Use of Lee Kuan Yew's image on Yeo's commemorative drink packets 'respectful': Alvin Tan - "The use of an image of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on a drink packet is respectful, Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan said on Tuesday (Oct 3). Mr Tan was replying to a parliamentary question filed by MP Poh Li San (PAP-Sembawang) asking if the use of Mr Lee's image on a local company’s commemorative packet drinks contravened the guidelines set out on the use his name and image, and if so, whether the authorities could demand the distribution of the product be withdrawn. In August, local food and beverage brand Yeo’s announced it was giving limited-edition chrysanthemum tea packets with the image of Mr Lee to commemorate the centenary of his birth. The Yeo's LKY100 Chrysanthemum Tea was to pay tribute to Mr Lee's contribution in transforming Singapore into a garden city, Yeo's said. However, the move drew criticism online, with some commenting that Mr Lee's image was being exploited on commercial products. Others pointed out that the drink packets would be thrown into bins after use. In Parliament, Mr Tan said that Yeo's had consulted the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) to ensure that it was in line with the published guidelines on the use of Mr Lee's name and image. According to the MCCY's guidelines, the name, image or likeness of the late Mr Lee should not be used by individuals or private organisations for commercial or publicity purposes, nor to suggest any kind of official endorsement of products or services. The ministry also said on its website that individual and private organisations using Mr Lee’s name or image for purposes of identifying with the nation are not required to seek approval "as long as it is in accordance with all laws and the guidelines"... "Yeo’s also clarified that the commemorative packet drinks were not available for sale, but were being distributed for free."... In a supplementary question, Ms Poh pointed out that the packet drinks would be thrown into trash bins or become litter. She asked how MCCY would ensure there was "no undue disrespect" to Mr Lee if packet drinks or similar commercial products were allowed. Mr Tan said in reply that the public is advised to dispose of the drinks in an "appropriate and responsible manner" and added that MCCY would take public feedback into consideration in future"
You're not allowed to profane images of gods
NUSWhispers - Posts | Facebook - "Looking at the recent peeping tom saga, I noticed this trend of mob mentality where majority of the netizens have made it their duty to condemn the authorities for allegedly failing to give an adequate punishment to the perpetrator when they do not have access to full facts and may actually be barking up the wrong tree. (Let me state for the record that I do not condone the actions of the perpetrator and I do have a young daughter for whom I pray will never have to be caught up in such a situation). I am especially disturbed at the fact about how much this event resembles the "honor killing" in some Middle Eastern countries where the community rises up to be judge, jury and executioner and eventually stones the criminal to death i.e. we are witnessing the online version of "stoning to death". Case in example: OnHand Agrarian is the latest to hop on the bandwagon and has released a FB statement this morning to cut off all ties with NUS until the perpetrator has been expelled. Seriously, is it already not unethical for this company to use such a heavy-handed approach in an attempt to strongarm NUS? Or perhaps the company thinks it is best to hop on the mob mentality bandwagon, distance itself from the perpetrator and join in the "stone throwing"? This is totally opposite of how a company should run its CSR program. Back to case in point, the Police has obviously gone through due process (i.e. conducted a diligent investigation, gather all available facts, compare to past cases and past established precedents, consulted with AGC etc.) before arriving at the outcome of issuing the 12 months conditional warning to the perpetrator. NUS must have also considered all available facts (including the outcome of Police investigations) to arrive at the punitive actions decided for the perpetrator. And yes, I agree the University does have gaps to address in its penalty system for student misconduct and that the social media outrage has most probably forced its hand to review the system which is not necessarily a bad outcome. However, should we all now take a step back, give time for the University to perform its own internal review and also give space for the perpetrator to reflect on his own actions? Seems like everyone has forgotten the perpetrator is also a fallible human being with emotions and it seems to me that he has enough punishment (both in tangible and non-tangible sense from the online raging) to last him for quite some time. I like to end with this quote "Forgiveness does not excuse their behaviour. Forgiveness prevents their behaviour from destroying your heart" - applies to both sides"
On the Monica Boey mob
Monica Lewinsky Joked About Her White House Internship - "Psychologist and author Adam Grant tweeted Saturday to ask his followers to respond with "the worst career advice you've ever received." "An internship at the White House will look amazing on your resume," Lewinsky wrote, adding an emoji of a blushing face."
