sustain business in empty space - "To fulfil her long-time dream of starting her own cafe, Madam Karen Tan, 43, rented a shop space in a newly opened mall in Kovan 11/2 years ago to sell coffee, pies and waffles. Her joy soon turned to regret - on some days, she would get only one or two walk-in customers at her cafe in Space @ Kovan. Before long, she had depleted her $50,000 investment. A key reason for the poor footfall is that most of the strata-titled mall, whose units are owned by individual owners, is empty. Nearly two years after the mall opened, only about a quarter of its 56 retail spaces have been leased out, with most of the storefronts plastered with "for sale/rent" signs. "I've never, ever managed to cover my monthly rent before," said Madam Tan, who pays about $3,000 monthly for the 345 sq ft space. "I'm using my own savings (to sustain the shop) now"... Over at Kensington Square in Bartley, just three of its 57 spaces appeared to be leased out, though only a Giant Express supermarket was open when The Sunday Times visited last week"

Chinese Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs Recipe - NYT Cooking - "Home-style Chinese food at its simplest and, arguably, tastiest, this dish is the object of nostalgia for many Chinese immigrants (and their children). Well-seasoned eggs scrambled until just-set combine at the last moment with a sweet-tart ginger-tomato sauce. Serve with lots of steamed rice. When tomatoes are out of season, canned tomatoes in juice work best."

How much pee is in our swimming pools? New urine test reveals the truth - "After tracking the levels of the sweetener in two public pools in Canada over a three-week period they calculated that swimmers had released 75 litres of urine – enough to fill a medium-sized dustbin – into a large pool (about 830,000 litres, one-third the size of an Olympic pool) and 30 litres into a second pool, around half the size of the first... In one anonymous survey, 19% of adults admitted to having urinated in a swimming pool at least once. And professional swimmers have confessed to being among the most regular offenders... while urine is sterile, compounds in urine, including urea, ammonia, and creatinine have been found to react with disinfectants to form byproducts known as DBPs that can lead to eye and respiratory irritation. Long-term exposure to the compounds has been linked to asthma in professional swimmers and pool workers."

5 Ways Wearing Flip Flops Destroys Your Health Without You Noticing - "Starting with minor foot and ankle aches, wearing flip flops for more than few hours a day will wreak havoc on your entire health. It can cause heel ache, stress fractures, shin splints, and tendonitis. Wearing flip flops for a longer period can even cause plantar fasciitis."

CNN Cuts Feed when Congressman says Refugees Account for 30% of Terrorism Investigations!

Watch: CNN Feed Goes Dead As Obamacare Victims Begin Speaking

CNN Cuts Satellite Feed As Soon As Congressman Mentions WikiLeaks

Yellow taxis involved in fewer accidents than blue ones: NUS study - "Taxis painted yellow are 9 per cent less likely to be involved in an accident compared to those coloured blue... The researchers believe that if ComfortDelGro changes its entire fleet to yellow, there could be 76.4 fewer accidents per month, or 917 fewer accidents per year. Assuming an average repair cost of S$1,000 per car and a downtime of 6 days, ComfortDelGro could save up to S$2 million annually"

Singapore rental racism: PRC and Indian tenants often deemed undesirable - "One key complaint against Chinese dwellers, several agents told CNBC, is their upkeep of properties. "Many PRCs don't take care of rented units," said John Seah, a real-estate salesperson. "My clients have had several cases where PRCs were not only messy, they damaged the place and ignored laws." Nicholas, an agent working for a leading real-estate firm who didn't wish to disclose his full name, told CNBC that one of his clients had to spend more than S$12,000 ($8,540) in repairs after a tenant from mainland China damaged the house. Such renters, Nicholas claimed, also frequently bring extra people to stay in the unit, which goes against most landlords' preferences. He also claimed they tend to leave the front door open so owners become worried about theft. Meanwhile, insufficient cleanup of South Asian cuisine is a frequent criticism of Indian tenants. "One client rented a house to an Indian family, who often cooked curry and did not adequately clean up. At the end of the rental term, deep cooking stains were everywhere and he was forced to spend thousands on renovation," said Nicholas. "If Indian inhabitants would clean up after cooking, then landlords would not need to worry about them," added Seah. "Would you want to rent a place and worry all the time that it wasn't being taken care of? In many cases, the security deposits aren't enough to cover defects." The problem is exacerbated because landlords and tenants often do not agree on what constitutes fair wear and tear, explained Robinson. Some inhabitants don't realize how much work it takes to return a rental apartment to its original state while local landlords don't allow for any depreciation, she noted."