Top 50 Craziest Drinks Sold in Japan
Poison Noodles: How a Fun Japanese Tourist Activity Turned Dangerous - "Public health officials have confirmed 93 people fell ill from food poisoning after eating at Ōtaki Sōmen, according to reports by Japanese media this week on September 1st. An additional 500 citizens have reported concerning symptoms. Noodles are not the kind of food people usually expect to get food poisoning from – unlike undercooked meat, for example. But nagashi-sōmen is an exception, as noodles do not directly transfer from a sterile kitchen to customers’ tables. Many traditional establishments like Ōtaki Sōmen cook their noodles in a kitchen as expected. But then, instead of plating the noodles, they stream them––in river water. The restaurant delivers noodles to each customer in a stream of fast-flowing water that flows through a cut-open bamboo shoot. The rest is up to the customer. Customers scoop up the noodles from the stream and into their cups of sauce with their chopsticks. That would have been the end of it if the water at Ōtaki Sōmen was clean. But when the local health center took samples of Ōtaki’s river water, it tested positive for campylobacter bacteria. Campylobacter is Japan’s most common bacteria that causes diarrheal illness and food poisoning. Recent reports raise the possibility that boars that witnesses sighted near Ōtaki Sōmen’s water source may have left droppings in the water, leading to contamination... Despite many looking forward to nagashisōmen’s comeback, the restaurant’s organizers failed to test the river water’s quality before its opening date on July 23rd. No law required the restaurant to run tests before the opening date. However, that might have prevented the cluster of food poisoning cases. The organizers claim that they failed to test the water due to heavy rainfall that had happened in earlier weeks. Ōtaki Sōmen tested the water only after the first reports of food poisoning symptoms came out."
The limits of expert judgment: Lessons from social science forecasting during the pandemic - "To find out how well social scientists could predict societal change, we ran the largest forecasting initiative in our field's history using predictions about change in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic as a test case. To do this, we tested how well social scientists could predict societal change in two ways. First, we asked social scientists for quick guesses about how things would change over the next two years of the pandemic. Second, we ran a competition where over 100 teams of social scientists with access to historical data made month-by-month forecasts. We formally assessed their predictions for a range of social sciences phenomena, including changes in prejudice, subjective well-being, violence, individualism and political polarization between May 2020 and May 2021. Our findings, detailed in peer-reviewed papers in Nature Human Behaviour and in American Psychologist, paint a sobering picture. Despite the causal nature of most theories in the social sciences, and the fields' emphasis on prediction in controlled settings, social scientists' forecasts were generally not very good. In both papers, we found that experts' predictions were generally no more accurate than those made by samples of the general public. Further, their predictions were often worse than predictions generated by simple statistical models. Our studies did still give us reasons to be optimistic. First, forecasts were more accurate when teams had specific expertise in the domain they were making predictions in. If someone was an expert in depression, for example, they were better at predicting societal trends in depression. Second, when teams were made up of scientists from different fields working together, they tended to do better at forecasting. Finally, teams that used simpler models to generate their predictions and made use of past data generally outperformed those that didn't... compared to lay people, social scientists were more aware of the herculean nature of the task at hand. In our studies, they expressed uncertainty and less confidence than lay people when making forecasts"
Trust the experts!
Was Anne of Cleves really ugly? Re-creations Revealed. - "Anne of Cleves is known to history as being the “ugly” fourth wife of King Henry VIII, but we have reasons to believe this is mostly a case of historical slander... The first we hear of Anne from the English perspective is when John Hutton, the English ambassador to the Low Countries, mentioned in passing that the Duke of Cleves had a daughter but ‘there is no great praise of her personage or beauty.’ But it was also reported that she was slim, tan, and tall, with a “pleasing countenance.”... In her portraits they show an average looking, kind-faced woman, which matches descriptions of her personality. Her nose may have been bigger than been reported. Henry’s bruised ego was most definitely the reason for the harsh words towards Anne. But Anne accepted the annulment with grace, always kind and speaking well of the King. King Henry was so relieved that she agreed to the annulment that he granted her a huge settlement - she became one of the wealthiest women in England overnight, and was henceforth referred to as the “King’s Beloved Sister.” To me, in the lineup of Henry’s wives, she looks the most beautiful. Although poor Anne gets so much hate for her appearance, I can’t help but feel like she was the luckiest wife of all."
Are durians bad for health? Why drink salt water after eating the fruit? Chew on what the experts say - "A new survey done by Bumble, a dating and social networking application, revealed that more than half of the people in Singapore polled were likely to consume durian this year, with one in five indicating their expectation to savour the fruit while on a date. Another interesting finding was that almost one in three (29 per cent) of durian fans would turn down someone they are romantically interested in if the person did not like the fruit, which is known for its pungent smell and rich flavours that range from sweet to bitter."
Robert Spencer on X - "Yes, everyone should watch that debate, and everyone should also realize that @KhalilAndani is, of course, lying. The Qur'an does not by any means teach defensive jihad alone. Qur'an 8:39 says Muslims must fight "until persecution is no more" (defensive) "and religion is all for Allah" (offensive). Also, Andani's view is historically absurd. Did the Arabs (and later Muslims, once Islam was formulated) fight defensive wars all across the Middle East, North Africa, Persia and India in the 6th and 7th centuries? Certainly not. They created what is today known as "the Islamic world" by means of offensive jihad as taught not just in that verse but in numerous others and many ahadith."
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q1. Met this cute Rasta woman, YeYe, on Tinder. We had a great night, at the end of our date she introduced me to her friend. I wanted YeYe but I went home with her friend. To my surprise, YeYe called me again to hang out. She was chill as two other friends of hers hit on me. I went home with them. YeYe asked me to meet her for coffee. She wasn’t there, but her aggressive friend was. Aggressive friend told me she wanted s3x in her car. I told her to slow down and tease me. She said: “I ALREADY PAID YeYe for you so you can’t refuse.” I went thru with it, but I called YeYe right after. I asked what is going on, YeYe said she’s a madam and I’m her new BOY. And, “you’re enjoying yourself, right? Out here slutting for free. So, what’s the problem?” I distanced myself from YeYe but I’ve been on a few Tinder one-night-stands and I think YeYe is still pimping me out to these women. What to do? #SBCCHAT #HowWillIKnowImAHo"
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q2. I’m a successful TikTok Financial Coach. In real life, I’m broke AF. Every financial decision I’ve made has devastated me and my husband; others “Rob Peter to pay Paul,” but I’m robbing Peter just to rob him, Paul doesn’t get paid. I fell victim to a scam that I shared with my large TikTok audience and many people lost money. But what hurts me most was when I took my last $350 to get my hair braided instead of paying on our life insurance policies. My husband had an aneurysm and died in his sleep, everyone, including his family, thought I had a WINDFALL of insurance money, but in truth, the policy lapsed and I didn’t get a dime. I couldn’t do a GoFundMe (as a successful Financial Coach) so I sold his car and cremated my husband and didn’t tell his family. It may be time to tell the truth and ask for help but I can’t let my 2,000+ TikTok audience down. What to do? #SBCCHAT"
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q3. I’ve had so much s3x with so many different types of females that nothing thrills me anymore. I don’t want to be bothered with the back-and-forth frustration of trying to date someone. I’d like a wife, but I don’t want to spend money dating and trying to find one. The only women I know are dancers/sex workers I pay to be with me. I’m also frustrated about getting serious with someone, cuz what can I offer? I can’t afford kids. My tiny apartment, gas, utilities, weed, food and weekend s3x take all my money. Where to find a cheap wife that will f*ck me for free and go half on all these bills? Help a Brother Out. #SBCCHAT"
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q4. There was a string of home robberies in a good neighborhood and there was a $25,000 reward for a tip that led to arrest. The suspect looked familiar and I needed the money so I turned in my babydaddy, Julio. He was arrested at work and lost his job. Julio was shamed on social media until detectives determined that he was innocent and let him go. I called 911, and not the hotline, so I didn’t get the money. He doesn’t know I called police on him. Julio is probably innocent, BUT the $25,000 is still there. Should I make another call on him to get the money? I’m paid for an arrest, not conviction. Also, he doesn’t have a job so it won’t hurt him. #SBCCHAT"