How Marine Le Pen is winning France’s gay vote - "Marine has worked hard to expand the FN’s membership beyond obvious bigots, racists and skinheads. She has publicly condemned anti-Semitism and insists that, far from being racist, her party is the only one that defends secularity and democracy against Islamisation. A key part of this strategy is using the Islamist threat to court the sort of people that the far right has traditionally persecuted. It’s working. In the 2012 presidential elections, Le Pen won 13.5 per cent of the Jewish vote. A surprising enough statistic, but her appeal to gay activists has created even more waves"

Singapore Buses Now Have A Special Smell to Entice Riders

Couple 'detained in UAE for sex outside marriage' - "Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, were reportedly arrested after a doctor discovered Ms Nohai, who had stomach cramps, was pregnant. They were arrested for sex outside of marriage, which is illegal in the UAE."

Thai porn star Nong Nat divorces husband Harold Nesland - "A former Thai porn star who married an elderly American millionaire is getting divorced and having a boob job - to make a comeback to the adult industry. Asian beauty Nong Nat, 31, quit X-rated movies and converted to Buddhism - crediting meditation and good deeds for her landing Harold Nesland, 72, in 2012... Nat had previously complained the couple never had sex because she worried about Mr Nesland having a heart attack in the bedroom... Nat shot to infamy in 2003 when she was arrested after police identified her in seized porn tapes in Thailand where adult movies are illegal. She was fined and following the controversy over her porn films, Nat quit the adult industry and devoted her life to Buddhism despite big money offers."

Chitchat Why Chinese girls dun feel paiseh going out with local indians? - "Only indians know how to pamper the young chinese girls and treat them like princesses. Chinese men normally treat their women like prostitutes and slave. Expect the ladies to cook, clean the house, jaga baby and fuck and all for free with nothing in return. Not even an orgasm."
"ALL and I mean ALL my lady friends who married Indians saw their marriages end disastrously. 50% because of their in-laws, 50% because their husbands had affairs or beats them. I always held my peace but my mind screams "dumb fuck"."

Paper cups not an environmentally-friendly option here either: Experts - "In some respects, foam cups are less damaging to the environment than paper cups as they are made with fewer resources... A paper cup is made out of raw materials five times the weight of that used for a foam cup, according to A*STAR scientist Dr Jonathan Low. “What you have in a Styrofoam cup is some plastic materials with a lot of air bubbles in it,” said Dr Low. According to him, a Styrofoam cup consumes less material across its life stages, from the extraction of raw materials to its manufacture and use... Additionally, paper cups are usually made with virgin paper - entirely from tree pulp - rather than from recycled material... it takes 20 per cent more fuel and nearly twice as much water to manufacture paper cups. Moreover, 30 per cent more fuel is needed to transport the raw material for paper cups."

Paedophiles who pose low risk 'should be given helplines instead of jail time' - "Paedophiles should be given greater access to confidential helplines and not face criminal sanctions unless they pose a physical threat to children, a top officer has said, because the police lack the manpower to tackle the number of potential child sex abusers in the UK... Mr Bailey is a keen supporter of helplines, such as the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, which is working with paedophiles and encouraging them to self-refer so they can discuss their problem before they commit any abuse... The NSPCC estimates there could be up to half a million men in the UK who have viewed abuse images... Donald Findlater, the director of Stop It Now, which runs the foundation, said: “Sexual abuse is an outrageous thing to happen, and therefore it's right that we be outraged and right that we do things that address it. “The problem is how you separate outrage from vengefulness. Of course some people are outrageously dangerous and protecting the public means having to do kind of very harsh, punitive things to them. “But we then translate that understanding to the rest of the population. We don't have a nuanced approach. The police and sentencing clearly have some variety in their responses but mostly we have a binary public view about this”... Urging understanding, she said: “Just imagine what life is like. You’re never going to be able to satisfy your sexual appetite. All you can legally do is masturbate to your own images in your head. It’s quite something.” In a recent report the NSPCC said: “It is very important to note that the proportion of adults who report having a sexual interest in children does not equate to the number of adults who offend, as not all people act on their sexual interests and sexual urges”... The president of the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales said last year that managing the sex offenders register, which holds nearly 45,000 names, was a “major concern” and that there was not enough space to imprison all child sex offenders.