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q5. Dating her for 5.5 years: I cheated, got away with it. Got caught. Apologized. Blamed her, and then worked my way back in her life. The last time I got caught there were no tears. No convo. No “move out” dramatics. She just started openly dating another man and bringing him home. I was in the front room gaming when they walked past me and went into OUR bedroom. WTF? Me: “yo, WHO is that?” Her: “You; but Upgraded.” He spent the night. I grabbed some personal items and left. I’m at my momma’s house now and that big-foot 🥷 is still there. She won’t accept my calls. What happened? How do I get this man out of our lives? (Without violence). #SBCCHAT"
SixBrownChicks on X - "Q6. I’m 60, I’ve been told I could pass for 40. I’m very attracted to my 26-year-old daughter’s boyfriend. (They both live with me). She runs thru men like water but this one is different. I wanted to shoot my shot, so I made breakfast for him while she was hungover in bed. I wore my see-thru gown, bra-less, and presented his plate of bacon, eggs and French toast. Him: “Thank you.” Me: “I’ll serve you any time.” He smiled. I leaned in close to kiss him and he pushed me away. “Ewww. My girl came thru you I don’t want to go in after.” He didn’t touch his food. He hasn’t mentioned anything to my daughter so I know he’s still thinking about me. How do I make him see that I’m a s3xual WOMAN not just somebody’s mother?! I deserve a shot. #SBCCHAT"
Catholic Sat on X - "Pope Francis has today removed +Joseph Strickland from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, and named +Joe Vásquez, Auxiliary Bishop of Austin as Diocesan Administrator of Tyler."
Sidge S. Mondo ن on X - "One can rape children and religious sisters, force them to drink semen from consecrated chalices, Satanically invert and pervert the sacraments, deny the Apostolic Tradition, order one's priests to bless homosexual unions... ...but imprudent social media posts on the interwebs will not be tolerated. I'm done with Jorge Bergoglio."
Pope punishes leading critic Cardinal Burke in second action against conservative American prelates
Meme - ""Diversifying Business"
JAV Girl: I need a personal machine...
HITACHI: No problem, here's our "Magic Wand"!
JAV Girl: You wouldn't happen to know where I can get a 20ton industrial crawer excavator would you?
HITACHI: You're not gonna believe this:"
Jack Poso 🇺🇸 on X - "BREAKING: Kidnapping charges dropped against Sound of Freedom backer after prosecutors, jury find insufficient evidence to indict him on kidnapping
Remember how the media was all over this story when it broke? Now they're silent. Why is that?"
In deadly Maui fires, those who dodged barricades survived - "As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety. And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by a barricade blocking access to Highway 30. One family swerved around the barricade and was safe in a nearby town 48 minutes later, another drove their 4-wheel-drive car down a dirt road to escape. One man took a dirt road uphill, climbing above the fire and watching as Lahaina burned. He later picked his way through the flames, smoke and rubble to pull survivors to safety... as the fire began to swallow homes in its ravenous path, Maui County emergency officials declined to use an extensive network of emergency sirens to alert Lahaina’s residents to flee... the fire department closes the Lahaina Bypass road because of the fire. The closures block the only route out of Lahaina to the south. Two weeks later, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier says during a news conference that officers never stopped people from leaving Lahaina that day but did try to prevent them from driving over live power lines."
Damn dangerous far right extremists, not following instructions!
Meme - Ben Galley @BenGalley: "I've received a delightful complaint from a reader detailing all the errors in one of my books. Every single error with page numbers and corrections. Problem is, every single one of the errors they've flagged isn't an error. It's merely an instance of UK English. Every one."
Justin Lee Anderson @authorjla: "LOL. American?"
Ben Galley @BenGalley: "You know it"
Boops Boops Be Doop! You'll Love The Name Of This Fish - "The fish is called the boops boops fish and it’s native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean and Black seas. The fish, also known as the “bogue,” is a type of seabream"
Vera Wang, 74, says McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts are her secrets to staying young - "“I do eat McDonald’s, absolutely,” she said. “I order it every day, like two weeks on it, and then I’ll change.” Aside from the popular restaurant, Wang revealed that she’s a fan of another chain: Dunkin’ Donuts... This isn’t the first time that Wang has opened up about feeling young. In 2020, she went viral after she shared a photo of herself posing in a sports bra and shorts, with fans praising her figure, specifically her abs, and expressing how “amazing” she looked for her age. At the time, one fan went on to compliment her appearance and asked her what her routine was, in the comments of the Instagram post. In response, Wang noted that her daily habits were pretty simple, writing: “Work, sleep, a vodka cocktail, not much sun…”"
No one ever mentions good genes
Meme - "IKEA is now selling Christmas trees. It's gonna be a long night... *astroturf*"
Meme - "TV SHOWS IN THE WORLD *people walking on street*
TV SHOWS IN JAPAN *people walking on street, with many colourful words, question, circle featuring man's reaction, cartoon unicorn*"
Witness describe frightening moments when gunshots rang out at a car show in San Pedro - YouTube
Comments: "Now I know why the suspects weren’t described."
"The reporter seemed more upset than the mom"
"When you do shoutouts to gangs and pretend that homicides is a normal part of life, these scenes are produced. No wonder why some communities are completely ravaged, in ruins full of crime."
"Getting interviewed on TV = Excellence. Shout out your gang signs after finding out your step son died. = Priceless"
"It is truly scary that women like this have children! She doesn't seem to give a stuff that her adopted son appears to have been killed, but just says "it's gonna do what it do" because she is neck deep in the gang culture and even flashes her gang sign while smiling and giving allegiance to the crips. Is it any wonder that so many young people are growing up with total disdain for human life, when they have a parent like this? Didn't say anything about the father, but statistically, he is likely out of the picture. Anyone can have children, but not everyone should be allowed to!"
Meme - @MrMooseknuckler: "When I was 13-14 playing this campaign, I was grinding the last few missions and getting thirsty. My older brother, having come home from college, had a mini fridge in his room with a Gatorade in it. Thinking he wouldn't mind, I took the Gatorade and finished the game. But as I was playing everything started to change, the tv screen I was playing on became more like a window to a different reality. I WAS Price. I could feel everything, his rage, the heat of battle, and the bittersweet taste of revenge and victory. After a VERY intense and immersive gaming experience I was then informed my brother had dissolved 4 hits of acid in the Gatorade I drank. Ngl pretty life changing experience."
16 arrested after fireworks aimed at people, Minneapolis police
From 2022
Meme - jovan @EhJovan: "When you're tryna jack off but your dog won't leave *Topless Ash on sofa with Pikachu*"
Meme - John Coogan @johncoogan: "In 2013, Peter Thiel said: "As technology advances, we should be moving around more quickly. But we're not. The Concorde is retired, our trains are slow, and security restrictions make door-to-door air travel slower than ever."
9 years later:
Your Next American Airlines Flight Might Be a Bus"
Why Aircraft Don't Fly Over The South Pole - "Historically, flying close to or over the South Pole was ruled out by Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards rules. ETOPS governs how far away twin-engine jets can fly from an airport they can land at. Over land with many airports, this is no problem. However, things become tricky over the Antarctic. These days some aircraft have ETOPS limits of 330 minutes (5.5 hours) and even 370 minutes (just over six hours). Even with these high ETOPS limits, parts of the airspace above Antarctica are still out of reach. However, this doesn't necessarily matter. Firstly, there's a lack of any real need to fly over the South Pole. There's a lot less airline traffic in the far reaches of the southern hemisphere than the northern hemisphere... purely down to where the southern hemisphere cities are located, southern hemisphere city pairings don't require South Pole overflights. There are a few flights that normally go close to Antarctica, but none that regularly overfly it... bigger aircraft also fly to the continent, but they don't stop. For years Qantas has been operating flights to nowhere before they became a mainstream thing. The airline used to operated charter sightseeing flights using the Boeing 747"
Meme - "Evony - The King's Return @Evony... Ad
Top-Rated Strategy Game"
"Readers added context they thought people might want to know: "The game doesn't look like this. This is an animation to trick you into downloading. Real gameplay:""