BBC Radio 4 - In Our Time, Baltic Crusades - "The Catholic Church by the time of Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th century was very much espousing violence in certain cases, so the right kind of violence was actually meritorious. We have many sources from all over Europe even extolling taking booty as a sign of divine favour. Killing people and taking their possessions as a sign that God was on your side. So Bernard of Clairvaux did not come out of the blue...
Forced conversion... missionaries thinking that they managed to convert, but the minute they turn their backs, the population shrugs off Chrstianity. We have accounts in the early period of people washing themselves in the river... to wash away baptism, so do they do a kind of un-baptism to return to their previous customs...
The first crusade in 1147. The first city they go to, Stettin, was already a Christian city. And in fact the Bishop got up on the wall with lots of crosses and said: sorry chaps, wrong place, wrong time, go away...
'There's a very famous story of a German bishop who converts a tribe, somewhere up in Old Prussia. And was the tradition, blesses an entire river and the Chieftain leads the tribe through and they come out Christians the other side. And they're having a grand banquet in the evening and they're into their cups and the chieftain leans towards the Bishop and says It's fantastic, this, you know. We're Christians, we're gonna go to heaven. I shall see all my old friends, my battle warrior friends and the Bishop, huge diplomatic mess, goes: no no no no no, no they're not Christians, they're down in Hell. So the chieftain goes: wait a minute, you mean, you mean they're there and I will be up there? Okay. He gets up and drives the entire tribe back through the river and out the other side as pagans because he'd rather be with his ancestors than he would be with the bishop'
'Is that true?'
'Well it's a good story'"

2201 The Battles of Imphal and Kohima | The History Network - "[On Slim in Burma in WWII] Perhaps the only advantage he held was his divisional commanders: Generals Bruce Scott and David 'Punch' Cowen. The 3 were old and close friends. As such they were able to speak on open radio channels using private codes based on their shared personal histories: perhaps one of the most secure encryptions possible"

Myanmar's Rohingya: Truth, lies and Aung San Suu Kyi - "Donald Trump and Aung San Suu Kyi have more in common than you might think. The leaders of the United States and Myanmar are both aged the wrong side of 70, both have much-discussed hair and share a strong dislike of journalists. Mr Trump's turbulent relationship with the media is covered extensively. Ms Suu Kyi's may come as a surprise... Ms Suu Kyi now never gives interviews to the Burmese press and carefully hand picks her encounters with international media. There is no regular questioning from MPs in parliament and there has not been a proper press conference since just before the election 14 months ago. Then there is the propaganda, which is eerily reminiscent of the dark Burmese days of censorship and military rule. On a daily basis, state-run newspapers print articles that denounce the international media for stories that highlight the plight of the Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority."

BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent Podcast, More Alternative Facts - "You can't hide the truffles' smell on you. So we keep one or two small ones in an outer pocket. That way if another hunter asks you how you got on in the area, you just show him those meagre finds"

Don’t be me - "I learned from a very young age money can’t buy you class. For the longest time, I thought Louis Vuitton handbags were carried by all ladies with the compulsive need to snigger at my parents’ broken English."

Colonel Sanders Wasn't a Big Fan of KFC - "It was the Colonel’s penchant for perfectionism that caused him to go on record and state that KFC gravy was like “sludge” with the consistency of “wallpaper paste” when he realized how much standards had slipped from his original, superior recipe. KFC actually tried (unsuccessfully) to sue him for libel for these comments, but the Colonel, being awesome, came out unscathed. Which begs the question, why is his face still on their packaging if he was such a colossal pain in the ass? Well back in the ’70s KFC decided that it would be much easier to simply pay the Colonel off to the tune of a million dollars, on the grounds, he stopped publicly attacking their company. The Colonel agreed and all his badmouthing suddenly stopped."

Hamas 'summer camp' trains young Gazans for war - "In a week, Al-Qassam says it will train nearly 30,000 young people in basic fighting techniques. These young recruits to the summer camps are a key part of Hamas's attempts to prepare the population for "the battle of liberation of Palestine", a member of Al-Qassam told AFP. "Our message to this (young) generation is that the future is yours," he said, his face concealed by a black balaclava. "It is thanks to you that we will be victorious." Khalil al-Haya, another Hamas official, argued that "there is no choice but the gun"."
If 'We Are All Hamas!', does that mean left wing protesters are terrorists seeking to radicalise children and kill Jews?